Chapter 1 A Vicarious Marriage

"A hooligan is all you deserve!"

Candice James recalled that voice distinctly. Her half-sister, Catherine James, elaborated arrogantly, "How could I possibly marry a hooligan? But you're more suitable. No one knows how many men your mother has been with. Your younger brother is an illegitimate child!"

"Candice, think about it." Her father's attitude was also very cold. "As long as you're willing to marry Matthew George for Catherine, I'll tell you where your mother is and give you a sum of money. You don't have enough money for her illness, do you? And you haven't paid for your brother's tuition fees, right? This is a win-win situation for you!"

Her stepmother, Julie Young, poked Candice's head and scolded, "I let a btch like you you marry him as the young lady of the James family. It's more than enough for you! Don't be ungrateful! If you don't marry him, I'll let your btchy mother die in the wilderness! Give it a try if you don't believe me!"

But now, she had married that man in her sister's place.

"It's getting late. Go to sleep."

The man's deep and magnetic voice suddenly made her regain her wits. She raised her eyes and met his eyes which were quite deep-set. An unfathomable emotion surged within them.

Candice clenched the hem of her dress nervously and her heartbeat inevitably quickened.

Ever since she entered this room, she had been sitting on the edge of the bed, keeping this posture for a long time. Her back was stiff and she was still in her wedding dress. It was not until he came out of the bathroom after taking a shower that she realized that she would spend her wedding night with the man in front of her tonight.

However, she did not know how to get along with her newly-wedded husband. Moreover, she married him on behalf of her sister.

As the illegitimate daughter of a rich and powerful family, she married this poor man for her sister to complete the engagement made by the last generation of the two families. Her father did not want to ruin his good reputation because of breaking the engagement, but the eldest daughter of the James family was not willing to marry him.

Thus, they hid Candice's seriously ill mother to threaten her. Candice could only agree for the sake of her mother and her brother, who was still in college. She wished that they could lead a good life.

Candice took a deep breath and walked fearfully and timidly to the bathroom. "I... I'm going to take a shower too."

The man's face stiffened.

Candice got up and slipped into the bathroom. She was just about to lock the door when she realized that there wasn't even a lock on the shabby wooden door. So, she was startled. Although she hadn't been living well in the past, she wasn't as poor as she was now.

Her eyes were slightly red. She hesitated in the bathroom and did not take off her dress for a long time.

The man outside the door seemed to have seen through her thoughts. Suddenly, he said in a deep voice, "I'm going out to smoke a cigarette. Take your time."

Candice's heart skipped a beat and she leaned against the door to listen. His footsteps gradually distanced himself. The door creaked and she couldn't hear anything else.

A typhoon swept through the city the day before they got married. The fallen signs and broken trees could be seen everywhere on the road. Candice married someone in this mess.

There was no beautiful wedding car to pick her up. She walked for a long time before she got in the inconspicuous van. It took her a long time to get into this village. The muddy path had dirtied her shoes and wedding dress.

Old people claimed that one would not be happy if they got married in this kind of weather.

However, Candice had long since disregarded her happiness.

She walked out of the bathroom while drying her hair.

Her husband hadn't come back yet. He had taken quite a long time to smoke.

She looked at these two shabby wooden houses, some of which was still leaking in the rain. Although it was a bit shabby, it was still quite a good home after cleaning up. Candice smiled faintly and cleaned up the room from the inside out before he returned.

Just as she knelt on the bed and pulled the quilt down, the man came in from outside.

Candice turned around and her movements were a bit big. The only bath towel on her body slipped down at this moment. She cried out in alarm and subconsciously hugged herself with both hands. However...

He had seen all of her.

Candice frantically pulled over the blanket to cover her body and she blushed deeply.

Matthew looked at Candice's graceful figure and smooth skin. He couldn't avert his gaze at all.

Her body was so beautiful and delicate, like a work of art. He had seen many sexy women who wanted to get close to him, but none of them could attract him so much.

Surprisingly, he had the most primitive desire in his body that could not be suppressed. He wanted to get close to her, touch her, and even kiss her.

He moved his Adam's apple, and the light in his eyes became more deep-set and complicated. He slowly walked up to her, and his deep and cold voice was a little ambiguous and hoarse. "It's getting late. We should go to bed."

He emphasized the word, "we".

Candice's heart was about to jump out of her throat. She closed her eyes tightly and suddenly felt a force wrap around her waist. She fell into his embrace and was pressed onto the bed by him...

Candice's mind went blank.

She felt a burning chest press against her back, and she could even hear his fast heartbeat. His masculine aura wrapped tightly around her. She took a deep breath, but her limbs were still so stiff that she couldn't stretch them.

His hands stopped out of the blue.

"Do you know who I am?"

Candice was stupefied.

What she wanted to say was that he was her husband, and it was their wedding night. It was natural for a married couple to sleep together.

However, Candice straightforwardly and timidly gave him an answer. "I know... you're Matthew George."

He narrowed his eyes and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

He thought, "Matthew George... Ha! So, she knows this name."

However, he was not Matthew George.

She was not Catherine James either.

He could tell that she was just a substitute from the moment she entered the room. Although he didn't know the reason, according to the temper of the eldest daughter of the James family, she would never marry a country bumpkin.

But it didn't matter. She married him on someone else's behalf, and so did he. They were even.

"Matthew..."

He came back to his senses and looked down at her beautiful eyes. Her shy and soft expression was like an invisible hand, which suddenly grabbed an unknown place at the bottom of his heart.

"I'm sorry. I'm too nervous." She bit her lip and tried to put her hand around his neck. "You're my husband. You can do anything to me... Well, let's start."