Married to My Playboy Boss

The church suddenly fell completely silent.

Hannah stared at the man beside her with wide eyes. What was he saying? Was he crazy?

"Excuse us," Hannah said quickly to the pastor, "we need a moment."

Hannah grabbed the sleeve of Lucas's suit jacket and pulled him to the side, into a small room behind the altar.

Lucas did not resist, following Hannah's steps with his gaze fixed on the panicked face of the secretary who had worked for him for five years.

The wooden door closed behind them. Inside, there was only the two of them and the scent of candle wax.

"What are you doing?" Hannah whispered. Her voice trembled, suppressing anger and embarrassment. "That is not a funny joke."

"I am not joking." Lucas's tone was so convincing, with a subtle smirk playing on his lips.

Hannah's eyes widened further. "Then you're insane."

Lucas looked at her calmly. His dark eyes showed not a single trace of hesitation. "Your fiancé didn't show up. You don't have time to think of another way out."

"What do you know about—" Hannah paused, her brow furrowing. "How do you know?"

“No bride wants to be late on her wedding day. And your fiancé clearly isn't coming, Hannah.” Lucas spoke very calmly, almost too calmly. “I am your second choice, Hannah. Surely, you don't want to humiliate yourself, do you?”

Hannah winced, shaking her head quickly. "Absolutely not. I am not marrying you."

One corner of Lucas's eyebrow arched upward. "Why?"

"Why?" Hannah let out a short, bitter laugh. "I have been your secretary for five years. I know exactly who you are and what you're like."

She tallied it up without even having to think. Every Monday morning, there was a new woman waiting in the lobby with the same smile. Every Friday afternoon, she was the one booking restaurants and hotel rooms for her boss. Once, she had canceled three dinner dates in a single week because Lucas was busy with three different women. She had witnessed far too many diamond bracelets bought and forgotten, and names that changed before she even had a chance to memorize them.

If not for her need for a high salary, Hannah would have resigned as Lucas's secretary years ago.

"You don't believe in marriage," Hannah continued. "You always say so yourself. Women come, women go. You never stay for more than a month. Let alone marriage. So, you had better stop joking." Hannah stood firm in her refusal.

"That's true." Lucas slipped one hand into his trousers pocket. He didn't deny it, because Hannah knew about him far better than any of the women he had dated.

Hannah's brow furrowed deeply at the calmness on Lucas's face. "Then why do you want to marry me?"

Lucas was silent for a moment. Something flickered across his face, too fast to read. "Because you need someone standing up there. And I am the only one willing."

"That's not a reason," Hannah snapped quickly.

"It's the only reason you need right now."

Hannah took a step back. She stared at Lucas, searching for any sign that this was just a game. There was none. Only a composure that made her even more suspicious.

"I don't want to be one of your women," Hannah said, turning her face away.

"You won't be one of them."

Hannah looked back at Lucas sharply upon hearing his words. "That's what they always hear, isn't it?"

Lucas's jaw tightened. But he didn't retaliate. He simply looked at Hannah longer than usual.

"Your mother," Lucas said softly. Clearly, he knew about Hannah's mother's condition.

Hannah froze. "What?"

"Your mother is in the hospital. Her heart." Lucas mentioned it without pity, but without cruelty either. "If this wedding is canceled and the news reaches her, what will happen?"

Hannah opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Lucas continued, his voice low and steady. "I know you've already thought about that. I know that's why you haven't walked out and dismissed everyone yet."

Hannah's eyes began to sting. She looked down and bit her lip.

Lucas bent down slightly, bringing his face closer to Hannah's, and spoke again.

"I will cover all of your mother's medical expenses," Lucas said. "The best hospital, the best doctors. Surgery if necessary. You won't have to think about money at all."

Hannah's eyes turned red, holding back the pride that felt as though it were being trampled on by the boss she had followed for five years. A boss who knew she couldn't be bought with money. "I don't want to be bought."

"This isn't buying. It's a deal." Lucas straightened his back.

The word hung between them.

"A deal," Hannah repeated bitterly.

"You need a marriage today. I need a wife. Both can be resolved at once. Look at it that way." Lucas looked straight at her. "Nothing more."

Hannah wanted to refuse. Her entire self resisted. She didn't understand why Lucas was offering this, and she didn't trust a man who treated women like disposable objects. But the phone in her grasp vibrated again.

Saint Mary's Hospital.

She stared at the name. Her hands grew cold.

She pictured Eleanor in that bed, waiting, smiling, believing that her daughter was stepping into happiness. She imagined the heart monitor beeping faster and her mother's hands clutching the bedsheets in pain if she found out the wedding was canceled.

If anything happened to her mother…

Hannah took a deep breath. Her chest ached.

"Just a deal," Hannah said, barely audible.

One corner of Lucas's lips curled upward at her words. "Yes."

"Nothing else," Hannah made sure. She didn't want to get trapped in a deeper relationship with this playboy.

Lucas looked at her for a second longer. "Nothing else."

Hannah nodded slowly. A single tear she had been holding back finally fell, and she quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"Fine," Hannah said with sheer reluctance. "I accept."

Lucas extended his hand. The moment Hannah grasped his palm, both corners of Lucas's lips stretched into a broad smile.

And Hannah—she closed her eyes. Her prayer to stay far away from men like Lucas had instead brought her into a marriage with him.