In love with my husband

Lois's POV I stormed out of my parents' mansion, the cool night air biting at my skin as I fought to hold back the overwhelming sense of defeat. My knees felt weak, like the ground beneath me might collapse at any moment. For a brief moment, I wished it would. Once again, they had won. They always did. I wasn’t the one in control—my parents were. They had their claws so deep in every aspect of my life, and no matter how hard I fought to break free, it was never enough. Time was running out. I had one month. If I didn’t marry Aaron Carson within the next thirty days, my entire existence, everything I had worked so hard for, would come crashing down. My position as the heiress to the robotics company would be gone, and I’d be left with nothing. The company. The one thing that meant more to me than anything else. I had poured every ounce of myself into building it. From the moment I was old enough to understand what it meant, I dedicated my life to it. Without me, it would still be languishing in the lower ranks, nowhere near the powerhouse it was now. And yet, here I was. Threatened to lose it all, forced into a marriage with the one person who had always made my life a living hell. I took a deep drag from the cigarette in my hand, the smoke swirling around me, and let out a bitter laugh. My father’s voice echoed in my head, warning me that "a woman shouldn’t smoke." I smiled at the thought and blew the smoke into the night air. It was a small act of rebellion. A quiet protest against everything they had ever tried to impose on me. I had never had time for love, for friendship, for anything outside of the company. Every waking hour had been spent working, building, grinding. And now, after everything, this was how I was repaid. My parents used the one thing that mattered most to me—the company—to force me into this marriage with Aaron Carson. I hated him. I had hated him for as long as I could remember. He wasn’t the one who bullied me directly, but he stood by and did nothing. He let his friends tear me apart, time and time again, without lifting a finger. I still remembered the darkest day of my life—the day I almost ended it all because of the bullying. And Aaron? He knew. He knew, and he did nothing. He said nothing. He was a coward. He had stolen clients from me, clients that could have helped me rise above second place. He had taken everything I had worked for, and now he was the richest man in the country, a direct rival to the company I had fought so hard to build. And now, I was supposed to marry him? The thought made me want to scream. But oddly, it didn’t seem like the worst idea in the world. Marrying Aaron Carson, the man I despised so much, could be a means to an end. A temporary contract, a billion-dollar deal. Divorce him later, when I had everything I wanted. But even as the plan formulated in my mind, I felt disgusted. I hated being controlled. Every part of my life had been dictated by them—what I ate, who I talked to, who I spent time with. And now they were choosing my husband for me, too? I blew out another puff of smoke, standing at the entrance of the mansion, as the weight of everything settled on my shoulders. A voice interrupted my thoughts. “Care to light mine?” Aaron’s familiar, deeply annoying voice reached my ears. I glanced over at him, standing in the shadows. Of course, he was here. He had been around ever since my parents started pushing for this wedding. Without saying a word, I walked toward him and lit his cigarette, staring him down with as much disdain as I could muster. “Don’t worry about the marriage,” he said, exhaling a cloud of smoke. “It’s not like we’re going to have children or anything.” He was right. This was just a contract. A business arrangement. Nothing more. I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself. I could do this. This was just another sacrifice in the long list of sacrifices I had already made. I had worked too hard to throw it all away. “Goodnight, Mr. Carson,” I finally said, turning away, but not before catching the way his eyes lingered on my back. The Wedding Day It was finally happening. I was really marrying Aaron. I walked down the aisle, my heart pounding in my chest. The sound of my heels clicking against the marble floor was deafening, and as I looked up, I saw Aaron’s face, his expression neutral, almost like he was bored. My parents were beaming with pride, but they weren’t my real family. They never had been. They had molded me, used me, and now they were making me pay the price. I didn’t have any bridesmaids—who would I even have? The people my parents chose for me to associate with? The same people who had bullied me in high school? And there he was, standing at the altar with his friends—groomsmen, most of whom had once been my tormentors. Aaron had really invited them here. He had to. I looked at them, my eyes narrowing. Hypocrites. I hated them all. I couldn’t wait for this day to be over. This was just a business deal. Nothing more. A means to an end. I could stomach it if I thought of it that way. A billion-dollar deal. But the thought of Aaron made my blood boil. He was arrogant, egotistical, a narcissist of the highest order. And I was about to marry him. “Do you take Lois Anderson to be your lawfully wedded wife?” the priest asked Aaron. “I do,” Aaron said, smirking. That damn smirk. It made my stomach turn. “Do you take Aaron Carson to be your lawfully wedded husband?” the priest asked me. “I do,” I replied, my voice barely a whisper. The priest smiled and said, “Good. You may kiss the bride.” Aaron’s face moved toward mine. I didn’t close my eyes as he kissed me, his lips pressing against mine in a way that felt like a punishment. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want him. And yet, there it was. I was married to the man I hated more than anyone else in the world. The deal was done. The contract signed. And I had no idea what came next.