A Flash Marriage with A Stranger

"I think marrying you was a good choice," Hawkins remarked.

His words took me by great surprise.

"Likewise," I responded.

I knew I would see Claire again soon, but I didn't expect her to come find me that night.

Things were getting interesting!

"Hawk doesn't love you. You won't be happy together," Maria said.

She dropped the facade of weakness, hostile towards me.

I was amused. "Whether he loves me or not, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm his wife."

I raised my left hand, showing her my big diamond ring.

Maria took a deep breath to suppress her anger. "How much money do you want? I'll pay you as long as you divorce Hawk."

That was the line for the typical evil mother-in-law of a wealthy family.

She made it sound like she was fabulously rich.

"I want Moore Group. Can you give it to me?" I responded.

She stared at me as if I had finally shown my true nature.

"I knew it, you're only after Hawk's money," she exclaimed.

ed."What else does he have that could make me interested?" I retorted with a shrug.

My directness rendered her speechless.

"Well said!"

Suddenly, applauses came from behind.

At the same time, Maria and I turned to the direction of the voice, only to find Hawkins.

I bit my lip. Shit! He overheard it all.

How was I supposed to maintain my aloof and wealthy image?

Hawkins walked up to me and domineeringly put his arm around my shoulder.

"Maria, didn't I tell you to leave my wife alone?" he said.

Her nose itched, and tears formed in her eyes.

"Hawk, why do you treat me like this? I have already been expelled from the Moore family. I've already paid for my actions." As she spoke, she got worked up and pointed at me. "She doesn't love you at all. She is bitch who cares only for money."

Hawkins' grip on my shoulder tightened, causing a pain.

His face fell, his words dripping with sarcasm. "At least Claire never crosses a line. What about you?"

I smelled something fishy.

Hawkins' words hit a nerve, and Maria covered her face with her hands and cried.

I have always admired those could burst into tears at any time.

While I was perfect in every aspect, tears were not my forte.

Playing the victim was a challenging task for me.

I turned to look at Hawkins and captured sadness in his eyes.

I didn't get it. If he couldn't bear to hurt her, why did he say those harsh words?

"You may leave. Don't come to Claire again. I've already gone easy on you. Don't push it," Hawkins said.

Maria wiped off her tears and declared firmly, "Hawk, I won't give up on you. Although you're turning em away, I'll come to you tomorrow. I'm the one you love. She is just a stand-in!"

I was taken aback by Maria's audacity.

She was more shameless than I had thought.

Maria shot me a resentful glance.

Covering her mouth, she left with a pitiful look on her face.

Hawkins watched her receding figure, sadness and agony gnawing at him.

I cleared my throat and spoke up. "She is gone. Can you let go of me now?"

As soon as he let go, I got out of his arms.

Hawkins regained his composure, being the wild and cool man I was familiar with.

"I don't give a shit about what you had. But please honor the agreement and don't cheat in our marriage," I reminded.

He replied indifferently, "It won't work between me and her."

I didn't believe it.

I could tell by their interaction that Hawkins once was in love with Maria.

But she must have done something that made his affection fade.

Given that the Moore family was affluent, I bet it might involve money.

oreWhat she was unaware was that Hawkins had still been protecting her after what she had done.

Maria was pretty yet had no brains.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up like this.

"Hawkins, you claims repeatedly that it won't work out between you guys. Yet you caved in when your mother mentioned her."

I called him out.

Initially stunned, he then stared at me.

"Claire, you were up to something when you decided to marry me. We both get what we want." He then adopted a serious tone. "Maria won't come between us anymore."

Wait!

Was he making a promise to me?

I locked eyes with him. "Man, you're playing with fire!"

Hawkins leaned in towards me.

"You're planning to bring Bernard Group down. So tell me, who is playing with fire?"

When I heard this, my heart sank.