Bride Swapped
“Daddy!" Hiyori slammed her handbag onto the couch. The sound echoed in the Shirozane estate, the younger daughter, Hiyori Shirozane whined."How could you do this to your precious daughter?"
The twenty-five-year-old, despite being the Head of Marketing at Blackthorn Holdings, looked ready to throw a tantrum. "I am not marrying that monster!"
Hirosu Shirozane looked up from the file in his hand. People often said the CEO of Blackthorn Holdings had a smile bright enough to light an entire room. Whether it was the warmth of sunlight or a thunderstorm. Nobody knew.
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, his gaze shifted to his elder daughter.
Rei Shirozane, the Creative Director of Blackthorn Holdings, sat by the window, one leg crossed over the other, scrolling through her phone as though none of this concerned her.
The headlines kept appearing..
«CRIMSON FORGE'S MAD DOG BREAKS INVESTOR'S NOSE DURING PRIVATE MEETING.»
«Another Woman Seen Leaving Director Raito's Luxury Hotel Suit Crying.»
«Employees Call Him "HELL'S GOD."»
«Three Executives Resign After Closed-Door Meeting With Raito Asahi.»
«Violence. Affairs. Intimidation. Crimson Forge Refuses To Comment.»
She closed the screen. Silence settled across the room. Then she spoke up, her voice cutting the silence of the room like a blade, "I understand."
Hirosu looked at her, knowing or in disbelief. Hard to tell.
"I'll marry Raito Asahi." Without another word, Rei walked out of the room.
Hiyori stopped crying abruptly. Hirosu raised an eyebrow maybe in amusement, as if it was his plan all along? No one stopped her. She had bigger things to worry about, rather than listening to her half sister's whining.
____________
July 8
District Marriage Registry Office 👩⚖️
The courthouse smelled faintly of old paper and polished wood.
Inside one of the registration rooms... Someone was already losing his patience.
"Where is she? I've got better things to do than babysit paperwork." A sharp and rough voice cut through the silence.
The advocate forced an awkward smile, "Mr. Asahi, she'll be arriving shortly."
The man's voice grew impatient, "Another five minutes, I'd flip this damn table."
Then the door opened. Rei stepped inside.
She expected someone polished, a charming businessman hiding perverted intentions behind an expensive smile. Instead found an overgrown man arguing with an advocate over punctuality.... She stopped breathing, metaphorically, at the sight in front of her.
Ash-blond hair. Ruby-red eyes, sharp enough to make strangers double check or never look back. No in between.
Old scars complimented his features, a face that never smiled. A blood-red shirt carelessly unbuttoned at the collar. He wasn't just handsome in the way magazines described.
He looked...like a GROWLING BRIGHT SUN. Blinding. Hot enough to burn. Impossible to ignore.
The advocate nearly sighed in relief.
"Ms. Shirozane, please."
Rei walked over and took the empty chair beside Raito. The marriage documents were placed before them. She read them. Every condition. Every signature line. Then she started writing not just a signature but....
«Additional Clause»
«No physical contact without consent. Effective for both parties.»
Rei Shirozane
She slid the papers across the table, she already negotiated that she'll be keeping her surname. Raito glanced at the page, his one eyebrow twitched, not in annoyance. But in disbelief or maybe amusement? Only he knew.
Then he also didn't just write his signature instead—
«Additional Clause»
«Any physical contact initiated by Ms. Rei Shirozane shall pay the consequences.»
Raito Asahi
Rei read the sentence once, glanced up at him. Then he also looked back. Neither spoke. Neither needed to.
The advocate pinched the bridge of his nose, "I've processed three divorces this month..." He looked between two newlyweds. "...and somehow this marriage is the most ridiculous case I've ever handled.."
A stamp hit the paper. The ink dried. The signatures remained.
Happy marriage. indeed.
