He Held Our Wedding at a Crematorium—So I Destroyed His Empire

Because I work at the Classified Institute, I left all the wedding planning to my fiancé.

On the big day, I wrapped up my project handoff and rushed straight to the venue.

But when I arrived at the address he'd sent, I stopped dead.

This wasn't a wedding venue. It was a crematorium.

I called Ethan Gilbert immediately—but Serena Matthews answered instead.

"My dog died. Ethan's here holding a little memorial, so we figured—why waste the space? Just use it for your wedding."

I swallowed my rage.

"Put Ethan on."

His voice came through, dripping with impatience.

"Serena's right. It's practical. Stop being so dramatic—you clearly don't understand how to manage a household."

So he'd agreed to this. He'd actually agreed to hold our wedding at a crematorium.

My voice went ice-cold.

"Ethan, you have one hour to change the venue. Otherwise, I'll make sure this place becomes your crematorium."

1.

Director Harrison had heard I was getting married and personally arranged to bring the entire institute to celebrate—including several senior leaders.

If they arrived and saw this, even I couldn't protect Ethan.

I started toward the entrance.

That's when I saw Serena leading a pack of Ethan's buddies, blocking my path like a welcoming committee from hell.

My fists clenched. My face went pale.

"Serena, this is my wedding day. You don't belong here."

She was Ethan's idealized love—the one who'd dumped him the second the Gilbert family hit hard times and fled abroad. Then, the moment he recovered, she'd conveniently reappeared.

I'd been too busy with work to deal with it. The wedding was coming up. I let it slide.

But I never imagined Ethan would let her turn my wedding into this.

Serena looked me up and down with open contempt.

"Ethan said everything today goes through me. So what exactly are you going to do about it?"

She smirked. "Honestly, letting you marry him at a crematorium is generous. A nobody like you doesn't deserve him."

Her gaze drifted to the car behind me, lip curling in disgust.

"A Hongqi? Seriously? Anyone watching would think you just rolled in from hauling cement at a construction site."

I glanced back at the black Hongqi.

The leadership had approved it as a wedding gift. Even the windows were bulletproof.

"That car," I said flatly, "money can't buy."

Serena burst out laughing.

"Ethan's a CEO now. There's nothing I can't afford."

She snapped her fingers at the men behind her. "Smash it. Let's see if I can buy one or not."

They moved toward my car, iron rods in hand.

My heart lurched. I stepped forward to stop them—

A rod cracked across my back.

White-hot pain tore through me. I staggered, then dropped to one knee with a heavy thud.

I looked up at Serena, teeth clenched.