Married to a Stranger who turned out to be a Billionaire

The hall hummed with music, laughter, and the neon glow of disco lights when Aidan walked in. His eyes scanned the room, searching for Sophie, but what he found made him freeze for a moment.

His stomach turned. He'd thought he was coming to a simple event as a private bartender, but he was surprised to see the whole place was filled with half-naked girls dancing to music with lots of drinks moving around.

There were other bartenders, young and half-dressed, too.

The energy of the party felt like a club of horny teenagers as the girls crowded each of the bartender, downing their drinks and pecking their lips, giggling.

Aidan wasn't sure he was in the right place. For a moment, he thought of stepping out to call Anna for Sophie's phone number.

But he knew Anna would never give him her contact. She had acted indifferent about his departure tonight, but he knew she was mad at him. She hadn't even offered to call and check in, leaving him feeling both guilty and conflicted. Still, he had a job to do. Sophie had asked him, and it was the right thing to honor it.

He sighed and glanced around again, to see Sophie at the head of the podium, laughing her heart out at the display of the girls. With furrowed brows, Aidan took long strides towards her, thankful that the crowd of those horny girls were on the other side of the hall.

When Sophie noticed someone coming her way, she turned to see Aidan, and her face lit up with a sly smile. 

"Welcome, brother-in-law," she said sweetly, her voice thick with mock warmth. "I won't hold it against you for being late. Now, get to work, will you?"

Aidan stopped in front of her, brow furrowed. She was wearing the same lingerie as the girls, half-naked. "You said I was going to be the only one…"

Sophie waved him off dismissively. "I didn't say you'd be the only one. I just asked you to be my private bartender. The rest of these guys are just here to help you out. Don't be upset, Aidan. They're just as broke as you, and they need the money as well."

Aidan's stomach churned as the realization hit him. Sophie wasn't just trying to humiliate him by turning him into her private bartender; she was making sure to rub in the fact that he was her sister's "broke husband," scrabbling for a job like this. She wanted him to feel small.

He thought for a while whether leaving was an option. He knew Anna would go even more ballistic if he told her so, so he decided he was already there and it wouldn't hurt to give it a try and see how the night turned out.

He gritted his teeth and turned to go to the bar to get to work when Sophie's voice stopped him. "I forgot to tell you, brother-in-law. It's a bridal shower and I want all five bartenders attending to my girls, with no shirts on, okay?"

He stiffened, twirled around immediately, and exclaimed. "What?!"

"Yes, brother-in-law," Sophie replied and stepped down from the podium, dropping the glass of wine in her hand. She approached him stealthily and tried to touch his chest, but Aidan hit her hand away. "I'd love to see the real reason why Anna married you, aside from just getting the company, because I know it's nothing but a facade. I just can't help but think maybe there's something else, and that's what I intend to unravel tonight. I hope you don't mind, or do you?"

Aidan couldn't believe his ears. Sophie smiled and patted him before walking away slowly, savoring every second of the confusion she had just created.

Aidan scoffed.

Sophie was asking him to serve the girls shirtless? It sounded ridiculous, and he didn't want to get mad, or he might ruin everything for Anna.

He had a plan at first for coming here in the first place, but now he figured his plan was never going to work.

Not now. Because he wasn't about to let Sophie make a fool of him.

He had a choice now: stay and finish the job, or refund her money and leave. Sophie had already transferred the money to his account earlier, and although Standalone had a strict no-refund policy, he didn't care. If he needed to, he'd pay it back.

He stalked towards her, his teeth clenched. When he got closer to her, he touched her shoulder, and she turned around with the same calm, mocking smile.

This time, all the girls' attention was on him, stopping them from tormenting the other young bartenders. Only one of them seemed to be enjoying what they were doing.

"Sophie, it's either you let me do my job the way I want it, or I leave and refund your payment. You have a minute to decide." He said with a tone filled with authority.

Sophie's lips curled up with a smug smile. Without a word, she sat down on the high chair that had "Bride to be" inscribed on it. The chair swiveled her around, and she called out. "Girls, should we leave him with his shirts on?"

Almost all the girls screamed a loud NO.

"He's so fucking sexy, I can't wait to see how he looks underneath."

"We want to touch him. He's gorgeous."

Sophie raised her shoulder at Aidan. "Can you see now? It's no longer in my hands. I give the girls what they want because it's my party and…"

"I don't care."

Sophie sighed and looked thoughtful for a moment, the smug smile not leaving her face.

"Girls, guess what?" She looked like she had just come up with another idea.

Meanwhile, Aidan was patiently waiting for her to pick up so he could leave.

"What? Is he getting undressed?" One of the girls asked.

"No," Sophie said sharply and turned to the girls. "He is my sister's brother, so let's pardon him. I don't want her to have a panic attack when she sees her husband's naked chest on the Internet tomorrow morning."

They all laughed mockingly.

"He is Anna's husband? She married a bartender?" Sophie nodded, looking sorry for Anna.

"Poor Anna, she fell for his looks, but he's nothing but a broke-ass."

They laughed again, and Aidan decided he was done. He stepped back, and Sophie stopped him from leaving with her words. "You can serve the girls with your shirt on, if that's what you want."

He hesitated, looking from Sophie to the crowd of girls who looked like they were ready to pounce on him again.

With a nod, Aidan walked to the bar, nodded politely at the other bartenders, just as Sophie's voice rang out. "You all can relax now, Aidan will take over the bar now."

They all looked relieved, except for the one guy who seemed to be enjoying the girl's attention on him earlier. The girls all have their eyes on Aidan's back, and it angered him.

He stepped closer to Aidan as he poured out a drink in each glass for the girls.

"You think you can just waltz in here and get all the attention, bro?"

Aidan snapped his head in the guy's direction. Aidan turned away from him, grabbed a tray to serve the girls and faced him squarely. "Nice to meet you, too."

The guy clenched his teeth and rolled his fist into a ball. Aidan ignored him and moved away to serve the girls.

They crowded him immediately and began to touch him. Quickly, he dropped the drinks and moved back to the bar. He served the next batch and repeated the process, dropping it off and retreating to the bar immediately.

Sophie demanded. "I need a drink too, Aidan. Make it super strong. I want to pass out till it's time for the wedding."

"As you wish." Aidan's tone was laced with sarcasm. He turned to the strongest wine in the collection, picked a few of them, and mixed them up, with a sly smirk forming on his lips.

When he was done, he swirled the wine around to mix the colors properly before stepping down towards Sophie's direction.

He presented it to her, and she took it immediately, gulping it all down. The girls cheered her on.

As soon as she finished, she handed him the glass. "More."

He complied, mixing it again, but when he handed it to her, she repeated the process, drinking more and more, until she was on her fourth glass. 

"So, tell me, Aidan, how does it feel to be married to a woman with so much money, but still barely scraping by? Must be tough being Anna's charity case."

The girls burst into laughter at Sophie's direct jab at his masculinity.

"I guess some people will do anything for a roof over their head, huh? Even become a bartender at a bridal shower. How... classy." Sophie's voice dripped with sarcasm as she glanced around at the crowd, inviting more of their laughter.

One of the girls stepped forward with confidence. "Anna and I were in the same class in high school. Tell us, what exactly did Anna see in you? Your good looks? Or was it your charm that won her over? Oh, wait, maybe it's just your ability to make drinks at a party like this. That's gotta be it!"

They all howled with laughter,

Aidan smiled lightly and turned to return to the bar when Sophie suddenly stepped in front of him, blocking him from leaving. With her face inches away from his, she muttered.. "Let's play a game, shall we?"

Aidan raised a brow, wondering what tricks were up her sleeves now. Sophie turned to the girls, and they cheered excitedly.

Sophie grinned and grabbed Aidan's shirt. Aidan was quick to swat her hands off. 

"Take off your shirt, brother-in-law!" Sophie commanded with an air of authority. "Take it off!"

Aidan shook his head, and the girls began to sing loudly. "Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!"

With a sudden, unsteady movement, Sophie stood, grabbed the bottle of wine from Aidan, and poured all the contents into the glass of wine still in her hand. 

The girls were still shouting. "Take it off!" Take it off! Take it off!"

When the glass cup Sophie was holding was filled to the brim, the contents pouring all over the floor, she stumbled toward Aidan, and before he could react, she splashed the entire contents in his face.

The girls suddenly fell silent and gasped, their eyes wide with shock but that didn't stop Sophie from shouting at Aidan. "Take it off!"