A week before our wedding, my fiancée, Serena, who was terrified of water, suddenly announced she wanted to learn how to swim. That’s when I guessed she’d fallen for the swimming coach downstairs. After accompanying her to one lesson, I calmly informed her: either cancel the engagement, or break it off with the coach. Serena stormed out, furious, and didn’t return home all night. She came back the next day, aching and exhausted, swearing that I was the only one for her from then on. On our wedding day, the city’s elite were all gathered. As the officiant called out, “You may now kiss the bride,” Serena suddenly pushed me away, her voice trembling: “I’m sorry, I can’t kiss someone I don’t love.” “I thought I could force myself, but I just can’t lie to my heart.” With that, still in her white gown, she ran towards the swimming coach below the stage, his eyes red-rimmed. The entire ballroom erupted in gasps, camera flashes blinding us. Overnight, I became the laughing stock of the city. And topping the trending topics was a video of Serena and the coach passionately kissing at *my* wedding. In that moment, my heart died completely. Since you chose to betray me again, don’t blame me for eradicating you!
Staring at her retreating back, the last shred of hope in my heart vanished. I waved my hand, shattering the champagne tower, glass raining down everywhere. My voice was chillingly cold as I warned: “If you leave now, the Hayes Group and the Vance family will be locked in an endless war!” Serena’s steps faltered, her eyes instantly bloodshot. “I’m sorry, but I can’t betray my own heart. I’ll make it up to you later.” In just half an hour, News of the Vance heiress running off for love dominated every media headline. 【LOL, seriously? Who talks like that anymore? Straight out of a cheesy romance novel! He totally deserved to be dumped!】 【To act so arrogantly in public, imagine how despicable he must be behind the scenes. They should investigate the Hayes family!】 【Cheers to Serena Vance! Women shouldn’t be sacrifices in arranged marriages!】 In an instant, the Hayes Group became the talk of the town, a laughing stock discussed over coffee. Meanwhile, Serena Vance, who orchestrated it all, was painted by public opinion as a brave new-age woman pursuing true love. I scrolled through the screen, my face devoid of emotion. Until I saw Serena Vance’s latest “apology statement”: 【Though this decision deeply hurt Mr. Hayes, I simply couldn’t accept a marriage without love, to sink into a numb existence for the rest of my life… All fault lies with me. Please don’t blame Mr. Hayes.】 Attached was a photo of her with swollen, red eyes. Especially glaring was the cheap silver ring on her ring finger. It clearly wasn’t the engagement ring I’d given her. Then, Liam Miller added fuel to the fire of public opinion: 【Serena has been so guilty, she’s lost so much weight. You can’t force love. We’ll still be friends.】 I actually laughed, a bitter, furious sound. If she had been honest before the wedding, I would have let her go and wished her well. But she didn’t. She chose this moment, in front of everyone, with the city’s elite gathered. To trample the Hayes Group’s dignity into the ground! And now she expects public opinion to force me to forgive her? Dream on! “Immediately inform everyone: withdraw all investments from Vance Corp, terminate all collaborations.” “Furthermore, use all resources to support Vance Corp’s competitors.” “If I don’t drive the Vance family into bankruptcy, I don’t deserve the Hayes name!” My assistant, Mark, broke out in a cold sweat, cautiously advising: “Mr. Hayes, public opinion is very unfavorable to us right now. Making a move at this moment might…” I cut him off sharply: “Afraid of what?” “An ungrateful serpent who repays kindness with malice — shouldn’t they be taught a lesson?” “This is a perfect opportunity to make an example of the Vance family. Let’s see who dares to challenge the Hayes Group again!” I rubbed my throbbing temples. Scene after scene of the past flooded my mind, unbidden. Years ago, Old Mr. Vance had suddenly passed away, and his illegitimate son aggressively seized the family assets. Serena Vance had knelt in the pouring rain for an entire day and night, just to beg me to save the Vance family. “Mr. Hayes, if you save the Vance family, I’ll do anything for you for the rest of my life!” I softened for a moment and proposed an arranged marriage. She agreed without hesitation. After our engagement, I fulfilled my promise. Not only did I help her reclaim her company, send that illegitimate son to prison, but I also personally taught her how to run the business. I nurtured Vance Corp from a small company into a prominent group in the city. But gradually, things changed between us. She started resisting my closeness, rejecting my arrangements, and longing for so-called “pure love.” Until Liam Miller, that swimming coach, appeared. She poured all her passion and affection onto him without reservation. Actually, half a month ago, I had given her one last chance. “Serena Vance, if you still want to get married, know your boundaries.” But she only smiled dismissively: “We’re just ordinary coach and student. It’s your own mind that’s dirty, seeing everything as tainted.” “Mr. Hayes, could it be that *you’re* guilty of cheating and that’s why you’re constantly suspicious of me?” My voice sank completely: “If you cross the line, I’ll take back everything I’ve given you.” She trembled violently, her tone finally softening: “You misunderstood. There’s nothing going on between Liam and me.” “I won’t see him again.” In that moment, I actually believed that we could go back to how things were. Sadly, she ultimately betrayed my last shred of trust. Since that’s the case, don’t blame me for being ruthless! The next morning, Serena Vance, accompanied by a large group of reporters, burst into my office. The moment she entered, she started weeping, tears streaming down her face:
“Mr. Hayes, I’ve already publicly apologized… please, I beg you, let me go, let the Vance family go…” Trembling, she handed me a document, explicitly stating in black and white: Agreement to annul the engagement. But all investments and collaborations would continue as usual. She had utterly disgraced the Hayes Group, then brought reporters to my office to pressure me, and now had the audacity to demand business as usual? Did I really look that easy to manipulate? I sneered in response: “Serena Vance, you humiliated the Hayes Group, played the victim online, smeared my name, and now you want to cancel the engagement *and* keep the money and resources?” “Do you think I’m particularly easy to bully?” She then dropped to her knees with a thud, repeatedly knocking her head on the floor. Tears mixed with the blood on her forehead, smearing her face. Serena Vance choked out: “Mr. Hayes, it’s all my fault! Please don’t take it out on my parents…” “Punish me however you want, I won’t complain!” Seeing this, Liam Miller, who was trailing behind her, grabbed Serena Vance and pulled her protectively behind him. He leaned close to my ear, his voice low but laced with menace: “Ryan Hayes, don’t push your luck. I have a thousand ways to make you beg Serena to let you go.” “There are some people you just can’t mess with.” I stared directly at him, refusing to back down: “I’d like to see who dares to touch the Hayes Group.” Liam Miller’s eye twitched in anger, a vein bulging on his forehead. Just as he was about to land a punch, Serena Vance suddenly lunged forward and hugged my leg. The blood from her forehead stained my shoe. “Mr. Hayes, I couldn’t control my heart, I fell in love with Liam!” “You can do anything to me, but please, I beg you, don’t hurt innocent people…” I looked up, seeing the constantly flashing cameras. My heart felt like it was being pierced by countless needles. Finally, I just uttered one word, my gaze dark and menacing: “Get out!” Serena Vance’s legs buckled, and she stumbled backward. Liam Miller caught her, then swung his hand and slapped me hard across the face. “You dared to push her?!” A stinging pain instantly flared across my cheek. But I licked the corner of my mouth, laughing in furious defiance. Liam Miller’s voice was cold as a viper: “The Hayes Group can look forward to bankruptcy.” “All these years you forced her to run the company, to attend those late-night business dinners, raking in profits. She doesn’t owe you anything anymore!” “She’s a living, breathing person, not a puppet for you to make money!” My gaze, sharp as a knife, pierced through Serena Vance as I asked, word by word: “Teaching you to manage, guiding you into the industry – in your eyes, that was just using you to make money?” “Sending your parents to a top-tier nursing home – was that just to control you?” “Serena Vance, where’s your conscience?” Her eyes red, she hung her head, not daring to look at me. I let out a bitter laugh, tears uncontrollably welling up in my eyes. “Serena Vance, you have no heart!” She suddenly lunged at my feet again, weeping profusely: “Mr. Hayes, I will repay your kindness… please, I beg you, let us be together…” Her trembling hand gently touched her flat stomach. “The baby is innocent, he can’t be without a father…” I felt like I’d been struck by lightning, staggering back a few steps, barely able to stand. So, they even had a child together. That evening, Serena Vance went live on TikTok, tearfully “accusing” me. She was crying so hard she could barely breathe. “For projects, he forced me to wear *those* kinds of clothes to please clients…” “When I refused, he hit me… he burned me with cigarette butts…” Liam Miller embraced her tenderly, his eyes red as he roared: “Ryan Hayes! Do you have to drive her to her death before you’re satisfied?!” Serena Vance frantically tried to cover his mouth: “Mr. Hayes, I’m sorry, Liam is just too upset, he didn’t mean to contradict you.” “If you don’t break off the engagement, I really can’t live anymore…” Liam Miller, while comforting her, screamed in anguish: “You’re holding onto Serena, aren’t you just afraid of not having anyone to make money for you?” “You’re nothing but a worthless parasite, sucking women dry!” Serena Vance suddenly pushed him away and, facing the camera, repeatedly knocked her head on the floor: “Mr. Hayes, Liam is just worried about me, please don’t be so merciless…” The comment section had already gone wild. Countless vicious curses and insults flooded the screen. 【Ryan Hayes, go to hell! Scumbag! Bloodsucker!】 【Serena, run! We support you!】 【The seemingly glamorous CEO of Hayes Group turns out to be a coward who relies on women!】 Finally, Serena Vance tearfully announced that she would be marrying Liam Miller abroad next month. “I want to live for myself, for once.” The live stream ended, and that’s when the real storm began. Hayes Group’s stock plummeted, partners terminated contracts one after another, and I became public enemy number one. I looked at the pitiful face on the screen, feeling only absurdity and a chilling coldness. Hatred, like a rampant vine, grew wildly, tightening around my heart.
I pressed the intercom, my voice cold and clear: “Notify all senior executives to report to the conference room immediately for a meeting.” In the conference room, all the group’s executives were present. I slammed a thick stack of documents onto the table. “Serena Vance has severely breached her contract and maliciously damaged the Hayes Group’s reputation. File a lawsuit immediately.” “At the same time, freeze all assets of the Vance family.” When we first collaborated, I had already set strict breach-of-contract clauses. If I could elevate her to the heavens, I could naturally make her fall to pieces. “Release this bank statement publicly.” In the past six months, Serena Vance had embezzled public funds, set up shell companies, and engaged in tax evasion, totaling nearly three billion. And almost all of that money flowed to Liam Miller. The CFO took a quick look and gasped sharply. “Finally, make this annulment agreement public, in its entirety.” Since she had the audacity to make me sign such terms, she should bear the consequences. “I want everyone to see clearly who the real bloodsucker is.” “I, Ryan Hayes, am not someone to be taken advantage of.” An hour later, #SerenaVanceUngratefulSnake# Topped the trending topics. #LiamMillerEpicSpendingSpree# Followed closely behind. Lawyer’s letters, transaction records, and contract clauses were widely circulated by major media outlets. Countless financial bloggers and self-media platforms analyzed and denounced them: 【Sucking up three billion, then sending her benefactor to the internet’s stake of public scorn?】 【This isn’t just love-struck; this is fraud!】 The people who had previously cursed me now turned their weapons, aiming all their fury at them. A viral article titled “Two-Faced Heiress Serena Vance: Illegally Siphoning Three Billion For Her High-Maintenance Lover” swept across the internet: 【Exchanging an engagement for resources, getting pregnant with another man’s child, and still expecting her ex to pay?】 【Three billion – Mr. Hayes wasn’t just supporting a fiancée, he was funding a bottomless money pit!】 My phone was inundated with messages and calls, so I just switched it off. This time, I would leave no room for escape. But I never expected that just three hours later, all related posts and reports were swiftly deleted. Serena Vance called, her voice thick with barely concealed triumph.
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