Dereck Norton managed the large Norton Group.

The Norton Group had a very large network of perfumeries and cosmetics called "Perfum's Paradise" with several stores spread across many countries.

A company internationally known for the most varied perfumes and cosmetics in the world market. High quality products and quite high prices.

Dereck ran the group with a large "iron" hand. The billionaire CEO was rigid in his decisions.

Dereck was a twenty-eight-year-old man, cold, ambitious, arrogant, and very authoritarian.

He was raised by his father Otto and lived in constant arguments with his brother Savio.

Dereck didn't like to be confronted. His word was the only thing his employees dared not contradict.

An extremely attractive and sensual man, endowed with a captivating beauty, Dereck left his mark wherever he went.

Everyone in the company feared him, only his brother Savio dared to contradict the CEO.

Since Savio was one of the company's shareholders, Dereck couldn't fire him even if he wanted to.

Marta Sulivan, mother of Dereck and Savio, had died in a car accident when Dereck was eighteen years old.

Marta's father, Luiz Sulivan, Dereck's grandfather, owned the Sulivan pharmacy chain, with several pharmacies spread across the country.

The old man had died a week ago from complications from heart surgery.

But before he died, Luiz Sulivan left a will with a very unusual rule. One of his grandsons would have to marry a woman old Sullivan had chosen to be entitled to his inheritance.

In financial terms, the two brothers loved money as if it were their only but most precious possession.

...----------------...

Evelyn Aguiar, twenty-eight years old, had been unemployed for more than three months. She worked tirelessly at a technology company and after almost three years, she was unfairly fired due to the envy of her co-workers.

Evelyn was the public relations manager at this company and performed her duties in an agile, responsible, and competent manner, and this made the other managers jealous of how she grew professionally without flattering anyone.

So, getting together, they plotted against her, causing Evelyn to be fired.

She lives with her twenty-three-year-old sister Micaela in a small two-bedroom house in a neighborhood in Sao Paulo.

Evelyn and Micaela are half-sisters on their father's side and were very close.

Evelyn's mother abandoned her after her birth, her father Gabriel Aguiar, raised his daughter and after a while met Micaela's mother.

The relationship between them was good, but the woman died years later from lung cancer.

From then on, Gabriel closed himself off from relationships, raising his daughters alone, educating them correctly, and working as a driver for Luiz Sulivan.

When Evelyn turned twenty-two, Gabriel died in an accident.

And since then, Evelyn took care of Micaela, with great effort, working to give her sister a better life.

Evelyn hated her mother, even though she had never heard anything about her. Evelyn despised her for abandoning her as a newborn.

But what Evelyn didn't know was that fate would bring many surprises to her life in the future.

Unexpectedly and forced, she will be forced to accept a proposal that was not in her plans.

What will happen to Evelyn Aguiar? That's what we'll see.

It was Evelyn Aguiar's wedding day, or rather, it was the day of great sadness and unhappiness in Evelyn Aguiar's life.

But a curious fact caught everyone's attention at the city's civil registry office on that unfortunate day for the beautiful redhead.

The sky that morning was covered with heavy clouds, and a cold wind announced that the rain that had previously ceased was approaching again, bringing freezing chills throughout Evelyn's body.

In her hurry to leave the house and catch the bus, Evelyn left quickly, locking the door, forgetting to take her umbrella and put on a coat over the dress she was wearing.

Evelyn had cried the night before, and her beautiful brown eyes were red and expressionless.

There was no trace of joy on her face.

Evelyn was very sad.

First, she was rejected by her mother at birth, and then she lost her father in a car accident. Not ending the bad things that were happening in her life, she ended up being unfairly fired, and to complete the tragedy in Evelyn's life, she was forced to marry an unknown man and be away from her dear sister.

The woman who was getting married went to the registry office alone, without the groom by her side. Her appearance, although beautiful, was reasonably mediocre at that moment, her angelic face momentarily serious and pale, her beautiful straight red hair a little messy, wet from the rain and the strong wind, her clothes a little soaked and dirty from the rainwater, because of the steps she took on foot over the puddles in the middle of the streets before catching the bus.

Her eyes were frightened by the indifferent and accusing stares of the people in that place.

Some looked with disdain and disgust, and others with a clear look of compassion. And they asked each other:

"Poor thing, what could she be doing here in this sorry state?" And others would accuse her without even knowing her. "I bet she must be a prostitute who tried to pull a scam on some married man and it backfired," grumbled another person who looked at her with contempt.

The opinions among them were divided.

And others were just silent, listening to what they said about the woman with a sad and downcast face, leaning against a wall, somewhat isolated from the others who were at the registry office like a trapped prey.

Evelyn could hear every word they said, but she didn't reply, instead she remained silent.

Certainly, if it wasn't raining, she would have stayed outside the registry office.

And thinking to herself, she wondered: "Why is the registry office so full in the middle of a rainy day?"

After ten minutes, a man in a black suit, properly dressed, with his hair wet from the rain, sympathetically arrives at the scene and greets her.

"Good morning, miss! Sorry I'm late, I had an unforeseen event, that's why it took me so long. The traffic is horrible, I almost didn't make it on time. Have you been waiting here long? My God! You're all wet."

The man talking to Evelyn was the lawyer Alexandre Fonseca.

"Here, please! Put it on immediately. It's very cold."

Alexandre took off his coat and handed it to Evelyn, who immediately thought about not accepting it, but she was really cold and couldn't refuse.

"Thank you!" she thanked with a sad look.

Curious eyes darted to the slender face of the man, who was apparently rich.

Evelyn's face was expressionless. This was not what she thought about marriages. She dreamed of getting married in white, with a veil and a wreath in the church when she really found the ideal candidate who would love her deeply, but that dream had been shattered because of her future husband.

Evelyn hated him for it.

If she at least knew him, she would try to convince him to put an end to this marriage story that for her was a big joke.

Marrying a stranger, not knowing his name, not knowing how old he was, she was completely devastated inside.

Her dark brown eyes were a little moist, watching the well-dressed man in front of her opening a black folder he had brought in his hand.

And opening it, he takes out an already written sheet.

Raising her eyebrows, Evelyn looks at the handsome man in front of her.

Alexandre gives a discreet half smile to Evelyn.

"Let's go to the counter to carry out the procedure."

After almost an hour, Evelyn left the registry office next to Alexandre. She was now the wife of Derek Norton, the billionaire CEO of the Norton group, but Evelyn didn't know that.

Her husband's identity was unknown to her. She was only informed to call him only Sullivan.

Despite knowing nothing about him, Evelyn knew that her husband was a very ambitious man and wanted to keep her distance from him.

In the large main hall of the Norton company, a man sat comfortably on a swivel chair, staring at his computer screen.

The large office with glass windows, gray curtains, and light blue walls brought Derek a certain comfort in that environment.

Despite its size, the office didn't have much in it.

"Mr. Norton? Can we take a break for a few minutes? I need to use the restroom."

Derek Norton's icy stare made Adriano, his assistant, shudder in his chair.

But returning his attention to the computer, Derek sarcastically said.

"Go ahead! I don't want you soiling my office floor."

Adriano quickly left without looking back.

Derek remained silent at the computer; that was how he liked to work. He didn't want to be disturbed by anyone.

While Adriano was in the restroom, there was a knock on the office door.

And Derek ordered them to enter.

"Mr. Norton? A lawyer is at the reception and wants to speak with you. May I let him in?"

The petite, kind-looking woman spoke with her head down, afraid of being scolded by him.

"You should be at your workstation. I'm without a secretary because you wanted to do a job that doesn't belong to you?"

Derek, with an intimidating look, asked his question.

The woman, raising her eyebrows, responded stammering.

"Sir? I kno..ow that you're without a secretary, and since this man showed up here, I thought I could let you know!"

Derek narrowed his haughty eyes at the woman leaning against the door.

"Don't meddle where it's not your job. You may go now."

She left with long, hurried strides down the hallway, bumping into Adriano, who was returning from the restroom.

"What was that? What was Diana doing in your office? Doesn't she work for your brother?"

"Go to the reception and see what the lawyer wants with me. Savio must be curious to know what the lawyer is doing here, that's why he sent his secretary."

Derek gave the order, and Adriano left.

A few minutes later, Derek's cell phone rang.

"Mr. Norton? The lawyer said the matter is very important and that he will only speak to you personally. Will you see him?" Adriano said worriedly.

Derek remained silent for a moment, and rising from his chair, spoke arrogantly.

"I have no choice! Bring him to me."

In a few moments, the lawyer arrived at the office. Extending a hand, he greeted Derek.

"Good morning, Mr. Norton! I'm Alexandre Fonseca, the lawyer of your late grandfather, Mr. Luiz Sulivan..."

Derek narrowed his eyes to look at the man in front of him. He forced himself not to shake the lawyer's hand.

Observing that Derek wouldn't reciprocate in the way he expected, Alexandre withdrew his hand, embarrassed.

"Excuse me, Mr. Alexandre, but I don't like greetings with handshakes. I hope you're not offended."

Swallowing dryly and inexpressive, Alexandre pretended not to care about Derek's rudeness, and forcing a smile, said respectively.

"I understand, sir! Let's get to the point?"

Alexandre was in a hurry; he still had other clients to visit.

"Please, sit down!" Exclaimed Derek, his hand extended towards Alexandre, directing him to one of the chairs at the presidential desk.

"Tell me, Mr. Alexandre, what brings you here?" Derek's voice resonated enigmatically before the lawyer.

"Well, Mr. Norton! Mr. Sulivan, your grandfather, was a great pharmaceutical entrepreneur and had a very large chain of pharmacies in all regions of our country."

Derek remained silent, listening attentively to the man's words.

"Before Mr. Luiz Sulivan passed away, he left a will for his two grandsons. Specifically, for the grandson who meets his requirements, of course!"

Derek twisted his lips and raised his eyebrows, incredulous at what he had just heard.

"What do you mean, will? My grandfather was always stingy and rude to me and my brother. How did he leave the inheritance to us? That old man never even acknowledged us as his grandsons. To this day, no one knows he had a daughter and grandchildren."

Derek hated his grandfather for that reason. Mr. Luiz Sulivan had always been a businessman, and to society, he was just a widowed old man with no children.

In fact, he had doubts about his paternity of Marta, but since he didn't want to do a DNA test, he ended up dying without being sure about it.

Derek found it strange right off the bat.

"Sir, please... I will continue with the explanation." Alexandre tried to be as professional as possible, even though in his thoughts, he murmured against Derek. He was there to fulfill his role.

"Mr. Luiz Sulivan left a lot of money in the bank, as well as the pharmacy chain and the Sulivan mansion, to the grandson who civilly marries Miss Evelyn Aguiar for the period of one year."

Derek slammed his fist on the table, his face dark and his fists clenched.

"What's this story about marriage? What kind of madness is this? I knew that old man was no good; he would never give anything to anyone easily."

"Mr. Norton, I know it's difficult to accept your grandfather's demands, but if you don't want to, I'll talk to your brother, Savio Norton, and declare your grandfather's will!"

Derek got up from his chair and paced heavily around the office.

"How am I supposed to get married? I don't even know this woman. My grandfather always liked to irritate me, and even in death, he still seeks to torment me."

Alexandre took a sheet of paper from his briefcase and handed it to Derek.

"Here is Miss Evelyn Aguiar! All her data is on this paper, including address, age, and social status."

Derek stared at the sheet, focusing his attention on the woman's photo.

He found her very beautiful, but he didn't let himself be swayed by appearances. Looking at her social status, he grumbled.

"Humph! She could only be a gold digger! A beautiful, young, and poor woman certainly had some kind of relationship with my grandfather. What a mess! Does she know about all this?"

"What is it, sir?" asked the lawyer.

"Does she know about my grandfather's demand?"

"No, she doesn't know anything yet! I came to talk to you first and then I'll talk to her..."

"I doubt it! This little woman is an opportunist and certainly got into my grandfather's head. But I have an idea. I'll accept my grandfather's demand, but I don't want to see this woman, and I don't want to have any contact with her."

"Mr. Norton? Are you saying you won't personally meet your future wife?" Adriano inquired, looking seriously at his boss.

"Indeed, Mr. Norton, the only requirement from your grandfather is for you to marry and remain married for one year," said Alexandre professionally.

Derek smiled coldly. He was a cold, calculating, and very authoritarian man. He was certainly already devising a plan in his intellectual mind.

"Mr. Alexandre Fonseca, come see me at my apartment tomorrow. If you don't know the address, my assistant will get it for you. Please, don't say anything about this to my brother, or to this woman."

Adriano handed the lawyer a card with his phone number.

"Call me, and I'll find you," said Adriano.

Alexandre nodded at his words.

"Very well, Mr. Norton! We'll talk about this tomorrow. Please, make your decision as soon as possible."

Saying goodbye, the lawyer left, leaving a heavy atmosphere in the office.

"I want you to find out everything about this woman!" Derek ordered, looking darkly at his assistant.

Adriano left the office, and almost an hour later, he returned with some papers in hand.

"Here is the information you requested, Mr. Norton."

Adriano had been working with Derek for a few years. The young assistant was very efficient and quickly resolved the things his boss asked for.

Staring at the sheet, specifically at the information about Evelyn, Derek's eyes became even darker. His attention turned to an incident that happened at Evelyn's former job.

Soon, a discreet smile spread across his lips.

It was clear he would use this to force her to marry him, as it was the only way to get his grandfather's inheritance if Evelyn refused.

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