Whirlwind Wedding: My Ex’s Adoptive Dad

Chapter 2

Just one week after Madeline decided to go through with the whirlwind marriage, she and Adrian got legally married.

The process was quick.

Even then, Madeline still felt slightly dazed whenever she remembered that she was married.

She packed a few essentials from her old apartment, and Adrian took her to the estate where he usually lived.

The manicured gardens and sprawling lakeside house were everything Madeline had ever imagined a luxury estate could be.

Adrian called a housekeeper over to show her to her room, then placed a key to the estate in her palm with surprising solemnity.

Her room turned out to be an entire suite with a bedroom, walk-in closet, bathroom, and small sitting room. The windows faced the lake, giving her an incredible view.

What surprised Madeline even more was the decor.

It matched her taste perfectly.

The walk-in closet was already full. There were casual clothes, formal gowns, lingerie, shoes, and accessories, all in her exact sizes.

'How does he know any of this? Lucas wouldn't have told him, would he?'

"Mr. Hayes personally arranged all of this for you," Linda Foster, one of the housekeepers, said respectfully. "Mrs. Hayes, if there's anything missing, just tell me and I'll arrange it right away."

For a contract husband, Adrian knew far too much about her and was far too attentive.

Madeline shook her head. "This is more than enough. Thank you."

She walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows and stared out at the lake.

None of it felt real.

Just 1 week ago, Lucas had dumped her, shattering her dream of marrying into the Hayes family. She had been living in the small apartment she had bought herself, trying to figure out how to stop her parents from harassing her for good.

Now she was Adrian's wife, living in a lakeside mansion where a single dress in her closet cost more than an ordinary person earned in years.

Life was absurd.

Adrian didn't talk much over dinner, but every so often Madeline caught him watching her.

Each time, she pretended not to notice and calmly looked away, though her heart always skipped a beat.

"I'm flying to Bayhaven tomorrow for 2 days," Adrian said after dinner. "Then I'm going to Viremont for one week."

Madeline looked up. "Seriously? I'm going to Viremont next week too. My company has a project there."

"I know," Adrian set down his knife and fork. "That's why I pushed my trip back so we can fly together. Where is your company putting you up?"

"A hotel in the Riverside District."

Adrian stood. "I have a villa in the Westgate District, close to your project site. Stay there. Tyler will arrange a driver for you. I still have some work to finish. You should get some rest."

He reached the stairs, then stopped.

"Creston Group owns a design studio. Once you're back from Viremont, you can apply directly for the design director position."

Madeline stared at him.

She had only recently started working full-time.

"Why? You'd give me a position like that just because I'm your wife?"

She couldn't stop herself from asking.

There were too many things she didn't understand.

'Why did he marry me? Why me, specifically? What could he possibly want from me?'

From the beginning, this marriage had made her deeply uneasy, yet she still couldn't bring herself to reject terms this generous.

Adrian turned to look at her.

"First, because you're talented. Second, because I want my wife to have every chance to reach her full potential."

For the first time, Madeline understood what it felt like to have someone use their power to lift her up instead of holding her down.

Still, she knew exactly what she wanted for her career.

She was a junior designer. She wasn't ready to be a director. She needed several years at Lynwood first, enough time to sharpen her skills and build a name of her own.

"Thank you, but I'd like to stay at Lynwood for a few more years. I'm not considering leaving yet."

Adrian nodded as if he had expected that answer. "I respect your decision."

Then he went upstairs.

Late that night, Madeline came downstairs after a shower, wrapped in a robe, and heard the soft tapping of a keyboard in the living room.

Adrian sat on the sofa in dark silk pajamas, his suit and rimless glasses gone. Without the hard, ruthless edge he carried in the business world, he looked unexpectedly relaxed and dangerously attractive.

At the sound of her footsteps, he closed his laptop.

"Still awake?"

"I think I'm just not used to the bed yet. I can't sleep," Madeline admitted.

Adrian patted the cushion beside him. "Come sit."

She hesitated, then crossed the room and sat down, leaving as much space between them as the sofa allowed.

It wasn't much.

The room was dim, the house quiet, and they were alone together in the middle of the night. With them sitting this close, it was hard not to wonder where the night might lead.

Madeline caught the faint scent of cedar on him.

It was nothing like Lucas's loud, showy cologne. Adrian's scent was clean and understated. It eased some of her unease, only to replace it with a different kind of anticipation.

Warmth slowly crept into her cheeks.

Adrian glanced at her, rose, and poured her a glass of warm spiced wine.

Madeline accepted it.

The warm wine went down smoothly, warming her from the inside out. Before she realized it, she had finished the whole glass.

"Mr. Hayes."

"Mm?"

"Why did you marry me?" Madeline turned to him, her eyes hazy from the wine. "If all you needed was someone to keep Margaret happy, you had plenty of choices."

Adrian was silent for a moment.

His dark gaze stayed fixed on her face, so intense it almost burned.

The alcohol had left Madeline's thoughts pleasantly blurred, and she was too tipsy to recognize the tenderness and desire in his eyes.

"Because you're right for me. You're intelligent and clearheaded. You know what you want, and you know how to fight for it. There's a stubborn resilience in you. You're like wild grass after a fire. Even when life burns you to the ground, you find a way to grow back."

His voice lowered.

"Madeline, the woman I marry needs to be someone who can stand beside me as an equal. I think you can."

Madeline didn't know how to answer.

Adrian was far above her in wealth and influence, yet he never made her feel beneath him.

'Am I imagining it? He seems endlessly patient and gentle with me. Sometimes there's even something else in the way he looks at me: the tenderness of someone who's finally gotten something precious back after losing it once.'

"So..." Adrian suddenly leaned closer.

He raised a hand and brushed his fingertips over her cheek.

"Mrs. Hayes, should we give this a try?"

As he leaned closer, his warmth and cedar scent enveloped her. His fingertips felt unbearably hot against her skin.

"Try what?"

"Let's start with our marital duties."

Adrian lowered his head and kissed her.

The instant their lips met, a tremor went through Madeline.

Half the courage the wine had given her vanished immediately.

Still, she didn't push him away.

She closed her eyes and tentatively rested her fingertips on his broad shoulders.

The kiss deepened.

His palm slid from her cheek to her neck, and his fingers brushed aside the edge of her robe.

A shiver swept through her entire body.

"Afraid of me?" Adrian murmured against her lips.

"No. Well... maybe a little."

Madeline opened her eyes and looked at him, her words slightly slurred by the wine.

"I need to be clear about something. I married you for money and status. I also married you because your face and body are exactly my type. And yes, a small part of me wanted revenge on Lucas. I don't love you."

That was the truth.

If Adrian hadn't been physically attractive to her, or if he had looked even a little old for his age, Madeline wouldn't have accepted this marriage no matter how tempting the offer had been.

"Don't be afraid. I know you don't love me."

Adrian kissed her again.

One day, he would make her love him.

"I know exactly where we stand," he said softly.

He pressed a scattering of light kisses to her skin, a fierce, almost obsessive certainty burning in his dark eyes.

Then he wrapped an arm around her waist and scooped her up.

He pushed open the main bedroom door with his elbow. It clicked shut behind them, cutting off the moonlit view of the lake outside.

Held against his chest, Madeline could feel the heat pouring off his body.

Her head tipped back slightly, and the ceiling lights blurred above her.

"Mr. Hayes," she whispered hoarsely.

"Mm?"

Adrian lowered his head and kissed her collarbone.

"You have to keep your word."

There was no time to clarify which promise she meant.

Adrian leaned close to her ear.

"I never break my word."

The next morning, Madeline shifted and immediately hissed.

Her entire body ached.

'What happened to "I won't touch you until you're ready"? What happened to being cold, restrained, and uninterested in women? He'd been absolutely insatiable.'

Madeline pushed herself upright. The blanket slipped from her shoulder, revealing the marks scattered across her skin.

'Thank God Adrian had already left.'

After seeing that side of him, she genuinely had no idea how she was supposed to face him in daylight.

Her collarbone, chest, waist... there were marks everywhere.

"So much for the rumors..." she muttered, her voice still a little hoarse.

The rumors about him being cold, passionless, and uninterested in women were clearly nonsense.

The man who had kept her up until well past midnight was nothing like the Adrian Hayes from the rumors.

Her phone vibrated.

Madeline picked it up and saw that her best friend, Charlotte Wells, was calling.

"Maddie! Have you checked i********:?" Charlotte demanded, furious. "That bastard Lucas announced his engagement to Rebecca last night."

Madeline barely reacted. "Congratulations to the happy couple."

Charlotte was genuinely outraged.

"It's only been a few days since you broke up, and he couldn't wait to make it public? He's obviously trying to get a reaction out of you."

"Maybe."

Madeline got out of bed, crossed to the windows, and pulled back the curtains.

Sunlight glittered across the lake. Beyond it stretched the Northvale skyline.

She could work her whole life and still never afford a place like this on her own.

"Lottie, I got married."

Silence.

At least 30 seconds passed.

"What? Who did you marry? Maddie, are you joking?"

"I got married," Madeline repeated. "To Adrian Hayes."

"Adrian Hayes?" Charlotte's voice shot up. "Lucas's father? Maddie, have you lost your mind?"