The day before my wedding, I got a call from the hotel. "Mr. Winston, hello. Someone has… well, they've wrecked your wedding venue." I rushed over, completely bewildered, only to find some pretty boy holding a wedding photo of himself with my fiancée, screaming, "You shameless gold digger! Seducing my wife! Spending her money on a lavish wedding like this!" The scene was a powder keg of outrage. Even the hotel manager was pointing a finger at me. "I knew something was off," he sneered. "The bride-to-be never showed up for a single planning meeting. Turns out he's not even the real husband." The crowd of onlookers grew, their whispers turning into a mob. They beat me, shoved me, and in the chaos, my leg was broken. A laugh, sharp and bitter, escaped my lips. I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to my secretary. "Cancel the wedding. And tell Ella Lee to get the hell out of my company." Spending my money to keep a boy toy, and one this arrogant? Let's see how I tear you both apart. ... I was standing in front of the mirror, adjusting the fit of my tuxedo for the next day, when the hotel manager's call came through. His voice was dripping with a sick sort of pleasure. "Mr. Winston, ah, yes. About that 'Starlight Dream' luxury wedding you've booked? Someone's smashed it all to pieces. I think you'd better get down here." Smashed? My mind went blank for a second. I had spent half a year and millions of dollars planning this wedding. Who would dare? Tomorrow was the day. The day I was supposed to marry Ella Lee, my girlfriend of seven years. This was the last moment for something to go wrong. Fury ignited in my chest. I didn't have time to think. I shot a quick text to Ella and sped toward the hotel. I could hear the manager's oily voice from the entrance. "Oh, I had no idea Ms. Lee's husband was so young and handsome! A perfect match for a CEO like her!" "See? I told you something was up," another voice chimed in. "Never saw the bride once during the setup. He's the other man!" "Let's exchange contact info. If the hotel has any new projects, I hope you'll put in a good word with Ms. Lee for us!" Ms. Lee? My heart dropped. I followed the sound and saw him: a skinny, pale pretty boy, pocketing the manager's business card with a look of venomous satisfaction. "Of course," he said. "Just as soon as I'm done with this shameless leech." "I'll be sure to remember your help." I strode forward into the ballroom. The magnificent floral arch, which had been painstakingly assembled that afternoon, was toppled like a fallen giant. The towering champagne fountain lay in glittering shards across the floor. And strewn among the wreckage were the vulgar remains of rotten vegetables and broken eggs. My dream wedding venue, a palace of opulence just hours ago, was now a scene of utter chaos. I swallowed my rage, the words grinding between my teeth. "Who. Did. This." "I did!" The pretty boy saw me and, without a second thought, swung his leg and kicked me hard in the ribs. "I, Leo, am going to teach you a lesson today, you pathetic leech!" I staggered back, nearly losing my footing. "Leo?" The name was vaguely familiar. Right. Ella had mentioned him before—a junior from her university who'd asked for help finding a job. His name was Leo… Ella and I had been together since college. A cold, humorless laugh escaped my lips. So, this was her game. My father, taking pity on her because she was pregnant, had magnanimously made her the acting president of a subsidiary company to "play with." And she'd actually started to believe her own hype, brazenly keeping a lover on the side. My glare fixed on Leo. "Who the hell do you think you are?" I snarled. "You dare touch me?" Leo whipped out his phone, the screen displaying a wedding photo of him and Ella. He then pointed a trembling finger at the large welcome portrait of Ella and me at the ballroom entrance. "Who am I?" he shrieked. "I should be asking, who the hell are you?!" "My wife and I had our wedding photos taken six months ago! And you still have the nerve to seduce her?" Seduce her? What a joke. I reached for my own phone to call Ella and have her face this mess, but Leo snatched it from my hand and smashed it on the marble floor. "Calling for backup, are you, gold digger?!" His voice was shrill, attracting a circle of gawkers who began pointing and whispering. "I just Googled her. The woman is Ella Lee, the CEO of Apex Industries." "Kids these days… they'll do anything for money." "I know, right? He's a good-looking guy, too. Why throw it all away to be a kept man?" Sensing the drama escalating, the hotel manager scurried over to placate Leo. "Don't be angry, sir, it's not worth your health. How about this? I'll arrange our finest presidential suite for you, and a year of complimentary stays for you and Ms. Lee. Please, just calm down?" He then turned to me, his face a mask of contempt. "Mr. Winston, I'm sorry, but our hotel will no longer be hosting your wedding." I laughed, a sound raw with disbelief. "You're canceling? Are you prepared to pay the breach of contract penalty?" I swept my gaze over the trashed venue. "And this… this million-dollar setup. Are you sure you can afford to replace it?" Leo scoffed and, catching me off guard, grabbed the collar of my shirt. "Pay?! You used my wife's money to pay for this, you leech! And you have the audacity to ask me for compensation? Have you no shame?" It was then that he noticed the key fob for my limited-edition supercar in my hand. His face flushed with rage. "So that's why Ella couldn't buy me this car! Because you, the mistress, already took it!" He lunged for the keys. My first instinct was to hold on tight, but then I thought better of it. It wasn't worth getting hurt over this parasite. I let go. Leo, clutching the key fob, then dramatically stumbled backward and fell to the floor. Instantly, the onlookers rushed to help him up, their accusations turning on me. "What has this hotel come to, letting a degenerate like him in?" "Exactly! Mr. Leo, don't worry, we all saw it! He assaulted you!" "That's right, Mr. Leo! Um… my husband works at your company, in the marketing department. I hope you'll mention him to Ms. Lee, perhaps for a promotion?" … Ella was a president in name only, of a company that wasn't even publicly traded. Yet they were all fawning over "Mr. Leo," the "CEO's husband." I remembered my father telling me just a few days ago that after Ella and I were married, he would slowly hand over the rest of the group's companies to us. And now? All I felt was a profound sense of relief. Leo, propped up by the crowd, smugly straightened his clothes. He pointed at me and shouted at the manager, "You let anyone into this hotel? Are you trying to ruin your own reputation?" The manager bowed and scraped. "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, Mr. Leo. It won't happen again!" Leo snorted and, dangling my keys, swaggered toward the entrance. With a chirp, the lights of a multi-million-dollar supercar flashed. He pointed at the car, his voice a screech. "You bastard! How dare you waste my wife's money like this!" He walked back to me, rubbing the key fob menacingly against my cheek. "Someone like you deserves to drive a car like this? I'll have it smashed to pieces!" He threw the keys to the ground and stomped on them again and again, grinding his heel until the fob was a mangled wreck of plastic and metal. Still not satisfied, he grabbed a hammer from a nearby toolbox. "A ten-million-dollar car is too good for a leech!" He stormed towards my car, raised the hammer high, and as I watched in stunned silence, brought it down with all his might. I didn't stop him. I just mentally tallied up the damages he'd owe me. Just then, the hotel owner came rushing in. The manager whispered a few words in his ear, and the owner’s head snapped up. He looked at me, his face grim. "Mr. Winston, from this day forward, you are blacklisted from our establishment." I couldn't believe my ears. How could this entire group of people be so thoroughly manipulated by one pathetic pretty boy? "Are you sure?" I asked, looking the owner dead in the eye. He gave me a disdainful once-over. "We pride ourselves on our reputation. We do not welcome people like you here." I nodded slowly. "Fine." This hotel, of which my father was a major shareholder. Let's see how much he regrets this. I bent down to retrieve my mangled phone, but Leo’s foot slammed onto my back, pinning me down. "I've already called my wife. She'll be here any minute. Let's see how cocky you are then!" Wincing in pain, I grabbed his ankle, twisted hard, and sent him sprawling to the ground. The manager gasped and rushed to help him up. "Mr. Leo! Are you alright? Should I call an ambulance?" "Forget the ambulance! Arrest him! This man is a shameless homewrecker!" Leo screamed, his eyes red. "You seduce my wife and then you assault me? I'll ruin you!" The hotel owner's face was livid. "How dare you attack Mr. Leo! This hotel has security cameras everywhere! I've already called the police!" The crowd of spectators now transformed into a posse of righteous vigilantes. They swarmed me, pulling my hair, tearing at my clothes. "You dare hit Ms. Lee's husband? I'll record this as evidence! You're not just a homewrecker, you're a violent criminal!" "Yes! Post it online! Make him famous!" They shoved me, dragging me toward the welcome portrait of Ella and me. Someone ripped it from its stand and, with a vicious RRRRIP, tore our photo in two. I watched the image of us shatter, and I felt nothing. Nothing but a cold, bottomless well of disgust and rage. Good. Rip it to shreds. "Did you get that on camera? Post it! I want everyone to see this leech's true face!" Leo directed the mob, puffed up with the thrill of victory. I clutched my broken phone, the screen flashing with dozens of unread messages from Ella. Hah. She still had the nerve to message me? While they were distracted, I managed to open the notifications. Unsurprisingly, they were a stream of pathetic apologies, excuses, and pleas for forgiveness. I scanned them quickly, then deleted and blocked her number without a second thought. Then, I sent one last message to my secretary. "Cancel the wedding. And have my father pull all his investments from the Starlight Grand Hotel. Also, tell Ella Lee to get the hell out of my company." The reply was instantaneous. A single sentence. "Understood, Mr. Winston." Leo saw me using my phone. He raised the hammer and swung it at me without hesitation. I couldn't dodge in time. A muffled grunt escaped my lips as a sickening crack echoed through the room. White-hot agony exploded in my lower leg, and I collapsed, curling into a ball on the floor. A wave of gasps went through the crowd, but they quickly fell silent. The hotel owner looked down at me, his voice dripping with condescension. "Mr. Winston, stop faking it. The damage to the venue was a result of your personal dispute. The hotel will not be compensating you." "Furthermore, I suggest you apologize to Ms. Lee's husband, Mr. Leo." Pain was making my vision swim. I couldn't speak. I could only glare at the faces looming over me, my eyes burning. Suddenly, the manager pointed at my leg, his voice trembling. "Blood…!" I looked down. My calf was bent at an unnatural angle. Was it… broken? A flicker of panic crossed Leo’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a vicious smirk. He crossed his arms. "Hah! You thought you could seduce my wife with your pretty face and live off her money? Let's see you seduce anyone with a broken leg!" "You deserved it!" I pressed my hands to the floor, fighting to stay conscious.
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