Chapter 1

On the day of our wedding, my so-called ‘loyal’ fiance, Henry Gordon, secretly held another wedding with another woman. I was his rightful fiancee and had been dating him for years. It was the biggest humiliation I had ever endured.

Since he wanted to play dirty, I would make sure the happy couple paid the price they deserved.

On my way back to the company, I passed by an extravagant wedding banquet venue and spotted Henry’s car.

When I got out of my car, I saw Henry bridal carrying his secretary, Yvonne Luther, and walking proudly through the crowd.

They were surrounded by flowers and blessings. Henry was grinning, and Yvonne had a shy, bashful look on her face as she nestled into his arms.

I could not believe my eyes. I pushed through the crowd.

Looking at the expensive wedding gown Yvonne was wearing, then at my cheap, rented wedding dress, my heart felt like it was being clenched by an invisible hand.

I remembered telling Henry that I wanted a wedding gown of my own when we were discussing our wedding. I just wanted something to cherish, so that when I grew old, I could look at it and remember the happiness of our wedding day.

However, Henry had said wedding gowns were too expensive and that he could not afford one. He even said that after all his years of hard work for the company, his health had suffered multiple breakdowns, so any spare money we had needed to be used for his treatment.

Considering how he always worked hard and put in effort for the company despite his modest abilities, I did not bring up buying a wedding gown anymore.

Still, I wanted a wedding full of flowers and blessings.

However, every time I brought it up, Henry would irritably tug at his tie and tell me that weddings were just for show. He would say that they were merely a formality for others to see and that it was better for us to live our lives simply together.

After much persuasion, I reluctantly accepted a wedding without flowers or blessings, chose a simple church with a small patch of grass in front, and invited only a handful of relatives and friends to witness it.

Now, seeing the scene before me, my heart felt like it had been stabbed with a knife.

It turned out Henry did want a grand wedding—just not with me. He wanted his secretary instead.

Silent tears shimmered from the corners of my eyes.

‘My dear husband, since you’re so desperate to have a grand wedding to celebrate your love, I’ll grant you your wish.

‘But I wonder… will granting you this wish make you happy?’

I took out my phone and dialed a number I had not called in a very long time.

…

After taking off my wedding dress and changing into my haute couture clothes, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Then, I walked straight into the wedding hall.

The priest stood solemnly in the center, reciting the sacred wedding vows.

My husband, who had supposedly gone to the company for the personnel appointment, was now standing there, hand in hand with Yvonne, waiting to say the ‘I do’ I had never heard.

As the priest happily asked Henry if he would take Yvonne to be his wife, for richer or poorer, I clapped my hands and walked down the red carpet from the opposite end of the hall toward them.

The happy smile on Henry’s face froze when he saw it was me.

Beside him, Yvonne urged him on, “Say it! Say you do!”

Seeing him frozen, Yvonne turned angrily toward him.

Her eyes widened when they met mine.

I let out a soft, mocking chuckle.

“Go on, say it. Say you do.”

Both Henry and Yvonne faltered under my gaze, unable to breathe, until Yvonne’s mother stormed up and yanked my hair, yelling, “You wretched witch! How dare you still show up at this wedding!

“Have you no shame? Security has thrown you out three times already, yet you still came back to steal the groom?!”

As soon as she said that, the guests’ looks of confusion turned into expressions of anger.

“So, she’s the mistress! How shameless! The happy couple is getting married, and she came to ruin it!”

“Don’t you know a wedding is the most important day of a woman’s life? I curse you to have your wedding day ruined by a mistress, too!”

“We watched Henry grow up. He is the most responsible man we know! He and Yvonne were childhood sweethearts, and there is no way anyone could come between them. She must be delusional!”

“You need a good beating! Henry gave every paycheck to Yvonne. He is the perfect husband! Yvonne is even the company’s boss now! How dare you try to destroy their love, you shameless tramp!”

Childhood sweethearts? Giving Yvonne every paycheck?

I clapped in amusement, nodding along.

Henry and I had been dating since we were at university, where he had pursued me relentlessly from the moment he first saw me. His pursuit had been grand and the talk of the entire campus.

However, on what was supposed to be our wedding day, I had become the ‘homewrecker’ everyone was cursing out.

Remembering his heartfelt confession under the moonlight back then, I could only smile bitterly.

If Henry had truly loved Yvonne, why did he pursue me so publicly and passionately?

I glanced at my designer outfit, and the answer was obvious.

Henry coveted my status as the daughter of the city’s wealthiest man and the wealth my family had that he could never earn in his entire lifetime.

Breaking free from Yvonne’s mother’s grip, I raised my voice so everyone in the hall could hear, “Are you also saying I’m the mistress, Henry?”

He turned his head away, not daring to meet my eyes.

Just as he was about to say something, Yvonne suddenly screamed, stepping between us.

“Are you crazy?!”

Then, from somewhere the guests could not see, she frantically tugged at Henry’s arm, giving him urgent, pleading looks.

Henry’s expression quickly shifted from guilty to scheming.

“Ahh!”

Yvonne screamed and deliberately fell to the ground in front of me, making it look like I had pushed her from the guests’ perspective.

The guests were in an uproar.

“So, you would rather destroy them than let them be happy, you homewrecker?!”

Many people rushed forward, grabbing at my clothes and trying to drag me out of the hall.

Henry helped Yvonne up and arrogantly declared, “Queenie Howard, I told you a long time ago to stop interfering in my relationship. I only love Yvonne!

“Today is our wedding day, and I won’t allow anyone to ruin it!

“I know you like me, but love can’t be forced! Are you going to leave with your dignity, or should I have someone throw you out? Choose for yourself!”

I stared at him coldly. His self-righteous attitude was ridiculous.

“Henry, I’m just going to ask you this. Where did you get the money for this wedding?

“Do you think no one will find out about what you’ve done if I leave?”

Henry fell silent, while Yvonne looked at me with pity and said, “I know you’ve liked Henry for a long time, but he doesn’t like you. If you love him, you should let him be with the one he loves.

“We’re both women. We shouldn’t make things hard for each other, should we?”

At that moment, Yvonne’s mother suddenly covered her mouth as if realizing something.

“I remember now. You’re that secretary who seduced Henry at the company! What a shameless woman!

“Don’t make me ask Henry to fire you!”