Chapter 1

On the eve of our wedding, Lyra went to a wild bachelorette party behind my back.

Then, I saw a post from her first love on social media.

“I finally have my very own kitty now!”

In the photo, she wore a kinky cat-eared maid outfit, bowing her proud head and leaning intimately against his thighs.

I screenshot the post and texted it to her, demanding an explanation.

She brushed it off with total indifference. “What is the point of a bachelorette party if you cannot cut loose? If you are that upset, go sleep around with some girl. I do not care.”

The moment she hung up on me, my heart tore to shreds.

Without another word, I called off the wedding.

1.

“Good! Your mother and I stand by your decision,” my dad declared over the phone. “I told you long ago that Lyra was no good. If you had not been so head-over-heels for her, I would never have let a woman like that marry into our Hughes family!”

Hearing my parents’ unconditional support made my eyes sting with tears.

Over the past eight years, my whole world revolved around Lyra.

Back in college, just because she said she wanted whatever other girls had, I survived on cheap ramen for months.

I spent every cent of my allowance buying her designer bags and clothes.

After graduation, I poured all my heart into pampering her.

Knowing she loved grand romantic gestures, I ordered massive bouquets of nine hundred and ninety-nine roses for every single birthday.

I pulled countless all-nighters finishing projects just to clear my schedule and take her on luxury vacations.

For this upcoming wedding, I even paid a fortune to fly in a world-class celebrity wedding designer.

I stayed up night after night discussing every detail, desperate to give her the dream wedding of a lifetime.

Yet eight years of unwavering devotion could not beat the first love who had abandoned her and fled overseas.

I smashed the giant, ostentatious wedding portrait in our penthouse to pieces.

Then, I packed up every single item that belonged to her and threw it all out the front door.

She did not come home all night, while I sat in the dark living room, waiting until dawn.

Lyra finally strolled back around noon.

Seeing her clothes dumped outside on the porch, her face twisted with rage.

“Dustin Hughes! Have you lost your damn mind?!” she shrieked. “All of this cost a fortune! Why the hell did you throw my stuff out?”

“I just went out for a bachelorette party and stayed out one night! Why are you acting like such a petty, insecure prick?”

I looked at her with a deadpan expression, completely ignoring her fury. “I paid for every single thread. If I want to throw it out, I throw it out.”

Lyra was stunned for a second, clearly caught off guard by my icy defiance.

She pointed a manicured finger at my face and snapped, “What is your problem? Did I beg you to buy me these clothes? Let me remind you, you bought them just to kiss my ass! How dare you use this tone with me now?”

Her brow furrowed as she glared at me with dark disdain.

In the past, I dreaded seeing her upset.

Every time she scowled, I would immediately swallow my pride, apologize, and beg for her forgiveness.

Now, looking at her, I felt nothing but utter disgust.

Lyra bent down to pick up her clothes, but her purse was not fully zipped, and something slid out.

It was a skintight, provocative maid costume.

Even though I had already seen her wearing it in that photo, a bone-chilling cold still washed over me.

I stared intently at the outfit and demanded, “What is that?”

Guilt flashed across her face as she instinctively hid the bag behind her back. “It is nothing.”

I let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Lyra, do I really need to remind you what dirty games you played at your bachelorette party?”

My gaze dropped to the prominent, dark-red hickey on her neck, burning into my vision.

If I had not seen that photo with my own eyes, I never would have believed it.

The proud goddess who never once bowed her head to me had willingly dressed up as a sexy maid to please her first love.

Lyra was taken aback, finally realizing how furious and unyielding I was.

For once, she softened her tone, grabbing the edge of my shirt with an innocent, pitiful pout.

“Okay, stop being mad. I did not know you cared this much. Besides, did I not say you could go mess around with other girls too?”

“We are getting married tomorrow. Can we please not fight over such a trivial thing?”

To her, cheating on the eve of our wedding was merely a trivial thing.

A sarcastic smirk touched my lips as I stared at her coldly.

“I cancelled the wedding. You do not need to bother attending it with me. Since you love being single so much, go fly free somewhere else.”

Seeing that I refused to give her a way out, her face darkened with anger, and she slammed her purse onto the floor.

“Dustin Hughes! To think I brought this outfit home planning to wear it for you! You were the one who begged on your knees to marry me! If you do not want to get married, fine! Do not come crawling back begging me later!”

She rested her hands on her hips, her voice dripping with haughty contempt.

“Trenton is back anyway! It is not like I actually need you anymore!”