The year I graduated, Melanie Vance drugged me. I was set up, ended up with a stranger, and got pregnant. My boyfriend, Ethan Carter, fought his entire family to marry me anyway. He treated my daughter, Lily, as his own. He even promised to hand his company over to her in the future. But today, on our wedding day, he held the diamond ring in his hand and grasped my fingers, yet refused to slide it on. "To be honest, Chloe, I don't really want to marry you. You disgust me." "If I weren't worried about Melanie going to jail, and the fact that she's dedicated to staying single forever, I would never have chosen you." "As long as you promise not to cause trouble for her in the future, I'll make sure you're taken care of. You'll be Mrs. Carter forever." I looked past his shoulder. Melanie was standing not far away, a smug, triumphant smile playing on her lips. Slowly, I pulled my hand back from his grip. "I'm sorry, but I've changed my mind." "This wedding is off." 0Ethan didn't move. The gentle, affectionate smile was still plastered on his face, showing no signs of anger. He just stood there, quietly watching me, his fingers still frozen in the posture of holding the ring. To the guests, it looked like I was just getting cold feet. And he, the perfect groom, was simply being patient with my childish tantrum. He spoke softly, his tone smooth and calm. There wasn't a hint of malice in his voice. "Chloe, stop playing around." "You're a used woman with a kid. Who else would want you if not me?" Standing nearby, Melanie took a few steps forward. She tried to hide the sheer joy in her eyes as she chimed in, pretending to smooth things over. "Ethan, don't blame Chloe. She's probably just too nervous." "After all, what happened back then was a huge trauma. It's only normal that she has scars." The "incident" she referred to was the trap she had personally orchestrated the night of our graduation. She was the one who drugged my drink, ruined my innocence, and stripped away my future. Because of that night, I lost my job offer at a top firm and was pushed into a corner, pregnant and alone. It was only today that I realized Ethan had known the truth all along. To protect Melanie from going to prison, he had suppressed all the evidence and hushed up the entire scandal. And because Melanie insisted on remaining unmarried, he settled for the next best thing—marrying me to keep me quiet. But what they didn't know was that even though that night was a blur of chaos... I remembered that man's face perfectly. Ethan might not want me, but my daughter's biological father was out there. Still, Ethan and I had truly loved each other once. We grew up together, giving each other our hearts. We were the couple everyone thought would last forever. After my scandal, when everyone abandoned and despised me, he was the only one who stood up and insisted on marrying me. He protected my reputation, showered my daughter with love, and even promised her his estate. I believed him. I thought his acceptance was love. Ethan maintained his gentle, accommodating posture. He looked at me with endless patience. "Be good, Chloe. Come back and finish the ceremony." "What I promised you will always stand. You will be my wife, and Lily will be the only child I cherish." I looked up, my voice dead calm. "Didn't you hear me? The wedding is off." The warmth on Ethan's face finally flickered out. The tenderness in his eyes faded, replaced by a cold, dark abyss. In the next second, the giant projector screen above the ballroom—which was supposed to play our wedding slideshow—suddenly flashed. Instantly, the room was flooded with blinding white light. What appeared on the screen was not a sweet video of us. It was surveillance footage from three years ago. It showed me, drugged, helpless, and semi-conscious, stumbling and collapsing in a hotel hallway. 0
It was high-definition and silent. But every frame was filled with absolute humiliation. It was the most shameful night of my life. The ballroom fell into a dead silence, followed by a sudden, deafening explosion of whispers. The gasps of the guests echoed through the hall. Thousands of eyes pierced through me like needles. The blood in my veins turned to ice. I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined that Ethan had kept a copy of this security footage. He had hidden Melanie's crime for three years. Yet, he kept the footage of my deepest humiliation locked away in his drawer. For three years, he had been gentle, attentive, and indulgent. Yet, at our wedding, at the very moment I thought I was being saved, he threw me into the mud and stripped away my dignity in front of everyone. He really did think I was dirty. He wanted everyone to see my shame on our wedding day. He wanted to make sure I could never hold my head up again, so I would have no choice but to remain his submissive wife. In the crowd, Melanie's lips curled up into a smug grin. She had planned the whole thing, got away with it for three years, and was now watching my public execution with pure joy. Ethan looked at me, his eyes still deceptively gentle. "Chloe, as long as you behave and stay as my wife, I promise no one will ever see this again." "Otherwise, I'll let the whole world see just how 'clean' you really are." The cold digital screen continued to loop the video. The girl on the screen was shaking, unable to even stand, sliding down the wall in desperation. The high-res lens captured my flushed cheeks and ragged breathing perfectly. Every second was a slap in the face. The whispers of the crowd buzzed in my ears, sharp and cruel. "So she really was that wild back then. No wonder she got pregnant out of wedlock." "Ethan is practically a saint. He tolerated this shame and raised another man's kid for three years." "Any man would find her disgusting. If she actually married into the Carter family, Ethan would be the real victim." Not a single person mentioned the drugging. They didn't care if I was the victim. They all assumed I was cheap, wild, and loose. Tears welled in my eyes. "Ethan, you bastard!" I raised my hand to slap him, but he caught my wrist with brutal force. He flung me to the ground, and his foot stepped on my custom haute couture wedding gown, ripping the expensive fabric. Melanie covered her mouth, pretending to be shocked. She spoke just loudly enough for everyone around to hear. "Ethan custom-made that gown for me, and I only lent it to Chloe." "Since she ruined it, she needs to pay for it." I looked up at Ethan in disbelief. He had told me this gown was designed specifically for me. During the dark days of my pregnancy, when I couldn't sleep because of my anxiety, he had stayed up all night, rubbing my back to soothe me. When my morning sickness was so bad I couldn't eat, he had canceled his business meetings to cook soup for me, feeding me spoonful by spoonful. In the winter, he would tuck my freezing hands into his warm pockets. When I almost died giving birth to Lily, he stayed by my hospital bed for three days and nights without closing his eyes. Just last month, he held my hand in the boutique, promising me the wedding of my dreams. But in the end, all I got was this cruel betrayal. Melanie bent down, lightly brushing the tear in the fabric, her voice dripping with malice. "This is a million-dollar designer gown, and you ruined it." "Either pay up, or I'm calling the police." 0
I lay on the freezing floor, my spine stiff, my body trembling with cold. I looked up at Ethan, but his voice was completely indifferent. "Chloe, you're the one who threw a tantrum first." "You ruined Melanie's things. It's only right that you apologize and compensate her." At that moment, it felt as if a dagger had been driven straight into my heart. He was allowing Melanie to humiliate me. He was letting me kneel in front of the city's entire elite class, stripped of every ounce of my dignity. The eyes of the crowd locked onto me, filled with mockery and disdain. The video continued to play on the loop behind me. Seeing him back her up, Melanie grew even bolder. She leaned down, pressing her lips close to my ear, whispering in a voice only I could hear. "Actually, back then, I was the one who told Ethan to hand you that spiked drink." "The man you love personally handed you to another man." "Of course, he didn't know what was in it at the time. So all his kindness to you over the years wasn't love. It was just guilt." "I told you before—a piece of trash like you could never be good enough for Ethan." My body shuddered violently. My heart felt like it was being ripped to shreds, bleeding out. The pain was suffocating. He wasn't just covering up for her. He was an accomplice. I pushed against the floor, trying to stand up, but Ethan's hand pressed down heavily on my shoulder. It wasn't a violent grip, but it carried an unyielding authority. "Apologize to Melanie first." "Don't force my hand, Chloe. I can make sure you and Lily have no place left in this city." Melanie took out her phone, a nasty smirk on her face. She swiped open the screen and raised her voice so the entire room could hear. "We can't be soft on people like her! She destroyed high-value property worth a million dollars. That's a felony!" She dialed the police right then and there. "Yes, I'm at the Grand Plaza Hotel. Someone has intentionally destroyed a million-dollar custom gown and is refusing to pay. She's being extremely hostile. Please send officers to arrest her immediately!" She hung up and looked down at me, her eyes cold and victorious. I knew what she wanted. She wanted to blow this up. She wanted to use this to ruin me completely. Ethan's hand on my shoulder tightened, his voice pressing down on me. "Chloe, kneel and apologize to Melanie right now, and I'll settle this case for you." "Once the police get involved and you have a felony record, you know exactly what will happen to Lily's future. Think about her school, her career, and her chance of ever entering high society." At that moment, a blazing fire of hatred erupted inside me. He was using my daughter's future. He was forcing me to bow my head and plead guilty. He was forcing me to admit that I was the villain, the ungrateful wretch. I clenched my teeth so hard that the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. I closed my eyes. I could let myself be ruined, but I couldn't gamble with my daughter's future. "I'm sorry... it was my fault." My voice was hoarse, thick with unbearable agony. Hearing my confession, the guests snickered, their looks of disgust intensifying. "How shameless! Having a woman like this in our circle is an absolute disgrace." "She only bows her head when she's caught. Typical." "Ethan was kind enough to take her in for three years, and she bit the hand that fed her." Ethan slowly released his grip on my shoulder. He looked down at me, a satisfied smile returning to his face. "Good. As long as you know you were wrong. The wedding will continue." The room fell dead silent. Even I found it hilariously absurd. The whispers stopped, and the guests stared in utter disbelief. 0
They never expected that even after all this drama, Ethan would still go through with the wedding. But the most shocked person in the room was Melanie. Her fake, gentle smile froze. The triumph in her eyes shattered, replaced by sheer panic. She stood there, her fingers clenching into tight fists. After a brief silence, the guests began to murmur again, trying to push Ethan toward Melanie. "Ethan, why settle for less? Melanie is the one who actually matches your status. You two are a match made in heaven." "Chloe's reputation is completely ruined. She doesn't deserve you. You should take this chance to cancel the wedding." "Melanie has been by your side quietly for three years. She's sweet, sensible, and a million times better than Chloe." Hearing everyone take her side, Melanie quickly hid her anger, looking down with a flush of mock embarrassment. I pushed myself up from the floor, wanting to leave this nightmare of a wedding as quickly as possible. But a wealthy socialite nearby, who had always despised me, glared at me with disgust. Seeing me struggling to stand, she raised her foot and kicked me hard in the shin! The blow was sharp and sudden, her pointed stiletto heel digging straight into my flesh. A sharp pain shot up my leg, making it go numb. I gasped, losing my balance, and collapsed sideways back onto the floor. My knee slammed hard against the sharp edge of the carpeted steps. A dull, throbbing pain bloomed, making it hard to breathe. Everyone saw it happen, but no one said a word. Ethan instinctively reached out to help me, but when his eyes caught Melanie's, he froze and pulled his hand back. He saw it. He saw me get kicked and bruised. But he chose to ignore it. A flash of dark joy crossed Melanie's eyes, but she quickly put on her angelic act. "Everyone, please stop. Chloe has had it hard enough today. Let's be kind." Her hypocritical kindness only made me look more pathetic and ungrateful. The guests grew even more irritated, their insults flying again. "Melanie, you're just too sweet. Why are you protecting a snake like her?" "She has some thick skin, still clinging to the title of Mrs. Carter after being humiliated like this." Ethan withdrew his gaze and looked back down at me. His eyes were filled with a cold, helpless impatience. "Get up. Let's finish the ceremony." With that, ignoring Melanie's pale face, he grabbed my hand and tried to force the diamond ring onto my ring finger. But in the next second, I pulled my hand back, ripped the ring off, and threw it hard against the floor! Ethan's face finally twisted in rage. "Chloe! Have you lost your mind?!" Right then, the wail of sirens echoed from outside. Several police officers burst into the ballroom, frowning as they took in the chaotic scene. Melanie stepped forward, pointing her finger at me. "Officers, it's her! She destroyed my million-dollar custom gown, and she's trying to scam her way into a marriage!" The two officers stepped forward, reaching out to grab my wrists to take me in for questioning. The crowd watched coldly, laughing at my downfall. Melanie smirked, waiting to see me thrown into a prison cell, completely ruined. Ethan's face darkened. He made a slight move to step in front of me, but Melanie quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him back. Just as the cold metal of the handcuffs was about to touch my skin... At the entrance of the ballroom, a tall, imposing figure stepped through the doors, cutting through the light. His presence was so powerful that everyone froze. "No one touches my woman." The man's deep voice echoed through the hall. His gaze fell directly and steadily upon me. "Chloe, I finally found you."
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "NovelMaster" app ? search for "458491", and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster