Chapter 2

Four years later. The sun was blazing overhead, and the heat was practically dancing in the air. Inside a plain but cozy café by the street, Louise casually stirred her Blue Mountain coffee while checking out the man sitting across from her. The summer heat was stifling, but he looked effortlessly cool in a flawless white shirt and slim black ankle pants. His sleeves were rolled with precision, exposing a glimpse of strong forearms, and two undone buttons at the collar hinted at the sculpted chest beneath-just enough to make her heart skip a beat. Louise's first impression of him? Not bad at all. His outfit screamed effort - he clearly took this blind date seriously. The man glanced up, and when his gaze landed on her, his face twitched ever so slightly. He swallowed, then said, "Hi." His voice was cool and smooth, with that deep masculine edge. She looked up. His features were strikingly sculpted-angular jaw, high nose bridge, and deep-set eyes that seemed almost too perfect to be real. That kind of face didn't come around often, and definitely not in a place like this. His jet-black eyes were fixed somewhere far away, as if lost in thought. She caught herself drifting and quickly replied, "Hi, I'm Louise Bennett." "Dominic Ellis." They exchanged names, then an awkward silence settled in. Dominic's eyes stayed on her, and after a beat, he said sincerely, "You're very beautiful, Miss Bennett. What brings you to a blind date?" Louise curled her lips into a half-smile. "Word around Kingswell about me isn't pretty. Anyone who knows a little about me usually runs the other way." Dominic raised an eyebrow, looking more intrigued, but didn't press. "I'm thirty," he said, smoothly changing the topic. "I run my own company here in Kingswell. What about you, Miss Bennett?" Louise hesitated a little. "I'm twenty-four, work at a company." "Perfect." Perfect? Louise thought she misheard and gave him a puzzled look. "I'm six years older than you. If you're cool with that, let's go register our marriage." Louise blinked in surprise. Her mom's will only gave her three months - now she had just three days left. Desperation had pushed her into this blind date. Seeing her hesitate, Dominic added, "I'm here because I want to get married. Don't feel pressured though, Miss Bennett." "No, it's not that... I just have one condition." "Go ahead." His expression hadn't changed once - like he was unfazed by any twist. Louise pulled out a file from her bag. "This is a prenup. There's only one main clause - our finances stay completely separate, before and after marriage." "If you're not okay with that..." "Got a pen?" Dominic cut her off. A bit stunned, Louise quickly fished one out and handed it over. He signed his name at the bottom without even reading the document. Louise stared at the bold, flowing signature, momentarily spaced out. "You didn't even check..." "Financial independence is one of my must-haves in marriage. Looks like we're on the same page, Miss Bennett." "But..." Dominic signed the second copy too. "One for each of us. Anything else?" Louise shook her head instinctively. "Nope, that's it." "Great. Did you bring your ID?" "Yeah, I did." "Alright, let's hit the marriage registration office. I've got a meeting this afternoon, and we're tight on time." "W-We're going now?" Louise hesitated. Sure, she did want to seal the deal ASAP, but this was barely five minutes into their first meeting. Even a whirlwind marriage didn't usually go this fast. "Is there a problem?" Louise tucked some hair behind her ear, suddenly smiled, and said with a soft grin, "Not at all."