But, wait, wasn't it rumored that Alex had a disfigured face? Why didn't Claire see the slightest flaw in her future husband's face?
Everyone there was as surprised as Claire.
"Wasn't his face disfigured in the fire eight years ago? But why is he so handsome? There's no sign of disfigurement on his face."
"Could it be that he had plastic surgery?"
Some of the guests whispered. They were astonished by Alex's appearance, which turned out to be without a single blemish, as rumored.
Alice's eyes looked at Alex with a stunned expression.
"Damn! So this handsome man is the one Claire is going to marry?" Alice couldn't hide her annoyance. Her lips curled in annoyance.
That is, until the priest made sure the wedding blessing began.
With annoyed faces, Alice and her family came down from the altar and sat in the pews. They watched as Claire and Alex were blessed.
"...do you, Alexander Knight, take Claire Jhonson to be your wife..."
Upon hearing the name of his future wife, Alex suddenly frowned. He looked at Claire's face for a long time. He felt that something was wrong.
Still staring at Claire's face, Alex replied. "I do."
Next, the priest asked Claire the same question. To which Claire replied. "I do."
Smiling, the minister asked the couple to exchange rings.
Alex grabbed Claire's fingers and placed the ring on her ring finger.
Seeing this, Alice, who was sitting in her chair, snorted sarcastically. She folded her arms across her chest.
"So the rumor that Alex has a disfigured face is not true?"
Alice's question was overheard by Noah, who was sitting next to her.
Noah's forehead wrinkled. He didn't like it when Alice's attention was drawn to Alex's good looks.
"Are you jealous, baby? Are you disappointed that Alex is better looking than me?"
Alice shook her head. "Jealous? Of course not. It's no use having a handsome face if he's just going to be a useless piece of trash," Alice said.
A wide smile spread across Noah's lips. "That's just smart thinking."
"Now, groom, you may kiss your wife." The priest said to Alex.
Hearing this, Claire's face looked nervous and tense. Her eyes were wide.
Although she had been with Noah for three years, Claire had never kissed him. She wanted to save her lips and honor only for the man who would become her husband in the future. And that's why Noah calls Claire a boring woman.
But now her husband was standing in front of her and began to bring their faces closer together.
Claire's eyes closed as those lips moved closer. Then she felt the wet lips pressed against hers, sending a strange thrill through her blood.
***
As soon as the wedding was over, Alex immediately asked Claire to come home with him.
Now Claire was in Alex's car, sitting next to him in the back seat.
As the driver drove at a moderate speed.
"So your name is Claire Jhonson?" Alex broke the silence.
Claire nodded as she folded her hands in her lap. The wedding dress still clung to her body.
"As I recall, the woman I'm marrying is Alice Wilson. I didn't know your name would suddenly change on the wedding day," Alex said.
"Alice is my stepsister," Claire said honestly.
Alex's face looked a little surprised to hear that. One eyebrow arched in Claire's direction.
"Oh, so they changed the bride without my knowledge?" Alex guessed, then smiled wryly.
"Are you disappointed that it wasn't Alice who married you?" asked Claire, turning to Alex.
"I know about the arrangement between my father and your father. Your father wanted you to marry my father's own son. You should know that even though my parents divorced when I was a child, my father's blood still flows in my body. Our marriage will not tarnish your father's arranged marriage because I am Graham's biological daughter," Claire explained.
Alex was silent and just stared at his wife's face.
Being stared at so deeply made Claire nervous and she decided to look away.
The car stopped in front of a simple house.
Not too small and big enough for both of them to live in. Alex invited Claire inside.
Her eyes scanned the inside of the house carefully. It turned out that the house looked tidy even with a makeshift interior.
"Welcome to my home. I'm sorry I couldn't give you a proper place to live." Alex said as he opened his tuxedo suit and draped it over his arm.
Claire shook her head. "This is enough for me. Your house looks cozy."
Alex smiled. His eyes fell on the wedding dress that still clung to his wife's slender body. "Don't you want to change?"
Claire also looked at her dress, then said awkwardly. "Yes, I want to change. Um... where is our room?"
"Our room?" one of Alex's eyebrows raised at Claire's question.
Claire's brow furrowed in surprise. She nodded her head. "I mean, we're married. That means we live in the same room, right?"
A corner of Alex's lips turned up.
Alex's right hand held a glass of wine, then his feet walked over to Claire.
Claire's face tightened as the man's tall body stopped directly in front of her.
Alex lowered his head, brought his face closer, locked their eyeballs together, then said. "You're right, Claire. We are married, but we still don't know each other. I also know that you're being forced into this marriage. That's why I have decided that we will sleep in separate rooms."
"Let's make an agreement. After one year of marriage, we will divorce, and then you will be free to live your new life. Do you agree?" Alex asked, extending his right hand to Claire.
One year? Is this some kind of contract marriage?
Claire shook Alex's hand and she replied, "Okay, I agree."Alex's lips formed a smile.Which made Claire mutter to herself. Damn it! This guy looks even more charming when he smiles.After a few seconds, Alex removed his hand from Claire's soft one."There are only two rooms in this house. You will occupy the room on the left, while I will occupy the room on the right.""Then I'll go to my room."Alex nodded and let Claire walk away from him.As soon as Claire left, Alex's attention turned to his ringing cell phone. Alex answered it immediately."Hello, Mr. Knight. Congratulations on your marriage to Miss Alice," said Vincent, who was none other than Alex's personal assistant."You're wrong, I'm not marrying Alice, I'm marrying her stepsister, Claire Jhonson.""What do you mean, Mr. Graham has another daughter besides Miss Alice?""I just found out today, too. I think it was all arranged by Graham. He switched my bride on purpose." A wry smile spread across Alex's lips."Impertinent
This morning, Claire received a rejection during a job interview at a large company.Claire desperately needed a more promising job for her household expenses with Alex.Now she went to the hospital to see her mother.But when she arrived at the ICU room where her mother was supposed to be, Claire was surprised to see that it was empty."Sorry, Miss Claire. We've moved your mother to another room. Your mother will be moved back to the ICU when her hospital bill is paid.""What does that mean? So my dad didn't come to the hospital to pay the bill?" Claire asked.The nurse shook her head. She left Claire stunned and limping.Shit! Obviously, her father had lied to her.Claire felt that she was being used to marry Alex too late, while her own father didn't keep his promise.Feeling lied to, Claire immediately went to her father's house and entered without permission.Her arrival surprised Graham, Nancy, and Alice, who were gathered on the sofa in the living room."You never learned any m
[Mr. Knight, your wife just left her father's house crying,] Vincent told Alex over the phone. Alex's eyes widened. He had actually told Vincent to follow Claire wherever she went to find out what she was really like. Alex was dying to know more about Claire. Earlier that morning, Vincent had broken the news of Claire's unsuccessful job interview. But this time, the news delivered by Vincent was enough to make Alex angry."Vincent, can you confirm this? Claire left her father's house crying?" [That's right, sir. I saw her walking hurriedly, rubbing her cheeks. Her face and eyes were red. I think she had just been humiliated at her father's house]. Alex's jaw hardened, his eyes narrowed, and his knuckles clenched on his desk. What man doesn't get angry when he hears his wife being humiliated by her family? [Actually, Mrs. Claire had gone to the hospital earlier. The hospital had taken her mother out of intensive care because of unpaid hospital bills. Miss Claire then went to
"If it's true that you have offended an important person with ties to our three major investors, then you must humbly apologize to all of them in order to keep our company safe." Nancy was in a panic. She was terrified that her family's business was on the verge of bankruptcy. Frowning and thinking hard, Graham's eyes widened as he remembered one thing. "I remember! I have only offended one person today, Claire, my eldest daughter," Graham said, holding up a forefinger. Graham snorted dismissively. "But Claire is not an important person. She's just an ordinary woman who married a useless man. Claire and her trashy husband can't possibly have anything to do with our three big investors. That's impossible!" Nancy and Alice nodded in agreement. "So what now? What about the fate of our company?" Nancy cried out in frustration, her hands wringing her hair.The three biggest investors really did play an important role in their family business. "Don't worry, Uncle Graham. If those three
"Oh, no! I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were home, Claire." Alex, who was also surprised to see his towel sagging, quickly picked it up and wrapped it around his waist just as Claire turned her back on him. Claire's face turned red as she clenched her hands nervously. She bit her lower lip, then said, "I'll wait for you at the dining room table," Claire said quickly, then walked out of the kitchen. Once in the living room, Claire sat fidgeting, biting the tips of her nails. "Ah, damn it! What did I just see? Even though he's wearing panties, but... it's huge." Claire grimaced in horror, but also marveled at how nice and athletic Alex's body looked. This was all because the house only had one bathroom, which was off the kitchen. Claire was sure that Alex had forgotten to bring a change of clothes to the bathroom. That's why he went to get his change of clothes, but bumped into her instead.Earlier, Claire had seen something sticking out from under Alex's underwear when her towel f
Hearing a familiar voice, Claire turned her head, then exhaled lazily as she saw Noah and Alice stop in front of her."Why are you wandering around here, Claire? Where's your useless husband?" Noah asked with a scornful look at Claire."None of your business," Claire replied firmly, then turned to leave."Where are you going, Claire? This is not your place. Don't you know where you are? You're standing in front of the Golden Era Enterprise. The biggest company in New York. How could you dare to come here with your shabby appearance. You didn't think to pick up trash around Golden Era, did you?" Alice grabbed Claire's arm as she started to walk away, then showered her with insults."You don't have to tell me, I already know where I am. I came here for an job interview.""What did you say, Claire? Job interview?" Alice repeated Claire's words, raised an eyebrow, and then laughed.Noah also laughed at the two funny words.Claire remained silent, watching them with her piercing eyes. She w
It was true.A few minutes later, Nova arrived and they immediately greeted her in a friendly manner.Sitting together, Noah and Alice expressed their intention to work with Golden Era. Ronald proudly introduced Noah as the new CEO of the Sanders Company."Noah is my nephew who is very reliable in business. Although he is new, he has extraordinary abilities. I assure you that Golden Era will not regret working with the Sanders Company," Ronald told Nova, who was studying the files Noah and Alice had brought with them.At first, the three of them smiled broadly when they saw Nova reviewing the files.However, the smiles on their faces vanished when Nova suddenly closed the file and half-threw it on the table, as if the whole file didn't interest her at all."I'm sorry, but unfortunately, Golden Era refuses to cooperate with your company," Nova said, causing the three of them to immediately tense up."What? How is that possible? Mrs. Nova, why did you make such a unilateral decision? I m
To celebrate her success in joining the Golden Era Company, Claire cooked more tonight and had dinner with Alex. "Congratulations, Claire! I'm proud of you. I knew you'd fit right in at Golden Era." Alex raised the glass of wine in front of Claire, to which Claire responded by bringing her own glass closer to make a clinking sound. "Thank you, Alex. I really can't believe I was able to do that." Claire blinked with a wide smile. But then his brow furrowed. "But... there are some things that make me wonder. During the interview with Golden Era, everything seemed so easy. They were very friendly. Even Mr. Knight's secretary was friendly. The interview was over in a few minutes. It surprised me and made me think... how could it be so easy?" Claire couldn't stop thinking. In all her life, she had never had such an easy interview. "This is because they already know your potential. Those people in the Golden Era must be able to judge which candidates are the best to join the company."
Alex grasped Claire's hand tightly. "She just worked with Tristan. Tristan is already in jail. Now it's Alice and her mother's turn to rot in prison. They seemed very happy after Alice signed the letter transferring the ownership of my company. Our plan worked. So happy, they didn't suspect that it was just a fake letter to trap them," Alex said, then hugged Sandra's body from the side while giving her arm a stroke.Before this, Claire had listened to many explanations from Alex. About Alex who had never touched the fake Claire during the time the real Claire disappeared from his life.Claire was relieved that her husband hadn't spent a single night with another woman. Likewise, Alex is happy that his original Claire has returned.Even though Alex had yet to reunite Claire with their two children.“Just arrest her now!” Alex ordered the two policemen standing in front of him.“Yes, sir.”The policemen nodded and hurri
“Honey, I'm home!” Alice stepped into the house carrying a lot of papper bags filled with the luxurious things she had just bought.She even ignored Alex's children who were eagerly approaching her. Valen walked quickly over to Alice to show her the results of her drawing at school that got a 100.Until the girl pouted and sat on the sofa hugging her drawing book and watching Alice unpacking."You're finally home. I've been waiting for you." Alex came down the stairs still wearing his work suit.Alice turned around with a smile. "Look dear! I bought some nice shirts for you earlier. Oh yes, today I bought more jewelry and branded bags for my collection. Actually, there are many more purchases placed in the trunk. But they're being taken away by the waiters. Do you think I'd look good with this bag?" Alice said and took one of the Gucci brand bags and showed it to Alex."Good. You match the bag. You didn't buy any toys or stuff for the k
Claire was startled, looking quickly at Tristan. Then she quickly shook her head. "No, it's not. My name is not Wilona. I'm not his girlfriend either. He lied. My name is Clai-"“Wilona!” snapped Tristan with a tightened jaw. His intonation was full of emphasis, which surprised Claire.Claire recalled Tristan's threat to kill her biological mother if she dared to confront him at the airport.“Can we see your boyfriend's face?” the policeman asked again.“What for? Or let us see his passport.”"What's your purpose? We're in a hurry to fly to Australia. You can prevent us from leaving. Besides, there's no requirement that we show you our passports at the airport," Tristan firmly refused.His arms tightened around Claire from the side.Claire's heart began to fret.On the other hand, she felt worried about her mother. However, when else could she escape with this golden opportunity?"Very
Claire brushed him off, then spat in Tristan's face, making him jump in surprise as he closed his eyes.Tristan's right hand was clenched tightly on the steering wheel. It wasn't that he wanted to punch Claire in return, but he was annoyed that she hadn't conquered him yet."Just watch! I'll report you to the police!""Keep your plans to yourself. The police won't help you either. They won't believe you if you claim to have been kidnapped and claim to be Mrs. Knight. Because the fact is, everyone knows that Mrs. Knight is still by Alex's side."Claire was stunned by Tristan's words. “So it's true, there's a woman claiming to be me and she's staying with Alex?”Tristan replied with a lopsided smile.“That's your plan, right, Tristan?”"Yes, dear. It was all I could do not to lose you," Tristan replied, grinning.Claire's heart felt like it was being broken into pieces. It was devastating to think of her h
"Lately, Claire has been shopping for fancy clothes and bags. I don't forbid it, but this is very strange. Usually Claire doesn't care about how expensive the bags and clothes she wears are. She's never been crazy about luxury goods. I don't know why I feel that Claire's character is changing day by day," Alex muttered, scratching his forehead that wasn't itchy.Rubbing his face, Alex exhaled softly.Then a knock on the door distracted him.“Come in!”The door creaked open. Vincent came in with a slow exhale, his expression one of weariness."Sorry, Mr. Knight. There was a bit of a commotion on the seventh floor," Vincent said, informing him."What's the commotion? Why not have security take care of it? Why did you come to my office? Did you think I wasn't busy?!" Alex scowled."I apologize again. The thing is, this commotion was created by Mrs. Knight."“Claire?!” Alex chuckled at that.What was
"Don't cry! I believe you," Alex said, softening his voice.Alice seized the moment to take things further.Her hands slowly moved down Alex's broad chest under the brown pajamas. Then Alice's fingers were about to unbutton Alex's pajamas one by one.The top three buttons were undone. Alice's eyes widened with pleasure at the sight of the firm chest on which she would rest her head after sex.However, Alice's reverie was interrupted when Alex suddenly grabbed both her hands and pulled them away from her body."Why Alex? Why don't you want me to touch you?" Alice asked disappointedly."Don't do that yet, Claire. I'm not feeling very good tonight. Next time," Alex said as he touched Alice's pouting cheeks.“But...” Alice was getting bolder and bolder with the buttons of Alex's shirt.But the naughty hand movement was immediately restrained by Alex. "Sorry, dear. I can't yet. Now go to bed first," Alex concluded as she
Alex and his family had just returned from a vacation in Paris.There were some oddities about his wife while they were enjoying their vacation.One of them was his wife's complete disregard for Valen when the boy was pensive alone in their hotel room.Yes! Valen was mostly pensive in the hotel. While his wife was busy playing with her cell phone and checking her groceries.Alex was astonished. Usually his wife was the least likely to let Valen or their youngest son be pensive alone, let alone with a sad face."You can finally sleep in your room again, Valen. Are you happy?" Alex walked into her daughter's room.Tonight Valen had changed into her favorite hellokitty print pajamas.Alex had also dressed up in brown striped pajamas with short sleeves."Yes, Dad. I'm glad to be home again." Valen replied, smiling with his toothless teeth.Alex smiled broadly, sitting on the edge of the bed as he gently rubbed Valen's arm.
"I've been in this house for quite some time. I haven't even met my children and husband yet. You must have seen the news wrong. Alex and I have never taken a vacation to Paris with our child," Claire said, shaking her head slowly.Hearing Claire's confession, Lenny was shocked.Claire said she's been in this house for a long time? Then, who is the woman with Alex right now?"I was kidnapped. I was in Tristan's house for almost a month. Tristan is a man obsessed with me, he locked me up, forbid me to see my family. Help me, Lenny, I want to see my husband. By now Alex and our two children must be looking for me. They're probably worried about me." Both of Claire's hands held Lenny's.Claire's words this time made Lenny even more stunned. His mouth was hanging open as he could not believe Claire's statement."But Mrs. Knight. I don't think your husband and son are worried about you.""What?! How could you come to such a conclusion?" Claire lo
With all her might, Claire tried to scream. Hoping that her husband would hear and recognize her voice.Unfortunately, Alex's car was already too far away.Claire's tears broke out. Her body suddenly went limp. If only she could make eye contact with Alex, surely he wouldn't think twice about saving her."Mr. Tristan knows you tried to run away from home. He is very angry and waiting for you. Obey us, and we won't hurt you," threatened one of the bodyguards as he instructed the driver to drive the car back to Tristan's house.Upon arriving at Tristan's residence, Claire, who was already weak, let the two bodyguards hold her hand and entered the living room.There, Claire's eyes immediately met with Tristan's eyes that were filled with anger.The man's gaze looked sharply at her, as if he wanted to pounce on her.Claire gave up, she didn't care if Tristan wanted to kill her right now.Clenching his fists firmly, Tristan walked d