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Chapter 24

Calla frowned at Mercer’s words. He was asking her to make the tough decision. The worst part of this was that if she refused to marry him, she wouldn’t be able to give birth to the child. She would end up being the reason why the baby had to die.

Although Calla cared about maintaining her dignity and self–respect, her child’s life was at stake, so she had to compromise.

She looked up and saw that the courthouse was already in view. Thus, she turned to Mercer and said, “I disagree with the fourth and fifth terms. I want to retain custody of the child. Also, since I’m working at your company, I won’t be able to have a single day of peace if people find out I’m your wife.”

She was willingly sacrificing her dignity and love life to give birth to this child. Naturally, she couldn’t let him seize custody of the child from her.

They didn’t have feelings for each other, so how could they act like a married couple? Surely others would see right through them!

Taking in Calla’s determined expression, Mercer frowned and said, “I’ll get the lawyer to change the fourth term. At the very least, we have to maintain the appearance of being a happily married couple in front of both our families. Do you have any problems with

that?”

“What about the custody of the child?”

Mercer nudged her face and said, “If you care about the child so much, you should try your best to avoid letting our marriage end in divorce.”

Calla stiffened. Under his piercing gaze, she had no choice but to nod and say, “Fine. I’ll

marry you.”

Since the agreement was going to be amended anyway; she could always just stand her ground later on. It wasn’t as if he could do anything to her.

By now, Simon had parked the car in the parking lot by the courthouse.

Mercer and Calla walked into the courthouse one after the other. They were probably the only couple getting married who didn’t enter hand in hand.

When it came time to sign the marriage license, Calla hesitated for two seconds before signing her name.

Meanwhile, Mercer didn’t hesitate at all as he signed with a flourish.

His calm, unruffled state made Calla wonder if it wasn’t his first time getting married.

After getting back into the car, Calla couldn’t believe she was a married woman–and

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married to Mercer, of all people.

All was quiet. No one broke the silence in the car.

Even after Simon started driving, Calla and Mercer, who were sitting in the backseat, didn’t even look at each other.

Soon, Simon pulled up outside Calla’s residential neighborhood, but she was still in a daze.

Mercer’s eyes flickered before he said, “I have an appointment to keep. Go home and get some rest. I’ll get in touch with you later.”

After hearing those words, Calla looked up. Only then did she realize that the car was parked outside her place.

She turned and met Mercer’s gaze. There was no emotion on his face.

Calla assumed he was hurrying her out of the car. What was she thinking, anyway? Did she think she was going home with him? He only thought of her as a tool to bear his child. Did she think she was actually his wife now?

As those thoughts filled her head, she blushed and hurriedly nodded. “Got it.”

After getting out, she stood there and watched as the car shot off.

Calla gave her head a hard shake. This wasn’t a dream. Everything did happen. With no warning at all, she had suddenly gotten herself a husband–Mercer, the CEO of Atlas. Even as she went up to her place, she had mixed feelings. She couldn’t believe she’d allowed herself to get married just like that.

She didn’t have a wedding reception, nor did she get to wear a wedding gown. She didn’t even have a ring. Without any fanfare at all, they had registered their marriage. She couldn’t resist reaching into her purse. Her copy of the marriage license was in there.

Calla took out her keys and unlocked the front door. When she saw Carol coming over, she called out with a smile, “Hey, Mom-”

Carol immediately gave Calla a slap on the face.

Stupefied, Calla teared up as she stared at Carol and asked, “Why did you hit me,

me, Mom?”

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