On the morning of our planned destination wedding, my fiancée Evelyn finally rushed to the airport from her company. But just before boarding, she suddenly received an urgent message from her male secretary. “I’m so sorry, honey. The company just got a huge project that needs my approval,” she said. “Why don’t you go on the trip first? I’ll join you in a few days once I’ve dealt with all the work stuff.” Though disappointed, I understood the importance of her work and agreed. After Evelyn left, I tore up my plane ticket. I decided to go back and see which clueless company dared to discuss a major project with my wife’s company – which I had just fully reclaimed that very morning – bypassing me, the current CEO, to find her, a mere figurehead shareholder. I followed her all the way to the billion-dollar wedding venue hotel I had gifted her when we first started dating. The welcome sign nearly blinded me with its giant letters: [Congratulations on the marriage of Miss Evelyn Bridges & Mr. Lucas Gray] On the carefully edited wedding photo beside it, Evelyn was beaming in a wedding dress, Embracing a man who wasn’t me – her supposed destination wedding groom – But Lucas Gray, her male secretary who had just messaged about the “huge project”. It all made sense now. No wonder when we discussed getting married, she said she was tired of putting on a show at work and didn’t want to go through all those empty formalities. She just wanted a quiet destination wedding with me. Turns out she had someone else in mind for the wedding photos, ceremony, and marriage license. Before entering the hotel, I made a phone call. I had just settled into the seat with the best view when I saw Evelyn’s father walking her down the aisle under the officiant’s direction. They slowly made their way to where I was sitting. Lucas also walked down from the other end of the aisle, solemnly extending his hand to Evelyn. Just as Evelyn’s dad was about to place her hand in Lucas’, I decisively kicked Evelyn hard in the shin, sending her face-planting onto the floor. Her veil fell off and her bouquet scattered everywhere. Lucas was also knocked down by her fall. Evelyn, sprawled at my feet, was about to curse loudly, But she only raised her head to look at me once before all the blood seemed to freeze in her body. Lucas kept calling for Evelyn to help him up, but she didn’t even dare to look at him. I looked down at the panicked Evelyn, who still hadn’t managed to get up, and asked: “Why the grand gesture? Are you asking me for a wedding gift?” Suddenly hearing my voice, Lucas turned to look at me in disbelief, his face turning pale with fright. He instinctively tried to hide behind Evelyn, but was grabbed by her father. Evelyn’s dad put on a shrewd expression. He arrogantly pointed at me and shouted loudly enough for everyone to hear: “You shameless homewrecker! You just won’t give up, will you?” “Didn’t I already chase you away outside the hotel? How did you get in here?” As soon as he finished speaking, all eyes in the room focused on me. “No wonder he looks so shifty. Turns out he’s a homewrecker.” “Evelyn is the most dedicated girl. She’s utterly devoted to Lucas. Anyone who has designs on her is just wasting their time.” “Evelyn and Lucas have known each other since they were in diapers. They started dating in middle school. As soon as Evelyn graduated and made it big, she immediately brought Lucas to the city to enjoy the good life. She even made him a boss to help manage her company. Who do you think you are? Take a good look at yourself in the mirror before trying to come between them.” Childhood sweethearts. Together since middle school. Well, well. I nodded along as I listened. Evelyn had pursued me relentlessly since we started college. It wasn’t until our senior year that I was finally moved by her persistence and decided to be with her. Up until today – the day of our destination wedding. I had been forced to be the “other man” for 3 years. While she and Lucas were actually in love all along, why did she pursue me in the first place? The answer was obvious – it could only be for my identity as the son of a billionaire and pop diva, and my endless wealth. This was just perfect. I kicked Evelyn over again. “So you think I’m the ‘other man’ too?” Evelyn’s face was full of guilt as she kept shaking her head at me. Just as she was about to explain something, Lucas suddenly screamed and pounced on her. “Evelyn, are you okay?!” He hugged her tightly, desperately trying to signal her with his eyes. Evelyn met his gaze for a moment, slowly calming down as a calculating look flashed in her eyes. Seeing Evelyn get hit, all the guests were indignant. “Who do you think you are, hitting people?!” A man nearby rolled up his sleeves, raising his fist as if he was about to punch me in the face any second. “Wait.” Evelyn’s demeanor changed completely from her previous cowering. “Ryan Shaw, you’ve been pestering me for years. I’ve already clearly rejected you and told you my heart belongs to someone else.” “Today is my and Lucas’ happiest day. I absolutely cannot allow anyone to ruin the wedding I’ve so carefully prepared for him.” “You need to leave now. Don’t make me call security to throw you out.” I met her gaze with a cold smirk. “Evelyn Bridges, don’t forget where this hotel came from. What right do you have to throw me out?” “Or do you think that as long as I leave, no one will ever find out about all your dirty secrets?” Lucas stepped forward, still holding Evelyn’s hand. “Brother Ryan, I know you’ve always liked Evelyn and it hurts to see her marry me.” “But Evelyn has always loved me. You can’t force these things.” “We’re already married now. I hope you won’t come bother her anymore in the future.” I wasn’t actually surprised by Evelyn and Lucas’ relationship. It was precisely because I discovered their affair that I decisively took back the company I had funded, staffed, and worked tirelessly to help Evelyn establish and grow. And I had kept all of this from Evelyn until now. Originally, I was afraid my actions were too harsh and wanted to give her one last chance. Now it seems I had thought too much of her. I was about to throw the proof of reclaiming the company in Evelyn’s face, When her father’s eyes suddenly lit up and he deliberately raised his voice: “Oh I get it now, you must be that male secretary Evelyn told me about before – the one who had designs on her at the company!”
I wanted to laugh hearing that. I nudged Evelyn’s foot with my shoe tip. “What status do you have and what status do I have? Me, be your secretary?” “How come your dad doesn’t even know what his own son-in-law does for work?” Before I finished speaking, a man eating sunflower seeds nearby spat a mouthful of shells in my face. The whole room burst into laughter. “You gold-digging homewrecker, you didn’t even bother to find out how wealthy your target is?” “Do you know who Evelyn is? She’s a billionaire boss and CEO, with mountains of companies under her, not to mention countless luxury cars and mansions.” “See this hotel? This huge, luxurious wedding venue – it all belongs to our Evelyn!” “And Lucas is even more impressive.” “Not only does he help Evelyn manage all those companies under her, he’s also closed I don’t know how many major deals for her, increasing the value of Evelyn’s company by hundreds of millions in one go, directly propelling it into the ranks of the world’s top 100.” Lucas helps Evelyn manage the company, Closes deals for her, Increases her company’s value, pushing it into the world’s top 100? When in reality it was me who invested hundreds of millions of my own pocket money into her company time and time again, It was me who leveraged my parents’ connections to build her network everywhere, It was me who endured countless wine-soaked business dinners to negotiate one deal after another for her, It was me who stayed up countless nights guiding her step by step, and even had to personally take over and complete work that should have been hers due to her extremely narrow vision and utter lack of experience. Without my help, how many generations would it take for Evelyn – a poor country girl who couldn’t even afford college tuition – to achieve today’s success through talent and hard work alone? Someone who couldn’t stand my arrogant attitude advised Evelyn: “If you ask me, you’re just too lenient with your employees. What kind of secretary has the guts to come cause trouble at your wedding?” “If I were you, I’d fire him on the spot to teach him a lesson about overreaching.” Voices of agreement rang out across the banquet hall. Evelyn looked at me as if she really was reprimanding her subordinate. “After causing such a scene, there’s no way I can keep you on as my secretary.” “But considering you’ve worked for the company for so many years, even if you haven’t made major contributions, you’ve at least put in the effort. I’ll transfer you to a branch office instead of completely ruining your livelihood.” “If you still don’t know what’s good for you, don’t blame me for firing you.” Her actions won a round of applause. “Evelyn really lives up to her reputation as a big boss. She’s so magnanimous, willing to give even this kind of man a chance.” But I was not grateful at all. I even let out a cold laugh. “Fire me?” “Why don’t you try firing just me then? I’d like to see how you fire me.” Someone immediately mocked me sarcastically. “I guess someone like him wouldn’t be afraid of getting fired.” “Even if he gets fired, he can still go sell himself. How much money can he make as a secretary anyway?” As soon as those words were spoken, everyone had meaningful expressions on their faces. The shirtless, greasy man looked at me lustfully, almost drooling. “Not bad body, little brother. Are you up for anything? How much for one time?” “Uncle can’t give you as much as those bosses, but at least give me a discount since I’m a friend of the Bridges family, yeah?” I glared at Evelyn, my expression terrifyingly dark. “Evelyn Bridges, are you really going to keep hiding our relationship to the bitter end, just watching them humiliate me like this?” Evelyn paused for a moment, but ultimately turned away. “Lucas is my husband. I have a clear conscience when it comes to him.” “As long as you leave now, we can let bygones be bygones.” Lucas had a smug look on his face. “Brother Ryan, I know you’re upset that after causing such a scene, you’ve ruined your own reputation but gained nothing.” “Normally, someone as magnanimous as Evelyn probably wouldn’t mind if you tried to blackmail her for some money. But you really shouldn’t have come to make trouble on our wedding day.” “Even though you’ve slandered Evelyn like this, she still hasn’t fired you. Hasn’t she been kind enough to you? Don’t you have any conscience?” As he spoke, Lucas shed tears of distress for Evelyn. Evelyn quickly pulled out a tissue to wipe his tears. I was furious watching them put on this act. I raised my foot and kicked Lucas hard in the lower back. Lucas cried out in shock, falling straight into Evelyn’s arms. “Ryan Shaw, have you gone mad?!” Seeing Lucas get hit, Evelyn’s eyes blazed with fury. She lunged forward and slapped me hard across the face. I collapsed onto the dining table, not only getting covered in soup and grease, but also suffering large patches of scalding burns due to my light summer clothing. Evelyn not only ignored this, but pulled Lucas into her arms and yelled at me harshly: “Apologize to Lucas right now, or this isn’t over!” Lucas’ eyes were full of smugness. I endured the excruciating pain, barely managing to prop myself up with my arms. On my exposed arms, the red, grotesque burns seemed like a gaping bloody maw, silently yet viciously mocking my so-called love of these past few years. The burning sensation from the wounds intensified, but my voice grew increasingly cold: “Evelyn Bridges, you hid your relationship with Lucas Gray and dated me for three years; then on the day of our destination wedding, you married him at the hotel I gave you; now you’re even making me apologize to him?” “Is it because I’ve given you everything you wanted all these years that you think you can walk all over me and step on my head? Do you believe I can’t make you lose everything in an instant?”
Evelyn was momentarily stunned by my words. Hearing what I said, people at the tables kept whispering to each other. “This guy just said he dated Evelyn for three years and today was supposed to be their wedding day. He even said this hotel was a gift from him to Evelyn. Could any of that be true?” “It’s obviously fake. Anyone can make up stories. We’ve all watched Evelyn grow up, we know what kind of person she is.” “He even claimed the hotel is his. Why doesn’t he just say Evelyn’s whole company was started by him?” Just then, a faint female voice spoke up: “But I saw the brand of clothes he’s wearing online. It seems to be a super expensive designer label that even Lucas doesn’t wear…” Lucas immediately glared at the girl angrily. “This is your first time even coming to the city. What do you know about what’s good or not?” “I can’t believe someone from our village would take a stranger’s side like this!” The girl shrank back, not daring to say anything more. Evelyn looked satisfied as she turned away. She raised Lucas’ hand high in the air, showing off the dazzling matching rings on their ring fingers to everyone. She looked down at me condescendingly, as if I was already a complete loser. “Ryan Shaw, you say today was supposed to be our wedding day. Do you have any proof?” “My parents and all our relatives are here, but not a single person has ever seen you before. If I was really going to marry you, wouldn’t I introduce you to my family first?” “Besides, did I get a marriage license with you? Did I take wedding photos with you? Did I give you any wedding gifts?” “You need evidence when you speak. I prepared all of those things for my Lucas.” Lucas nestled against her shoulder, smiling triumphantly. “That’s right, Brother Ryan. You can take medicine recklessly, but you can’t speak recklessly.” Evelyn’s words completely confirmed my guilt, because I had no way to refute them. It’s true, when I agreed to marry Evelyn, I was stupid enough not to ask for anything. At the time, I happened to love her and happened to want for nothing. I never imagined that one day, this love would become a knife stabbing straight into my heart. Everyone in the hotel was pointing and whispering about me. “Homewrecker who tried to come between a couple. What do you have to say for yourself now?” “We can’t just let him off like this. We need to teach him a lesson!” Someone grabbed my hair and forcefully dragged me to the ground. Lucas’ father gave a look to the shirtless, greasy man. The greasy man immediately understood, bending down with a lecherous grin and grabbing my abs. “Little brother, being a homewrecker is immoral. Uncle is going to teach you a good lesson today.” I let out a piercing scream, desperately twisting my body to try to escape his evil clutches, but my limbs were firmly pinned down. Fear swept through my entire body. I shouted Evelyn’s name loudly, hoping she would have a change of heart and make these people stop. Evelyn’s pupils constricted. She was about to intervene, But Lucas pulled her back. “They ruined our wedding. I’m not happy about it and want to teach him a small lesson.” Evelyn hesitated. “But…” “It’s just a small lesson. You know the guys from our village, they know their limits.” “Besides, we’re right here watching. What could happen?” So Evelyn said nothing more. Lucas embraced her. Evelyn absently stroked his back as she watched more and more men and women grope me. “Let go of me! This is sexual assault, you’ll go to jail for this!” But the next second, someone’s slap sent me seeing stars. “What right does a homewrecking slut like you have to accuse us? This isn’t assault, this is justice!” Countless vulgar insults instantly drowned me. Just when I had completely given up hope, a voice suddenly came from the doorway: “I’m so sorry everyone, I’m late…” But upon seeing my face clearly, that voice abruptly turned to horror: “Stop! What are you doing?!”
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