MARRIED BY MISTAKE

rk City Marriage Bureau, she held the manila envelope to her chest. Immediately, chaos erupted: clerks yelling names, couples yelling over paperwor

rk barked, waving impatiently from behind the scratched plexiglass. Aria stepped forward. "Hi, I'm he

" The clerk shoved a clipboard through the slot. "Fill this out. Your groom's a

s, honey. Just breathe and sign when he arrives." Aria checked her phone. Nothing. No texts. No calls. Just a curt messag

twenty-four years of being forgotten, invisible, and cleaning up other people's messes, she was reward

ad shoulders, dark hair, grey eyes, sharp enough to pierce steel. Leo

get this over with." He grabbed her elbow. Warm. Firm. Unyielding. Trapped. "Wait, you don't-" "Ariana Hale and Leon Mercer!" The clerk s

in her chest. "Sir, I think

raced. Run? Scream? Call her parents? But who would believe her? Who would take her si

re married." Time slowed. Every sound dulled. Leon's grey eyes lifted to hers. Cold. Furious. Ice.

trapped me.". "You will regret this every day until I am free of you. Ar

he certificate into his jacket. His other hand gripped her wrist-not cruel, not gentle, just possessive. "You'r

l her family-but who would listen? Who would believe her? She looked at Leon. The fury simmered ben

ace. She caught a glimpse of herself in the window's tint. Aria Hale. Not Ariana. Nobody's second choice. She had recent