Oops! I MARRIED A PSYCHO - HIS ARRANGED LOVE

CHAPTER 1

RUINED DATE

.........

"Are you married?"

I asked with my eyes fixed on him.

A gentle smile spread across his face. "No, Miss Bella. I am not."

"Good. Then we can sign the marriage contract."

I flipped through the papers. Just then, the door cracked open, and my eyes turned towards it. I had booked the whole floor. No one should have been there.

A little boy rushed in and ran straight to Gregory, my blind date.

"Daddy," he whimpered.

A woman ran in after him. "Slow down, so you won't fall!"

Her eyes fell on Gregory. He glanced at her once and looked away.

She stood holding the boy's hand. The table went dead quiet. My hand hung in the air above the contract.

There was no point signing it now.

Gregory rose slowly and scooped the boy into his arms.

I almost smiled.

"Interesting," I said, picking up my handbag. "My blind date is a married man."

I took a stack of cash from my bag and dropped it on the table for them.

He had come for the money. He was no Steele, after all. My company was facing a financial crisis, and now he wanted to leech off me?

He looked up at my face, puzzled, as though he couldn't understand why I was throwing money at them.

I let out a soft chuckle, stood and walked towards the exit.

How had this absurd thing started?

A week ago.

My hands had been tight on the steering wheel, my foot heavy on the accelerator.

A figure appeared out of nowhere.

I slammed the brakes. The figure stumbled and fell onto the road.

I jumped out. A man lay in the dust, covered in dirt, yet handsome even so.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," he said, looking across the road.

A little boy stood there, calling, "Daddy!"

I had no time. I opened my handbag and pushed cash into his hand.

"Treat yourself with this. I have urgent matters to handle."

I got back into my car and drove off.

Someone had climbed onto the roof of my company and threatened to jump.

When I arrived, reporters and netizens had already gathered. Cameras clicked one after another. I pushed through the crowd towards the young woman standing at the edge.

A director had harassed her. I had promised she would never be harassed again, but I had gone away on a business trip, and he had done it anyway.

"Let me take you to the hospital," I said, reaching for her hand.

She moved away from me, tears streaming down her face.

My fist tightened. I could not fight every director. Some of them held company shares.

Lisa, my assistant, ran towards me, her face pale. She held out a tablet.

The company's stock was plummeting. In one hour, investors had already started pulling out.

"That is not all, ma'am." She turned the screen towards me. "The video of you running someone over is trending."

It was all happening at once.

Where had it gone wrong?

I signalled the security men to send the reporters away. I had nothing to report and nothing to say. The accident was my negligence. The state of my company was my incompetence.

Night fell, but the problem remained.

I sank into the bathtub with my eyes closed. When I came out, I poured myself a drink, but it did nothing. It wasn't drowning anything.

My phone beeped.

A message from my aunt.

It was about a marriage agreement.

"A marriage agreement?"

I dialled her at once.

She picked up on the first ring.

"Dress up. You failed in one thing, so do the next one right."

"What do you mean?"

"Marry the man you ran over," she said calmly.

My hearing stopped for a moment.

"I beg your pardon?"

"They say you are rude and full of yourself. Show them how humble you are."

She couldn't possibly mean I should marry some random man because of internet gossip.

Or could she?

I ended the call and dialled Lisa.

"Find out everything you can about the man I hit with my car."

Then I pulled more drinks down my throat.

A knock came at the door.

My maid stood there. "The old lady is here."

I knew she would come. I tilted my neck and went downstairs.

My aunt stood in the living room with the marriage agreement in her hand.

"Do you know him?" I asked.

She smiled. "Yes. You know him too."

"I don't know him."

I stepped back, but she took my hand in both of hers.

"Marry him, and you will not go bankrupt."

I yanked my hand free.

"How can marrying him save my company?"

She stood and dusted her dress.

"He may be a broke boy, but this marriage agreement was sent by Old Master Steele."

I stared at her for a moment, then let out a soft laugh.

"The Steele family?"

Her brow furrowed. "You think I am making things up?"

"I don't mean it like that."

I struck my lap in frustration.

"All the Steele children are in South Lambina. That means he is not a real Steele."

"He is Old Master Steele's lost sister's adopted son," she said. "This marriage is how the old man settles him."

My mouth hung open.

"He wants to settle his lost nephew with my marriage?"

"Yes. You need his help."

I looked at her face, annoyed and pleading together. He might not be the best choice, but he stood with the old man. Refusing would mean offending the Steeles, with my company already in ruins.

Marriage or bankruptcy?

That was the choice my aunt had left me with.

And now, I here I am for the so called arranged marriage, and the blind date happened to be a married man.

"A man with a child!!" I took a deep breath.

I glanced towards the restaurant entrance as I walked away from the table.

What a ridiculous blind date.