The Bound Between Us

Chapter 297
After asking that question, Anastasia was a bundle of nerves. She was a little scared, afraid that he had been deceiving her from
the get-go. Her gaze was glued to him, not missing any of the expressions on his face.
Their eyes locked in a silent battle, and Herman’s lips tightened. He, too, felt a twinge of anxiety as he was put in the hot seat.
He took his sweet time before finally admitting in a deep voice, “Yes, the guy you had the blind date with, it wasn’t me.”
Anastasia blinked, her gaze a complex mix of shock as she stared at Herman. He admitted it, he wasn’t her blind date. In other
words, he admitted that he had been deceiving her all these months.
Anastasia felt as if something was lodged in her chest. She felt like crap. She managed a self-deprecating smile as she said,”So,
you’ve been playing me from the start.”
Even though she had already suspected it, hearing him admit it was a tough pill to swallow. The mundane happily-ever-after life
she thought she had, was a total
sham.
Herman’s eyes flickered, his voice low. “Anastasia, I didn’t mean to play you.”
“Not intentional?” Anastasia scoffed, taking a step back, increasing the gap between them. “The day you saw me at Cafe Bliss,
you knew I got the wrong guy. Was that not intentional, too? Just who are you? Why did you do this?”
Herman couldn’t refute that, he had been lying to her from the start.-
Once a lie was told, you needed a hundred more to cover it up. He couldn’t even remember how many lies he had told her over
these months. Now, Herman decided to come clean. Things had come to a head, and there was no other choice. He looked into
her eyes, his lips pressed together. “I’m the man in charge at Elysian Technologies, Herman Salstrom.”
Anastasia’s eyes widened in shock, and she stared at him in disbelief. “The Herman from Elysian Technologies?”
The moment she stepped into this mansion, she knew he wasn’t an average joe. But hearing he was the head of Elysian
Technologies still left her shell-shocked.
She accidentally married a mega-rich tycoon? The rumored secret wife of Mr. Salstrom was her? Her husband, the heartthrob
that Lauren Mill was chasing after? The man she shared a bed with was the big boss of her company?

Herman’s words felt like a dream to Anastasia, too incredible to believe. Anastasia, keeping her cool, forced a smile. “Herman,
are you pulling my leg? How could you be the head of Elysian Technologies? Why would someone like you marry an average
Jane like me? This is too outrageous.”
Anastasia just couldn’t wrap her head around it. The man was a multi-billionaire. How could a high roller like him marry her?
Weren’t rich people supposed to marry within their social class?
But how could she explain this luxurious mansion? A mansioh this size, situated in the prime area of Riverdale, must have cost
at least a dozen billion. That did not even include the interior design and rooftop garden. All of these combined had got to be tens
of billions!
She, who dared not think beyond a three-bedroom apartment, was initially blown away by Herman’s three-bedroom apartment.
Now, she was faced with a mansion worth tens of billions, how could she possibly believe it?
These wealthy folks had billions of assets, and jet-setted around the world, so how would he really be driving a Chevy worth a
little over a hundred thousand and dropping her off at work every day?
Herman stared into her eyes, took a step forward, and gripped her shoulders. “Anastasia, I’m not playing you this time. Our
marriage is real, and I am the head of Elysian Technologies, that’s the truth. This is our home from now on. I originally planned to
spill the beans at the company’s anniversary party next month.”
He spoke in a deep voice, “That day at Cafe Bliss, I was waiting for Flynn. You suddenly came up to me and proposed, so I was
stunned. I thought, how could there be a woman so eager to get married, not afraid to marry the wrong guy? You said marriage
is a gamble, which made me decide to give us a shot. Maybe, it’s destiny, there’s no particular reason, it’s just that, you
happened to show up.”