"We're getting married," she repeated, emphasizing to her superior that deportation was off the table as she'd secure a green card by marrying a US citizen. She hoped she wasn't mistaken, praying that she remembered Wendy Son's personal file correctly, and that it did, in fact, confirm her US citizenship. Otherwise, this absurd stunt she was pulling right now would be completely pointless.

Her secretary's face still showed clear confusion. 'Uh, boss... Who's getting married?' the blonde whispered to her.

"You and I."

"You and I?"

"Yes, you and I are getting married."

"...."

"Come on, baby. We've finalized the plans for this. Don't be all too shy with the gentleman," she chuckled.

Just go with it. Just go with it. Just go with it, Irene chanted inside her head.

"You and I are getting married..." Wendy muttered, seemingly spacing out.

"Yes, that's right!" Irene wrapped her arms around Wendy's waist, demonstrating just how close they were to being in a relationship. Surprisingly, Wendy didn't flinch at her sudden actions, which relieved Irene. However, it might also be because the blonde was still disoriented by the unexpected information.

"Isn't she your secretary?" the chairman inquired, his brows creasing with confusion.

"Yes, she is. A Personal Assistant... an Executive Personal Assistant Secretary. It's just... titles," Irene chuckled. "But, it wouldn't be the first time one of us fell for our secretaries, right, sir? Like with your ex-wife, Laura. Remember?" Irene realized her comment was quite inappropriate, but she wanted the chairman to recognize that getting involved with secretaries wasn't unusual, especially considering his own past. She was taking a risk with that unprofessional remark, but she was almost certain the chairman would feel too embarrassed to react negatively, knowing that she was aware of his history. "What I'm trying to say is, Wendy and I find ourselves in a similar situation. We're just two people who weren't supposed to fall in love, but we did." Her insides twisted as she uttered those words.

"Hmmm," Scott hummed as he assessed the two individuals in front of him. Clearly, the man didn't want to comment on Irene bringing up his past relationship because acknowledging it would open a huge can of worms. Scott Anderson took a deep breath as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"All those late nights at the office, weekend book fairs, business trips, lunch outings... Eventually, something... something happened." She was uttering a bunch of bull right now, but she didn't care. It wasn't in her personality to do something foolish like this, but all she could think about at the moment was the empire she had built. All the hard work, time, and effort she had put into making Reve Publishing a top company couldn't just be thrown outside the window because of a stupid visa issue. She would do and say anything to keep her position in this company.

"We tried to fight it, avoid it, because, you know... work ethics... and HR wouldn't be too happy about it either. But if you fall, you fall. Right?" She added with a sweet smile directed at Wendy, who was still trying to grasp what was happening. "So, uh... Are we okay with this? I hope this is good news for you, given all the circumstances we're in." If she could cross her fingers right now, she would.

"Irene, that's fantastic. I'm genuinely happy for you both. Just make sure it's legally official, alright?" the chairman suggested, tapping his ring finger.

"Oh, the ring. Legal. Yes, yes, of course. Well then, that means we need to head to the immigration office to sort out this whole mess."

The chairman nodded in agreement.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Anderson. We'll take care of it right away. Thank you."

Irene Bae left the chairman's office, with a speechless Wendy Son following behind her.

—---------------------------------------------------------

News of the Irene Bae-Wendy Son engagement spread throughout the building like wildfire. As Wendy followed her boss back to her office, everyone along their way was looking, whispering, and giggling at them. Some were giving her disapproving looks, some were giving her thumbs-up, and some were even offering slow claps. She couldn't understand what was wrong with all of them. Hell, she couldn't even comprehend what was happening herself.

She's suddenly not feeling well. As she walks and blankly stares at Irene's back, she tries to recall what her boss said inside the chairman's room.

'You and I are getting married...'

The blonde shook her head and told herself, no. It can't be right. Irene Bae would never say anything stupid like that. Right? She must've heard it all wrong. Yes. She must've heard it all wrong."

"Girl, for real? I didn't even know you were into girls. It's kinda hot though," she heard Somi say as she passed by her colleagues' cubicle. She threw a glare at Somi. "Oooh. Hot," the girl teased.

As Wendy closed the chief's office door behind her, she waited for Irene to say something about what had happened. She stood there awkwardly, still confused as , and waited for Irene to explain. However, the chief just casually sat in her office chair and started doing her pending paperwork as if nothing had happened.

Wendy cleared to get the chief's attention.

"What?" Irene asked. "Your work isn't going to finish itself if you just keep standing there."

"I don't really understand what's happening," Wendy said.

"Oh, about that. Relax, this is for you too," Irene answered as she busied herself with the documents on her table, not even looking at Wendy while speaking.

"Please enlighten me. I'm kinda lost here."

"He was going to make Jennie Kim chief."

"So naturally, I would have to marry you?"

"What's the problem? Like you were saving yourself for someone special?"

"W-well, yes, maybe. But regardle—"

"What's the girl's name again? Joy, is it?"

"What? No. What I'm saying is—"

"If you're single and there's no one, then I don't think there is a problem."

"Irene," Wendy said, looking dead serious, dropping all the formalities she had with the woman in front of her. She's not playing anymore. She was pissed at Irene for cutting her off every time she tries to say something, and she's pissed at the fact that this woman does not even have an ounce of care for what she's feeling. "I'm not gonna marry you," she firmly said.

"Oh yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are, because if you don't marry me, your dreams of touching the lives of millions with your written words are dead."

Wendy was left speechless, her head starting to throb. Irene wasn't making any sense right now.

"Look, I'm being deported. Jennie Kim is going to fire you the second I'm gone, that's for sure. Why? Because she knows your loyalty belongs to me. That means you'll have no job, and you'll be running around looking for a new one. You're literally starting from scratch. All the time and hard work you've invested in an institution like this will have been for nothing, and all your dreams of becoming an editor will be gone."

The poor blonde saw her life flash in fast forward as Irene said all of this. Why was her career suddenly on the line?

"I guess you don't want that, right? Don't worry, after the required allotment of time, we'll get a quick divorce, and you'll be done with me. But until then, whether you like it or not, we are tying the knot. Okay?"

Wendy can't simply say yes or no to any of this. She requires some time to carefully consider her options.

"Now, get yourself ready. We're going to the immigration office."

But her soon-to-be-wife isn't giving her much time to process anything.

Wife.

Wendy cringed at the thought of Irene becoming her wife. Sure, it wasn't going to be forever, but she had hoped the other half of her life would be spent with someone decent. Don't get Wendy wrong, it wasn't that Irene lacked physical attractiveness; she was undeniably stunning, elegant, and beautiful, among many other things. However, Wendy wants someone with a pleasant personality—someone kind, gentle, understanding, and warm. Irene is nowhere near kind, gentle, understanding and warm.  She was pushy, demanding, manipulative, selfish, and just plain mean – a true witch in Wendy's eyes. She had no intentions of marrying a witch.

Internally, Wendy was screaming. Even in this situation, Irene Bae was using and taking advantage of her. Wendy couldn't even protest because the witch was also subtly blackmailing her.

As the blonde realizes the messy situation she's currently in, she concludes that she doesn't have much of a choice. Irene is right; once the chief departs and Jennie Kim assumes control, the first order of business for Kim will likely be to terminate her and anyone else loyal to Irene's management. Securing a position in a prestigious publishing company like Reve Publishing is exceedingly challenging. She has already made significant sacrifices to pursue her dreams, and going back to square one is not an option. If marrying her boss is the only way to save everything she's worked hard for, then so be it.

With a heavy heart, Wendy fished her duplicate of Irene's car keys out of her skirt's pocket. "I'll start the car. I'll wait for you at the parking lot."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Just like any other government agency on a Monday, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is having a very busy day. People of various nationalities, b with hopes and dreams, populate the office, wearing tired and bored expressions. It's probably because of the long wait. As Wendy's eyes roam around the place,