Chapter 1
1672words
Under the massive crystal chandelier, the gazes of three hundred guests focused like spotlights on the center of the stage—on the LED screen meant to display our sweet memories. Instead, it showcased a vivid betrayal. On the rumpled sheets of a hotel suite, my fiancé, Alex, lay naked, tightly embraced from behind by a middle-aged man.
That man was Vincent, Alex's direct superior and an influential figure in financial circles. I'd met him several times before—always impeccably dressed in tailored suits, sporting gold-rimmed glasses, with the unmistakable air of success.
But now, his glasses hung crooked on his nose, his lips greedily pressed against Alex's neck and back, making wet, obscene sounds. The video's audio quality was astonishingly good—Vincent's lustful panting and satisfied whispers reached every corner of the banquet hall. "Once you're married, you'll have Mia's family money as your stepping stone, and I'll fast-track your promotion."
Alex's face flashed across the screen as he turned his head, letting out that pleased, smug laugh I knew all too well—a sound I once considered the most beautiful music in the world. "She's so stupid, she'll never find out. The marriage is just a front anyway."
BOOM—
The silence exploded. The crowd boiled over instantly. Gasps, sharp intakes of breath, and incredulous whispers merged into a tidal wave of sound that nearly tore the roof off the banquet hall.
I felt Alex stiffen beside me. He froze like a statue suddenly encased in ice, completely rigid. I didn't even need to look to picture his paper-white face and eyes filled with terror. Vincent's wife, Diane, seated at the head table, showed cracks in her elegant façade for the first time. Her hands clutched the tablecloth, knuckles turning white from the pressure.
And I, wearing a six-figure Vera Wang custom wedding dress, stood at the center of the storm without a trace of shock on my face. My mind was calm as a frozen lake, clearly reflecting this farce directed by my own hands—and the ugly truth of those two men on the screen.
Indeed, how could I be shocked? This was my wedding gift to him.
**One Month Earlier**
The afternoon sunlight was gorgeous. I finished my design draft early and drove to our booked wedding venue to confirm the final details. Alex and I had been dating for three years, our relationship as stable as a textbook romance. Though wedding preparations were complicated, thinking about spending my life with him filled my heart with sweet anticipation.
While passing through the third-floor guest corridor, I happened to glance aside, and my footsteps suddenly froze. At the corridor's end, a door had just opened, and the two figures who emerged made me feel as if I'd plunged into an ice cave.
One was my fiancé Alex. The other was his boss Vincent.
Their intimate behavior crossed all professional boundaries—Vincent's hand casually resting on Alex's waist. I watched Alex turn his head slightly, listening to Vincent speak. He reached up to adjust his collar, revealing a blurred yet unmistakable red lipstick mark on his pale skin.
My heart pounded frantically, nearly bursting through my chest. I instinctively ducked into the nearby emergency exit alcove, pressing myself against the cold wall as a chill ran from my feet straight to my scalp.
I watched them walking toward the elevator and, as if pulled by invisible strings, found myself following. I hid behind potted plants at the corner, close enough to hear their final exchange before the elevator doors opened.
"After the wedding, remember to go to Paris. I've already booked the room." Vincent's lowered voice carried an unquestionable command. "Once your father-in-law's fund investment is in place, I'll push through your promotion."
Alex's light laughter drifted back: "I know. This wedding is crucial for my career. Mia's father thinks the world of me."
"What about your parents? Still pressuring you about children?" Vincent let out a dismissive snort.
"I'll handle it," Alex replied with a coldness and disdain I'd never heard from him before. "Anyway, I don't really plan to... you know."
*Ding*
The elevator doors closed behind them, cutting off all sound and completely shattering the love fantasy I'd built for three years. All strength drained from my body instantly. I slid down the wall onto the cold marble floor, tears pouring uncontrollably like broken strings of pearls.
So the man I deeply loved hadn't just betrayed me—he'd been using me all along. Three years of love, a grand wedding—just perfect tools to conceal his true sexual orientation and attach himself to my family's resources. I, Mia, was merely a stupid stepping stone in his eyes, easily manipulated.
Back home, I collapsed onto the couch, sobbing until my body was completely drained, nearly fainting. On the edge of despair, I grabbed my phone and called my best friend Emma.
Emma is a lawyer, three years older than me, and my rock. After my call, she arrived at my apartment within half an hour without question, armed with my favorite cake and a bottle of whiskey.
After hearing my tearful account, Emma slammed the cake box onto the table, her eyes blazing with fury. "That absolute scumbag! Alex isn't even human! Mia, cancel the wedding immediately! Right now! Don't wait another second!"
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I remained silent. I cried for what felt like hours, until my throat was raw and my tears dried up. Only then did I slowly sit up straight, using the back of my hand to roughly wipe away the tear stains on my face.
"No," my voice was raspy but carried an unprecedented calmness. "The wedding cannot be canceled."
Emma stared at me in disbelief. "What? Mia, are you insane? You still want to marry that lying bastard?"
"The wedding has already cost my family most of our savings, and over three hundred invitations have gone out. If we cancel now, what will people think?" I lifted my head, the last traces of tears in my eyes replaced by a cold flame. "I'd become the biggest joke in the city—a pitiful creature abandoned before her wedding."
"Then what do you want to..." Emma's voice trailed off uncertainly.
A grim, cold smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. "Doesn't he want a grand wedding? Doesn't he think this wedding is crucial for his career?"
"Then I'll give him a wedding he'll never forget."
For the next month, I lived like an actress with a split personality. During the day, I was the bride-to-be immersed in happiness—trying on wedding dresses with Alex, selecting rings, discussing honeymoon destinations—with a flawless smile and even more gentleness than before. He seemed completely oblivious, attributing it all to pre-wedding joy.
But at night, I became someone else. Together with Emma, like professional private investigators, we began discreetly collecting evidence. I installed mini recording devices in Alex's car and photographed his meetings with Vincent at various times and hotels.
The crucial breakthrough came through a hacker friend who, for a considerable fee, got me access to the hotel's surveillance system. I watched their entire routine from entering rooms to leaving, and copied the key footage that would nail them to the pillar of shame.
Everything was prepared. I just needed the wedding day to raise the curtain.
**[Back to Present]**
After playing for a full forty seconds, the video was finally cut by a "panicked" hotel staff member who rushed forward. The lights in the banquet hall snapped on, the glaring brightness making everyone instinctively squint.
All eyes—like countless sharp arrows—shot simultaneously toward the groom on stage.
Alex's complexion was beyond pale—more like the color of dead ashes. His lips trembled as he tried to speak, but not a single word emerged. He looked desperately at Vincent for help, only to discover his lover hunched over, attempting to slip out through a side door amid the chaos.
"Vincent!" A crisp, angry female voice cut through the noise.
It was Vincent's wife Diane. She grabbed her husband's arm with such force that he stumbled. Her typically well-maintained elegant face now twisted with shock and humiliation.
Amidst the chaos, I calmly took the microphone from the master of ceremonies and softly said, "Hello." The slight electric feedback traveled through the speakers across the venue, instantly silencing the room.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely apologize for making you witness something so disgraceful." My voice was clear and steady, carrying a touch of well-measured regret. "But since this has happened, you deserve to know the truth—my fiancé, Mr. Alex, has maintained an inappropriate intimate relationship with his boss, Mr. Vincent, throughout our entire three-year relationship."
The venue erupted in commotion, this wave of murmurs even more intense than before.
I ignored the shocked, sympathetic, and gloating glances. My eyes fixed solely on Alex as I calmly pronounced his death sentence, word by word: "Alex, this wedding you've always dreamed of ends here."
With that, I raised my hand and violently tore off the diamond-studded veil from my head—that symbol of purity and loyalty—and hurled it at his terror-stricken face like a piece of garbage.
Under the incredulous gaze of three hundred guests, I turned around, gathered the intricate folds of my wedding dress, and walked off the stage with elegance and determination.
Emma was already waiting by the side door. As soon as she saw me, she took off her coat and draped it over my shoulders, gripping my hand tightly. "Well done."
Without looking back, we walked through the long corridor, quickly leaving this opulent yet disgustingly filthy hotel.
As we stepped outside, the cold night wind hit my face, yet I felt an unprecedented clarity and freedom.
"This is just the beginning," I said to Emma.
Just as the words left my mouth, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to find a message from an anonymous number, brief and vicious:
"You'll regret this, bitch."
