

Chapter 1 of Dumped by My Cheating Fiancé, Crowned as the Billionaire Bride
### Chapter 1
I pushed open the door to a dinner with friends—and the seat beside my fiancé, my seat, was already taken by the college girl he sponsored.
“Tania's interning at the company. Figured I'd let her tag along, see how things work.”
Dick explained it like it was nothing, even pulling out a chair for me.
During the meal, Tania signed to him across the table:
“So how was my performance last night?”
Dick smiled, topping off my wine first, then signed back with lazy ease:“You little minx. Go easier on me next time.”
Something seized my heart and crushed it. I couldn't breathe.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her hand slide under the table onto Dick's thigh. His breath hitched. He glanced over, saw me with my head down eating, and only then shot her a warning look to stop.
Then he turned to the guys beside him, fingers moving fluidly:
“Remember—Emily can never find out about me and Tania. She'd leave me.”
The whole group exchanged knowing grins and signed back “Got it” without a shred of hesitation.
So this betrayal had an audience. I was the only joke.
Dick seemed to have forgotten that I'd volunteered at a school for the deaf for two years.
I didn't make a scene. I stood, walked calmly to the restroom, and dialed a number:“Ethan. The arranged marriage—I'll do it.”
One week from now, I would step out of my role as Dick Simmons's fiancée.
And become the young wife of Harbor City's most powerful family.
1.
“Why? I thought things were great between you and Dick. You always said you'd never marry anyone else.”
Ethan was stunned to hear me agree.
“He cheated.”
I pressed a hand against the wringing pain in my chest. My voice came out hollow. Numb.
The line went silent. Then Ethan's voice returned, gentle.
“Don't worry. Adrian Sterling—Harbor City's golden heir—is my closest friend. I promise you, he'll make you happy.”
“Get your things together. I'll come for you in a week.”
With his promise, the worst of the weight eased just a little:“Thank you, Ethan. See you in a week.”
The words had barely left my mouth when a low, magnetic voice came from behind me.
“Where are you going in a week?”
I turned. Dick's eyes were just slightly panicked. I kept my voice even.
“A friend of Ethan's is getting married. He wants me there for the banquet.”
The tension in Dick's brow smoothed out:“Sure. When we get married, we'll invite them back.”
“Mm.”
But there would be no wedding. Not ours.
He noticed my reddened eyes and pulled me into his arms:“Hey, who upset my sweetheart?”
His warm breath lowered toward me. I turned my face away before his lips could find mine.
Minutes ago, he'd been flirting with his mistress right in front of me. Now here he was, wearing the mask of a man deeply in love.
I couldn't help wondering how many lies he still had left.
“Just a stomachache. What were you all talking about back there?”
Dick ruffled my hair, perfectly relaxed, and smiled.
“Oh, a charity thing—international deaf schools. Knew it wasn't your thing, so we just signed it out.”
He squeezed my palm:“Still feeling bad? Want to head home?”
Before he could finish, his phone buzzed.
He flipped the screen away from me instantly, but I'd already caught the contact name: “Little Minx.”
A few seconds later he hung up and looked at me apologetically:“They say there's something important to discuss. Wait in the car for me? I'll be quick.”
“Sure. I'll get some fresh air.”
I didn't wait for his answer. I pushed past him and walked toward the parking garage.
Inside the car, my foot came down on something on the floorboard.
I looked down—and went cold all over. My breath stopped dead. A used condom.
He'd sworn to me that his passenger seat belonged to no one but me.
My hands shook as I opened the dashcam footage. The last wall of denial collapsed.
Last night, while Dick told me he was pulling an all-nighter with a client, he had Tania pressed against this car's seat, lost in each other the entire night.
I had never once seen him like that—that completely out of control.
In bed with me, Dick was always restrained. I would have preferred him wilder, but he said he was afraid of hurting me.
Yet when Tania's miniskirt snagged on his watch, he ripped it off without a thought.
The second I turned off the dashcam, I was on my knees on the pavement, vomiting. I couldn't stop the images—Dick's body slamming into Tania's, over and over, relentless.
“Emily? What's wrong?!”
The panicked shout grew closer and then Dick was there, pulling me into his arms.
He was a germaphobe, but he wiped the mess from the corner of my mouth with his bare hand, his voice trembling with concern.
Whispers swirled around us.
“That's Mr. Simmons's fiancée. God, she's lucky. That proposal last year trended worldwide, and every birthday he floods every screen with love declarations. Must be nice.”
“Right? Who wouldn't want to marry a man that devoted?”
None of them knew that the Dick Simmons who supposedly loved me more than life had already betrayed me.
My eyes were blurred with tears and nausea when I looked up at him. The worry on his face looked so real.
But his affair with Tania was real too.
I swallowed back every scream, every sob:“I feel awful. Take me home.”
Dick's eyes went red. He lifted me into the car as if I might break, then leaned in to buckle my seatbelt.
Without a word, he nudged the condom further into the corner with his foot. He thought I hadn't seen.
And the perfume still clinging to him nearly made me throw up all over again.
I rolled the window down and fixed my gaze outside.
It struck me then that what Dick and I had was like this skyline.
Dazzling from a distance—and gone the second you blinked.

















