Secretly Cherished: From Forgotten Bride To The Mafia Boss's Queen

"Please take your marriage certificate," the City Hall staff member said, holding out the document.

Thick-framed glasses sat on Ashley Scott's face, while a high turtleneck sweater crept up to conceal much of her jaw.

Her eyes shifted toward her now legal husband, who seemed uninterested in the details of the certificate as she was.

Towering at 6.2 feet, he cut an imposing figure. Dark sunglasses hid his eyes, and the beard lining his jaw only sharpened his distant and commanding presence.

"We are only getting married to reassure our families," Ashley said after steadying her voice, "but now that we're husband and wife, I think we should at least exchange contact details."

Elijah Fletcher looked down at the woman dressed as if she had stepped out of a library, then pressed a credit card into her hand. "That will not be necessary. If my grandmother had not threatened me with her surgery, this marriage would not exist. Use the card however you want. Do not reach out to me unless you intend to file for divorce."

Those words made Ashley speak up without thinking. "I only meant that having your number would make things simpler when I divorce—"

Her sentence never reached its end. Elijah had already turned away and made his way towards the exit without another glance.

To him, the marriage felt like a formality, and the identity or appearance of the woman beside him held no real importance.

Without lingering, Elijah stepped out of the City Hall and slid into a high-end vehicle waiting nearby.

Once inside, he took off his sunglasses and removed the beard, exposing a small mole near the outer corner of his right eye. His sharply defined features were impossible to ignore. "Drive," he said flatly.

At once, the driver answered, "Yes, Mr. Fletcher." Then he started the car.

That very day, Ashley boarded a flight and left the country.

Fueled by stubborn determination and sustained on no more than four hours of rest each night, she completed a Ph.D. in clinical medicine within two years.

Following her graduation, she joined Doctors Without Borders and spent an entire year in active war zones, where she helped save countless lives.

Three years passed before Ashley finally returned home. When news reached her that rare medicinal herbs had been discovered in a remote mountain forest, she wasted no time. She packed her medical supplies and set out immediately.

While she was carefully scanning the area for the herbs, a rough and strained voice suddenly sounded nearby. "Help me."

Alerted by the cry, Ashley moved toward the source as the smell of blood became increasingly noticeable. Soon enough, an overturned off-road vehicle came into view along the side of the road.

A silhouette caught her attention inside the wreck, and her instinct to save a life took over as she sprinted toward it.

With urgency in her voice, Ashley called out, "Can you hear me? Are you injured?"

Slumped in the driver's seat was a