Chapter 2

Xavier turned sharply at the unfamiliar female voice. Standing a few feet away was a beautiful woman with black mascara running down her cheeks. He frowned slightly, wondering why a complete stranger would say something like that.

“I said I’ll marry you,” Jessica repeated, standing less than a foot away from him now.

“What?” Xavier lowered the phone from his ear and stared at her. How could she even consider marrying him when she knew absolutely nothing about him?

“Are you from the marriage agency?” he asked bluntly.

The question caught Jessica off guard.

“No,” she answered, biting her lip. She was sure her makeup was completely ruined from all the crying she had done. Overhearing his conversation had pushed her into making a reckless decision. She had decided she would get married before leaving the courthouse, and since this man clearly needed a wife, she had stepped forward.

“You need a wife, don’t you?” she asked, sniffling softly. Her nose was still running from crying.

“Yes, I do,” Xavier admitted. For the first time, it occurred to him that this woman might actually solve his problem.

“I was dumped on my wedding day,” Jessica said quietly. “I don’t want to bore you with the details, but you need a wife… and I need…” She paused briefly before continuing. “I could be your wife.”

Xavier studied her carefully. Despite the smeared makeup and tear-stained face, she looked sane enough. Slowly, he lifted the phone back to his ear.

“Make sure the agency refunds the money. I’ll handle things myself. See you back at the office,” he said before ending the call and slipping the phone into his pocket.

Then he looked directly at Jessica.

“Let’s get married. I’m in desperate need of a wife, so I can’t afford to be picky.”

Jessica nodded slowly.

She had been abandoned at the altar, after all, and Burke clearly had no intention of coming back, considering he had blocked her number. She still couldn’t stop wondering where things had gone wrong between them and why he had cheated on her.

“Are you seriously going in there looking like that?” Xavier asked, gesturing toward her tear-streaked face.

Jessica wiped under her eyes awkwardly.

“Give me a minute to fix my face. Meet me inside,” she said before turning on her heel and heading toward the nearest restroom.

It took her less time than she thought to wipe off her makeup. She had no tools to touch it up, so cleaning it off was her best option.

She returned and found Xavier standing there. She looked him up and down and thought to herself that at least she wasn’t going to marry an eyesore.

He was pleasant to look at, at least. The moment he saw her, he turned and walked toward the reserved room. His wealth had allowed him to reserve a private room, so he entered. Jessica followed him in, and they both sat facing the judge.

“No witnesses?” the judge asked, smiling at Xavier.

Jessica immediately sensed that Xavier was influential, since the judge knew him and he had managed to reserve a private room.

“I’ll call two people to stand as witnesses, then,” he added before calling over a man and a woman.

The man stood as a witness for Xavier, and the woman for Jessica.

The process was shorter than she thought, and soon she was legally married to a stranger.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Jessica blinked several times. She couldn’t believe she had just gotten married. Under normal circumstances, she was supposed to give her husband a big kiss on the lips.

Looking beside her at the stranger she had just married, Xavier Delgado, she still couldn’t believe it.

“Would you like to take pictures?” one of the witnesses asked them.

“Yes,” Xavier answered, collecting the marriage certificate from the judge. “Thank you for today,” he said, addressing the judge.

“Let’s go take our picture,” he said, standing up and leaving.

Jessica could barely comprehend what was going on, but it seemed as though Xavier had already come to terms with the fact that he had married a stranger. He seemed comfortable with it.

Jessica stepped outside and saw him standing in front of the courthouse, holding the certificate. She approached him and stood close by.

“If we’re taking pictures, we’d better make it believable that we just got married,” Xavier said.

“You didn’t ask me if I was okay with taking pictures,” she murmured.

She knew they needed the pictures, but her broken heart and rash decision were staring her in the face. Did she always have to jump the gun when faced with things she could barely handle on her own?

“I need the pictures,” he said. His voice made it clear that taking them was not up for negotiation.

She agreed with him and took the pictures. After all, she was the one who had approached him about getting married. She would go along with everything else as well.

They both barely managed to force smiles in the pictures. Jessica could hardly smile properly because of her broken heart, while Xavier simply wasn’t used to smiling, so it was difficult for him as well. The photographer had to take several more shots than usual to capture one where their smiles looked genuine.

A few extra copies of the pictures were made, and Xavier provided an email address to receive the digital versions. They were told the hard copies would be framed and ready the following week, so that they could pick them up then.

“Hold on to this,” Xavier said, handing the certificate to Jessica, who took it and read it over and over again. It bore her full name, Jessica Penelope Joshua, and stated that she was married to Xavier John Delgado.

“Let’s go,” Xavier said, walking toward the parking lot.

“Go where?” Jessica asked, hurrying to keep up with him.

“To see my grandfather,” Xavier answered. He hated talking too much. But since he had just gotten married, he knew she would have a bucketload of questions, so he did his best to answer only when she asked.

“Why?” she asked.

“We just got married, and I want to introduce you to my grandfather,” Xavier said gently. He was already saying too many words for his liking.

“Oh,” Jessica replied.

Xavier stopped in front of a newer Mercedes. She knew little about cars, but she could tell this one was very expensive. It looked exotic and luxurious.

“Get in,” Xavier said.

That confirmed her suspicions that her new husband was influential and rich. She should have been happy that she had landed a handsome, wealthy young man, but her broken heart wouldn’t allow her to feel any joy.