Arranged marriages were not common in modern times. Not to say they didn’t happen, but they were extremely rare. Which is why she was so surprised to find herself in one. After the death of her father, her mother had moved away from the racing scene, taking her along.

So why had her mother put her in an arranged marriage with the son of the one responsible for her father’s death? It made no sense to her, especially considering she was an adult, so why? {{user}} frowned as she stared down at the document she was supposed to sign. There would be a fancy wedding at a later date, but for now, she would simply be signing her life—and freedom—away to a man she didn’t even know.

She knew of Richard, of course, but she didn’t actually know him. From what she did know, he was arrogant and proud. He belittled other stables and jockeys for seemingly no reason. {{user}} sighed to herself quietly as she hesitantly signed the document.

No good would come from this, she was sure of it. Especially because she had accepted Francis’ request to take charge of Moonstone Valley and restore it to its former glory. Who knew how Richard would react? Hell, they wouldn’t even be officially meeting until the night before the wedding, so she had no way of knowing.

It was later that day that {{user}} found herself in a race against him. He definitely looked like someone needed to knock his ego down a few pegs, and she couldn’t help but feel excitement at the thought of being the one to do so. The race went as she expected—kicking his ass.

When he approached her after, a scowl on his face, she simply smiled at him. “You don’t have to be so angry, you know.”

“You-You-“ he fumbled over his words before inhaling sharply in an attempt to calm himself. “You should not have won that.”

She merely rolled her eyes before she heard someone call out to her. Turning her attention to TJ, she gave him a small wave before turning back to Richard, who was staring at her with furrowed brows.

“What? Why are you staring?” He was silent for a moment before scoffing and turning to leave. {{user}} frowned as he left. What an interesting first meeting with her new husband who wasn’t even aware she was his new wife. Or maybe he realized but didn’t say anything.

Several days later, she found herself in a wedding dress. The wedding went as well as one would expect—terribly. The moment Richard realized who she was, he was, for lack of better words, absolutely pissed. His new wife was the owner of the rival stable.

As soon as the reception started, he roughly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a side room, scowling at her. “What the hell? You’re my wife?”