Married to Mr. Sterling

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When Adrian Sterling asked me to marry him, we were standing outside the county clerk’s office.

The night before, I’d cried until dawn. And then, as if everything I’d spent years wanting had suddenly been placed in my hands, I found myself dizzy with happiness.

He was someone so many women admired from afar—handsome, capable, untouchable.

I was quiet for a long time before I finally asked, “Why me?”

He gave a faint smile, but there was something weary in it. “Because with you, Grandfather will be at ease.”

That one sentence should have made things clear.

This marriage was never about love. At most, it was a practical arrangement where each of us got what we needed.

But I still said yes.

Then, on the day we were supposed to officially register the marriage, he disappeared.

I changed clothes three times before I was satisfied, then stood in front of the mirror for what felt like forever.

Today was my wedding day.

No—more accurately, it was the day I was going to become Mrs. Sterling.

I’d started getting ready early that morning. Makeup, hair, even perfume—I made sure every detail was as close to perfect as I could get.

My best friend had sighed when she saw me. “Look at you. You’re marrying Adrian Sterling, and now even your grandfather’s dream is finally coming true.”

That was true enough.

And yet, by the time I arrived, Adrian still hadn’t shown up.

At first I thought he was just running late.

Then, without warning, a sign hanging overhead came loose and crashed down.

Everything happened too fast. I only had time to freeze before the crowd around me erupted into chaos, shouting as they scattered out of the way.

And then someone rushed toward me and yanked me back.

His arm closed around me with sudden force. My forehead slammed into his chest, and the sign that should have hit me smashed onto the ground right where I’d been standing.

For a second, I was too stunned to react.

I had never been held that tightly by him before.

But only for a moment. Very quickly, he released me, lowered his head to look me over, and after confirming I was fine, said in a low voice, “Come on. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

I still hadn’t fully processed what had just happened.

By the time I came back to myself, Adrian was already standing outside the examination room, one hand holding his phone to his ear.

I heard him say, “I can’t make it to the office today. Something came up.”

Then, after a brief pause, his tone softened almost imperceptibly. “No, it’s nothing serious. Don’t worry.”

Just those two lines were enough for me to understand.

There really was someone else who mattered to him.

He had married me, but the person he cared about was not me.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I turned away, only to see my reflection in the glass nearby. I was still wearing a faint, ridiculous smile from earlier.

I almost laughed at myself. How pathetic.

When Adrian walked back over, his brows were drawn together slightly.

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“Since you’re fine,” he said after a pause, “we can still go register the marriage now.”

As if what had just happened hadn’t happened at all.

As if I hadn’t already understood something I was never supposed to say out loud.

I looked at him and asked softly, “Adrian… if this is something you don’t want, do you really have to force yourself?”

He went still.

Then he gave a short, quiet laugh, like he’d heard something absurd. “Claire,” he said, “you really do know how to overthink things.”

The corridor outside was quiet enough that every sound seemed amplified.

All the other guests had already gone. The room felt emptier than it had a moment ago, the silence pressing in after everything that had just happened.

Adrian stood in front of me, his expression calm as ever.

And yet my heart had already fallen into complete chaos.

A few minutes ago, when he asked me to marry him, I had almost convinced myself he was doing it because Grandfather Sterling’s condition had worsened, because the family needed stability, because in a situation like this, I just happened to be the most suitable option.

That explanation had barely held together.

Then he said that.

Not a favor.

Not an obligation.

A chance.

My heartbeat instantly lost its rhythm.

Only now did I finally understand what had felt so strange before.

Back there, when he looked at me, there had been something in his eyes I didn’t dare examine too closely.

I’d been happy for one reckless second, and then forced myself to push the thought down, telling myself I was imagining things, that I was reading too much into a moment that couldn’t possibly mean what I wanted it to mean.

But now, all at once, that fragile excuse was gone.

He had already made himself clear.

Claire, if you’re willing, then marry me.

I froze where I stood. It seemed like he suddenly realized what he had just said, because a flicker of discomfort crossed his face. He looked away, and for the first time in a long while, he seemed almost… annoyed with himself.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” he asked.

Wasn’t it because I couldn’t believe this was happening?

I lowered my eyes and gave a soft laugh.

Honestly, this really was enough.

I shouldn’t be asking for more.

In fact, he’d already done more than enough for me.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

He was considerate, steady, and decent. He’d never deliberately make things difficult for me, and he would never treat me carelessly.

As for me, all I had ever done was quietly love him for years, keeping that feeling tucked away like some secret treasure no one else knew about.

So maybe…

Whatever reason was behind this…

“…I can’t tell you right now,” he said after a pause, his voice lower than before. “But since I’ve said it, I mean it. As long as you agree, I won’t go back on my word.”

For a moment, I looked at the man in front of me.

A man who might truly spend the rest of his life with me.

A man who could also bring my family practical benefits I couldn’t pretend not to see.

Anyone in my position would know which choice made sense.

I was quiet for a few seconds and didn’t ask anything else.

I only looked at him and said, “You really don’t change at all.”

He let out a faint breath, almost like a laugh. “What do you mean?”

What did I mean?

I’d known him for more than ten years. He had always been this way.

The first time I met him was at the hospital. I was still young then, sitting alone on a bench outside Grandfather Sterling’s room, waiting while the adults went in and out discussing things I couldn’t understand.

He had walked over from the other end of the hallway, tall and self-possessed even at that age, with a girl in a private school uniform following behind him. He glanced up once, saw me, and that was all.

Later, we met again at a charity scholarship event. I heard people say he had performed brilliantly, and I happened to be on the same program schedule as him.

And then year after year passed. Now we were standing here, talking about marriage, breathing the same air.

But when he looked at me, he still only had that one line—

that I hadn’t changed much.

I almost laughed.

At that moment, I suddenly understood something.

Maybe I really hadn’t changed that much. Time had only taught me to smooth out my edges, to wear quieter colors, to smile more gently.

The only obvious difference was probably that my long hair had been cut shorter, and I wore lighter makeup now.

But whether it was enough or not, whether it counted or didn’t, those things I’d once worried over so seriously suddenly didn’t seem important anymore.

I had just gotten lucky. That was all.

Lucky enough that he was willing to be good to me.

So I smiled and teased, pretending not to care. “Then what? Since I haven’t changed, are you disappointed? Too late now. Once we’re married, backing out won’t be that easy.”

He lifted his eyes to look at me, and there was finally an unmistakable softness in them.

Then he sighed and said quietly, almost helplessly—

“You.”

The day I was discharged from the hospital, Adrian came to pick me up.

He arrived in a dark gray sedan, and his assistant had already handled the paperwork. By the time I came downstairs with my things, all I had left to do was get in the car.