Marrying A Fool

At 11:30 in the morning, the banquet hall on the fifth floor of Skygate Hotel was packed with guests, bustling with laughter and excitement.

In the lounge, Pauline Gibson was gripping her phone tightly, her knuckles white, and her face pale as paper.

On her phone were a few recently sent photos. The sender was anonymous, but she recognized the people and the names in the pictures.

After a long moment, Pauline let out a cold laugh.

Her fiancé, Tim Leonard, had just taken a phone call, telling her he had something urgent at work and left in a hurry. She didn’t suspect anything and even reassured him not to worry.

But it wasn’t work at all—it was because his child was about to be born!

Looking at the consent form for the surgery, with Misty Pace and Tim’s names together on the same paper, Pauline felt like a complete fool.

Her fiancé and her best friend had been together behind her back, and she hadn’t noticed a thing!

She had even dreamed of spending her life with Tim, but he’d already had a child with her best friend!

Men really are all the same!

Eunice Hurst entered the room cheerfully, only to see Pauline lost in thought.

“Bride-to-be, what are you thinking about? The wedding is about to start. Where’s the groom?”

Eunice looked around but didn’t see Tim anywhere. Confused, Pauline handed her the phone.

As soon as Eunice saw the photos, she was furious. “Unbelievable! Tim did something like this! And Misty is so shameless, stealing her friend’s man! Are there no other men in the world? Why does she have to ruin someone else’s relationship?”

Pauline stayed quiet, listening without a word. Eunice realized she had let her emotions get the best of her and hadn’t considered Pauline’s feelings. But she couldn’t help saying, “Pauline, I’ve always told you Misty wasn’t trustworthy, but you didn’t believe me. Now you know.”

After speaking, Eunice regretted it. “I’m sorry, Pauline. You’re already hurting, and here I am rubbing salt in your wound. I’m just trying to look out for you, I…”

“I know,” Pauline interrupted her, and then said nothing more.

Eunice could see Pauline was calm on the outside, but she knew deep down she must be hurting.

Pauline was an orphan, and her biggest wish was to have a family.

But now…

“Pauline, let’s leave. You’re not going through with this wedding!” Eunice said, grabbing her to leave.

But Pauline stayed seated. Eunice looked back at her, confused.

Pauline forced a smile. “Don’t worry, Eunice, I’m fine…”

With that, Pauline stood up and walked out.

The wedding was about to begin, but Tim still hadn’t returned. The lively banquet hall started to buzz with whispered conversations.

At the wedding, the groom was missing, leaving the bride to be the biggest joke.

Pauline walked down the aisle alone, hearing the mocking comments from the guests, but inside, she felt strangely calm.

The Leonard family was well-known, and many of the guests were prominent figures. Now, she was the center of everyone’s ridicule, all because of Tim.

He had humiliated her, so she didn’t plan to let him off easy!

Pauline took the microphone from the emcee, glancing around at the crowd. The guests had no idea what she was about to do, and the room fell silent as they looked at her.

“Is there anyone here who would marry me? As long as you’re single, I’ll marry you right now!”

Pauline’s voice was calm, but the room exploded with chatter. Yet no man stood up.

Just when Pauline was about to give up, a handsome man from the main table rushed to her, grabbed her hand, and with a sweet, innocent smile, said, “Sister, I’ll marry you!”

---

Everyone in the room stared at the man standing in front of Pauline with strange expressions. This was because the man who had agreed to marry Pauline was known to be mentally challenged.

Pauline carefully examined the man before her.

He was handsome, well-dressed, and wearing a Rolex watch. If it weren’t for the pure, innocent look in his eyes, he would be the dream man for any woman. Unfortunately, though he appeared to be around 27 or 28 years old, his behavior was more like that of a child.

“Okay!” Pauline’s response caused the crowd to erupt in whispers again.

“She actually agreed?”

“Oh my god! Is she crazy? Did I hear that right?”

“This is going to be interesting. If I’m not mistaken, isn’t this the eldest son of the Frazier family, Carlton Frazier, who became mentally challenged after an accident a year ago?”

“Yes, it’s him! He was such a rich eligible bachelor, but now he’s a fool!”

“This woman is going to be a widow in all but name!”

“Well, who cares? She’ll have endless money to spend. If it were me, I’d be fine with it too!”

“True, she must be after the Frazier family’s money!”

---

"Great! Sister, we can be together forever now!" the foolish man shouted excitedly, his eyes shining with joy.

“Host, let the wedding continue!”

The elderly woman who had been sitting beside Carlton earlier stood up with a smile, her face beaming with happiness as she looked at Pauline and Carlton on stage.

She had tried finding brides for Carlton before, but he never liked any of them. This was the first time he had shown interest in marrying someone. How could she not be thrilled? Her grandson was finally getting married, and there would be someone to take care of him. She could finally rest in peace.

Outside the hall, Pauline’s face remained calm as she waited to go back in and complete the wedding with Carlton.

“Pauline, while no one’s paying attention, let’s get out of here!” Eunice whispered urgently, pulling Pauline’s hand and glancing around nervously.

“I’m not leaving.”

“Not leaving? Are you crazy? Are you really going to marry that fool?”

“Don’t you think marrying him might be a good thing? At least I don’t have to worry about him cheating on me,” Pauline said with a complicated look in her eyes.

“But your life will be ruined! Are you really willing to spend your whole life with that fool? He might not even know how to... you could end up living as a widow in all but name!”

“Eunice, you don’t need to persuade me anymore. This is my choice. Even if things turn out exactly as you said, I’ll accept it.”

“You…”

Eunice wanted to say more, but just then, Carlton’s grandmother appeared, smiling at Pauline. “Child, I know you have no family. This time, I’ll be the one to walk you down the aisle.”

“Thank you, Grandma,” Pauline replied sweetly, taking the old woman’s arm as they walked back into the banquet hall to the sound of the wedding march.

The wedding went smoothly. Carlton behaved well throughout, and after the guests were all sent off, Grandma Lidia was ready to take Pauline and Carlton back home.

From a distance, Tim approached, and Pauline’s smile slowly faded as she saw him.

“Tim, where did you go? You missed so much good food! It was so delicious! How about I take you back inside to eat some more?” Carlton ran over excitedly, grabbing Tim’s hand, trying to pull him back into the hall.

Tim forced a bitter smile and shook his head. “No need, I’ve already eaten.”

“Carlton, don’t be so silly!” Grandma Lidia scolded him playfully, then led Pauline over to Tim with a smile. “Tim, let me introduce you. This is Pauline, Carlton’s wife now, which makes her your cousin-in-law! Go on, greet her.”

Grandma Lidia was sharp. Even though she didn’t know why Pauline had suddenly proposed during the wedding, she could tell from Tim’s expression that he had feelings for her.

But no matter what Tim felt, Pauline was now her grandson’s wife, part of the Frazier family. Tim needed to understand that Pauline was no longer someone he could pursue.

“Cousin-in-law,” Tim said reluctantly, clearly displeased.

Seeing Tim’s sour expression, as if he had swallowed something bitter, Pauline suddenly felt that marrying Carlton, this so-called fool, might not be such a bad thing after all.

“Grandma, can I talk to cousin-in-law... alone for a moment?”

The elderly Mrs. Frazier turned to see Pauline staring at Tim. A glimmer flashed in her eyes as she smiled and nodded, “Sure, you two talk! We’ll get in the car first!”

Carlton, however, broke free from his grandmother’s hand, clinging tightly to Pauline’s clothes, pouting and shaking his head like a stubborn child.

Seeing Carlton acting so stubborn, Grandma Lidia looked slightly troubled.

“Grandma, let him stay. We’ll only talk for a minute,” Pauline smiled at Grandma Lidia and gently held Carlton’s hand, softly stroking his face. “Carlton, be good. Don’t say anything for a while, okay?”

“Mm-hmm!” Carlton nodded eagerly, grinning at Pauline with a silly smile.

“Good boy!” Pauline’s eyes curved like crescent moons as she affectionately patted his head.

“Alright then, you talk.” Grandma Lidia teased Tim, half-jokingly, “Tim, don’t go bullying your cousin and cousin-in-law now!”

“I won’t, Grandma,” Tim replied with a slight frown, quickly understanding the meaning behind her words.

After watching Grandma Lidia get into the car with the help of the butler, Pauline turned to Tim, her voice cold. “What is it you wanted to talk about?”

“Pauline, do you…” Tim glanced at Carlton, seeing him happily fiddling with Pauline’s fingers, and then continued, “Do you know what you’re doing?”

“Of course I do.”

“If you do, then why are you doing this? Do you want our Leonard family to become a laughing stock in the whole city?”

“Yes, and so what?” Pauline shot back without hesitation. “If you can cheat, why can’t I?”

“What do you mean by that?” Tim frowned deeply, confusion flashing in his eyes.

“You know exactly what I mean! Carlton, let’s go!” Pauline threw Tim a cold glance, then pulled Carlton along. Tim instinctively reached out to grab her, but Carlton suddenly slapped his hand away, pouting with displeasure.

“Tim, I won’t let you bully my wife!”

Tim’s face darkened, but before he could react, he noticed Grandma Lidia watching them from a distance. Quickly forcing a smile, he said, “Carlton, don’t be mad! I was just joking with Pauline!”

“Tim, if you keep calling my wife by her name, I’ll really get angry!”

“Alright, alright! I won’t call her by name anymore!”

Seeing Tim acting so submissive, Pauline’s lips curled up slightly. “Carlton, let’s go. Don’t keep Grandma waiting!”

Carlton immediately flashed a bright, innocent smile and said “okay,” pulling Pauline along as they ran toward the waiting car.

Watching them leave, Tim’s face turned sour.

Back at the Frazier family home, Grandma Lidia showed Pauline the room she and Carlton would share. After sitting for a while, she got up to leave, telling Pauline to rest well and that dinner would be brought to her later.

As Pauline watched the kind old lady slowly walk out, tears suddenly rolled uncontrollably down her face.

Late at night, Pauline sat alone by the bed, lost in thought, her mind filled with everything that had happened that day.

Click.

The soft sound of the door opening startled her. When she saw it was Carlton, she got up, pulled out a blanket from the closet, and laid it on the floor. Smiling at him, she said, “Carlton, it’s late. Go to bed.”

She was just about to get into bed when suddenly, a pair of strong arms wrapped tightly around her slender waist from behind. Pauline froze and instinctively asked, “Carlton, what are you doing?”

“What do you think?” A deep, teasing voice whispered in her ear. Pauline quickly turned around and saw Carlton’s dark, star-like eyes and his mischievous smile. She looked at him in shock, as if she had seen a ghost.

“You... you... you’re not a fool?”

"You seem surprised, but don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. Now... let's take care of some important matters."

With that, Carlton pinned Pauline down on the bed. His lips forcefully silenced her protest. No matter how much Pauline struggled, it was all in vain.

Over an hour later, Pauline lay curled up on the bed, her body aching from the pain. On the nearby red bedsheet was a dark stain, marking her transformation from a girl into a woman.

“You were a virgin?” Carlton stared blankly at the clear mark, frowning. His confused gaze moved from the evidence to Pauline’s bruised, graceful body, finally resting on her emotionless face.

Pauline gave a bitter smile and closed her eyes, not answering his rather obvious question.

Yes, it was her first time. Even after dating Tim for three years, she had never given herself to him, despite his repeated promises that he would love and care for her for life after marriage.

She had planned to give everything o