Lily Anderson looked closely at the piece of paper in her hands, the words not to be seen together as if her mind refused to accept what she was reading.
She turned it over, searching for any sign of a joke, anything to suggest it was fake. But the printed names did not want to vanish.
Lily Marie Anderson. Adrian Samuel Blackwood. Marriage Certificate.
Her breath caught in her throat as the reality of those words sank in. A pounding started at her heart, growing stronger with each second.
This couldn't be real. It had to be a mistake, some sort of legal mix-up. Her life didn't have room for random jokes- certainly not for this.
She sat on the edge of her neatly made bed, her fingers holding on the certificate like it might dissolve under pressure. The room, usually her place of quiet, felt like a stranger's.
The gray walls suddenly seemed cold and dull, her neatly arranged books and decorative pillows mocking her. Everything was supposed to be in its place, including her life.
This wasn't in the plan. She had a career, a future with Ethan, a life she had to build brick by careful brick. How did this fit into it?
Ethan's face appeared in her mind. His smile, his dependable nature. How was she supposed to explain this to him?
Her stomach turned as she imagined his reaction. No, she couldn't think about that yet. First, she needed answers.
Her phone rang, bringing her back from her thoughts.Lily looked at the screen. Grace.
Her best friend's name was an embodiment of calmness in this sea of chaos. She swiped to answer.
"Hey," Lily's voice came out stressful, sounding like a whisper.
"You sound like someone ran over your dog," Grace said, her tone light but filled with concern. "What's up?"
Lily hesitated. Grace was the one person she could confide in , the one person she trusted with anything, but even this felt too unserious to say out loud.
But instead she settled for, "I need to figure something out. Can I come over later?"
Grace's voice softened. "Of course. You know you can. Everything okay?"
"I… I'm not sure yet," Lily replied, biting her lip. "I'll explain when I see you."
"I'll have wine ready," Grace said, a smile in her voice. "See you soon."
Lily ended the call and turned her attention back to the certificate. Her heart kept beating in her chest as her eyes caught on to the address listed next to Adrian Samuel Blackwood's name.
She didn't know him, but if this was real, he had to know something about this too.
An hour later, Lily stood outside a tall glass building in the heart of the city. She had spent the drive rehearsing her words, even though none of them felt right.
"Hi, I think we're married" sounded very ridiculous no matter how she said it. She grabbed her bag, the certificate folded neatly inside, and raised up her shoulders. Whatever awaited her inside, she needed answers.
The receptionist gave her a polite smile as she entered. "Good afternoon. Do you have an appointment?"
"I…" Lily's voice cracked , suddenly aware of how unprepared she was. "I need to see Adrian Blackwood."
The woman's smile didn't stop, though her eyes changed. "Mr. Blackwood doesn't take visitors without an appointment.
Do you have a reason for requesting a meeting?"Lily's fingers held on strongly to her bag. This wasn't going to be easy. "It's personal."
The receptionist's expression didn't change. "I can pass on a message—"
"It's about a marriage certificate," Lily said, the words rushing out before she could stop them.
That got her attention. The receptionist's polite expression slipped for just a moment, replaced by surprise. Then she nodded. "Wait here."
Minutes later, Lily was brought into a corner office that screamed of power and wealth. The man behind the desk looked up, his expression unreadable.
Adrian Blackwood was striking in a way that made Lily's breath catch. Sharp cheekbones, piercing blue eyes, and a calm aura which he carried that seemed to command the room without him making too much effort.
Lily couldn't help but notice how the tailored cut of his suit was showing a physique that was toned to perfection. He exuded confidence—the kind that came naturally, not forced—and it was extremely captivating.
"Miss Anderson, is it?" His voice was smooth, carrying just enough curiosity to make her more nervous than she already was. "What can I do for you?"
Lily hesitated, her confidence fading under his piercing gaze. For a split second, she felt exposed, like he could see through her carefully maintained composure.
She shook the thought away, reaching into her bag with trembling fingers. When she pulled the certificate out, her grip held tightly as if it might dissolve otherwise. She placed it on his desk, her movements sharp and deliberate.
"This."
Adrian shifted forward, his eyebrows raised as he looked at the document. His lips moved subtly as he read, though no sound came out.
The silence held on for long, thick with tension. His expression remained unreadable, and Lily's impatience burned hotter with each passing second.
Then he looked up, meeting her eyes with a steady intensity that made her heart tremble.
"I take it you're just as surprised as I am."
The unseriousness in his tone was like a match to her already growing frustration.
"You don't know how this happened either?" she demanded, her voice sharper than she intended. She was trying to keep her carefully constructed walls of professionalism but it was cracking under the weight of her emotions.
Adrian leaned back in his chair, his fingers folded in thought. The action exposed a hint of the man beneath his calm demeanor. "No, I don't. But it's… interesting, isn't it?"
Lily's eyes changed, her irritation bubbling to the surface. "Interesting?" Her voice rose, filled with disbelief.
"This is my life we're talking about! My job, my relationship, everything is at stake because of this."
Adrian's gaze didn't even change for a moment, his calm demeanor only increasing her frustration. "I understand that," he said, his tone measured.
"But shouting won't solve anything. Let's start with what we do know."
Lily crossed her arms, her anger refusing to be stopped. "What I know is that I woke up this morning with a normal life, and now I'm suddenly married to a stranger."
A faint smile came out of Adrian's lips, "You're assuming I'm a stranger. Maybe we met, and you just don't remember."
Lily's glare was immediate, her voice cutting short his response. "Trust me, I would have remember if I had met you".
Adrian's smirk grew even more, a rise of amusement dancing in his eyes. "Would you, though? Memories can be tricky."
His words sent a chill down her spine, the suggestion making way for a tangle of emotions she couldn't seem to figure out.
She took a calming breath, trying to regain control of the situation.
"Then it seems we have a mystery to solve," Adrian continued, his tone softening. "And I suggest we start with how this certificate even exists."
Lily's anger came to a halt, replaced by a replacement of uncertainty. His calm demeanor was irresistible, but there was something else in his eyes—determination, maybe? Or was it amusement?
Either way, he wasn't brushing this off, and that mattered to her more than she cared to admit.
"Fine," she said finally, her voice steady despite the different emotions inside her. "But don't think for a second that I'm just going to settlewith this. I want it annulled as soon as possible."
Adrian's lips turned into a small smile, very self-assured. "Understood. But first, we need to figure out how we got here."
Lily looked at him, her chest filling with an emotion she couldn't name. Something about the way he spoke—calm, deliberate, yet matched with an expression of something unspoken—drew her in despite herself.
She hated that she noticed the way his fingers was tapped lightly on the desk, the way his gaze looked at hers just a second too long.
The air in the room began to shift, charged with a tension that felt almost unavoidable. Adrian's presence was magnetic, and Lily found herself drawn too forward unconsciously, as if drawn to him against her will.
She caught herself, straightening uncontrollably.
"This isn't a game, Mr. Blackwood," she said, her voice firm. "I'm not here to play detective or humor your mysterious comments. I just want my life back."
Adrian's expression softened, the most little trace of empathy breaking through his otherwise calm demeanor.
"And you think I don't? Trust me, Miss Anderson, this is as uncomfortable for me as it is for you."
As Lily left his office, her mind was filled with more questions than answers. The positivity that she had started the day with was gone, replaced by an unsettling sense of unease—and a spark of something else she wasn't ready to name.
Adrian Blackwood was a puzzle she did not ask for, but now, she had no choice but to solve it. And the way her heart raced at the thought of him? She wasn't ready to confront that either.