"Have you thought it through? Once we step inside, two people who barely know each other will officially become husband and wife."
Ethan Ward stood on the steps, his posture upright and calm.
At the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, the breeze carried a faint trace of moisture in the air.
Nora Carter's eyes were slightly red. She wore a yellow dress that outlined her slim figure, her small backpack stuffed full. She clutched her ID and household registration booklet tightly in her hand, her expression unwavering.
"Almost thirty and still mooching off this house? Do you see your sister? She’s got a kid already, and look at you! No ambition, no good looks, lousy grades as a kid, and now you’re a spineless adult. Still picky? You want us to keep feeding you forever? Free-loading forever, huh?"
Those were her aunt's words from this morning.
Ever since she was a child, Nora had lived with her uncle's family, always walking on eggshells despite giving part of her salary every month after graduation. But no matter what, she couldn't breathe freely in that house.
She longed to marry and have a place to call her own, yet the blind dates her aunt had set up over the past six months were all disheartening—either with men who had obvious disabilities or didn’t seem right mentally.
All she wanted was to find a decent, normal person to spend her life with.She packed up all her belongings before coming to the blind date, bringing along her household registration book and ID. Her mind was set: as long as the man wasn’t weird and wasn’t picky about her, she’d be ready to get the certificate right on the spot.
Unexpectedly, this seemingly ordinary blind date took a turn—he actually brought his documents too.
Ethan Ward was tall, well-built, and way better looking than Nora Carter had anticipated. The moment he walked into the agreed-upon café, all eyes turned to him. His sharp gaze carried a calm and cool aura.
Never in her wildest dreams did Nora think her blind date would be the type of guy girls wouldn’t want to pass up.
Her aunt had said he was a programmer, well-off, working at a big company. Apparently, his life revolved around code, long hours, and sleepless nights, so he’d missed out on many chances for romance, leaving him single till now.
That day, Nora couldn’t help but glance at his hands—fair and slender. Even the angle of his face when he turned to talk to the waiter was ridiculously handsome.
How was it that this guy, with his polished vibe, hadn’t been snapped up by his female colleagues at work? Instead, someone as average as her managed to come across such a find.
What was going on here?
“Miss Carter, take another ten minutes if you need it,” Ethan said.
“No need, Mr. Ward. Let’s go inside,” Nora replied firmly.
Honestly, shouldn’t he be the one hesitating more?
The two walked silently into the civil affairs bureau, one after the other.
Standing at the marriage registration counter, Ethan spoke up again to remind her:"Marriage, for a woman, is as big of a deal as starting over completely. But we just met today, and we don't know anything about each other. You don't even know if I've ever broken the law. Miss Carter, marrying the wrong guy can be a nightmare. If you want to back out now, I totally get it."
Nora Carter just gave a faint, bitter smile.
Nightmare?
Could it possibly be worse than the life she's been enduring all these years?
Ever since her parents died in a car accident, she and her sister were split up—her sister going to their uncle's house, while Nora ended up at her aunt's. Their uncle had a better home, but his wife had an awful temper and would only take one of them, so Nora had voluntarily moved into her aunt’s house.
For years, she’d been treated like a servant, doing all the house chores. Even after she started working, she had to hand over part of her salary to her aunt.
Every piece of clothing and shoes she wore after high school were hand-me-downs from her cousin.
And it didn’t end there. She endured daily scolding and contempt from both her aunt and uncle.
Things only got worse. After her cousin got married and had a baby, even her cousin’s husband moved in. With the house already cramped, Nora was stuck taking care of everyone and was left to sleep in a tiny three-square-meter corner on the balcony.
This morning, she'd forgotten to hang up the laundry from the washing machine on time, which led to her aunt screaming at her. The weight of it all broke her. Crying, Nora had stormed out the door, her mind made up:
As long as today's blind date was remotely normal, she'd sign the papers and walk away from this suffocating 'home.'
Watching as Nora handed over her documents to the staff at the registry, Ethan Ward’s lips curled into a barely noticeable smile.