Phoebe Marsh had carelessly submitted the wrong quotation, causing the company to suffer a massive loss and leaving us facing enormous compensation claims.

To win the contract back, I attended what was basically a trap disguised as a dinner to apologize on the company's behalf. I was forced to drink until my stomach bled, enduring humiliation after humiliation just to smooth everything over.

After the matter was settled, Phoebe comforted me and promised that one day, she would give me a grand wedding. But the day before our wedding, she showed up in a wedding gown and threw herself into Julian Stratford's arms instead.

When I demanded an explanation, she brushed it off casually.

"You were just some nobody who clawed his way out of a backwater village. What made you think I'd actually choose you? Besides, Julian is the general manager's son. The difference between you two is night and day. But if you really can't let me go, I guess I wouldn't mind keeping you around."

Phoebe actually wanted me to be her lover.

That slap ended everything between us. I turned around and agreed to marry the Grey family's heiress—my childhood sweetheart.

What I never expected was that our weddings would be held on the same day, in the same hotel.

As I stepped through the hotel entrance, Phoebe arrived with a crowd of our former coworkers and blocked my path.

"Cassian Frost, you actually came to crash my wedding? Let me make this clear—I won't let anyone ruin my perfect wedding with Julian. Since you insist on embarrassing yourself, you'd better apologize to Julian and beg for his forgiveness."

The crowd immediately burst into jeers and cheers.

Phoebe kicked the back of my knees, forcing me to the ground. She even stripped off my clothes to humiliate me in public.

Only when Evelyne Grey arrived did Phoebe instantly switch to a flattering smile.

"Ms. Grey, my ex-boyfriend completely lost his mind. He actually claimed to be your husband. But don't worry, I already dealt with him. About that Upper Hollow contract… Do you think we can sign it now?"

Humiliation at the Hotel Entrance

Because a construction crane had swung into the subway line, traffic across the city had been completely locked down, so Evelyne and I had no choice but to head to the venue separately.

When I arrived at the hotel, I was just about to get out of the car and go inside when I looked up and saw Phoebe walking in arm in arm with Julian. Both of them looked radiant with happiness.

My hand froze on the car door.

For a moment, I did not step out.

I never would have imagined that Phoebe and I would end up getting married on the same day.

Ever since I decided to cut ties with her completely, I hadn't wanted to see her again. Especially not now, when I was about to get married myself.

I was about to get married myself, and the last thing I wanted was to ruin the day by running into someone as unlucky as her.

"Cassian! I'm over here!"

A cute girl came running over from a distance and yanked open my limo door before I could react. "Cassian, why won't you come out?"

Annie's voice rang out loudly enough to draw Phoebe's attention immediately.

The door had been opened too quickly. Before I could even process what was happening, my eyes met Phoebe's from not far away.

The warmth in her gaze vanished instantly, replaced by fury. She strode over in a few quick steps, shoved Annie aside, and grabbed me straight out of the limo. "Cassian, how long are you planning to keep harassing me?"

Then she noticed the groom's tag pinned to my boutonniere.

Her eyes widened before she let out a mocking laugh. "Wow. I didn't think you'd stoop this low. I'm already getting married, and you still came here to steal the wedding?"

I forcefully shook off Phoebe's hand, pulled Annie up from the ground, and wrapped an arm around her.

Before I could even explain, Phoebe glared at me resentfully. "Cassian, today is the most important day of Julian's and my life. If you dare cause trouble here, don't blame me for what happens next."

The surrounding guests immediately began whispering.

"The nerve of Cassian, crashing the wedding like this. If he hadn't messed up that quotation, we'd still have our year-end bonuses."

"Please. You should be thanking him for saving your job. He was the one who spent the whole night entertaining several executives from the client companies just to salvage the project."

"And those executives included both men and women. With a body like his, who knows how far he had to go?"

"Tsk! That playboy disgusts me. Just breathing the same air as him makes my skin crawl. How dare he come here to steal the wedding?"

My whole body trembled as I listened to the crowd tear me apart. Phoebe had pushed all the blame onto me.

Just then, Julian stepped out from the crowd.

The disdain in his eyes disappeared the moment he noticed the bouquet in my hands, replaced by sudden excitement. "Phoebe, how about I give you the bouquet in his hands?"

The Bouquet Meant for Another Bride

The bouquet in my hands had been custom-made in Gallia by a master floral designer Evelyne personally hired.

It was worth a fortune. Several hollowed gold roses were woven among the flowers, and under the sunlight, the intricate craftsmanship and extravagant arrangement shimmered brilliantly.

When Phoebe first heard people mention the mistaken quotation, a flicker of guilt crossed her face. But the moment she noticed the bouquet in my hands, that guilt disappeared completely.

She sneered. "Cassian, I'm never going to marry you. If you hand me that bouquet, I'll count it as you attending our wedding. Besides, you loved me so much. You wouldn't want to embarrass me today, would you?"

I stared at Phoebe blankly, unable to understand how the woman who used to go out of her way to help others had turned into this.

I let out a quiet sigh and was just about to speak when Annie suddenly rushed out from behind me and shoved Julian hard. "You're a bad guy! Why are you trying to steal my sister's bouquet? She went all the way to Gallia to have it specially made by a master designer!"

Annie was too small to do much.

Julian only stumbled slightly before regaining his footing. He looked at her with open disgust.

"Who's this filthy brat? How dare you dirty my tailor-made suit? This thing costs tens of thousands."

Annie was Evelyne's younger sister. To her, that amount of money was barely a day's pocket money, so she tilted her head innocently and asked me, "Cassian, why is he so worried about getting a cheap suit dirty?"

Julian exploded with rage at once. His finger nearly jabbed into Annie's eye as he pointed at her.

I immediately pulled the little girl behind me protectively and said coldly, "Phoebe, I'm not here to crash your wedding."

Phoebe lowered her gaze slightly, the corners of her lips curling into a mocking smile. "Still pretending, Cassian? If you're not here to steal the wedding, why are you standing here in a suit? Don't tell me you're also getting married at The Bellamy Court today?"

I nodded.

The crowd instantly burst into laughter.

"What a joke. People like him really don't know their place. If he actually understood what kind of status The Bellamy Court has, he wouldn't dare try to piggyback off it like this."

"If Julian weren't the Stratford heir, people like us probably can't even step foot in a place like this."

"Exactly. Good thing Julian went to beg Ms. Grey for help. And Cassian actually thought he could secure the contract by selling himself."

Many of the people mocking me were former coworkers I had helped countless times before. But now, they twisted the truth without hesitation, dumping every bit of filth they could onto me.

Phoebe watched me with a half-smile, clearly enjoying the humiliation. Only after the ridicule finally started dying down did she speak again.

"You came from nothing, Cassian. After what happened with all those men and women, your body's already been used up. Other than me, who else would even want you?

"Drop the act already. Hand the bouquet to Julian, and I'll allow you to attend our reception."

As she spoke, she snatched the bouquet from my hands.

Annie had been pampered and adored her entire life. She'd never suffered this kind of treatment before.

Without even thinking, she pulled the unfinished juice bottle from her backpack and splashed the remaining juice all over Phoebe to protect me.

Phoebe was caught completely off guard. Her wedding dress was soaked instantly, and her expression darkened terrifyingly.

But Annie still hadn't realized the danger closing in around her and clapped excitedly. "I beat the bad guy! I beat the bad guy!"

"You spoiled brat," Phoebe said grimly. "You need to be taught a lesson."

She waved her hand, and several tall men immediately surrounded us. In just a few seconds, they grabbed Annie and lifted her off the ground.

I tried to stop them, but Phoebe slapped me hard enough to knock me to the ground.

Seeing Annie about to be dragged away, I shouted desperately, no longer caring about anything else. "She's Evelyne Grey's sister!"

Forced Resignation

Everyone froze.

For a moment, I thought Phoebe was finally going to let Annie go.

Instead, she suddenly burst into laughter. "Evelyne Grey's sister? Don't tell me you're also about to claim you came dressed as a groom because you're marrying Evelyne today?"

I nodded. "Now that you know, let Annie go—argh!"

Before I could finish my words, Phoebe slapped me viciously across the face. Gritting her teeth, she snapped, "Even now, you're still refusing to come to your senses. Looks like I really do need to teach you a lesson."

She raised her hand again, preparing to slap me a second time, but Julian stopped her. "Enough, Phoebe. Today's our wedding day. Don't waste time on trash like him."

Then, his tone shifted. "Actually, this is the perfect opportunity. Make Cassian write a resignation letter so he won't show up at the company later and ruin our mood again."

Although Phoebe had publicly claimed she was the one who salvaged the Lower Hollow project, the company executives all knew the contract had only been signed because I had personally met with the clients.

Naturally, the commission for the deal should have belonged to me. But if I resigned, everything would fall into Phoebe and Julian's hands instead.

Phoebe's eyes lit up immediately at the suggestion. She grabbed me and forced me toward the resignation letter.

When I refused, she pinched Annie's cheek hard and threatened coldly, "Children this young are so fragile. If she ends up with a scar on her face… or maybe loses a limb, will she still be able to live normally?"

I stared at her in disbelief. Phoebe was actually using a child to threaten me over a commission bonus.

Annie was terrified now, crying as she called out my name.

Phoebe snatched the bouquet from my hands and proudly handed it to Julian like she was presenting him with a treasure.

But I barely noticed.

I only looked straight at Phoebe and asked quietly, "If I write the resignation letter, you'll let Annie go. Is that it?"

Phoebe nodded, mockery curling at the corners of her lips. "Believe what you want. You have no other options, don't you?"

"I already warned you. Annie is Evelyne's sister, and I'm about to marry Evelyne. Aren't you afraid she'll come after you for humiliating her husband and her sister like this?"

The entire crowd burst into laughter.

"Cassian has completely lost it. He came here to crash the wedding, realized Phoebe wasn't going with him, then saw that Ms. Grey was also holding a wedding here today and started imagining he was marrying her instead."

"I bet he doesn't even know who Ms. Grey is. She's the richest heiress in Amberhollow. Ruthless, powerful, untouchable. Nobody dares offend her, and this idiot actually dares to impersonate her fiance? He's basically digging his own grave."

"The Lower Hollow project belonged to Ms. Grey's branch company. That's why the commission was so ridiculously high in the first place."

The crowd suddenly understood, and the looks they gave me became even more contemptuous.

My hand trembled as I gripped the pen. Humiliation and fury crashed through me in waves.

Once I finished writing the last word, Phoebe snatched the letter away. After glancing through it with satisfaction, she handed it to Julian.

"Now, will you let Annie go?"

But Phoebe's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Let her go? She splashed juice all over my wedding dress. Doesn't she owe me an apology?"

Annie and I were completely alone with no one to help us. I didn't want to keep getting tangled up with Phoebe, so I apologized immediately.

Phoebe let out a cold laugh. "You think one little 'sorry' is enough?"

I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw hurt and stared at her. "What else do you want?"

Phoebe sneered, then kicked the back of my knee. "If you're apologizing, then act like it. I want you kneeling while you apologize to me."

One knee slammed against the ground, but I still refused to bow my head. In just a little while, I would officially become Mr. Grey. If I humiliated myself here, I would be humiliating Evelyne too.

Phoebe clearly hadn't expected me to be this stubborn. Even after the kick, I still refused to kneel properly. Furious, she reached out to shove me all the way down.

During the struggle, the sleeve around my wrist was yanked upward, revealing more than a dozen luxury watches.

Julian's eyes lit up instantly.

"Well, well," he snapped. "Phoebe, you actually spent money buying Cassian this many luxury watches? Take every single one of them off him right now!"