CEO daddy's accidental bride

“You are going to make the most beautiful bride.” The saleswoman smiled as she moved behind Lena and adjusted the wedding dress carefully along her waist. The dress was simple and fitted. Lena ran her hand slowly over the skirt. Lena looked at herself in the mirror. She was twenty two, with dark hair that fell past her shoulders and the kind of face that looked better without trying. Standing in that dress under those lights she looked like someone who belonged in a place like this. If this had been a real wedding, maybe she would have loved it. “You think so?” Lena asked quietly. “Oh absolutely.” The woman stepped back with a pleased smile. “Mr. Lawson is going to lose his mind when he sees you.” Lena forced a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. The bridal boutique around them was bright and expensive. Cream colored couches. Crystal lighting. Champagne sitting untouched on a tray nearby. Everything about the place screamed luxury in a way Lena still wasn’t fully used to. Three weeks ago she had been helping her father repair fencing on the ranch. Now she was standing in a wedding dress in the middle of Dallas preparing to marry one of the richest men in Texas. The sound of footsteps approached from outside the fitting area. A second later Shane Lawson appeared through the curtain entrance, slipping his phone back into the pocket of his tailored coat. “There,” he said distractedly. “Move the Singapore meeting to Thursd—” The words stopped and his eyes landed on Lena. The small smile he walked in with disappeared immediately. The shift in his expression was subtle but instant enough that Lena felt it. His gaze moved slowly over the dress once. Then back to her face. A slight frown settled between his brows. “What is this?” he asked. Lena blinked. “What?” He didn’t answer immediately. He glanced at the sales assistant and gave her a brief smile. It was enough. The woman excused herself quietly and the door clicked shut behind her. Shane walked toward Lena slowly, his eyes still on the dress. “This isn’t the gown I picked out for you,” he said. “I know. I didn’t like that one.” “Is that right?” He stopped behind her and leaned down until his mouth was close to her ear. His eyes met hers in the mirror. “Don’t forget where you come from, Lena. You’re a girl from the countryside. The only reason that ranch is still standing is because of me.” He paused. “Unless you want to watch your family lose it.” Her fingers went still against the dress. The Carter Ranch had been drowning in debt for three years. A drought that wiped out two consecutive seasons, a loan that grew faster than they could manage, and a bank that had stopped sending warnings and started sending notices. Her parents had done everything they could. Sold what they could sell. Cut what they could cut. None of it was enough. The only thing left was the land itself and the bank wanted that too. And for reasons Lena still did not fully understand, Shane Lawson had decided he wanted her. Shane Lawson was the heir to Lawson Group, one of the most powerful companies in Texas, with its hands in everything from oil to real estate. A man like that could erase the Carter family’s debt without even feeling it. And he offered to do exactly that in exchange for marriage. Lena swallowed hard and looked away from the mirror briefly. Shane’s voice lowered another degree. “You don’t get to choose things anymore unless I allow it.” He tilted his head slightly. “Not the venue. Not the flowers. Not even the dress.” He straightened up. “So you’re going to take that off and put on the one I selected. Or I walk out of here and your family can figure out the rest on their own.” “I just wanted one thing I liked,” she said quietly. “And I want a wife who understands how this arrangement works.” He straightened again slowly before smoothing a hand down the sleeve of his coat like nothing unpleasant had just happened. Then he snapped his fingers lightly toward the sales floor. The saleswoman immediately reappeared. “Yes, Mr. Lawson?” Shane pointed toward a gown displayed on the far platform near the window. Larger. Heavier. Covered in expensive detailing Lena hated the moment she saw it. “The bride-to-be would like to try that one instead.” The woman looked between them once before nodding quickly. “Right away.” Twenty minutes later Lena stood in front of the mirror again. Shane sat comfortably on the cream couch watching her. Lena kept her eyes on her reflection because looking at him felt worse somehow. Shane stood up slowly. He walked toward Lena until he stopped beside her, both of them facing the mirror together. Then his hand settled lightly against the small of her back. “There,” he said calmly. “Now you actually look ready to become a Lawson.” Lena said nothing. She had heard enough about Shane Lawson long before this arrangement ever happened. Aloof. Hot tempered. Controlling. The kind of man who carried a quiet aggression beneath those expensive suits and calm expressions. A man who never accepted no for an answer because nobody around him ever dared to tell him no in the first place. Lena knew exactly the kind of man she was about to marry. But the Carter Ranch was the only home she had ever known and she could not bear the thought of losing it. So she said yes to Shane Lawson instead. Shane’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced at the screen and whatever he saw there made him straighten up. “I have to go,” he said, already moving toward the curtain. He paused without turning around. “Find your own way home when you’re done.” He looked at the saleswoman briefly. “Have the dress delivered to this address.” He produced a card from his pocket and held it out. She took it quickly. “Of course, Mr. Lawson.” He left without another word. No goodbye. No backward glance. The boutique settled into a quiet that felt heavier than it should have. The saleswoman stood with the card in her hand for a moment. Something moved across her face but she pressed her lips together and said nothing before quietly walking away. Lena stared at herself in the mirror for another second before finally looking away first. A few moments later, she stepped out onto the Dallas sidewalk with her thoughts still tangled somewhere else entirely. The city moved noisily around her, people crossing streets, cars sliding past, conversations blending into traffic sounds, but Lena barely noticed any of it. Her mind stayed on the ranch. On her parents. On Shane. On the life she had just agreed to. She kept her eyes lowered as she walked and didn’t realize someone was directly in front of her until she walked straight into him. The collision startled her enough that she stumbled slightly, but a hand caught her arm before she could lose her balance completely. “You okay?” The voice was deep and calm. Lena barely looked up. “I’m fine. Sorry.” She pulled her arm away gently almost immediately before continuing past him without waiting for another word. A few steps ahead she raised her hand and a cab pulled smoothly to the curb. She got in and pulled the door shut behind her. Roman watched the car pull off quietly, his hands slipping into his pockets. Miles, his assistant, appeared at his side a moment later. “Sir,” he began carefully. “Your mother just left your office. She’s on her way to your place now. She says it’s an emergency.” Roman kept his eyes on the fading cab until it disappeared into traffic. “It’s always an emergency,” he said. His hands slipped into his pockets as he turned away. “Let’s see what she wants this time.”