A girl in a gray office suit was wailing in the corner of a small bar. Some heads turned toward her in confusion and second-hand embarrassment. The bar owner couldn't stand the disappointed looks on her other customers' faces. She made her way over to the girl's table.
"Bella, could you please shut up? I still have customers. Finish your drama at the apartment," the owner scolded.
Bella looked at her best friend, Diane, who was now sitting across from her, arms crossed. She sat up straight, wiped her swollen eyes behind her glasses, and fixed her shoulder-length black hair. "My life is ruined," she said sadly, staring blankly.
"Life doesn't end in marriage," Diane said, casually picking up a few bottles of liquor from under the table.
"But… I didn't even know I was married," Bella explained, silently sobbing. "Now I'm officially jobless! I can't pay off the loans my sister left me. I could be homeless and broke. All those years of sacrifices just went down the drain."
"You're overreacting. You could file for nullity of marriage at the registry," Diane calmly suggested.
"I can't. The marriage certificate is as good as the Constitution, and the company just gave me a week to fix this," Bella said hopelessly.
"Well, just find the guy and divorce him! Or talk to him and tell him it was all a mistake," Diane said matter-of-factly.
Bella started crying again. "Oh, I wish it were that easy! I'm apparently married to my future boss—the company's president and a billionaire."
Diane dropped the bottles from her hands in surprise. "What the—? The company's president? How the hell did that happen? Wait, are you sure you didn't keep it a secret from me?"
"Of course not! I was in the hospital five years ago," Bella said defensively.
"Yeah, right. So what now? If that's true, you don't need this job. You could be rich as hell right now!" Diane exclaimed excitedly.
"I don't even know the guy. If I were really married, I wouldn't be here. I'd be at home, cooking him dinner or something. And to think, after all these years, nobody claimed me as their wife!"
"You're drunk. Let me get you a cab. You sleep it off, and in the morning, we'll figure out what to do next," Diane said soothingly.
Bella was dozing in the cab when it suddenly jerked to a halt. She hit her head against something sharp behind the driver's seat. Her eyes snapped open, alert as day. She moved back in her seat, but something was pooling down her face. When she touched it, she saw it was blood—and her head was throbbing painfully. She was alarmed. She looked for the driver, but he was outside the cab, with his hands in the air. She suddenly felt nervous and looked around the inside of the vehicle. Men in black suits surrounded the cab.
Oh my God. Did we just get hijacked? Can this day get any worse? She was panicking inside.
In a second, a man in a suit opened the door beside her. "Step out of the car, Miss," he ordered in a deep, unconcerned voice.
Bella slowly stepped out, her hands raised. "Please don't hurt me!"
Suddenly, a luxurious black car arrived at the scene. Its headlights blinded her. A tall man emerged from the passenger seat and walked toward her. Blinded by the lights, all Bella could see was his dark silhouette.
"Sir, we found her," reported one of the men.
"Are you sure this is her?" asked the tall man, standing about five feet away from her.
"Yes, sir," the others replied confidently.
Bella shielded her eyes against the blinding headlights. The man took another step toward her. "Please, do not hurt me. I have nothing. I don't know who you're looking for, but it isn't me."
"Are you Mirabella Smith?" the man asked.
Bella was terrified. She kept trying to figure out why people like them would be looking for her.
"Answer me!" he demanded.
Startled, Bella took a step back. "Ye—yes."
"So, you must remember me!" the man suddenly shouted furiously.
"I don't even know you!" Bella yelled back.
The man grabbed her arm forcefully, closing the distance between them. Bella could feel his dominant, masculine presence looming over her. He towered like a giant, and she could sense his perfectly toned body against hers. She didn't know whether to feel fear or attraction.
He lowered his lips to her ear and whispered, "Does Josef Benedict Harlington ring a bell, my dear wife?"
Hearing those words sent a shock through Bella, as if the sky had fallen. Trembling, she mustered all her strength and pushed him away.
Is this the man she supposedly married five years ago? Her husband?
Still shaking, she slowly lifted her chin up, stared at his eyes intently. "I don't think so, sir. Apparently, you've got the wrong wife."