One by one, they left the bridal room, leaving Scott alone there.
Scott wasn't in a hurry. He wanted to clean his late mother's bracelet first.
He brought the bracelet to the sink, cleaning it gently and patiently.
After finishing cleaning the bracelet, Scott was about to leave the room. Suddenly, his phone rang.
It was a call from Zach, one of the highest-ranking generals in the military who was his loyal servant. Scott picked it up.
"What's up, Zach?" Scott asked.
"General, we need to inform you something important about the girl who saved you a few years ago," Zach said.
Scott frowned. "Go on," said Scott.
"Apparently, General, she is not the person you married today. Her name is not Lisa but Luisa. She previously lived with Lisa's family, but there is no blood relation between her and them. A few months ago, they sold her to a brothel and used the money they got to cover their family's business losses," Zach explained.
Scott's eyes widened. His blood rushed suddenly.
"Are you sure this information is valid, Zach?"
"Yes, General. We have confirmed its accuracy."
Scott took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Now he had an even stronger reason to call off his wedding.
A few minutes later, Scott finally returned to the hall. He saw Lisa's family crowding around a silver-haired man who looked very classy.
Daniel was talking to the man with respectful gestures. He even kept smiling, a stark contrast to his demeanor in the bridal room earlier.
James, on the other hand, spoke to the man with his chest puffed out, trying to look tough despite the pain and ache in his left hand, which made beads of sweat cover his face.
When they noticed Scott's presence, their expressions and gazes changed immediately. James pointed at Scott and said this loudly:
"Mr. Lombard, that's the barbaric pauper who dared to break my fingers!"
The people in the hall directed their gazes at Scott. They looked down on him.
But Lombard was different. He rushed to Scott, then suddenly bowed to him respectfully. Lombard was one of the few people in the country who knew who Scott really was.
"Congratulations on your wedding, Mr. Scott. I apologize for arriving late. As a sincere apology, I bring special gifts for you and your wife, Mr. Scott," Lombard said.
James and the others were stunned. What were they witnessing? Why was the richest man in Mildenbrough bowing respectfully to a barbaric pauper like Scott? Was this even real?
Before they managed to grasp this odd situation, a dozen men dressed in black entered the hall carrying the gift boxes mentioned by Lombard. The gift boxes came in various shapes and sizes, from the small ones to the large ones.
"Open them all!" Lombard ordered his men.
They opened the boxes, and the hall buzzed with excitement.
"Look at that jewelry set! Isn't that the pink diamond? I heard each piece costs around $20 million. A whole set must be worth over $100 million!"
"And those watches! Are they all Rolex? What's the total value? $50 million?"
"The vases are fascinating. Those are antique Chinese vases worth millions on the black market!"
"Oh, but the most interesting is that model. Isn't that The Sapphire Suite? It was just built a year ago, and the unit prices have already skyrocketed. In ten years, they said the value could increase a hundredfold! Owning The Sapphire Suite is a brilliant investment!"
These were some of the comments from the guests. They couldn't stop staring at the luxurious gifts Lombard had brought.
Even the Grandier family was astonished. Lisa and Olivia covered their mouths with their hands, while Lucas and Jacob pinched themselves to ensure they weren't dreaming.
"Please accept these gifts from me, Mr. Scott. And once again, congratulations on your wedding!" Lombard said.
His men who had brought in the gifts began to clap. Spontaneously, many guests joined in, forgetting that Scott and Lisa's wedding hadn't taken place yet.
At this point, Scott raised his right hand, and the applause slowly ceased.
"Mr. Lombard, thank you for coming, but you can take these gifts back. The wedding hasn't happened and won't be happening."
Boom!
Scott's words created a tense atmosphere in the hall. All eyes were on him now.
Lombard stared at Scott for a moment, puzzled, but then he nodded.
Whatever had occurred there, Scott must have had a reason for saying what he said.
"Very well, Mr. Scott. I apologize for my ignorance. I will take these gifts back," Lombard said.
Of course, the Grandier family couldn't accept this."Wait, wait!" Lisa stepped forward, her eyes wide.
"Scott, what are you doing? These gifts from Mr. Lombard are not just for you but for me and my family too. You can't make the decision alone!" she said.
Scott looked at his ex-fiancée with disinterest. He said, "Mr. Lombard gave these gifts thinking we were getting married today. But it's not happening. Our wedding is off!"
Scott's voice boomed with the last sentence. Every eye in the hall remained focused on him.
"Hey, hey! What do you mean by suddenly canceling the wedding? You can't do that!" Daniel protested.
"My husband is right. How can you cancel the wedding on the day itself after all the guests have arrived? You can't behave like this at the Grandier residence!" Olivia said.
Scott looked at the two of them with irritation. They had shown no enthusiasm for this wedding until they saw the luxurious gifts Lombard had brought. It was disgusting!
"I don't care what you have to say. I've made my decision. My wedding to Lisa is canceled. Mr. Lombard will take everything he brought back, without exception!" Scott declared.
"You bastard! You think you can treat us like this?!" Daniel shouted.
"Of course I can. Why not?" Scott shouted back.
Daniel and Olivia were taken aback by Scott's boldness. They didn't understand why he seemed so different. It was as if an imposing aura was emanating from him.
Scott slowly stepped forward, approaching them, asking this question coldly:
"Now, I have something to ask you. Where did you sell Luisa?"
...
Lisa and her family gasped. They exchanged glances before turning back to Scott.“How do you know about Luisa?” Lisa asked.Scott shot a disdainful look at his former fiancée. Instead of answering, he posed another question:” What did Luisa ever do to you that made you sell her to a brothel? Are all of you truly that heartless?”“Hey, watch your mouth, bastard! You‘re an outsider. You have no right to speak to us like that in our own home!” Jacob snapped, pointing his finger aggressively at Scott.“Jacob’s right! You‘re just an outsider trying to leech off the Wiguna family’s wealth! You better shut your filthy mouth!” Lucas chimed in.Scott glanced at both of them.” Filthy mouth? Who here really had the filthy mouth?”“Scott, how do you know about Luisa? Explain! “ Daniel commanded, his stern demeanor returning.Scott twitched and glared at Daniel with annoyance.” I asked you two questions, and you didn‘t answer either of them. Fine! If you wont tell me anything about Luisa in front
Scott stepped into The Red Velvet, its interior dominated by a vivid red. He glanced around briefly, then approached the receptionist's desk."What do you want?" the receptionist asked curtly, a woman in her mid-twenties with her hair in a ponytail."I'm looking for a woman named Luisa. I heard she's here," Scott said."Luisa?" the receptionist repeated, eyeing Scott suspiciously."Yes. Her name was Luisa Grandier, but maybe she's not using her last name anymore," Scott replied.Based on additional information from Zach during the ride to the brothel, Scott understood that Luisa wasn’t fully accepted as a member of the Grandier family. Unlike Lisa, Olivia's biological daughter, Luisa was an illegitimate child, born from a woman Daniel once kept as a mistress. This fact made Luisa despised by the Grandier family, especially Lisa, who felt threatened by her beauty. Among those who suggested selling Luisa to a brothel, Lisa was one of the most enthusiastic."Wait a moment, let me check
The pot-bellied man and his four lecherous companions were at a loss for words. Beads of sweat dotted their faces. What they had just witnessed was hard to believe. How could Scott by himself defeat all the men who had ganged up on him? Yet, there it was, the undeniable truth standing before them. With a fierce look and eyes blazing, Scott walked towards them."W-wait! Wh-what do you want? Money? I can give you lots of money!" the pot-bellied man stammered, raising one hand in front of him. Scott ignored his offer."Don't want money? O-okay. Then... do you want to enjoy this wench first? That's fine by me, just don't hurt me please... "the pot-bellied man continued. Scott kept walking, but now he seemed visibly irritated by what he had just heard. Then, in the blink of eye... Wham! Ugh! The pot-bellied man suddenly flew to the left, rolling on the floor. Scott had just kicked him square in the waist. The other four men stood wide-eyed and agape. They saw the pot-bell
“Relax, Luisa. You’re safe now. No one’s going to hurt you here,” Scott said as he slowly placed the wet towel back into the basin of warm water he had set on the nightstand.Luisa furrowed her brow. Her eyes darted around wildly, and her hands trembled slightly.Scott guessed that memories of the incident at the brothel were flashing through her mind.“You’re in a villa in the Oval Enclave. I brought you here and treated the wound on your head. You are safe now,” Scott said, smiling gently.Scott noticed a slight change in Luisa’s expression. It wasn’t fear anymore but deep, excruciating sadness.“You brought me here from The Red Velvet? You saved me from…those men?” Luisa asked.“Yes. And I took care of all five of them. Now you can rest easy. No one will ever touch you without your consent again,” Scott replied.Suddenly, Luisa started to cry. Tears streamed down her cheeks.“Why are you crying?” Scott asked, concerned. “What’s making you sad? Shouldn’t you feel relieved right now?
More than one hour later... Scott was in the living room, sitting on the long sofa while watching TV. He held a car key in his hand."Sorry to keep you waiting, Scott."Scott turned and saw Luisa descending the stairs. She looked stunning and elegant in a black knee-length skirt and a gray cardigan over her black top.Scott was mesmerized. He hadn't expected Luisa to be this beautiful. She was even more beautiful than Lisa."It’s okay. What matters is that you’re ready," Scott said.One thing about Luisa's appearance that bothered Scott was the way she carelessly draped her headscarf. He suspected she wore it to cover her forehead.Maybe, unconsciously, she still felt the "RV" tattoo was there. That’s what Scott thought.He understood, though. It would take time for Luisa to adjust to her new self and the life she was beginning to embrace."Let’s go," Scott said, standing up and moving away from the sofa.They then headed to the garage. As the garage door lifted, Luisa was stunned by
Scott turned to see Steve walking toward them, his face annoyed. When Steve recognized the casually dressed man facing away from him as Scott, his expression immediately changed. His eyes widened, and his pupils dilated. Steve had been informed by Lombard that Scott was an extremely powerful man. If he offended Scott or made him uncomfortable, not only would his career as CEO of Dominion Group be over, but his life could be as well. Steve was about to greet Scott with a deep bow when Scott gave him a slight shake of his head. Steve understood. For reasons unknown, Scott didn’t want anyone to know the nature of their relationship. That explained why he was dressed so casually, even though he was at the Dominion Group office. “Mr. Steve!” Wayne called out, pushing Scott aside and stepping forward to approach Steve. Steve was a well-known businessman in Mildenbrough. Many people knew him, including job applicants like the bearded man. Then he added, "It looks like this woman appl
“Get your hands off me!” Scott snapped, shaking off James’s grip on his shirt with a quick flick.“Ouch!”James yelped, shaking his right hand as if it were stinging. It seemed like Scott's shove had been gentle, yet James felt a sharp twinge in his hand.“You son of a bitch!” James spat.Scott took a step forward, ready to teach James a lesson, but suddenly Lisa splashed wine from her glass directly onto Scott's face.“Watch yourself, Scott! If you hurt James again, I swear I’ll never forgive you for as long as I live!” she exclaimed.Scott wiped the wine from his face with a handkerchief, slowly opening his eyes. He glared coldly at his former fiancée.“Do you think I care? Don’t get ahead of yourself, Lisa. Whether you’re in my life or not means nothing to me,” he said.Lisa's eyes widened in shock. Reflexively, she hurled her empty wine glass at Scott's face.Swoosh!Scott caught the glass effortlessly. Lisa was astonished. How could he move his hand that fast?Frustrated that her
"And by the way, the villas in the northern part of Oval Enclave are the cheapest among the hundreds of villas in that area. How funny that you brag about it. It just shows how low your standards are. Don’t you realize that?” Scott added, smirking.Lisa’s face flushed red. “Shut up, Scott! What do you know about the villas in Oval Enclave, huh? You might not even get a foot in the door!"“And stop pretending to be someone great! I know your past. You served in the military, but only as a guard for a general. That was your highest rank before you were dishonorably discharged for drinking and gambling.“I also know about the gifts Mr. Lombard brought yesterday. He did that because the general, your former boss, ordered him to, didn’t he? There’s no real connection between you and the general.“Oh, come on, Scott. I’ve done some research on you, and I found nothing special. You’re pathetic!” Scott furrowed his brow. Everything Lisa said matched the false information spread years ago to