Adriana’s POV 

My flight from New York to Los Angeles was a blur, from the check-in with my few precious earthly possessions to finally descending from the plane. 

 Everything still felt so surreal, like a bad dream that had dragged on for too long. Anyone who saw me dryly dragging my luggage could not have possibly imagined that, just a couple of hours ago, I was eagerly holding an anniversary cake hoping to spend a romantic night with my husband.

  I fished out my phone and stared at the picture my Mom had sent me. A muscular yet lean man with piercing eyes and a confident disposition.

 Generally, I couldn't fault his looks. In fact, I could go as far as to say that he was exceptionally handsome. I was just looking for someone presentable when I asked my highly connected mother to arrange another marriage for me. 

Her shock was palpable when I made my request.

“My dear, are you ill?” My mother's voice crept through the phone tenderly. 

 I shook my head even though she could not see me.

 “No, in fact, I feel better than I have in years.” 

 I didn't go into the details–that my husband slept with my stepmom. My mom couldn't keep a secret even if her life depended on it.

 In the end, my reputation would end up being dragged in the mud along with theirs.

 Mom immediately sent four candidates to me. She didn't ask a lot of questions about my separation from her former son-in-law.  

Infact, I knew she was bubbling all over with joy because she always turned her nose down at my relationship with my ex-husband.

“Of all people, why would you marry your father's chauffeur?” she practically wailed when I told her.

“He's a good man, and I think he has a knack for business. I want to give him a chance.” 

 I sighed, looking at the picture of my husband being crazy. I could say that when my divorce wasn't even a single day old.

 Jason had not attempted to reach out to me even once, revealing just how little he cared about me, about all the sacrifices I made for him and all the years we spent together.

  As disheartening as it was, it was also a real eye-opener. Completely ripping off the mask that he had worn so diligently all these years.

 I chuckled bitterly at myself as I boarded a cab, from a chauffeur to a CEO. What an upgrade! He must think that he had really lucked out, but let's see how long he can go by without me.

  Despite Jason being the CEO, I was the one that handled all affairs regarding that position, meaning that I had none of the power but all the responsibility of constantly cleaning up after him, while he took all the glory. 

 Now let's see how long he can keep the ship floating all by himself.

  I arrived at the five-star hotel where I was scheduled to meet him. I thought my husband was Hayden Williams. 

 Attached to their pictures was some background information about them. Hayden Williams, a billionaire, was a very influential figure in the business world 5 years ago, until he became a widower and withdrew from the world. There was also talk of him being chronically ill. 

   He was the one that I asked about first because he stood out that way. There seem to be several demerits to marrying him that weren't exactly canceled out by his net worth.

   I was going to refuse to meet up with him, then my mother ‘gently’ reminded me about how my own personal choice in men turned out.

   So now I was ready to see this through, if Mom really had a better taste than I did or if I could prove her wrong. Either way, it looks like a win-win situation for me. 

 After a brief conversation with the receptionist, I took the elevator alone up to the top floor where his room was. 

 “Excessively much?” I thought to myself. I already knew that he was rich, he didn't have to flaunt it so much.

  “I don't even know why my mother wanted me to meet this man so badly. If we actually end up getting married, then I'll be a widow in no time.”

  I was cut off by the ding of the elevator reaching the top floor and also the cold realization of why my mother was really pressing for me to choose this man. 

   The decent thing for me to do at that moment was to gently retrace my steps first by pressing the elevator button. Instead, I found myself striding past the doors and heading for his suite. Why? On the surface, I told myself that it was simply because I didn't want my mother nagging me later but deep in the dark corners of my heart I had seen what my mother pictured for my new ‘marriage’ and I was not as horrified as I should have been. 

   When I was finally seated across from the man, it struck me that his picture had done him no justice at all. He was a sight for sunrise and much better looking than I had expected him.

“Did you come here to gawk at me all day?” his words hit me like a slap in the face. I felt like someone that had suddenly sobered up and began to see things with more clarity. 

  He was good-looking, but he had dark circles disturbing his eyes that could almost be mistaken for badly placed eyeshadows. His brown curly hair, which had been mesmerizing to look at in the picture, was a sharp juxtaposition to the hair he had on his head, which could be mistaken for a bird's nest.

 Only his dress made the most effort and even though that looked minimal, he was wearing a light blue shirt with black pants. Another contrast in the difference with his picture was his smile–or rather the absence of it. His face had been set in a deep frown from the moment I walked in.

 He placed the documents before me, practically slamming them on the table.

“Well, let's get down to business, shall we?”