The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus)

Glancing at the approaching man, Sabrina eyed him warily. "What do you want?"

Carter stood before her, his towering stature making her look like a child in comparison. He raised her chin, meeting her wide, innocent eyes.

A strange fluttering sensation passed through his heart, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "As a woman with a fiancé, coming home late at night with another man and reeking of booze, what do you think your fiancé would do? Hmm?"

"Or is it that my presence isn't enough for you, prompting you to have such an exciting nightlife?" He gripped her chin tightly, causing her to wince in pain.

Sabrina tried to free herself from his grasp, but he pulled her into his arms, lifting her off the ground.

Before she could react, he was carrying her up the stairs.

What was he doing?

Sabrina struggled, but his iron grip remained unyielding, his gaze as cold as ice.

He kicked open the bedroom door, then closed it behind him. Without a second thought, he tossed the struggling woman onto his king-sized bed.

Sabrina felt dizzy. The alcohol had taken its toll, and she felt like throwing up. This damned man! How dare he throw her onto the bed like that!

She hadn't provoked him. Why was he acting as if he'd been wronged?

"Miss Shaw, I understand that I've been neglecting you, driving you into the arms of other men. But tonight, I will fulfill my duties as your fiancé," he said, unbuttoning his shirt as he spoke. Then he unbuckled his belt, his eyes filled with defiance, his lips curling into a smirk.

Sabrina quickly got to her feet and tried to leave, but he caught her by the arm. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Let go! Are you out of your mind? Why do you care if I'm lonely?" The man was driving her crazy late at night. She felt sick to her stomach and had a splitting headache. This bastard. Carter coldly watched her. He pulled her into his arms and they both fell onto the bed.

He looked at the fierce woman in his arms, a hint of amusement playing on his lips.

He bent down to kiss her, but the stench of alcohol on her breath made him cringe. He picked her up and carried her to the bathroom.

Carter placed her in the bathtub and turned on the shower. "Clean up. You reek of alcohol."

Her clothes were soaking wet, clinging to her petite figure.

Carter glanced at the drenched woman in the bathtub. He swallowed hard and turned away, leaving the bathroom.

He returned a short while later, holding a bathrobe. "Clean up," he ordered, before leaving again.

He left the bedroom with big strides and walked out to the balcony of the study. Shit! He looked down, noticing the bulge in his trousers.

Damn it! He hadn't been this embarrassed in years. Seeing that woman had aroused him.

The image of Sabrina's curvaceous body floated before his eyes. He closed his eyes and lit up a cigarette, immersing himself in the smoke. Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Sabrina fumed. That pervert! What was it to him if she drank?

Who asked him to carry her? He was just trying to take advantage of her.

But as she remembered him carrying her up the stairs and attempting to kiss her, her face flushed.

He smelled good, a soft masculine scent. He wasn't bad looking either, just a little twisted. A complete psycho.

She stripped off her wet clothes, cursing Carter a thousand times in her head.

By the time she got out of the bath, half an hour had passed. She wrapped herself in the bathrobe and stepped out of the bathroom.

She saw a figure standing on the balcony. Without saying a word, she left the room and headed for her own. She was tired and wanted to sleep. She couldn't be bothered to argue with this freak.

Just as Sabrina had made it to her bedroom and was about to close the door and sleep, the man stepped in. Sabrina looked at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing here? I'm going to bed. Get out! We can talk tomorrow." Her head was spinning.

"Dry your hair." He was holding a hairdryer. He stepped in and plugged it in.

Sabrina sat down. "Thanks, but I can do it myself."

He ignored her and turned on the hairdryer. Sabrina glanced at him but didn't say anything. He could do it if he wanted to.

Surrounded by the gentle hum of the hairdryer, she surrendered to the tranquil rhythm of the afternoon, allowing slumber to claim her.

After a few moments, the hairdryer quieted, and Carter noted her lapse into peaceful oblivion. Gently lifting the slumbering beauty, he was initially tempted to lay her on the guest bed. However, a sudden change of decision redirected his steps to his own spacious room, a place he'd never shared with anyone before.

Her delicate features enthralled him, the serene rhythm of her breath, the elegant arch of her nose, and the intricate rim of her lips slightly parted in innocent slumber. Her scent, the intoxicating blend of feminine allure tousled with an enticing hint of shower gel caught his breath, stirring an unsettling tightness within his chest.

Shaken, Carter retreated to the tranquillity of his balcony. Staring into the deep void of the night, he questioned his wavering self-control. Was it the vicious cycle of singlehood messing with his sober judgment or was this woman genuinely beckoning his tightly held-off emotions?

Confused, he decided to escape the growing tension. He strode down the stairs and out of the house, got into his car, and drove aimlessly around the city. It wasn't long before he remembered their betrothal. Why was he behaving like a fugitive? With newfound resolve, he made a U-turn back to the house he'd left in haste.

The living room sofa became his companion for the rest of the night. He sat there, engulfed in thoughts, the tendrils of smoke wafting from his cigarette curling around him. As fatigue set in, he finally surrendered to sleep, right there on his makeshift bed.

In the morning, Marian, the housekeeper, opened the door to prepare breakfast. She gasped when she saw the man on the sofa. "God, Mr. Cliff, why are you sleeping on the sofa? Where's Miss Shaw? My God, the room is full of smoke. Have you been smoking all night? Did you have a fight with Miss Shaw?"

Carter was awakened by her shouting. He frowned in annoyance. "It's nothing." He stood up, intending to go upstairs to change and wash up.

But then he remembered the girl sleeping in the bedroom upstairs. He turned around, grabbed his keys, and left the house.

When Sabrina woke up, she realized she wasn't in her own bed. She jumped up in surprise.

Oh no, how did she end up in his bed? She remembered drinking some alcohol the night before, coming home, and the man's tantrum. He had thrown her in the bathtub and then dried her hair. She couldn't believe he had dried her hair. He wasn't that nice, was he?

Did he carry her into his bedroom after drying her hair? This man was a real pervert.

She had her own bedroom, alright? She hurriedly left the room and went to her own bedroom to change her clothes.

Once she was dressed, she descended the stairs to find Marian smiling at her, "Ms. Shaw, you're awake. Ready for some breakfast?"

"Where is Mr. Cliff?" Sabrina asked, finding it strange. He was clearly at home the previous night, and she couldn't understand how she ended up in his bed.

"Mr. Cliff has already left for work," Marian replied, her smile beaming. "Did you two have a fight? He spent the night on the couch because of you."

On the couch? That seemed impossible.

She had slept on his bed and he had spent the night on the couch?