Chapter 1

It had been one week, seven days, and One Hundred and Sixty-Eight hours when her name was officially changed from Fiona McGuire to Fiona Carter.

A week has passed by, and, despite that, there is no clue about her so-called husband. Like normal couples, after exchanging their vows, they go for their honeymoon to a romantic destination. However, unlike any of them, Fiona was still sitting on the couch in her new home, thinking about her perfect marriage life, which was far from being perfect.

Except for his name, which was Justin Carter, Fiona knew nothing about him. Before marrying Justin, she knew that their relationship would not be like other couples, but she thought they could at least be friends and give their marriage a chance. Maybe they could start over. But she was expecting too much from him. She was delusional that Justin would want this arrangement to turn into a proper marriage.

Fiona and Justin appear to be a happily married couple to others. Still, only her dearest father-in-law and Grace, and possibly her mother-in-law, are aware of the truth about their marriage contract. Grace is a housemaid in Justin's apartment. For the past few days, she has been an ideal friend and mother to Fiona. She is in her late 40s and, like her name, she is very graceful in everything she does. She has been with Justin since he was born and took care of him along with his mother. So you can practically call her his second mom.

Fiona's thoughts were soon distracted as soon as she heard the doorbell.

The first thought that came to her mind was that her dearest husband had finally decided to show his face after the night of their marriage.

When Grace opened the door, Fiona saw a six-foot-tall, gorgeous man entering the house in his grey business suit. He had ocean blue eyes, which looked tedious at the moment. His dark chocolate brown hair was dishevelled, probably because of working the entire day... Oops, she should say, a whole week.

And the worst thing he did was, without even glancing at her, he went into his room. But not before saying, "Be ready by 11 tomorrow. We are going to have lunch with my family."

Fiona sighed and sat down on the couch, trying to stop the tears that wanted to come from her eyes. He didn't even glance at her. She was confused about whether she should burn with rage or cry her heart out.

But at least he knows she exists. That's something, right?

When Fiona was going to her room, which is the guest room in Justin's apartment, she heard faint noises from Justin's room. She was about to enter her room when she heard her name, so she figured that Justin was talking to Grace about her.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she went across her room to his and listened to their conversation.

Fiona knew for the fact that eavesdropping is wrong. But hey!! They were talking about her, so she had every right to know about it.

So she stood in front of the door with her lips pressed into a thin line and her hand softly in place on the door for support when she heard Justin say, "She is nothing but a gold digger. I can't believe she even had the guts to show me her face." Justin angrily said to Grace.

"But Justin…" Grace was interrupted by Justin's harsh words. "I don't want to listen to anything, Grace. She is just like every other woman who wants me for my money and nothing else. She hadn't even been in dad's office for the past week. Instead of being the independent woman that she should be, she just wants to spend my money and shower herself with power, fame, and gifts."

Double Ouch!! That hurts.

Tears were threatening to come from her eyes at the same time she wanted to burst through the door and tell him the truth, but she stormed into her room. She was hurt, angry, and wanted to bawl her eyes out. She could not take it anymore. He knew nothing about her.

Instead of working in the office, she was working from home. It was not because she wanted to, but because their little marriage arrangement would be ruined if Fiona showed up at work. If she showed up at his dad's office, people might know something was up, and they might start doubting their marriage, which is not good for the company. She didn't want someone to give them the benefit of the doubt. Justin knew nothing about her and the fact why she had married him.

She might have cried herself to sleep if he had known she wasn't a gold digger.