Legally Married by Mistake

Legally Married by Mistake

Talitha

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When a bureaucratic error at city hall mistakenly files nurse Leah Carter and corporate lawyer Adrian Blake as legally married, neither wants to deal with the hassle of undoing it. But with Adrian's strict grandmother demanding he settle down-or lose his inheritance-and Leah facing a visa issue threatening her dream career, they strike a deal: stay married for six months. What starts as a legal convenience turns into emotional chaos as fake affection gives way to something dangerously real.

Chapter 1 The paperwork problem

Leah Carter pressed the edge of her marriage certificate between trembling fingers, squinting at the print like it might rearrange itself if she stared long enough.

Name of Groom: Adrian Blake.

Name of Bride: Leah Carter.

Her name. His name.

Together.

Legally married.

"This-this can't be right," she stammered, looking up at the city hall clerk. "There must be a mistake."

The clerk, a bored woman in thick glasses, chewed her gum lazily. "Ma'am, everything looks filed properly. Congratulations."

"Congratulations?" Leah echoed. "I don't even know him!"

Across the counter, the man in question-the tall, broad-shouldered stranger who'd been waiting at the next window-groaned. He ran a hand through his dark hair, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse.

"This is absurd," he said, stepping closer. His voice was deep, smooth, and way too calm for the situation. "I came here for a business authorization, not a wife."

Leah's eyes snapped toward him. "A what?"

He gave her a tight, irritated smile. "I was registering a corporate partnership, Ms. Carter-or should I say, Mrs. Blake."

Leah's jaw dropped.

The clerk's computer beeped. "Sir, ma'am, you both signed the wrong digital document. The system merged your entries. Once processed, it's automatically uploaded to the central marriage registry."

"So undo it," Adrian said sharply.

She shrugged. "You'll have to file for annulment. Takes about six weeks. Maybe longer with the backlog."

Leah felt her stomach twist. Six weeks? She barely had time to sleep, let alone deal with a legal mess like this.

Adrian exhaled through his nose. "This is unbelievable."

"Tell me about it," Leah muttered, folding her arms. "I didn't even get a proposal. Just a mistake and a husband with a suit and an attitude."

His dark eyes flicked toward her, a hint of a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. "For the record, you're not exactly my dream bride either."

Leah bristled. "Oh, thank God. I'd hate for your dreams to come true today."

The clerk coughed. "You two can... take your argument outside. There's a line."

---

Outside, the late afternoon sun poured over the courthouse steps. Leah sank onto a bench, trying to steady her breathing.

She'd come here on her lunch break to sign off a form for her roommate's civil marriage-Tasha couldn't leave work, and Leah had offered to drop off the paperwork. Somehow, between scanning forms and electronic queues, she'd ended up Mrs. Somebody Blake.

Her phone buzzed. A text from the hospital.

"Night shift again. Can you cover triage?"

She groaned. "Of course. Why not. Let's add accidental marriage to today's chaos."

Adrian stood a few steps away, pacing. He looked expensive-tailored suit, silver cufflinks, shoes that had never seen a puddle. The kind of man who had assistants for his assistants.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're one of those men who sues for sport."

He stopped pacing. "Only when someone deserves it."

"Oh good. I'm sure this is all my fault somehow."

Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, Ms. Carter-Leah-this was clearly a clerical issue. I'll have my assistant file the annulment paperwork first thing tomorrow. No need to panic."

"No need to panic?" She laughed dryly. "I'm a nurse. I panic for a living."

He blinked, momentarily disarmed by her honesty.

Leah gathered her bag and stood. "Fine. Do whatever you have to. I have to get to work."

"Wait."

She turned back. "What now?"

Adrian held up his phone, showing her a notification. It was a digital copy of the registration-complete with their names and signatures. "It's public record already. My firm's clients could see this."

She frowned. "And that's my problem because...?"

"Because," he said, his jaw tightening, "if this leaks, my grandmother will see it before I can explain. And she's been trying to marry me off since I turned thirty."

Leah blinked. "Your grandmother?"

"Yes. And she will absolutely throw a party the second she hears I'm married."

For a moment, Leah almost laughed. The mighty, polished lawyer was terrified of his grandmother.

"Sounds like you have a bigger problem than I do, Mr. Blake."

His eyes met hers-cool, calculating, but with a spark of something else.

"Maybe," he said slowly, "unless we can help each other."

Leah frowned. "Help each other how?"

Adrian smiled faintly, and it was the kind of smile that spelled trouble.

"Let's just say... this mistake might not need to be fixed so quickly."

---

[End of Episode 1]

Author's Note (Talitha):

💕 Thank you for reading Legally Married by Mistake!

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Chapters
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Legally Married by Mistake
1

Chapter 1 The paperwork problem

03/11/2025

2

Chapter 2 The proposition

03/11/2025

3

Chapter 3 The terms

04/11/2025

4

Chapter 4 Dinner with Grandmother

04/11/2025

5

Chapter 5 Blurred lines

04/11/2025

6

Chapter 6 It's no longer a secret

04/11/2025

7

Chapter 7 A kiss in the chaos

04/11/2025

8

Chapter 8 The morning after

04/11/2025

9

Chapter 9 Dinner with the Billionaire

04/11/2025

10

Chapter 10 Past meets present

04/11/2025

11

Chapter 11 The Storm after the Calm

04/11/2025

12

Chapter 12 Unscripted

06/11/2025

13

Chapter 13 The secret behind the Blake name

10/11/2025

14

Chapter 14 The line he won't cross

10/11/2025

15

Chapter 15 The Threat

13/11/2025

16

Chapter 16 The intruder

13/11/2025

17

Chapter 17 Crossed Lines

22/11/2025

18

Chapter 18 The Echo of Last Night

23/11/2025

19

Chapter 19 The Warning in the Walls

25/11/2025

20

Chapter 20 The Shift

27/11/2025

21

Chapter 21 The Safehouse Doesn't Stay Safe

28/11/2025

22

Chapter 22 The Break-In

29/11/2025

23

Chapter 23 What's Left of Safety

30/11/2025

24

Chapter 24 Into The Dark

02/12/2025

25

Chapter 25 The Clearing

04/12/2025

26

Chapter 26 The Aftermath

05/12/2025

27

Chapter 27 Close Enough To Break

08/12/2025

28

Chapter 28 Just The Quiet Before the Storm

09/12/2025

29

Chapter 29 Dr Heller

10/12/2025

30

Chapter 30 The Weight of Wanting

11/12/2025

31

Chapter 31 The Space Between Heartbeats

13/12/2025

32

Chapter 32 Borrowed Quiet

15/12/2025

33

Chapter 33 Where we Land

15/12/2025

34

Chapter 34 Blissful Quiet

18/12/2025

35

Chapter 35 The Shape of Staying

18/12/2025

36

Chapter 36 Fault Lines

19/12/2025

37

Chapter 37 The Space Between Words

21/12/2025

38

Chapter 38 What Lingers

25/12/2025

39

Chapter 39 What She Doesn't Say

25/12/2025

40

Chapter 40 The Thing She Almost Says

27/12/2025