Chapter 3

”All I’m looking for is to marry someone. I’m not trying to get anything out of you by asking you to marry me. You’ll be able to do whatever you want after marriage as if I didn’t exist. The other socialites can’t offer you that.”

Eiger’s uncle was a powerful man in Peacevale. Since his parents were forcing him to marry, he was definitely against the idea of marriage. This meant that he should be interested in the opportunity to tell his parents that he got married and retain his freedom at the same time.

North believed that he would agree to marry her under such a condition.

Gerald bent down, and his eyes shone with a dangerous glint. “You’re not trying to get anything out of me, you say?”

North’s heart sank. Why did she have the feeling that Gerald was not happy? What was wrong?

Was it not better for him if she was not trying to get anything out of him in the marriage?

The atmosphere was suffocating. Worried that he was going to say no, North tried thinking of something to salvage the situation, only to see Gerald suddenly turn around.

“Get in the car.”

Connor led North to the car. “Where are we going?” she asked.

Gerald looked relaxed, yet every movement of his screamed regality. “Didn’t you say you wanted to marry?”

He actually agreed to it?!

North was stunned for a moment. Then, she swooped over to his side as if afraid that he would change his mind. “Then, we shouldn’t waste any time! Let’s go to the city hall!”

Gerald smiled and chuckled.

Linda saw it and panicked. The man did not seem like an ordinary person. Had North gotten acquainted with a rich man? That was not allowed!

She went over and seized the car door.

“North, I can’t believe you’re bothering someone else after being a pest to Eiger! Don’t ruin this man’s life!”

North sized up Linda with mockery. “You’re telling me I’m being a bother when you’re a gold-digger?

“What nonsense!” Linda nearly started cursing her, but she turned to Gerald instead. “Sir, she’s a loose woman who has slept with plenty of men before. We have photographic evidence. You should not marry someone like her!”

North snickered. “Mrs. Myers, do you actually think everyone will fall for your stupid trick?”

Then, she spoke in a cryptic manner. “Eiger believed you because he’s dumb. My future husband is a smart man. He can see right through your tricks.”

Future husband?

Gerald smiled happily. “Yes. I believe Ms. North isn’t that sort of person.” His voice was husky and charming, but it made Linda break out in cold sweat. “Besides, I’m the only person who decides who I should or should not marry.”

North’s heart skipped a beat. Even though she knew that he was protecting his own dignity by saying that, she still felt touched.

She quickly recovered and gave Linda a challenging look. “Hear that, my dear stepmother? Anyone with basic common sense can tell which daughter of yours is worth picking. Have your darling girl marry that piece of trash. Trash should stay with trash, after all. I won’t be entertaining him anymore.”

Then, the car left.

Linda’s face turned red and twisted with rage. Was the man really going to marry North?

She could not let North overshadow Melinda!

She had to think of something…

…

Half an hour later, the car arrived at the city hall.

Gerald and North were asked to go to the third floor by someone who looked like a high-ranking government official. Then, he handed the papers to them.

North was a little puzzled. They were just getting married. Did the government official need to kick up such a fuss?

But it was fine, since it meant that she was about to get married to Eiger’s uncle. After all, she could only inherit her mother’s inheritance by marrying someone from the South family.

North signed her name. She sighed in relief and watched Gerald write down his name.

Gerald Howard.

Hang on a second…

North’s heart leapt to her throat, and her expression changed. “You’re a Howard?”

Shouldn’t Eiger’s uncle be a South as well?

Gerald did not even look up from penning his signature. “I changed my family name.”

“Oh, okay…” North patted her chest. That gave her a scare. She thought she married the wrong person.

But something felt strange. Gerald’s name was giving her a sense of deja vu.

North frowned. Suddenly, she remembered it. She looked up, and her eyes flew wide open.