Chapter 2

On the screen, Wayne and Laura's passionate kiss felt like a searing brand on Valerie's heart. After a brief but intense inner struggle, Valerie choked out, "I agree!"

In minutes, the marriage registration was done. Valerie held the marriage certificate, her future forever altered.

Howard handed her a slip of paper with his number. "Here's my number, honey," he said, emphasizing the last word with a playful glint in his eyes. When their eyes met, Valerie's heart skipped a beat. After exchanging contact information, she tried to appear calm as she left first.

Joseph, standing nearby, hesitated before speaking, "Mr. Carter, what about Mrs. Raina Carter? How are you going to explain this to her?"

Howard shot him a cold glance and spoke slowly, "Grandma only insisted on marriage. Did she specifically say it had to be Ava Davis?"

"Since she doesn't want to, there are plenty of other women who do!"

Joseph was too scared to say anything else, but he couldn't help thinking that the Davis family was in for a rough time.

When Valerie got home, her phone finally buzzed with a message from Wayne.

[Valerie, I can't marry you. She's back.] She stared at Wayne's message, then numbly typed, [It's okay.], though her heart ached.

Valerie packed up all her belongings. One suitcase was sufficient to hold everything from the past few years. She took one last look around what had been her "home" and then walked out without looking back.

That night, Valerie tossed and turned in a hotel bed. When she woke up, her phone was flooded with eighteen missed calls and over 99 messages from her father, Daniel Brown.

[What happened with you and Wayne? Why did he call off the engagement?]

[I've raised you all these years, and for what? You're useless, just like your dead mother.]

[His family came last night and took back all the money they had given us. Where am I supposed to get the money to pay them back?]

[Do you know I still owe two hundred thousand dollars?]

[Valerie, damn it, you're nothing but a burden!]

Each message felt like a noose tightening around her neck, suffocating her.

No one cared about her pain or the struggles she was going through. Valerie knew there was no place for her in that family anymore.

Feeling a sense of relief that she had already moved out, Valerie composed herself and headed to work.

Aurelia Holdings was one of the top three companies in Emerald City, already ranked among the Fortune 500. With her impressive resume and tenacious personality, she had managed to carve out a niche for herself in this highly competitive environment.

Just as Valerie entered the company building, she was suddenly grabbed roughly from behind by a man. Before she could react, a stinging slap landed squarely on her face. She spun around to see Daniel, his face gaunt and his eyes wild with desperation. His clothes were rumpled, and he reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke.

"Fuck, you think ignoring my messages and not coming home means I can't find you?" he snarled. Colleagues gasped in shock as Daniel's angry outburst filled the lobby, leaving Valerie humiliated.

"Are you cheating on Wayne? Seducing some other guy? Why else would the Smith family call off the engagement? Weren't you supposed to marry because Mrs. Smith wanted it before she died?"

"If you weren't such a slut, why would they cancel the wedding?"

Daniel's words were like daggers, piercing her dignity. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were torn, and her once - delicate face now bore the imprint of five red fingers.

"This is my workplace. If you have something to say, wait until I'm off the clock," Valerie managed to say through gritted teeth. She took a deep breath, the pain making her gasp, but she refused to shed a tear.

"You're putting on airs now? If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have grown up, gone to school, or gotten this good job."

"Now that you're capable, you think I'm a burden? You think you can just ignore me?"

Valerie fought back, “Daniel, I went to school because of Mom, not you. Where were you all these years?”

Valerie finished speaking and called for security, "Get this lunatic out of here."

"Valerie, I'm your father. No matter how useless I am, we share the same blood. You'll never get rid of me!"

His curses continued, but Valerie's heart was calm. It wasn't until she reached her desk that she could finally catch her breath. This job was her only and last safety net. She had to work harder to secure her position as the project manager.

"Ms. Brown, are you okay? The client representative is already here, in Conference Room A," her assistant kindly reminded her, handing her a compact to touch up her makeup.

"Thank you," Valerie said, her voice still a bit shaky.

She quickly fixed her appearance in the restroom. Thoughts of her humiliation earlier were pushed aside as she focused on the meeting.

Her phone buzzed with a message from her boss: "Carter Group is our biggest potential client this quarter. Don't mess this up."

Valerie's pressure was mounting. She had heard rumors about the Carter Group representative—supposedly a ruthless businessman with impossibly high standards who had rejected three proposals from their company already, notoriously difficult to please.

She gathered her presentation materials, mentally rehearsing her pitch as she walked down the hallway. Her colleagues averted their eyes, pretending they hadn't witnessed her humiliation minutes earlier. A flash of Howard's face from yesterday crossed her mind, but she quickly pushed it away. Her bizarre, impulsive marriage was the least of her concerns right now.

Standing outside Conference Room A, Valerie took one final, steadying breath. She had weathered Wayne's betrayal and her father's abuse; she could certainly handle one demanding client. Straightening her shoulders, she put on her most professional smile and opened the door.

Valerie's anxiety spiked upon entering the conference room, only to be shocked into stillness at the sight of Howard. When he saw her, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, and he glanced at his watch.

"Ms. Brown, you're three minutes late."

Valerie's heart leaped into her throat. She hadn't expected the man she married yesterday to be the Carter Group's representative. She suddenly felt a wave of nervousness wash over her.

"Hello, I'm Valerie, the project manager from Aurelia Holdings, nice to meet you," she managed to say.

"I'm Howard, the Carter Group's business representative," he replied, smiling, his eyes twinkling like a fox's.

Valerie's face turned bright red. Valerie fumbled with her presentation materials, her mind reeling at the unexpected situation.

What was supposed to be a half-hour presentation stretched into an hour due to her nerves. To her astonishment, Howard agreed to sign the contract on the spot.

"Mr. Carter, don't you want to review it first?" This deal had taken the company three months to negotiate without success. The higher-ups had given it to Valerie as a challenge. And he just signed it?

"I trust my own people," Howard said, looking up, their eyes meeting. His deep gaze was like a vast ocean, making it hard for her to breathe. Especially the phrase "my own people," which made Valerie feel both embarrassed and flustered.

Before leaving, Howard stared at her flushed face with a meaningful look. "I'll pick you up tonight. I'll text you the license plate number later."