Mark and I met through mutual friends. Honestly, at first, I didn’t consider him seriously. I felt I was too young to get married: I had life ahead of me, plans, and freedom. I was in no rush to commit.

But Mark turned out to be exactly the kind of person it’s hard not to trust. Calm, polite, and attentive. He never raised his voice, was a good listener, and always held himself with dignity. I felt at peace around him. Gradually, this quiet reliability grew into affection, and then into the decision to marry him.

The only thing that bothered me from the very beginning was his parents. They were too generous. Even before the wedding, they promised to give me a house, a car, and a large sum of money if I agreed to marry their son. At the time, I thought it was strange, but I decided they were simply worried about Mark and wanted to provide for his future. Their family was influential and respected, and I didn’t look for a catch where I didn’t think there was one.

The evening after the wedding, we were alone. The room was quiet, bathed in soft light. Mark stood next to me in a white shirt, visibly tense, as if he was delaying the inevitable conversation. When I looked down and looked “over there,” everything fell into place.

I realized with horror why his parents had given me such a huge fortune just so I could marry their son.

I screamed in horror when I saw this… 😲😱

I recoiled and screamed—not from fear, but from the sudden realization of what I’d been dragged into.

Mark wasn’t like the men I’d seen before.

He stopped me immediately.

“Please don’t scream,” he said quietly. “I’ll explain everything.”

He spoke slowly, as if he’d been preparing for this conversation for a long time.

As a child, he suffered an accident that left him forever unable to have children. In their family, this was tantamount to disgrace.

His parents couldn’t allow society to know the truth. They needed a wife for their son—one who was official, respectable, without scandal or controversy.

“I’m not like other men,” he said bluntly. “And I never can be. But I needed a wife. Not for love. For the family’s reputation.”

Then he offered me a deal. I would receive a secure life, protection, status, and freedom within the marriage. He would receive a wife for society. No obligations between us, except for external well-being. If I wanted children, we could adopt them.

I sat on the edge of the bed, clasping my hands, and realized that in one evening, my life had taken a completely different turn than I expected. I wasn’t faced with a choice between “yes” and “no,” but with a decision that would determine my entire future.

And I didn’t know what to say.