1 On our wedding night, Luke dragged my best friend Stella into the suite, scowling. “She’s a total Princess and the Pea—flew in from Europe, and you put her in a hotel with a lumpy bed? Let her sleep on our premium mattress. You take the guest room.” I frowned. “And you?” He pinched Stella’s cheek. “I’ll stay here with this troublemaker. One crumb on that bed, I’ll spot it—spares her bugging you.” We grew up as a trio. Luke always complained Stella was high-maintenance, yet wiped her chair with a microfiber cloth before she sat, inspected her clothes seam by seam, and tested every bed for stray hairs. When I protested, he’d brush it off: “Stella’s delicate. It’s our job to care for her.” Earlier, mid-ceremony, he’d abandoned me and the officiant to check Stella’s chair. Once, I asked why he married me, not her. He laughed: I was financially independent and domestic—better wife material. Now the truth hit: he craved our triangle; I was just the sensible, wealthy backdrop to their romance. He forgot I never keep what isn’t mine. I texted my assistant: list this penthouse, sell within two hours. Then called the man who’d waited ten years. “Wedding’s off. Pick me up.” The sound of Vincent’s breathing hitched instantly on the other end of the line. I could feel his overwhelming surge of emotion, though his voice remained wrapped in his usual icy restraint. “Wait right there.” I hung up. Through the heavy mahogany door of the master bedroom, muffled giggles and playful wrestling echoed in the hallway. A few minutes later, Luke opened the door. His shirt was half-unbuttoned, and fresh purple love bites dotted his neck. His eyes, however, held a cold, distant annoyance when he saw me standing there. “Haven’t you had a busy enough day? Why are you just standing there like a statue? Don’t you trust me to take care of your own best friend?” Before I could answer, Stella stepped out from behind him. The neckline of her dress was torn, exposing half of her chest. She playfully punched his shoulder. “I told you Val is the jealous type. Why did you have to provoke her?” She then reached out and tapped my nose affectionately, exactly like she used to do when we were kids. “Alright, don’t be such a grouch. It’s your big day, so I won’t ruin the mood. Don’t worry, I’ll just go back to the hotel. Worst case scenario, I just won’t sleep for the next few days until my flight back!” As she turned to grab her coat with practiced efficiency, Luke’s eyes flooded with absolute heartbreak. When he snapped his gaze back to me, he spat out his words through gritted teeth. “Are you leaving or not?” In that split second, I actually heard murderous intent in his voice. Growing up, Stella was the bubbly, adorable darling of the neighborhood. I was the quiet, violently stubborn girl who often became the target of petty bullies. Whenever I was cornered, Luke would step in front of me like a shield, while Stella ran away to fetch the adults. Once, while protecting me, a neighborhood bully smashed a brick over Luke’s head. It took five stitches to close the wound. Ever since then, every time I looked at that pale scar hiding in his hairline, I made a silent vow. As long as he and Stella didn’t end up together, I would marry him and make him the happiest man on earth. Stella had seen right through my teenage crush. She used to laugh at my terrible taste in boys. Maybe that was why she moved to Europe right after college, finally leaving Luke with no one to look at but me. I had been entirely grateful to her for that. That was until late last night, the eve of my wedding. I overheard Luke calling her, his voice trembling with sheer desperation. “Please. Just come back for the wedding. I really miss you so much.” I was known as a ruthless corporate shark. I had the nerve to reject the romantic pursuits of Vincent Cross, the notoriously cold-blooded billionaire. Yet last night, I was so utterly pathetic that I could only hide under my blankets and muffle my own sobs. I had fought too hard for this wedding, and I refused to watch it burn to the ground. I foolishly convinced myself that once she attended the ceremony and flew back, his eyes would belong to me again. I turned a blind eye when he placed her at the head table just so he could peel her shrimp. I forced a smile during the garden photoshoot when my gown was caught in a patch of thorns, tearing into my skin, while he was entirely focused on plucking a stray piece of lint off Stella’s bridesmaid dress. I was willing to play deaf and dumb. I thought I just needed to grit my teeth until she left. But his death glare right now shattered every last pathetic illusion I had been clinging to. The custom floral wedding wreath hanging on the bedroom door behind him suddenly looked like a sick joke. This time, I refused to swallow my pride like a scolded child. I walked into the hall closet, grabbed a handful of his designer clothes, threw them into a suitcase, and shoved it hard into his chest. “Stella is right. She is just a guest, and guests belong in hotels. Since you are so desperate to take care of her, you can go pack your bags and join her.” It was the very first time I had ever defied him. Luke froze, his brows knotting in confusion. He was about to lash out, but when he caught the faint glimmer of tears in my eyes, he let out a heavy sigh instead. “Throwing a tantrum again, Val? You know how she is. She can’t sleep if there’s even the slightest bump on a mattress. You used to help her make her bed all the time. I was just trying to spare you the exhaustion today, and now you’re being utterly unreasonable.” Thinking of that midnight phone call, a freezing smile crept onto my face. “Are you sparing me the exhaustion, or are you just fulfilling your own twisted fantasies? You know exactly what you’re doing.” His fragile patience completely snapped. He kicked the heavy door with brute force. “She is leaving the day after tomorrow! Can you stop wasting everyone’s time?” The impact sent the beautiful wedding wreath crashing to the hardwood floor. His shoe landed squarely on it, crushing the delicate white roses into an ugly, ruined mess. It was the perfect reflection of this rotting relationship. Sensing the suffocating tension, Stella immediately stepped between us, glaring at Luke defensively. “You promised me you would treat Val well. What kind of attitude is this? You know she’s always been stubborn. Why can’t you just let it go?” She turned and gently cupped my cheek. “Be a good girl, Val. Don’t stoop to his level. I told him I shouldn’t have come. I could have just sent a massive wedding gift and called it a day. He refused to listen and bought my flight anyway. I’m leaving right now. Enjoy your wedding night, you two!” She shot me a playful, innocent wink and turned to leave. But Luke grabbed her wrist, his knuckles turning stark white from the force. They locked eyes in a silent, agonizing tug-of-war for several seconds. Finally, Luke turned his chilling gaze back to me. “This is my house, and Stella is a guest I personally invited. You spent a fortune on the best mattress in the country, and she is the only one delicate enough to deserve the first night on it. You live rough anyway. What is a few nights in the guest room going to do to you? Since you are being so incredibly petty and vicious toward your own best friend, you are the one who needs to go to a hotel and reflect on your behavior. When you’ve figured it out by tomorrow, I’ll consider bringing you back.” His absolute arrogance made it sound like he was disciplining a disobedient puppy. I lived rough? I lived rough because I had an entire corporate empire to carry on my back. I busted my ass to make millions, only to fund his endless shipments of custom-made, hypoallergenic luxury goods to Europe for her. Even his shoelaces and dental floss had to be top-tier handcrafted garbage. I used to love him down to my marrow. I was willing to play the blind fool to his blatant boundary-crossing. But tonight, he had personally taken a scalpel and carved that love straight out of my chest. I wiped the stray tears from my cheeks and pulled out the legal documents I had prepared just minutes ago. “This penthouse is my premarital asset. It has absolutely nothing to do with you. If you don’t like my rules, sign this annulment, and you can take her wherever the hell you want.” Luke’s pupils dilated in pure shock. He stared at me like I had grown a second head. After all, the ruthless female CEO that the business world feared had only ever been a docile, obedient shadow in his presence. Seeing the standoff, Stella’s eyes flushed red. She lunged forward to snatch the documents, acting as if she were going to rip them to shreds. “What are you two doing? I came here to celebrate your love! If I’m really that unwelcome, I’ll just leave!” Luke panicked. He desperately pried her fingers open, slapped the annulment papers onto the floor, and pressed her soft, manicured hands against his chest in sheer terror. “You idiot! Your skin is too fragile. You used to get paper cuts just from turning the pages of a textbook. Why would you hurt yourself over this meaningless garbage?” When he looked back up at me, his eyes were dripping with absolute disgust. “You know how delicate her hands are, and you intentionally brought out this thick stack of paper to hurt her! You just want to drive her away so you can monopolize me, don’t you? We used to be so happy when the three of us hung out. Why did you have to turn into such a toxic, vicious snake?” I laughed out loud, pointing at the massive, framed wedding portrait hanging on the wall. The bright, blinding smile I wore in that photo now felt like a brutal slap to the face. “If you decided to marry me, why the hell should I share my husband with another woman?” Stella stared at me in stunned silence as a single, perfect tear rolled down her cheek. She immediately grabbed my hand and started slapping her own face with it. “It’s all my fault, Val! I shouldn’t have shamelessly followed him into your home. I really thought we were still those three carefree kids from back then. I guess I was just being delusional! You two need to stay together. If you’re really that angry, just hit me!” In the next fraction of a second, Luke shoved me violently. I crashed onto the hardwood floor. He cradled Stella’s face, his eyes welling up with frantic heartbreak. “Are you insane? Her hands are practically made of sandpaper! Look at this massive red mark on your cheek!” He spun around and delivered a stinging backhand right across my face. “She traveled thousands of miles for us, and I wouldn’t even let her carry her own purse! How dare you lay a finger on her? You keep throwing this wedding in my face, but let me remind you, we haven’t even signed the legal certificate yet! Apologize to her right now, or get the hell out of my house!” His house? A chilling smile spread across my lips. I remembered the day I handed him the keys to the most expensive real estate in the city. He had cried tears of pure joy. Growing up, he used to point at the brochures for this exact luxury development, his eyes shining with hope as he showed them to Stella and me. “When I get married, I’m going to buy a unit here for my wife!” I had pretended not to notice how his gaze lingered on Stella when he said it. Instead, I quietly memorized his dream. When I finally bought the penthouse, he pulled me into a tight embrace, overwhelmed with emotion. “You worked so hard for this, Val. I don’t deserve it. But I swear, I will treat you like an absolute queen after we’re married. I will never let you suffer.” For a brief, pathetic moment, I had actually fantasized that he would shower me with the same obsessive care he gave to Stella. I never imagined he would summon his goddess back on our wedding night just to use my property to fulfill his childhood promise to her. He had even planned an escape route, agreeing to the ceremony but conveniently delaying the legal paperwork. Just yesterday, when I heard he had booked an expedited appointment at the registry office for tonight, I thought it was a romantic surprise for me. Now I realized the truth. He was just waiting to see if his goddess would change her mind. If she did, he could instantly erase our ceremony and drag her to the courthouse instead. I couldn’t help but laugh at my own stupidity. He really was devoted. Just not to me. But the dream was over, and I was done being a pawn. I stood up, walked to the front entrance, and opened the door. My assistant and a wealthy female client were already waiting in the hallway. I ushered them in and shot Luke a deadpan look. “The property is officially sold, and that mattress now belongs to its new owner. You can both get the hell out now.” The two of them froze, completely blindsided by my ruthlessness. Luke’s voice cracked as he yelled. “Valerie Monroe, have you lost your damn mind? This is our home! We just had our ceremony today. How could you sell it off just like that?” I shook my head in utter disbelief. “If you knew it was our wedding night, why were you rolling around in our bed with another woman?” My assistant and the buyer exchanged looks of utter disgust. “No wonder Miss Monroe wanted this place gone so fast. It’s infested,” the client sneered, immediately pulling out her phone to record the drama for her massive social media following. “Miss Monroe bought this place with her own blood, sweat, and tears. You two are repulsive.” Seeing a camera pointed directly at her, Stella’s face drained of color. She covered her face and began to sob uncontrollably. “I treated you like my own sister, Val! How could you let a stranger record me and spread rumors about me? You just know I’m too soft to fight back, so you abuse me over and over again!” Seeing the love of his life weeping in terror, Luke flew into a blind rage. He lunged forward and grabbed me by the collar. “Apologize to her right now! You know damn well nothing happened between us. Why are you publicly humiliating her? Do you have any idea that her tears cause severe chemical burns to her sensitive skin? She is as fragile as glass, and you just keep shattering her!” Looking at his agonizing concern for her, a hollow, tragic laugh escaped my throat. I forcefully shoved him off and yanked up my sleeves, exposing the faint, scattered scars on my arms. “Since we were kids, she was too delicate, too allergic to everything. Every time there was a new food, you forced me to taste-test it like a royal poison taster. You wrecked my immune system so badly that I break out in hives from stress. Right after high school, she threw a tantrum about wanting to take pictures in a rose garden. When she tripped, you were so terrified the thorns would scratch her that you shoved me to the ground to act as her human cushion. I bled through my clothes. On her farewell trip before moving to Europe, you spent three hours inspecting her mattress. When you found a bug, you tricked me into switching rooms with her. I woke up the next morning covered in severe, swollen bites.” I took a step forward, my voice dropping to a lethal whisper. “You both convinced me that because you protected me from a bully once, I owed you my life. Well, consider the debt paid in full. From this second forward, we are nothing to each other. Get out.” A flicker of genuine guilt flashed through Luke’s eyes. But the moment he glanced back at Stella’s flushed, tear-stained face, his brows knitted together in that familiar, condescending glare. He looked at me like I was an unruly teenager throwing a fit in public. “Are you quite finished? Even a tantrum has limits. Since we have an audience, I’ll save your reputation as a CEO for now. Stella’s skin is inflamed because of you, and I need to get her an ice pack. Take your people and get out of my sight.” Without another word, he dragged Stella by the wrist straight back into the master bedroom. Moments later, hushed, intimate whispers drifted through the cracked door. My assistant and the client stood in stunned silence. No one could fathom that a groom would blatantly drag another woman into his marital bed right in front of an audience. On the client’s live stream, tens of thousands of viewers were already tearing me to shreds. “If she can’t even keep her own man on a leash, how the hell does she run a corporation? What a joke!” “Everyone knows Valerie Monroe is just a desperate sugar mommy. Pathetic.” “I heard those three grew up together. Seeing how hard the other girl is crying, I bet the CEO is just staging this drama to get free PR for her company!” In a matter of minutes, my reputation was dragged through the mud. The stock prices I had sacrificed countless sleepless nights to elevate began to plummet in after-hours trading. My assistant’s face went sheet white. “Miss Monroe, what do we do?” I simply bent down, picked up the torn pieces of the annulment, and smiled coldly. “I was going to leave him a fraction of the assets just to be done with it. Since he wants to play the victim, he can leave with the clothes on his back.” I walked straight out the door, took the elevator down to the private garage, and slipped into Vincent’s waiting luxury sedan. Ten minutes later, heavily armed police officers stormed the penthouse, kicking the master bedroom door wide open. They flashed their badges at the two naked figures scrambling for the blankets. “This property has legally changed hands. If you do not vacate the premises immediately, you will be arrested for criminal trespassing.” Luke nearly jumped out of his skin. Once the shock faded, he let out a smug, condescending sneer. “That psychotic woman. She is so desperate for my attention she actually called the cops to fake an eviction.” Stella clutched the blanket tightly to her chest, giving him a gentle nudge. “Don’t be so mean to Val. We did get a little carried away just now. It’s only natural she’s jealous. Give her a few hours to cool down, and we’ll buy her favorite takeout to apologize. Once I fly back to Paris, you two can block my number. I just don’t want her to be sad anymore.” They truly believed I was playing my usual role. They thought I would throw a fit, cry, and eventually crawl back to beg for his affection. It wasn’t until Luke realized his number had been blocked across every single platform that panic finally set in. He angrily threw on his clothes, stormed into the hallway, and grabbed my assistant by the collar. “Where the hell is Val? Tell her to get out here and face me! How dare she humiliate Stella like this?” My assistant simply scoffed. She pulled out her phone and held up a crystal-clear photo. It was a shot of me and Vincent Cross, holding our freshly stamped marriage certificate at the VIP registry office. “Who the hell do you think you are,” she whispered venomously, “to bark orders at the billionaire’s wife?”
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