Mr. Mathford's Accidental Slum wife

OUTSIDE THE MARRIAGE BUREAU - February 24TH, 4:10 PM

Isolde Weston was running. Behind her, a furious woman waving a rolling pin and a butcher holding a raw chicken leg were yelling like maniacs.

“She stole the bread!”

“She punched my cousin!”

Isolde leaped over a flower hedge, dived behind a car parked right in front of the Marriage Bureau. Her chest was rising and falling fast, but she stayed low, peeking through the tinted windows of the black SUV.

She hadn’t technically stolen anything. She was just hungry. She asked for food, politely. But then the lady insulted her. So, she slapped her once. Well, maybe twice. Fine, three times. But honestly? The woman totally deserved it.

From where she was hiding, she could see the angry rolling pin lady and chicken-leg butcher, marching down the street like a pair of furious bloodhounds.

If they caught her, she knew she wouldn’t be going home without bruises and a busted lip.

She pressed her back against the car, brain racing. Should she make a run for the door? The entrance to the office was just a few feet away. But if she bolted now, she’d definitely draw more attention. And that was the last thing she needed.

INSIDE THE MARRIAGE BUREAU

Knox Mathford stood stiffly in the lobby of the Marriage Bureau, dressed in a black suit, sharp enough and expensive enough to turn heads.

One hand rested in his pocket. The other gripped his phone like it had just betrayed him.

Clearly frustrated, he stormed out of the lobby and headed straight to his car in the parking lot. His assistant rushed after him, looking just as fed up.

Knox hadn’t wanted to come to this part of the city. It smelled like sweat and old tires. But it was the only Marriage Bureau far enough from high society. No paparazzi. No family spies. No one would think to look for him in the slums.

If he was going to blindside Slade and claim the inheritance, he needed secrecy. And this rundown office was the perfect place to pull it off.

Knox checked his watch for the fifth time in ten minutes. 4:16pm. Still no sign of Avery Ellington.

Reeves Prescott, his assistant, hovered beside him nervously. “Sir, she’s not picking up.”

“Try again,” Knox snapped.

Reeves sighed but obeyed. After a few seconds, he shook his head. “Straight to voicemail.”

Knox rubbed his temple. Of all the damn days, Avery Ellington had to pull this crap today.

He wasn’t one of those romantic men. He didn’t do big love gestures. But today, he had pulled the biggest stunt of his life. He had finally agreed to get married so he could inherit the family business.

Tomorrow, 25th February, his cousin Slade Mathford was supposed to get married and be named heir. But Knox wasn’t letting that happen. He was going to beat Slade to it. Marry one day earlier and throw a wedding certificate in his grandfather’s smug face.

“We have forty minutes before the office closes,” Reeves said carefully.

Knox let out a loud grunt. “Ugh! Avery is super annoying!”

Reeves let out a sigh. “Honestly, I don’t blame her. She probably thinks you’re just messing around again.”

Knox shot his assistant a death glare. “So now I’m the clown who never means what he says?”

“That’s not what I meant, sir,” Reeves said quickly. “But come on. This is the fourth time you told her you're getting married. You backed out the last three times, remember?”

Knox exploded. “Did I ever ask her to actually come to the Marriage Bureau before?”

He threw his assistant a sharp glare. “The one time I do, she messes it all up!”

Reeves just shrugged, clearly done arguing. “Fine, I’ll try calling her again,” he mumbled, tapping on his phone.

A second later, he sighed. “Voicemail, again.”

Knox clenched his jaw. “Who does Avery think she is, standing me up like this?”

“Maybe she’s just busy with something,” Reeves said, trying to calm him down.

“Nope,” Knox snapped. “She’s doing this on purpose.”

Knox's turned, eyes sharp. “Find someone else.”

Reeves choked. “I—what?”

“I don’t care who she is. If she’s breathing and legal, bring her in. I’m not leaving here single.”

Reeves looked like he was going to faint. “You want me to find a random woman to marry you? Sir, you can’t. That’s insane.”

“Then good,” Knox said, walking toward the door. “Because I’m in the mood to be insane.”

MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE THE BUREAU,

As Isolde sat there, weighing her very bad options, she suddenly heard voices. Two men talking on the other side of the SUV.

“Find anyone,” someone was saying. “He just needs to marry before 5pm.”

Isolde slowly peeked up and saw two men standing by the SUV.

One looked like a rich snob straight out of a fashion magazine. The other looked like his nervous intern.

She spotted the two men walking toward the Marriage Bureau. A small, smug smile curved on her lips. Finally, a chance to get into that building and save herself.

Her eyes flicked across the street, where the angry pair were still searching for her, pacing back and forth like restless guards.

Isolde stood up straight and hurried right up to the men.

“You looking for a wife?” she asked quickly.

Knox turned to her. His eyes scanned her ripped jeans, oversized hoodie, messy ponytail, and slightly bruised knuckles.

“What are you?” he asked, genuinely confused.

“The answer to your prayers,” she said proudly. “You need a wife. I need to disappear. Let’s help each other out.”

Reeves looked horrified. “Sir, no. Absolutely not.”

Isolde ignored him and pulled out her ID. It was a little bent and had a ketchup stain, but it was real.

“Eighteen and a half,” she said. “Legal. Not crazy. Mostly sober.”

Knox checked his watch. 4:54pm.

“Sir, I know you can be a bit reckless with decisions,” Reeves said, his voice tight with worry, “but please, this one’s a terrible idea. I’m begging you.”

His eyes drifted to Isolde.

The girl looked like she’d just escaped a street fight, or maybe started one. Her clothes were a mess, her hair wild, and her eyes kept darting around like she was either hiding from the law or plotting her next move.

Knox leaned in and whispered, “I must get married today. Before 5 p.m.”

Reeves groaned under his breath. “I know. Just give me a little time. I’ll find someone who actually looks like she belongs at a wedding, not a crime scene.”

“Are you ready or not?” Isolde snapped, clearly out of patience.

She peeked toward the street, where the rolling pin lady and chicken butcher were still stomping around and yelling like angry parade clowns.

Knox stared at her, then at the street, then at Reeves, who was silently mouthing, “Please don’t.”

Then he sighed. “Fine.”

Reeves looked like he might actually faint. “Sir? Wait… you mean… you’re serious?”

But Knox had already stepped into the office, with Isolde bouncing in right behind him like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Just then, Reeves’ phone buzzed in his hand. He picked up immediately.

A voice on the other end said, “We’ve found someone. Great family, just graduated from university. She’s perfect.”

“Bring her over immediately!” Reeves snapped, ending the call without waiting for a reply.

He spun around and hurried toward the office.

He would not let Knox sign those papers with that rough street girl. Not while there was a better alternative.