Chapter 1

I'd been waiting outside the marriage registration office to marry my fiance, James Lane, when a boy ran over and hugged his legs. James explained, "I just found out about him a while ago. Letitia was pregnant five years ago when we broke up. She also left the country. Now that she's come back, she'll fall victim to idle gossip as a single mother. I've got to marry her and make them my family, legally." Absolutely dumbfounded, I watched mutely as Letitia sashayed over. James entwined their fingers with a smile. "So what now?" I asked calmly. "I have to marry Letitia. As for the two of us … You're here anyway, so let's just take a picture in front of the office so you have something to post about." Letitia snapped a picture of us and trilled, "Say cheese!" James consoled me by saying, "Don't worry, you're the only one I love. Letitia is like family to me. I want to make it up to my son, so I'll pretend to be Letitia's husband. After all, the kid has done nothing wrong. Poor thing hasn't had a father growing up. I don't want to ruin his childhood. "Let's push back the date of our wedding. When he's a little older, I'll tell him the truth and marry you in a lavish wedding." The three of them headed into the office, where James would marry Letitia. Pulling my phone out, I called Samuel Byron. He'd been pursuing me for the past ten years. "I'm standing outside the registration office. I need someone to get married to. Do you wanna come?" … "Miss White, why are you springing this on me out of nowhere? I just got off the plane overseas," complained Samuel helplessly. Surprised, I replied, "It's alright then." Samuel had been quite composed. When I said that, he got worked up and said, "No, wait for me. I'll be back before office hours are over. Whoever changes their mind will be the ultimate loser." I sighed after hanging up, looking around for somewhere to sit down. Suddenly, I heard an annoyed voice call my name. I looked up to see James. He'd gotten married. With a child perched on his arm and his other arm locked around Letitia, they looked like the perfect family. He put the child down and walked over to me. Frowning, he asked, "Why are you loitering here?" I replied honestly, "I'm waiting to get married." This pissed James off even more. He raged, "Why are you being so passive-aggressive? I told you that I just found out about the kid. Whose past is completely spotless, right?" I nodded and replied, "Understood." "In that case, just go home. Let's not quarrel in front of the kid," he said while grabbing my arm. Shaking him off, I repeated seriously, "I'm waiting to get married." James' expression turned dark. "Natalie, this is the last warning. If you continue making a fuss, I'll only hate you more than I already do." Letitia came over timidly and asked, "Natalie, are you angry because you didn't get a marriage certificate?" She pulled the certificate out and stuffed it into my hands. "Why don't you take a picture of it with James? After all, it looks the same from a distance. No one would know who it belongs to as long as they don't open it." I didn't take it, so the certificate fluttered onto the floor. With teary eyes, Natalie bent down to pick it up. Her voice trembled as she apologized, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought the child back…"