Unexpected kiss.

“You will?”

Mr. Addison had expected Claudia to accept his proposal, but he didn’t imagine it would happen so quickly.

Claudia nodded. “I’ll get married to the club owner.”

Mr. Addison smiled, rising from his squatting position. “Go to your… go to your room and get your clothes,” he stammered, tossing the kitchen knife into the sink. “Your husband will be here soon, so make it snappy.”

Once more, Claudia nodded. She turned around, holding her headphones in her hand as she made her way to her room.

As soon as she stepped inside, she shut the door and leaned against it, biting her lower lip as a soft sob escaped her.

“Gosh,” Claudia murmured as more tears streamed from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

She had accepted her father’s offer because she believed the club owner would at least have a roof over his head. Besides, her dad had mentioned that her so-called husband was rich.

“It’s better to live with a stranger than to keep living with the monster I call my father,” Claudia thought to herself as she nodded in agreement.

Claudia’s mother had died giving birth to her, and that was the sole reason her father hated her with every fiber of his being.

A few seconds later, Claudia wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand, wiped the blood on her neck and walked over to the sack where her clothes were kept.

She picked it up, along with other valuable items, including her headphones, a cap, and a novel.

Claudia shoved everything into the sack, then made her way out of the room.

In the sitting room, her dad was already at the door, looking as if he were eager to send her away.

“Your husband is already waiting for you outside,” he spat with a smirk.

Claudia swallowed hard. “Dad, before I go… can you at least tell me why this so-called rich guy agreed to marry someone as young as me?”

Claudia needed to know why a man she had never met in her life had agreed to marry her.

Claudia had always believed that marriage should be between two people who were in love. She believed it wasn’t something to be rushed into.

“Besides, it’s a bit weird that he wants to marry me just because my dad owes him money. If that’s the case, he might as well marry the daughters of everyone who owes him a debt at his club,” Claudia thought bitterly.

Her father rolled his eyes and staggered toward her, grabbing her long black hair and yanking her head to the side.

“He’s marrying you because you’re a virgin,” he snarled, shoving her head back so roughly that she had to take a few steps to regain her balance.

“Now that you’ve heard the reason… just get the hell out of my sight,” he barked.

Claudia sighed, arranged her hair and then she walked out of the sitting room, heading straight for the black Ford car parked by the roadside.

“Hey, over here,” a lady voice called from behind.

Claudia turned toward the voice and saw a lady dressed in a black skirt that stopped just above her knees, paired with a white long-sleeved shirt and a black blazer.

The lady stood beside a white Camry.

Claudia pointed to herself, silently asking if the woman meant her. The woman nodded.

Claudia approached the lady, and when she closed the distance between the both of them, she halt.

“Good evening,” Claudia greeted.

The lady looked like she was in her mid-twenties.

“Good evening, Claudia Addison,” the young lady replied warmly. “My name is Evelyn, but you can call me Eve. I was sent by Mr. Harold to pick you up and he’s waiting for you at his mansion.”

“Mansion?” Claudia asked, raising a brow. “Is Mr. Harold super rich?” She went on to question because her curiosity had got the best of her.

Evelyn chuckled softly. “You’ll find out when we get there,” she said, opening the car door for Claudia.

Claudia stepped inside, and as soon as she was seated, Evelyn walked around the vehicle and got into the driver’s seat. She started the engine, and they began their drive down the road.

Claudia couldn’t help but wonder why this Mr. Harold wanted to marry a virgin. It still didn’t make any sense to her.

Was it because he wanted someone who could bear children? Or someone untouched by other men?

Tons of questions stirred deep within Claudia’s mind, but the answers felt far from reach.

“Hey, you don’t have to be so tense, okay? Mr. Harold is a great man,” Evelyn’s voice cut through the air, calm and reassuring. "As long as you obey Mr. Harold, you'll stay on his good side. He hates disobedience."

"Oh... okay," Claudia purred, forcing a small smile across her lips as she nodded.

The car ride took over an hour, and during the entire time, Claudia wrestled with second thoughts.

“What if this isn’t the right path? What if he’s even more dangerous than my father? Maybe it’s safer to live with the devil I know than the one I don’t.”

Claudia stomach twisted with unease, sweat beading along her forehead as anxiety clawed at her chest.

She was beginning to doubt everything about the contract marriage.

But soon enough, they arrived at their destination.

Evelyn drove into the open compound of a grand mansion, and as they approached the garage, Claudia sigh and the anxious feeling she was having were quickly replaced by the beauty of her surroundings.

A lush garden spread across the lawn, and in the center stood a beautiful fountain, its flowing water adding elegance to the compound.

When the car pulled into the garage, Evelyn stepped out, intending to help Claudia open her door but before she could reach her, Claudia was already stepping out.

She exhale trying to compose herself.

“Let me carry your belongings,” Evelyn offered, taking Claudia’s sack filled with clothes. “Follow me.”

Claudia trailed behind Evelyn until they arrived at the entrance door of the sitting room.

Before Evelyn could touch the door handle, it swung open from the inside.

“Claudia,” a deep male voice called, and a man stepped out of the sitting room with open arms, quickly closing the distance between them.

“I’ve been expecting you,” he whispered, cupping Claudia’s cheeks gently before pulling her in for a kiss.

Stunned!

Claudia's heart slammed against her chest.

His touch burned into her skin, but not in the way love stories described.

The touch of the man was cold, disgusting and wrong.

He was old… far older than Claudia had imagined.