Chapter 3

03

Scarlett wore a smile full of pity.

"Aria, even if you're trying to save face, you shouldn't lie like that."

"The person getting married on the penthouse today is the heir of the Sterling family. The bride is my… sister."

The tension in Lucas's face relaxed, and he let out a disdainful snort.

"She's always been a liar. How could she possibly know anything about the high society dealings between the Hales and the Sterlings?"

Scarlett gave Lucas a playful, scolding look, then came over to take my hand, speaking in a serious tone.

"I know you can't let go of Lucas. You came here for him today, didn't you?"

Lucas became anxious upon hearing this and pulled Scarlett away, trying to explain himself.

"I've made it completely clear to her. My heart only has room for you now."

Scarlett sighed.

"I can understand. After all, you were together for so many years. It's impossible to have zero feelings left."

She patted my hand.

"But a girl needs to respect herself. You two are broken up. Acting like this now is just trying to be a side piece."

"Listen to me. Go home quietly. Don't make a bigger fool of yourself."

Lucas hugged Scarlett with a look of pure adoration.

"Scarlett, you're too kind. You don't see Aria's true nature. She doesn't love me; she just doesn't want to let go of a successful man."

A fake heiress who stole someone else's life and a gold-digging man who bit the hand that fed him were actually trying to pin all the blame on me.

I felt a chill of disgust in my heart.

I held up the sparkling Tiffany diamond ring on my finger for them to see.

"The penthouse is indeed my wedding venue. This is the engagement ring given to me by the Sterling family."

Scarlett grabbed my hand and stared at it intensely for a long time.

She didn't need to search for it to recognize it. This design was indeed the Sterling family heirloom.

Lucas impatiently slapped my hand away, his face full of contempt.

"You really went all out, didn't you?"

He pulled out his phone and tossed it into my lap.

"The Sterling heir's ring was leaked ages ago. Look, there are thousands of replicas just like yours."

The shopping app was filled with listings for "Sterling Heir Style Rings." Scarlett, standing beside me, let out a long sigh of relief.

Her tone became patronizing.

"Aria, you really didn't need to go this far. If you lie too much, it will come back to haunt you."

I wanted to prove I was telling the truth, so I took out my phone to call my fiancé, Caleb Sterling. But for some reason, the line was busy.

Seeing that I couldn't reach him, the crowd erupted in mocking laughter.

Scarlett and Lucas looked triumphant, as if they had been proven right.

I took a deep breath and looked at Scarlett.

"You aren't even a Hale anymore…"

Before I could finish, Scarlett lunged forward and grabbed my arm tightly, her eyes turning dark.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

A huge reason Lucas was marrying her was because of her status.

She would never allow the truth about her being a fake heiress to be exposed here.

She was squeezing me so hard it hurt. I raised my arm to pull away.

"I said, you are the fake daughter. You aren't their biological child."

Scarlett flashed a poisonous smile that only I could see, but her voice sounded innocent.

"Aria, even if you're jealous that Lucas loves me, you shouldn't make up such lies to slander me."

After saying that, she followed my movement and threw herself backward, making it look like I had pushed her.

Lucas gasped in horror and immediately rushed forward to shield her in his arms.

He glared at me with rage.

"You actually dared to push Scarlett! You're insane!"

Joey, who was already irritated, finally found his chance to lash out.

He ran fast to call the hotel security, pointing at me and shouting.

"It's her! Kick her out!"

"This shameless bitch tried to crash the wedding and then attacked the bride!"

The guards hesitated. Since we hadn't officially entered the hotel, they weren't sure if they should intervene in a guest dispute.

Joey started jumping with rage.

"Do you know who she hit? The eldest daughter of the Hale family! Why haven't you removed her yet?"

Once the guards heard a Hale had been hit, their hesitation vanished.

Several large men grabbed me, trying to throw me to the ground and drag me away.

My white wedding dress was instantly covered in footprints and dirt. I tried to stand my ground, but someone grabbed my hair and yanked me backward.

The pain in my scalp brought tears to my eyes.

The others cheered at the sight, their eyes filled with sadistic pleasure.

Lucas looked at me, his lips twitching slightly, but in the end, he said nothing. He just held Scarlett and checked her for injuries.

I closed my eyes in despair, preparing to be dragged across the pavement.

But in the next second, a roar erupted from behind me.

"Stop! What do you think you're doing to my wife!"