The raucous pre-wedding party had finally wound down, but my fiancé, Nolan Pierce, strolled into our future penthouse apartment with his old flame, Sienna Cole, acting as if I wasn't even there.

He was unsteady on his feet, his face flushed, a smug satisfaction in his eyes. His clothes were damp and disheveled, clinging to his skin.

He strode past me to the bar and poured a glass of water, his voice sharp with impatience before I could even speak.

"Audrey, are you going to start? I'm tired, and I don't have the patience for one of your tantrums right now."

"It was a moment of weakness. Sienna's fragile—she has a weak heart. Can't you be the bigger person here?"

"The bigger person?" I scoffed. "She has some nerve, carrying on with a man who's getting married tomorrow!"

In a fit of rage, Nolan slammed the glass down on the bar. "Shut your mouth!"

"Sienna is unwell. Don't you dare say another word to upset her, or this wedding is off!"

————————

1

The moment he finished speaking, a private medical team rushed into the apartment and began resuscitating the woman by the pool.

Nolan immediately followed them, not even sparing me a second glance.

Sienna Cole lay in Nolan's arms by the infinity pool overlooking the Manhattan skyline, weakly clutching his hand.

"Nolan, I've become such a burden to you, but I just wanted to see you one last time before I... go..."

The air hung heavy with the reek of alcohol and chlorine. Discarded clothes and empty glasses littered the poolside—the blatant evidence of their tryst.

"I'm so happy I could be with you before I die... On your wedding day... could I come? Just to watch from a distance?"

"Don't say that!" Nolan clutched Sienna tighter, tears welling in his eyes as he wheeled on the doctors. "Save her, damn it! Save her!"

He turned back to her. "Sienna, you're going to be okay. I promise, I'll always protect you."

They kissed desperately, as if the world were ending and this was their last goodbye.

Bile rose in my throat as I watched the farce unfold.

All of New York knew that Nolan Pierce was my weakness.

For him, I—a new-money tech magnate—had contorted myself to fit into his world, bending over backward to please him.

I even defied my family, who had always opposed our marriage, and endured their cold stares, all just to become his bride.

I had given Nolan my whole heart, only for him to grind it under his heel.

"Audrey, are you blind? Don't just stand there frozen," Nolan roared, his eyes flashing with irritation.

"Call the best cardiologist in New York, now! If anything happens to Sienna, it's on you. Do you understand me?"

When I didn't move, Nolan's face darkened. I had never openly defied him in front of others before.

"We're getting married tomorrow, and you choose now to pull this stunt?"

"You still remember we're getting married?" I stared at the skin exposed by his open shirt and let out a contemptuous sneer. "You must have forgotten all about the wedding while you were fooling around with Sienna in the pool of what was supposed to be our home."

"I was saving her!"

I smiled calmly. "Of course. Saving her life."

"You had countless ways to save her, yet you chose the most carnal one. How selfless."

His face went from pale to crimson, but just as he was about to retort, the wedding planner and the groomsmen burst in, their voices filling the tense quiet.

Nolan's best man, Josh, burst in first, his face a mask of disapproval as he took in the chaos.

He tossed a jacket to Nolan, then shot me a warning look.

"Audrey, I know this is a mess, but tomorrow is the wedding. Can we all just calm down? This... his suit barely covers the scratches."

"She has nothing to do with this!" Nolan shrugged on the jacket, glaring at me, his voice thick with annoyance.

"Sienna was drugged at the party," he bit out. "I was helping her, and now Audrey's blowing this way out of proportion."

...

The room fell into a dead silence.

The best man, Josh, had a strained smile plastered on his face as he tried to defuse the tension.

"Alright, let's all just take a breath. You two are perfect for each other, and we're all thrilled for you. Go get changed, Nolan, okay?"

"Who's making a scene?" Nolan's voice rose an octave as he strode to the poolside and triumphantly took Sienna's hand.

"Sienna is right here. I saved her, and last night…"

"Shut up!" Josh pinched him hard, cutting him off.

"I did nothing wrong! Josh, you know how it is with Sienna. I was saving a life! What's the big deal?"

"Enough!" Josh snapped.

Nolan's provocations grated on my last nerve. I spun on my heel, ready to storm out.

"Audrey, have you had enough?" Nolan blocked my path. "Our friends are here. You can't just walk out like this!"

The groomsmen crowded the doorway, all talking over one another to persuade me.

"Audrey, please, don't make a scene. You're about to get married. You can't just throw away a five-year relationship!"

"Yeah! Nolan was saving a life, not cheating. Just let it go!"

"Exactly! Nolan and Sienna go way back. We're all friends here. Don't air your dirty laundry in front of everyone."

I let out a cold laugh. "A betrayal this public? They're not just airing dirty laundry; they're broadcasting my humiliation."

Before I could finish, Sienna's condition took a sudden turn for the worse, and the doctors rushed her to the hospital.

Nolan's eyes were filled with worry until Sienna's figure disappeared from view. Then he whipped around, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Audrey, are you satisfied now? Your incessant drama delayed Sienna's treatment. If anything happens to her, it's all on you!"

Treatment? He had the nerve to talk about treatment? White-hot fury surged through me.

I stared into his accusatory eyes, a sharp, tearing pain in my chest.

My five years of devotion, erased by a few hours with his old flame.

Nolan, in a hurry to chase the ambulance, didn't even bother to change his shoes. He threw a sentence at me as he rushed off.

"The wedding is postponed. Sienna needs me."

The groomsmen blocked his path. Nolan raged, "What are you doing? Get out of my way!"

"Nolan, think about what you're doing! Don't ruin everything on an impulse!"

"Yeah, man, we can arrange the best care for Sienna. You just need to be at your wedding!"

But Nolan wouldn't listen, his mind set on leaving.

I watched this farce unfold with cold eyes and announced icily, "Let him go. We're over."

Nolan froze, his face a mask of disbelief.

"Audrey, are you threatening me?"

Threatening him? No. I was just done.

Five years ago, Nolan claimed it was love at first sight and began a relentless pursuit.

He chased me for months, but I remained unmoved.

Later, when my self-made company, "ConnectSphere," faced a hostile takeover, he poured all his resources into helping me navigate the crisis and save the company I had built from the ground up.

He didn't sleep for days, looking haggard, yet he still managed a smile and said, "As long as your company is safe, that's all that matters."

In that moment, my heart skipped a beat, and I fell hopelessly in love.

After we got together, I leveraged my family's connections and my own funds to broker a partnership, transforming their obscure real estate company into an industry powerhouse.

In just a few years, on the back of my resources, the Pierce family's small firm transformed into an industry titan.

I gave him my all, and sometimes it still felt like it wasn't enough.

I never imagined that the moment Sienna reappeared, I would lose so completely.

"You want to call off the wedding? Fine! Now that Sienna's back, I can finally be with the woman I truly love! Audrey Davenport, you brought this on yourself!"

...

He tried to intimidate me with a glare, but I just laughed.

Did he really think I would still be at his beck and call after all this?

Just as he was about to storm off, a call about Sienna cut sharply and urgently through the silence.

"Yes, I'm her partner. What is it?"

Whatever was said on the other end of the line made the color drain from Nolan's face, and he staggered back a few steps.

"Start the treatment! Use the best of everything! I'm on my way!"

After hanging up, his gaze darted toward me, a flash of something that might have been guilt in his eyes.

"Sienna's condition has worsened. She needs an extremely rare Swiss heart surgery slot, and the one you've been holding just opened up. Give it to her!"

I couldn't help but sneer, my words sharp and deliberate. "And why would I do that?"

That surgery slot was incredibly precious. I had pulled countless family strings to reserve it for my mentor.

Did he think I would just hand it over at his command? He was delusional.

Nolan's face paled, but then he let out a cold laugh.

"Audrey, is this all just a ploy to force my hand? Fine. You win. We'll get married after Sienna recovers. Satisfied? Now give me the surgery slot."

He acted as if he were granting me a monumental favor, barely concealing the annoyance in his voice.

Seeing me unmoved, Nolan's voice turned venomous.

"Otherwise, you can walk down that aisle alone tomorrow! Imagine the headlines: Groom Ditches Davenport Heiress at the Altar. Your family will be the laughingstock of New York."

I looked at the wild, self-destructive light in his eyes and scoffed at the absurdity of it all.

Make the Davenport family a laughingstock?

Who the hell did he think he was?

I turned to leave when a text from my assistant buzzed urgently on my phone.

Behind my back, Nolan had already contacted the Swiss clinic in my name. All he needed was the final biometric authorization from my phone.

Nolan cornered me in the parking garage, pinning me against the cold concrete wall.

"Please, authorize it. Sienna can't wait. Can't you just do this one thing for me? The transfer is already in process. Sienna will be so grateful. And that stubborn old mentor of yours… he’s ancient. What difference does one more surgery make at his age?"

I cut him off with a slap, the sound echoing in the garage. He staggered back, clutching his cheek, his eyes wide with shock.

"You hit me? Audrey! You..."

I ignored his sputtering and turned to leave, but he snatched my phone, forcibly grabbed my hand, and pressed my thumb against the screen to approve the authorization.

My phone was ringing nonstop. Just as I was about to turn it off, a new call made me freeze.

I took a deep breath to calm myself.

I answered the call to the teasing voice of venture capitalist Rhys Montgomery.

"Miss Davenport, are you quite sure tomorrow's wedding is still on?"

I sighed wearily. "When it comes to a commitment like marriage, Mr. Montgomery, I don't take it lightly."

"Really?" He clicked his tongue softly. "From where I'm standing, you've been quite fickle about your choice in men for several years now."

I rubbed my temples while waiting at a red light, my voice steady.

"On critical matters, my head is clear. Besides, I need the Montgomery family's financial channels, and you need my tech resources. Our marriage is simply a prudent business decision."

After a brief silence, Rhys's tone turned serious.

"I have no intention of marrying a woman who might run back to her ex at a moment's notice. Imagine the headache of dividing our assets every time that clown has a meltdown and you go running."