The church was silent.
Too silent.
Avery Lane stood at the altar in a gown worth more than most people's annual salary, her fingers trembling slightly around her bouquet of white roses. The cathedral lights reflected off the polished marble floors, and hundreds of guests—business moguls, socialites, investors—watched with eager smiles.
Today, she was supposed to become Mrs. Hudson.
She searched Liam Hudson's face.
He stood across from her in a perfectly tailored black suit, sharp jaw clenched, eyes unreadable. He looked devastatingly calm. Untouchable. Like this was just another corporate deal.
Not a wedding.
The priest smiled gently.
"Do you, Liam Hudson, take Avery Lane to be your lawful wife—"
"I don't."
The words didn't echo.
They sliced.
Avery blinked.
A soft laugh rippled somewhere in the audience. Then another.
Her heartbeat stopped.
"I don't," Liam repeated, his voice steady, cold. "Because I can't marry someone I don't love."
The bouquet slipped from her fingers.
Gasps exploded across the cathedral.
Her mother stood up abruptly. "What is the meaning of this?"
But Liam wasn't looking at anyone else.
He was looking past Avery.
At someone behind her.
Avery turned slowly.
And that's when she saw her.
Her cousin, Chloe.
Standing. Smiling.
Wearing white.
The same shade of white.
"I'm sorry, Avery," Chloe said softly, though her eyes were anything but sorry. "We didn't mean for you to find out like this."
Find out?
The world tilted.
Liam stepped down from the altar.
He didn't even hesitate.
He walked past Avery.
Not a glance.
Not an apology.
Nothing.
He stopped in front of Chloe.
And took her hand.
The cathedral erupted.
Cameras flashed wildly—someone had invited the press. Of course they had. The Hudson family never did anything quietly.
"This is ridiculous!" Avery's father roared.
But Liam's voice cut through the chaos.
"I'm in love with Chloe."
Silence.
Deadly silence.
Avery's ears rang.
Her body felt weightless, like she was floating outside herself, watching another woman stand abandoned at her own wedding.
Three years.
Three years of loyalty.
Of defending him.
Of loving him.
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
Chloe stepped forward slightly. "We didn't want to hurt you, Avery. But love isn't something you can force."
Love.
Avery's vision blurred.
Then she felt it.
Heat.
Rage.
Humiliation.
She stepped forward.
And slapped Liam.
The sound cracked through the cathedral like a gunshot.
The guests gasped.
Chloe gasped louder.
Liam's face barely moved. He simply turned his head back slowly, eyes dark.
For the first time, he looked at her directly.
And there was something there.
Not guilt.
Not regret.
Something else.
Something almost… restrained.
"You should have told me," Avery whispered, her voice shaking despite her effort to stay composed.
Liam's jaw tightened.
"It would have changed nothing."
That was worse.
That was crueler than any betrayal.
Avery swallowed the lump in her throat. She refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of them.
Not in front of the cameras.
She bent down gracefully, picked up her bouquet, and turned toward the guests.
Her voice, when she spoke, was steady.
"Congratulations," she said, forcing a small smile. "I hope you two are very happy."
Then she walked down the aisle.
Alone.
But before she reached the massive cathedral doors—
A deep voice spoke from the back.
"Stop."
The single word froze the room.
It wasn't Liam.
It was lower. Colder. Authoritative.
Everyone turned.
At the entrance stood a tall figure in a charcoal suit. Broad shoulders. Calm expression. Eyes like winter.
Ethan Hudson.
Liam's older brother.
The true heir of the Hudson empire.
He hadn't been scheduled to attend.
Yet here he was.
Watching everything.
His gaze locked onto Avery.
Not pitying.
Not amused.
Intense.
Calculating.
He stepped forward slowly.
Each footstep echoed.
"You've embarrassed the Hudson name enough," Ethan said calmly, though he wasn't looking at Liam.
He was looking at her.
The air shifted.
Avery lifted her chin.
"And what are you going to do about it?" she asked quietly.
A flicker of something dangerous passed through his eyes.
"Fix it."
The word felt like a promise.
Or a threat.
Behind him, reporters began whispering.
Board members were panicking.
Hudson stocks would plummet by morning.
A scandal like this could cost billions.
Ethan's gaze dropped briefly to her shaking hands.
Then back to her face.
"Marry me instead."
The cathedral exploded.
Liam's composure cracked for the first time.
"What?" he snapped.
But Ethan didn't look at him.
He was still watching Avery.
Waiting.
Avery's heart pounded violently.
Was this pity?
Damage control?
Or something else entirely?
She searched his face for mockery.
There was none.
Only certainty.
And something deeper.
Something that made her pulse unsteady.
"You're insane," she whispered.
Ethan's lips curved faintly.
"No. I'm strategic."
Then he leaned closer, his voice low enough that only she could hear:
"You don't want to walk out of here as the girl who was abandoned."
His eyes darkened.
"Walk out as the woman they chose."
And for the first time since Liam said I don't…
Avery felt the power shift.