Chapter Two : The Marriage That Should Not Exist
1484 Words
Chapter Two: The Marriage That Should Not Exist
The ballroom that had erupted with laughter only minutes earlier was now drowning in chaos.
A storm had replaced celebration.
Reporters surged forward like a breaking wave, their voices overlapping, sharp and desperate.
“Mr. Liang! Is this marriage real or staged?”
“Miss Zhang! Did you plan this with him?”
“Is this a corporate alliance between WeiTech and Zhang Shipping assets?”
Microphones pushed forward violently. Camera flashes exploded across the stage like artificial lightning.
Security guards rushed in, struggling to hold back the growing storm of media pressure.
But the center of it all
was silent.
Zhang Mei stood frozen under the blinding lights, the marriage certificate trembling slightly in her hands.
Her mind refused to accept what she was seeing.
Married?
To Liang Wei?
It felt absurd. Impossible. Like a mistake the universe would correct any second now.
This had to be fake.
A publicity stunt gone wrong.
A cruel joke.
Her grip tightened on the paper as if it might dissolve under pressure.
Beside her, Liang Wei’s expression had completely changed.
The faint haze of alcohol was gone now.
Only clarity remained.
And with it
cold realization.
His eyes narrowed as he stared at the document between them.
“What exactly did we just sign?” he asked quietly.
His voice was calm.
But there was something sharp underneath it now. Something dangerous.
Huo Zhen scratched the back of his head, suddenly regretting every decision of the last ten minutes.
“Technically…” he said slowly, “a legally binding marriage document.”
Liang Wei turned his head toward him.
Slowly.
“Say that again.”
Huo Zhen swallowed. “I wish I could say it differently.”
The clerk who had been assigned for the charity event suddenly stepped forward, adjusting his glasses with trembling fingers.
“I-it’s already been processed through the civil registry system,” he stammered. “Everything is official. Stamped. Recorded.”
Silence fell instantly.
The entire room seemed to freeze.
Even the reporters hesitated for a fraction of a second.
Because that meant
this was real.
Not symbolic.
Not staged.
Real.
Zhang Mei’s stomach dropped violently.
Her fingers loosened slightly around the certificate.
No.
This couldn’t be happening.
Not after everything she had survived.
Not after everything she had already lost.
Liang Wei reached out and took the certificate from her hand.
His eyes scanned it carefully.
His signature was there.
Bold.
Permanent.
Beside it
hers.
His jaw tightened.
A muscle ticked near his cheek.
“Get my car ready,” he said coldly without looking away.
His assistant immediately moved.
Security tightened around him like a shield forming.
But Zhang Mei remained where she was, caught in the center of the storm.
She stepped down from the stage slowly, hoping to disappear into the crowd.
But fate did not allow escape that easily.
A reporter shouted from the front row.
“Miss Zhang! Your family disowned you two years ago! Is this marriage your way of reclaiming status?”
The words hit her like a slap.
Another voice followed instantly.
“Did you trap Mr. Liang?”
“She must have planned this!”
“I heard she’s desperate for money!”
Whispers grew louder.
Sharper.
Crueler.
“She’s using him.”
“It’s a comeback scheme.”
“She sold herself back into power.”
Zhang Mei’s fingers curled tightly at her sides.
She had been humiliated before.
She had been abandoned before.
But this—
this felt different.
Because this time…
someone else was standing in the middle of her ruin.
And she had dragged him in with her.
Before the noise could escalate further, Liang Wei suddenly stepped forward.
The crowd immediately fell silent.
Not because they were told to
but because they felt it.
Authority.
Pressure.
Danger.
He didn’t raise his voice.
He didn’t need to.
“This matter,” he said calmly, “will be handled by my legal team tomorrow morning.”
His gaze swept across the reporters slowly.
Cold.
Measured.
“And I suggest,” he added quietly, “that you stop turning fiction into headlines.”
No one spoke.
Not even the cameras dared move closer.
Within seconds, his security team formed a path and escorted him out.
The energy shifted instantly.
The center of attention was gone.
And Zhang Mei
was left behind.
Standing alone under the lights.
Exposed.
For the first time in years, she felt it again.
Not sadness.
Not anger.
Something far worse.
Helplessness.
Outside the Grand Imperial Hotel
The night air was colder than expected.
The city glowed in the distance, skyscrapers reflecting neon lights like silent witnesses.
A long black luxury car waited at the entrance.
Engines idling.
Doors open.
Waiting.
Liang Wei stood beside it, his expression unreadable.
The world’s youngest tech CEO looked like a man trying to calculate damage no algorithm could fix.
Footsteps approached behind him.
Zhang Mei.
She stopped a few steps away.
Neither of them spoke immediately.
The silence between them felt heavier than the chaos they had just escaped.
Finally
Liang Wei spoke.
“Did you plan this?”
His voice was not loud.
Not accusatory.
But precise.
Like a question designed to extract truth, not emotion.
Zhang Mei met his gaze directly.
“No.”
No hesitation.
No fear.
Just truth.
Liang Wei studied her carefully.
Not her face.
Not her appearance.
But her reaction.
People who lied usually broke eye contact first.
She didn’t.
Behind them, Huo Zhen exhaled in relief.
“Good,” he muttered. “Because I was starting to think I caused a national disaster.”
Liang Wei didn’t look away from Zhang Mei.
“This is your fault,” he said flatly.
Huo Zhen raised both hands. “Hey! I didn’t know the certificate was real!”
Zhang Mei folded her arms.
“Neither did I.”
For a moment
something like absurdity passed through the air.
A billionaire.
A disgraced heiress.
A drunk signature.
And a legal marriage nobody asked for.
Liang Wei rubbed his temple slowly.
“This is ridiculous,” he muttered.
Not angry.
Just… controlled disbelief.
He had built companies worth billions.
Negotiated global deals.
Outmaneuvered competitors twice his age.
But somehow
he had been legally married in front of half the city.
To a stranger.
He turned toward Zhang Mei again.
“Get in the car.”
She blinked.
“Why?”
His gaze sharpened slightly.
“We need to fix this.”
That was all.
No emotion.
Just calculation.
After a brief pause, Zhang Mei opened the door and stepped inside.
The interior of the car smelled faintly of leather and expensive cologne.
The city lights blurred past the tinted windows as the vehicle moved.
Silence filled the space.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Finally, Liang Wei spoke.
“Do you want to annul it?”
Zhang Mei didn’t hesitate.
“Yes.”
Simple.
Clean.
Final.
He nodded once.
“Good.”
At least they agreed on something.
From the front seat, Huo Zhen twisted around, still uneasy.
“There’s a small issue…”
Liang Wei’s eyes narrowed.
“What now?”
Huo Zhen slowly lifted his phone.
He didn’t say anything.
He just showed the screen.
The headline was already trending.
BILLIONAIRE CEO LIANG WEI MARRIES DISGRACED HEIRESS IN SHOCKING CHARITY GALA SCANDAL
Below it
images.
Blinding flashes.
Their signatures.
Their faces.
Their names.
Zhang Mei’s breath caught.
“It’s everywhere…” she whispered.
Huo Zhen nodded.
“And it’s only been twenty minutes.”
The silence that followed was different.
Heavier.
More dangerous.
Liang Wei leaned back against the seat.
His mind shifted immediately.
Damage control mode.
Stock impact.
Public perception.
Investor reaction.
WeiTech reputation.
And
Zhang Mei.
Because whether she liked it or not, she was now attached to him in the public eye.
Finally, he spoke.
“We can’t annul it immediately.”
Zhang Mei turned sharply.
“What?”
His tone remained calm.
“It would escalate attention.”
Her brows furrowed.
“So what are you suggesting?”
Liang Wei turned slightly toward her.
His eyes were steady.
“We remain married.”
The car went completely silent.
Even Huo Zhen froze.
“Wait what?” he blurted.
Liang Wei continued without emotion.
“Temporarily.”
Zhang Mei stared at him.
As if she was trying to determine whether he had lost his mind.
“How temporary?”
“Until media attention dies down.”
“And after that?”
“Then we separate quietly.”
Zhang Mei looked out the window.
The city lights blurred.
This was insane.
Completely insane.
But
strangely logical.
Because if they divorced now, the scandal would explode further.
If they stayed silent, it might fade.
And her reputation
what little was left of it
might survive.
She exhaled slowly.
One word.
“Fine.”
Liang Wei nodded.
“Good.”
- Writer
