Chapter 1

As a city located in the Southern region, the heat in Rosewood was excruciating in the summer. Lianne Simpson asked her superior for the afternoon off and grabbed her handbag with her driver’s license before hailing a cab to City Hall in Emerald Heights. Her grandmother, Marianne, had not gotten over the incident three years ago. The old lady believed she could have done a better job at keeping Lianne from harm. At least, Lianne would not have to live with a ruined reputation and be left without a home. Marianne was concerned she was getting too old to watch over Lianne, so she asked Sally, a friend of hers in Rosewood, to set Lianne up with a potential partner. Sally happened to have an older grandson who was single and available. The older generation believed it was ideal for women to be married. It did not matter who they married, so long as they could walk down the aisle. Lianne had no expectations for marriage after what happened three years ago. Plus, she had witnessed too many cases of marriages ending in divorce. Hence, Lianne was open to it when the right person came along. Otherwise, she did not see a problem staying single for life. Still, Lianne agreed to tie the knot with Sally’s grandson to give her grandmother peace of mind. It did not take Lianne long to arrive at the destination. She got out of the cab and spotted a towering figure standing at the entrance of City Hall. Despite adorning a simple white shirt and black pants, the man was a ravishing sight to behold. The passing women could not help but steal glances at him. The man was on the phone, not paying attention to anybody around him. Lianne took out her phone and pulled out the photo her grandmother sent her. The man must be the person in the picture. Only, he looked better in person. She made her way toward the man. As she was approaching, the man put away his phone and turned his attention to her. “Lianne Simpson?” Not only was he good-looking, but he had a pleasant voice too. Lianne nodded her head. “Are you Caleb Hill?” Caleb gave a nod before turning on his heel to proceed to City Hall. Since Caleb took long and quick strides, Lianne had to run to keep up with him. “Um… Do you want to reconsider the whole thing?” Stopping in his tracks, Caleb lifted his arm to glance at his watch. “Do you have any concerns?” Lianne was curious whether Caleb knew anything about her or her past. Nevertheless, on second thought, Lianne believed that like her, Caleb was only getting married to please the senior members of his family. Since love did not bring them together, there was no point in getting to know each other. The only information Lianne got about the man was that he was the grandson of her grandmother’s friend. She had no idea what he did for a living. Lianne shook her head. “Let’s go.” As there were not a lot of people getting married today, the pair soon got their marriage license. While Lianne stared at her marriage license in a daze, Caleb handed her a bank card. “I’ve been busy with work lately, so I won’t have time for you. Here’s a debit card. The password is six sixes. Feel free to spend on whatever you fancy.” Lianne was taken aback. Before she knew it, Caleb got into the MPV on the side of the road and took off. She glanced at the bank card in her hand as apprehension washed over her. Since Lianne took up employment at a branch of the Atlas Group and owned a comic studio with her best friends, she enjoyed a sizable income. She could live a comfortable life without needing handouts from a man. Lianne was only seeking a loveless marriage to appease her senior family member, so ideally, she would prefer if they lived their separate lives despite being married. Still, Lianne would put effort into making the marriage work if Caleb was willing to spend his life with her. Once she came to terms with the idea, Lianne snapped a photo of her marriage license and sent it to her grandmother. “Granny, we got married.” Marianna was quick to reply to her voice message. “Alright. May you have a happy marriage filled with bundles of joy on this wonderful journey.” “Sure,” Lianne wrote back before putting her phone away with a heavy heart. Such was society’s expectation of women – they were pressured to get married and have children thereafter. It seemed as though women had no say in their lives. … It was like the marriage had never happened. The man had not contacted Lianne even once after getting their marriage license. No different than her life before marriage, Lianne devoted her time to work. A year went by in the blink of an eye, and the land welcomed another of its hottest seasons. During the year, Lianne was promoted to the secretarial office of the Atlas Group’s headquarters due to her remarkable performance at work. Since the CEO of the Atlas Group, Zane Atlas, was back today after a year abroad, tension ran high in the office. It was especially for Lianne, who could potentially work alongside the CEO. Everybody in the office eagerly waited for the CEO’s arrival with bated breath when the private elevator opened. Out walked two men and a woman from the elevator. The man in the lead wore silver-frame glasses, towering at the height of at least 1.8 meters. He had a fit figure and an attractive face. Finding him a familiar face, Lianne did a double-take… “That’s Mr. Atlas, Lianne. A girl in the secretariat office was once fired for obsessing over Mr. Atlas,” Yvonne Sox, a colleague of Lianne’s, whispered in Lianne’s ear. Lianne had not met the CEO, as it had been less than a year since her transfer to the headquarters. All she knew about her boss was that he was twenty-eight years old and was unexpectedly physically attractive. Feeling awkward, Lianne wanted to explain when a sneer came from behind. “Don’t get any ideas. He’s way out of your league.” The voice belonged to Dave Lambert. He often gave Lianne trouble at work after Lianne rejected his advances. Lianne was not one to live in fantasies. She paid no mind to those who stirred unnecessary drama. Believing that he got the right idea about Lianne, Dave made a snide remark, “Women nowadays have inflated expectations, thinking they can marry into wealth with their pretty face.” “Marry into wealth? Lianne, Yvonne, Dave, come with me to the CEO’s office.” Willow Spencer, the CEO’s executive assistant, drew near and callously glanced at the trio. Willow was a long-time employee of the Atlas Group and had worked closely with the former CEO before working alongside Zane for several years. Now that Willow would be transferred to the Weston branch, someone had to take her place. Lianne, Yvonne, and Dave made the cut out of dozens of people in the secretariat office. However, the CEO had the final say in who was to replace Willow. They walked into the CEO’s office. The office was furnished with simple but tasteful décor. It offered a 180-degree panoramic view of Rosewood through the floor-to-ceiling window. Wearing a white shirt and black pants, Mr. Atlas stood tall behind the huge window with grace and polished class. Willow uttered with respect, “Here they are, Mr. Atlas.” The man turned around and looked at the group. Despite doing nothing, he carried himself with such an intimidating charisma that everybody found themselves holding their breaths. Steeling himself, Dave took a step forward. “Mr. Atlas, my name is Dave Lambert. I’ve been tasked with the secretariat office for five years now. My uncle, James Lambert, sends his regards…” The man looked at Dave with an unchanged expression. People who knew him were aware that the use of personal connections went nowhere with him. As he turned to Yvonne, the latter held her head up. “Mr. Atlas, I’m Yvonne Sox. It’s been three years since I worked in the secretariat office.” She tried to present herself with poise and confidence, but her trembling voice revealed her nerves. With the man finally cocking his head to Lianne, the pair’s eyes met… At a closer distance, Lianne got a good look at the man’s perfectly sculptured face. For some reason, Lianne felt like she had seen him somewhere before… Unbeknownst to Lianne, Zane was Caleb, her bonus husband she had only met the day they got married. The Altases suffered an internal family conflict the year Caleb was born. For the safety of their only heir, the Atlases gave him two identities. To the world, he was Zane Atlas. However, for his life outside the public eye, Caleb took his Grandmother Sally’s last name. It was a secret only known among the Atlas family.