Happily Never After: Then I Married a Stranger

Happily Never After: Then I Married a Stranger

Chapter 1: The Betrayal

Scarlett stood outside the County Clerk’s office, wearing a soft ivory dress. Her hand rested on her noticeably pregnant belly. She had waited seven years for this day—seven years since she met Julian in college.

But Julian was late.

When the door finally opened, her smile faded. Julian walked out holding hands with Amber, Scarlett’s college rival.

"I'm sorry, Scarlett," Julian said, not sounding sorry at all. He stood on the top step, looking down at her. "I can't go through with this."

Amber smirked, her arm wrapped around Julian's possessively.

"What about the baby?" Scarlett whispered, her voice shaking. "Your baby?"

Julian shrugged coldly. "Wait a month. Let the baby be born first. Then I'll think about it." He paused, looking at her like she was a stranger. "The child needs a father, doesn't he?"

Tears burned Scarlett's eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Not in front of them. Not after being humiliated like this.

She turned around and walked away, leaving Julian and Amber standing on the steps like victorious royalty.

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Chapter 2: The Arranged Marriage

Scarlett's family was humiliated, but they refused to let her suffer alone.

"Dominic Hawthorne has agreed to the arrangement," her mother said gently. "He's a mining magnate living in London. He's... quiet. But he won't hurt you."

Scarlett had seen Dominic's photo once—sharp jaw, intense eyes, expression unreadable. A stranger.

Their wedding was small and cold. No love declarations. Just a business transaction between two families.

But on their first night, Dominic said something that caught her off guard: "I will never humiliate you. That is my only promise."

In London, Scarlett gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She named him Leo.

She expected Dominic to be distant. But every night, when Leo cried, Dominic was the one who woke up first. He would hold the baby for hours, pacing the nursery so Scarlett could sleep.

One night, she found him sitting in the dark, Leo asleep on his chest.

"You don't have to do this," she whispered.

Dominic looked up, his expression soft for the first time. "I want to."

And slowly, Scarlett began to wonder if this arranged marriage might become something real.

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Chapter 3: The Return

Three years passed.

The Hawthorne family invited Scarlett and Dominic to a grand memorial gala back in their hometown. Dominic couldn't attend immediately due to business, so he sent someone to pick her up from the airport.

She stepped out of the black limousine, holding three-year-old Leo's hand.

And standing by the entrance, looking like he had seen a ghost, was Julian.

"You..." Julian's eyes went wide, scanning her expensive dress, the designer bag, the chauffeur. "You're back?"

"I'm here for the gala," Scarlett said flatly.

Julian's shock quickly turned into a familiar, arrogant smile. "I knew it. You came back for me, didn't you? You still love me."

Scarlett laughed coldly. "Don't flatter yourself."

Just then, Amber appeared behind Julian. She looked Scarlett up and down with obvious jealousy, then smirked when she saw Leo.

"Wow, Scarlett. You had a kid? Who's the unlucky father?"

Scarlett didn't answer. She simply walked past them, Leo in her arms, leaving Julian and Amber standing there confused.

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Chapter 4: The Gala

The memorial gala was held at a grand estate. Crystal chandeliers. Champagne towers. The wealthiest families in the city.

Scarlett arrived alone, since Dominic was still on his way. Julian was assigned to "escort" her—a deliberate humiliation orchestrated by Amber.

"Look who's back," Amber announced loudly, drawing the crowd's attention. "Scarlett. The woman who couldn't keep her man."

Guests turned to stare. Whispers spread.

Julian stepped forward, playing his role perfectly. "Scarlett, don't embarrass yourself. Just admit you came back for me."

"I came back for the memorial," Scarlett repeated, her voice steady. "Not for you."

Amber laughed cruelly. "Then where's your husband? Oh wait—did he abandon you too? Just like Julian did?"

The crowd murmured. Scarlett felt heat rise to her cheeks, but she refused to cry.

Just as Amber raised her champagne glass, ready to pour it over Scarlett's head—

"She's with me."

The voice cut through the room like a blade.

Everyone turned.

Dominic Hawthorne stood at the entrance, dressed in a black tailored suit, his eyes cold as ice. He walked forward slowly, every step commanding silence.

Amber's hand froze mid-air.

Dominic stopped in front of Scarlett, gently took Leo from her arms, then turned to face the crowd.

"Scarlett is my wife," Dominic announced, his voice low and dangerous. "Leo is my son. And anyone who disrespects them—answers to me."

He looked directly at Julian and Amber. "I suggest you leave. Now."

Julian's face went pale. Amber dropped her champagne glass. It shattered on the marble floor.

But Dominic wasn't done.

He turned to Scarlett, cupped her face gently, and kissed her forehead in front of everyone. Then he whispered, loud enough for the room to hear:

"I have loved you since long before this arrangement. You just never knew."

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Chapter 5: The Truth Revealed

Later that night, in the privacy of their hotel suite, Scarlett finally asked the question that had haunted her for three years.

"Why did you agree to marry me? We were strangers."

Dominic sat beside her, Leo already asleep in the next room. He took a long breath.

"I knew you in college, Scarlett. You don't remember me, but I remember you." He looked at her with raw honesty. "You were always kind. Always strong. When I heard what Julian did to you—leaving you pregnant and humiliated on your wedding day—I wanted to destroy him."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you needed time to heal. Not another man forcing his feelings on you." He took her hand. "I waited three years to prove that I'm not like him."

Scarlett's eyes filled with tears—but this time, they were happy tears.

"You're nothing like him," she whispered. "You're everything he could never be."

Dominic smiled—a real, warm smile. "Good. Because I'm not letting you go. Ever."

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Epilogue: Happy Ending

Six months later.

Scarlett stood in front of a mirror, wearing a white wedding dress—the wedding she never got to have.

This time, there was no County Clerk's office. No cold arrangement.

This time, she married Dominic in a garden filled with flowers, with Leo running down the aisle as the ring bearer.

Julian and Amber were nowhere to be seen. They had been banished from high society after Dominic exposed their schemes at the gala.

As Dominic kissed his bride, he whispered, "I told you I would never humiliate you."

Scarlett smiled. "You gave me so much more than that. You gave me love."

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THE END

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