Reclaiming Destiny: Marrying the Empire's Master

"After marrying me, you won't need to work; just focus on taking care of me and the son my ex-wife left behind. You have to get pregnant within three months and give me two sons. You need to remember what I like and dislike!" The bald man took a long drag from his cigarette, picked his nose, and shook his leg as he spoke. Josie Smith couldn't help but glance at the man in front of her, the one her stepmother, Holly Smith, insisted on setting her up with. He was twenty years older than her, already bald, with a wrinkled face, and not exactly good-looking. Holly truly had a cruel heart. She had introduced Josie to an ugly, divorced man who was unwanted by anyone. Seeing that Josie was ignoring him, the middle-aged bald man looked visibly annoyed. But Josie had a nice figure and was pretty enough, even if she appeared a bit cold. The bald man thought that the colder a woman was, the more satisfying it would be to win her over. He couldn't help but swallow hard. "Beautiful lady, how tall are you?" Josie lowered her head, boredly fiddling with the charm on her phone. "About 5'8''." The bald man frowned slightly. "Tall girls lack that sweet feeling, but I'm 6'1'', so it's fine! You should wear high heels when we get intimate later." Everyone knew that the 6'1'' he mentioned might even be less than 5'7''! Josie silently rolled her eyes and said, "You really misunderstand the idea that a girl has to wear high heels to kiss a guy." The bald man's expression stiffened. "What do you mean?" As the wind chimes jingled at the entrance, Josie suddenly saw a man in a black trench coat, wearing high-quality black leather gloves, walk into the café. Without hesitation, she stood up and walked over. Josie lowered her voice. "Sir, I'm sorry, please cooperate." The cold, noble man's gaze darkened. Before he could say anything, Josie reached up, pulled down his tie, and stood on tiptoe. Her soft lips quickly brushed against his thin lips. Josie then shot a provocative smile at the bald man. "Now do you understand? You need to look like this to have the qualification for a girl to kiss you willingly!" "How outrageous! You...” The middle-aged bald man felt humiliated, slammed his hand on the table, and suddenly stood up, pointing at Josie. "You shameless woman, grabbing some guy and kissing him like that! No wonder you're single and unwanted! Turns out you're a promiscuous s**t! I'll make sure everyone knows, and they'll despise you!" Josie sneered coldly. It would be perfect if this went public! 'If it did, let's see how Holly explains it to father!' Watching the middle-aged bald man storm out and slam the door behind him, Josie released the black-clad man's tie. "Thanks for your help back there, handsome! If we run into each other again, I'll take you out for dinner as a thank you. See you!" After finishing her words, Josie turned to leave the café. But the next second, Josie's wrist was suddenly gripped by a large hand, the force tightening painfully! A chilling voice rang out in her ear. "You kissed me in public, yet you wish to walk away so easily?" Josie instinctively looked up, and a strikingly handsome face came into view. 'He is so handsome!' Earlier, she had been too focused on the middle-aged bald man to notice what this man looked like. "So... what do you plan to do?" Evan Edward looked at Josie with a dark expression, lips pressed together as if he wanted to say something. Suddenly, the suited man behind him hung up the phone and bowed deeply. "Mr. Edward, there's been a change in the situation! Christine cannot walk properly due to her injury and won't be able to come back tonight. Your engagement banquet is just a few hours away. What should we do now?" Hearing this, Evan furrowed his brow slightly. The engagement banquet was a matter of his grandfather's life! His grandfather had always complained that he, almost twenty-eight, was still single. This had caused his already fragile grandfather to suffer a heart attack, and the doctor said he needed an organ transplant to survive. But his grandfather refused to go to the hospital unless Evan got engaged that night. Otherwise, he would rather die than seek medical help! Christine was originally an actress Evan had found to appease his grandfather. But who could have predicted that an accident had occurred, and Christine couldn't come? Evan's gaze fell on Josie, and he suddenly tightened his grip on her wrist. The pain made her blood boil. "Hey! Sir, do you have anything else to say? If not, can you let me go already?" Evan's gaze on Josie deepened. The next second, he smirked. "Since this lady took the initiative, let's have her take Christine's place!" His assistant, Finn, was clearly taken aback, looking at Josie with undisguised disdain. With dark makeup and a fitted black dress, she looked like a ghostly figure. How could she possibly stand beside Mr. Edward? "Mr. Edward, is this lady too..." "Just settle on her!" Finn didn't dare to act rashly and respectfully bowed. "Yes, Mr. Edward!" Josie's heart sank, her alertness rising. "What do you mean by 'settling on me'? Hey! What are you trying to do? Are you k********g me?" Evan looked at her with disdain, his voice icy. "You must be responsible for me!" 'Responsible?' Josie stared at him, disbelief clear on her face. "Handsome, are you serious? Just because I kissed you, you want me to be responsible? This was my first kiss, and I haven't even made you responsible yet!" Evan raised an eyebrow meaningfully. "Oh? Your first kiss?" Josie sighed helplessly, speaking as though for her own sake. "That's right! It's my first kiss in my twenty-three-year life, and you got it for free!" 'This woman is great!' Evan's expression returned to its usual cold, handsome demeanor, and his voice was flat. "Take her back!" Before Josie could react, several burly men in black had already restrained her and shoved her into a long black luxury car. Kyoto. Carol Manor. Tonight, Evan was to hold his engagement party here. The ladies attending the banquet were elegant and well-dressed, mingling with distinguished figures from both politics and business, as well as high society. "Guys, which lady do you think is lucky enough to catch Mr. Edward's eye?" "That's a given! The lady must be someone from a powerful family with talent and beauty! How could a girl from an ordinary family possibly attract Evan's attention?" "Look over there, Mr. Edward is coming! Oh my! He is so handsome..." "What's going on? Is that girl beside Mr. Edward really his rumored fiancée? The more I look, the more I doubt..." Under everyone's watchful eyes, Evan, the heir of the Edward family, led a woman with a somewhat peculiar style to the main stage of the banquet hall. The host hurriedly began the opening speech. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Mr. Edward's engagement ceremony!" Josie was pulled onto the stage by Evan, feeling deeply uncomfortable! That was right; she knew it was her fault for kissing him without his consent. He could have taken her to the police, and she would have accepted whatever punishment was given. But Josie never expected the handsome man to be so reckless. He just dragged her into a hall for an engagement!