Before my wedding, my fiance's secretary dumped out all the Dom Perignon champagne I had ordered for the guests and replaced it with Yoo-hoo.

I turned grim instantly and demanded an explanation. But my fiance—who had always claimed to dote on me—stood firmly in front of his secretary to defend her. "Susie only had your best interest. Don't ruin the mood for everyone."

His pack of so-called friends burst into laughter, egging him on. "Come on, don't be petty, Giselle. It's just a few bottles of Dom Perignon. Don't be so selfish."

Yet their eyes were enveloped in evident malicious amusement. At that moment, one thing became certain: this fiance had to be replaced.

The Price of Dignity

Caspian Lund hadn't even had the chance to speak when his secretary already jumped in. "Ms. Leclair, I know you're older and can't handle alcohol, so I specially prepared this drink for you."

I shot her a sharp glare and snapped, "Shut up. This isn't your place to speak."

Instantly, Susie Winters shrank timidly behind Caspian. "Cas, why is Ms. Leclair so harsh? I didn't mean anything by it…"

At that, Caspian reached out to shield her behind him, his face dark with displeasure. "Giselle, don't be unreasonable. Susie went out of her way to have this milk brought here for you. Even if you don't drink it, you shouldn't humiliate her like this."

I let out a cold laugh, my eyes sweeping over the room. Every face carried the same expression—waiting to see a show.

Caspian mistook my silence for surrender and put on a magnanimous air. "Alright, that's enough. The party's supposed to be fun. If you keep up this attitude, how's anyone supposed to enjoy themselves? Just drink the milk, apologize to Susie, and we'll let this go."

Looking at his shameless face, I nearly laughed from sheer anger. He made it sound as if marrying him were the greatest favor I'd ever received.

"I'm not interested in playing these cheap games. Count me out." With that, I grabbed my bag, rose to my feet, and headed out.

Realizing how furious I was, Caspian quickly leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Giselle, men need to keep their dignity in public. I always listen to you at home. Can't you give in just this once—for me?"

I stopped in my tracks and looked him dead in the eye. "Dignity? Caspian, you should know that the fact that I even showed up today is me giving you more than enough already."

Susie immediately clung to his arm, her voice dripping with grievance. "Cas, please don't fight with Ms. Leclair because of me. She's older, so it's only natural that she doesn't understand how young people do things. I won't hold this against her, so don't force her to apologize to me."

Hearing that, Caspian—who had been on the verge of apologizing to me—suddenly straightened his back. "Since Susie doesn't want to make an issue of it, we'll let it drop."

I stared at him, my voice icy. "Caspian, think carefully about the consequences of what you've done today." With that warning, I turned and got into the car.

Susie leaned close to him with a coy smile. "Cas, what did Ms. Leclair mean by consequences? Aren't you the CEO? Why would you need to take orders from her?"

Caspian's face stiffened, both fists clenching tight.

Seeing her ploy work, Susie quickly shifted the topic, looping her arm through his. "But of course, I only listen to you. No one likes a woman as domineering and unreasonable as Ms. Leclair anyway."

At that, she tugged him along as they walked back inside. "Come on, Cas, don't waste energy on people who only bring you down. The wedding's right around the corner. Don't you want one last wild night before you're tied down? Once you're married, Ms. Leclair will be breathing down your neck—even when you're just meeting clients."

I watched their figures disappear into the distance, then rolled the car window up tight. "Drive," I told the chauffeur.

The whole night passed without a single message from Caspian—not an explanation, not even the bare minimum of checking in. Instead, Susie's social media lit up with one update after another.

Finally, Yours

'Thanks to my dear boss for broadening my horizons. He worried I wouldn't be used to the business dinner, so he ordered kid-friendly dishes just for me. Love him!'

The post came with a photo: a banquet table full of fine dishes, but in the center sat a plate of French fries and cinnamon rolls. Beside her, a man in a tailored suit was carefully placing food on her plate. And the Rolex glinting on his wrist was the very engagement gift I had given Caspian.

So, it seemed he was ready to give up being my kept man.

Later that night, when I had just finished work and was about to rest, my phone lit up with a string of messages from him. 'Giselle, what happened yesterday was my fault. I'll come find you right away. I promise I'll handle this properly.'

I chuckled to myself, curious to see what game he was trying to play. 'Alright.'

What I never expected was for him to show up bold enough to bring Susie along to pick me up from work.

I opened the passenger door and locked eyes with her. She clutched the seatbelt in both hands, looking at me timidly. "Ms. Leclair…"

My gaze turned icy as I stared at Caspian, silently demanding an explanation. But he brushed it off. "Susie twisted her ankle today. I was just giving her a ride. Don't overthink it."

Except the colorful trinkets on the dashboard and the pink cushion on her seatbelt told me otherwise. It was obvious Susie had ridden in this car before—many times. I had only been too busy chasing down projects to notice their affair until the day before.

"Huh!" A laugh slipped from my lips. "Caspian, if I fed you that same excuse, would you believe me?"

He froze for a moment before his face twisted in anger. "What the hell do you mean by that, Leclair?! If you don't believe me, fine. But to accuse me of having an improper relationship with her? Since when did you become so fond of spreading rumors?"

Listening to his pathetic denial, I lost all interest in arguing further. Talking to an idiot was a waste of time. I yanked my hand free and slammed the car door shut.

Susie clung to his sleeve, whispering, "Cas, I'm scared…"

Fuming, Caspian rolled down the window and shouted at me, "You'll regret this, Leclair! I've spoiled your rotten attitude for far too long!" Then, he slammed the gas pedal, the car speeding past me in a spray of mud.

It was the rainy season, and within seconds, I was soaked and caked in filth.

As I stood there deciding how to get home, a sleek Maybach glided to a stop in front of me. The window lowered, revealing Jace Guillard, the wealthiest man in the capital's old-money circle, his chiseled face as cold as ever. "Need a ride?"

I slid into the seat, shivering as my fingers tapped rapidly on my phone. Jace tossed a blanket over me, his voice still cool but edged with concern. "It's been years. How did you end up like this? Don't tell me the Leclair heiress who once dominated the business world has now been reduced to some lovesick fool—"

"Guillard, will you marry me?" I cut him off, meeting his gaze through the rearview mirror.

He slammed the brakes and pulled over to the curb. "Giselle, are you serious?"

I caught sight of his ears turning red and handed him my phone. "The wedding announcement with Caspian has already been withdrawn. I'm selling off my shares, pulling out my investments. And…" I pulled my ID from my bag and held it up to him. "Yes, I'm serious."

His eyes burned into mine. Then, with a broad grin, he pulled his own ID from his jacket. "Giselle Leclair, I've been waiting for this day a long time."

…

Half an hour later, the Maybach pulled up to City Hall. Our marriage certificate appeared online, along with a photo of our clasped hands. The caption read, 'Finally, yours.'

As expected, Caspian saw it almost instantly, and my phone rang nonstop.

"Giselle Leclair, how dare you cheat on me?!"

I held the phone away from my ear. "Show some respect. We're over."

The Last Straw

"Who I marry and when I marry them is none of your business."

Caspian's voice snapped back, furious and incredulous. "Over? When did we break up?"

I sneered in response. "The minute you let Susie provoke me again and again, we were over."

"Giselle Leclair, have you no shame?" His temper flared even higher. "Susie and I are innocent—how dare you spread lies about us? You're full of shit…"

Before he finished, Jace tried to get a word in, but I clapped a hand over the phone and cut him off. "Don't speak. You're my ace in the hole—keep quiet; you'll come in handy."

…

At 9:00 AM the next morning, I arrived at the office for the investment meeting on the dot.

This was a high-stakes meeting that would decide the company's next moves. Midway through, the projector behind me made a curious noise, and the room's puzzled looks turned sour. I turned to see what was playing. An AI-generated clip flashed across the screen—me in a private room, greedily feeding from a baby bottle.

Before I had time to react, Susie burst into the conference room with a gaggle of people, each carrying a tray. Lifting a lid revealed bottles filled with milk. "It's been a long meeting, everyone. Ms. Leclair specially prepared this milk. We hope you like it—after all, Ms. Leclair personally selected it."

My scalp went numb with fury, and my fists dropped to my sides, yet Susie kept chattering away. I didn't think twice—I grabbed a bottle from the tray and poured every drop straight over her head. "You like milk so much? Drink your fill!"

Caspian rushed over and planted himself in front of her. "Giselle, what are you doing? Susie tried to make amends—this is how you treat her?!"

I laughed through my teeth and slapped him across the face. "And what if I did? It's work hours—she was disrupting the meeting, so I hit back."

Caspian was livid. Susie clung to his sleeve and whispered, "Cas, you're the CEO—why does everything have to go her way?"

That was all it took. Caspian bellowed at me, "You're officially fired. Get out, now!"

The room erupted. He might not have understood the project's inner workings, but everyone else knew I ran it. Without me, there wouldn't have been this turnout of heavy hitters. Yet he chose to humiliate me in front of our guests to appease his little mistress. It was self-sabotage of the highest order.

Someone from the team tried to intervene. "Cas, the project still needs Ms. Leclair's approval—maybe you should take Susie out—"

"Anyone who speaks up for her is fired." Caspian cut them off mid-sentence.

The threat left the room in stunned silence; no one wanted to risk their jobs.

I let out a cold scoff. "Caspian Lund, heed my word: whatever happens next is on you." With that, I turned and walked out.

Susie and Caspian strutted like conquerors—until every investor who had been sitting stiff and formal rose and followed me out. "Sorry, Mr. Lund. We'll have to reconsider the investment."

Within minutes, the conference room emptied, leaving only Jace. Caspian pinned his last hopes on him—after all, Jace alone could substitute for the whole table.

"Mr. Guillard, about the investment—" Caspian began, eyes desperate.

Under Caspian's stare, Jace, with unwavering resolve, walked straight to me and took my hand. I smiled lightly and looked over at Caspian. "Caspian Lund, are you ready to face the price of betraying me?"