“Ah... babe, faster.”
“...So who’s better, me or your fiancée?”
“Obviously you. She’s boring as hell. How could she compare to a little minx like you? Come on, turn around. Let me spoil you properly...”
The filthy moans, the dirty talk, the breathless gasps coming from inside were enough to make anyone’s face burn.
Audrey Lennox stood outside the room, shaking all over with rage.
Vincent Channing had cheated.
The day before their wedding, he was already tangled up with another woman.
And while they were going at it like they had no shame, they were still trashing her, calling her dull and lifeless.
Through the crack in the door, Audrey caught sight of the pale, naked bodies twisted together, and her stomach turned so hard she almost threw up.
A large hand suddenly came up and covered her eyes.
“If it hurts, don’t look.”
A deep, low voice sounded behind her. Audrey froze for a second, then turned around blankly. “You are...?”
The man behind her was tall and straight-backed, strikingly handsome. His eyes were dark and sharp, carrying a chill that made people instinctively keep their distance. Every bit of him gave off that cold, untouchable, highborn vibe.
He withdrew his hand and glanced toward the room, expression flat.
“The woman in there is my girlfriend.”
Audrey’s eyes instantly filled with tears again.
Her throat tightened as she choked out, “I’m a victim too.”
She had spent so long preparing for tomorrow’s wedding.
Every corner of this bridal suite had been arranged by her own hands, bit by bit, with care and hope.
And this was what she got in return.
"Au... Audrey?"
Inside the room, Vincent Channing finally noticed someone at the door. He freaked out, scrambling off the woman in a total panic.
The woman, on the other hand, stayed weirdly calm. She casually yanked the blanket over herself, looking nothing like someone who’d just been caught cheating by her "boyfriend."
"Audrey, listen to me..."
Vincent hurriedly wrapped the sheet around himself and rushed over, face burning red as he tried to explain.
Audrey Lennox stared at him. He was supposed to be the man she’d walk into marriage with tomorrow, yet right now, he felt like a complete stranger.
Then came a sharp smack.
She slapped Vincent hard across the face.
"Sure. Go on, then."
"I... I didn’t mean for this to happen. She was the one who seduced me..."
Audrey almost laughed from pure rage. "She seduced you? What, did she force you into bed too? Vincent Channing, do you seriously think I’m an idiot?"
Vincent’s face turned even redder. Embarrassment twisted into anger. "Yeah, I cheated, so what? This is on you too! We’re about to get married, but you still wouldn’t let me touch you. I couldn’t even kiss you. What do you think you are, huh? Made of gold? I’m a man. I have needs. That’s normal. If you weren’t always acting so fake and uptight, would I have gone looking for someone else?"
"So what you’re saying is, your cheating is my fault?"
Audrey had never imagined Vincent could be this shameless.
Not only was he not sorry, he was actually dumping all of it on her?
Her chest heaved with anger. It felt like fire was clawing through her ribs. Her mind went blank, and tears started spinning in her eyes.
"Then what else?" Vincent said like he was making perfect sense. "If you’d just let me have you sooner, I wouldn’t have needed to blow off steam somewhere else. We’re both at fault here."
After saying that, he paused, then deliberately softened his tone, trying to coax her.
"Audrey, let’s just drop it. Pretend none of this happened, okay? We go ahead with the wedding tomorrow like normal. Your grandma’s been waiting forever to see you get married. If you call it off at the last minute, aren’t you worried she’ll be upset?"
That line hit like a bucket of ice water.
Audrey’s face went white in an instant.
"You’re right. I really can’t cancel the wedding..." Her eyes were red, and every word came out with painful effort.
But if she had to keep going and marry Vincent Channing anyway... she couldn’t do that either.
Just thinking about his betrayal made Audrey Lennox feel sick all over.
What was she supposed to do now...?
Right then, that cold, low voice sounded again.
"The wedding stays on. You can just change the groom."
Change the groom?
Audrey froze on the spot, completely stunned.
Vincent Channing, on the other hand, instantly blew up. "Who the hell are you? Where did you even come from, barging in here and talking nonsense? Change the groom? Everyone knows she’s marrying me tomorrow. Other than me, who’d dare marry her?"
A flash of embarrassment crossed Audrey’s face.
Then she heard the man say, calm and clear, "I would."
He didn’t even spare Vincent a proper glance. His eyes stayed fixed on Audrey, steady and direct. That absurdly handsome face of his was cool and composed, not a hint of hesitation showing.
"I can marry you."
Audrey was flat-out shocked. "Are you kidding me?"
"I’m not kidding." The man reached for her hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. "We can go get the marriage license right now."
"Let go of her! She’s my woman!"
Vincent lunged over, furious, trying to pull them apart.
But the man’s presence was way too overwhelming. With one casual shove, he sent Vincent stumbling aside.
Then, with a cold glance at the woman on the bed, he took Audrey’s hand and walked out with her without looking back.
...
An hour later.
The two of them were standing at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau.
"Do you have your ID with you?" the man asked.
Audrey Lennox nodded. "I always carry it."
"Good. Solid habit." His tone held a faint note of approval as he led her inside.
Jiangcheng was deep in the grip of midsummer, and the heat today was especially brutal, sticky and suffocating.
After just a few steps, a fine sheen of sweat had already formed on Audrey’s forehead.
Her pretty little face was flushed from the heat, making her bright eyes look even more vivid.
The man held her hand, his palm warm and steady, the kind of touch that somehow made people feel safe.
But Audrey still felt awkward all over, nerves stretched tight.
After hesitating again and again, she finally worked up the courage to shake his hand off.
She looked up at him, anxious and uneasy. "Are you seriously going to register the marriage with me? You’re not joking, right?"
"I don’t joke about things like this." His voice was calm, but serious.
Audrey bit her lip. "But we don’t even know each other. Getting married like this... isn’t that kind of wrong?"
Back there, in front of Vincent Channing, she had only agreed in a rush of anger.
Now that she’d calmed down a little, it hit her that this wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair to him either.
"My name is Harrison Whitmore." After the brief introduction, he looked at her and asked, "For tomorrow’s wedding, who are you choosing? Me, or Vincent Channing?"
Audrey let out a bitter laugh inside. Honestly, she wanted neither of them.
But for her grandmother’s sake, the wedding had to go on as planned.
"I choose you."
The second she thought of Vincent Channing’s betrayal, a sharp pain stabbed through her chest.
She didn’t care about the future anymore. She only wanted to get through the crisis in front of her, because her grandmother didn’t have much time left.
Still, the name Harrison Whitmore kept sounding weirdly familiar to Audrey Lennox, like she’d heard it somewhere before.
But she didn’t let herself dwell on it. Right now, he was the best possible choice.
The man standing in front of her had that cool, untouchable kind of presence, all restrained elegance and natural authority. And his face? Honestly, ridiculously handsome. The kind that made people do a double take without even meaning to.
Audrey thought about herself for a second. Other than looking decent enough, she really didn’t have anything all that special.
So… there was probably no reason for him to lie to her.
The marriage registration went smoother than she expected. Before long, the two of them walked out with their marriage certificate in hand.
The second they stepped outside, Harrison took her copy too.
"Hey, can I just hold onto mine myself?" Audrey reached out, clearly wanting it back.
"I’ll keep it. Safer that way."
His tone was calm, but there was no room to argue. Audrey paused, then gave up.
She pressed her lips together, telling herself there was no point making a fuss over something this small.
"Um… what about tomorrow’s wedding?" she asked softly, almost testing the waters.
"I’ll handle it."
"Oh… okay then."
Audrey nodded obediently.
"I’ll have the driver take you back."
At some point, a car had already pulled up beside them. The driver was standing by the curb, holding the door open for her.
Audrey really wanted to ask where he was going next, but after a quick thought, she swallowed the question.
They had gotten the certificate, sure, but they were still basically strangers. Asking too much now would just feel awkward.
After getting into the car, she gave the driver her home address, then leaned back and started stressing over how on earth she was supposed to explain this to her family.
Changing the groom the day before the wedding.
Yeah… she was probably the only person in the whole city pulling off something this insane.
Once the people at home found out, they were definitely going to lose it.
