Shattered Vows The Billionaire's Final Farewell

When the Vance family went bankrupt, I took Clara Vance into my home. Knowing what she loved, I planted an entire courtyard full of wild roses for her, even though I was severely allergic to pollen. When she wanted an extravagant birthday party, I spent nearly a million dollars lighting up the night sky with fireworks. I pampered her without reservation, pouring every cent and ounce of love into her. Because I loved her, my devotion knew no bounds. Finally, in our third year together, she said yes to my proposal. Yet on the eve of our wedding, I caught her messing around with my chauffeur. His rough hands were wrapped around her throat, and she was looking up at him with pure seduction. "Once I'm married tomorrow, I'll be the hot married woman you've always craved." I clenched my fists. That married woman title? She wasn't getting it anytime soon. My driver, Chad Walker, used to brag to me about being a total player. He claimed his great build and handsome face made him irresistible to women. Because of those natural perks, he never had a shortage of girls throwing themselves at him. Even when he refused to commit, they still slept with him without a second thought. Whenever he talked like that, I just smiled it off. As long as it was consensual, it wasn't my place to judge. I just never imagined that among those many women was my fiancée, Clara. "Chad, once I'm married tomorrow, I'll be the hot married woman you've always craved." "Isn't that your ultimate fantasy? Aren't you excited?" "Ah, Chad, take it easy... you're practically snapping my waist in half!" Hearing those filthy, breathy sounds echoing through the underground parking garage froze me dead in my tracks. That voice belonged to Clara—the woman who was supposed to walk down the aisle with me tomorrow. Just half an hour ago, she told me she was heading over to her best friend's place for some pre-wedding girl talk. Instead, she was down here in the parking garage, hooking up with my driver. If I hadn't come down to grab something from my car, I would have been completely in the dark. My mind went completely blank. I never thought the woman I had loved for fifteen years could do this to me. Day and night, I handled her like she was the most fragile treasure in the world, terrified of letting her hurt or break. And this was how she repaid me... My heart plummeted straight into an abyss. I was a ruthless, decisive businessman in the corporate world, yet right now, my body wouldn't stop shaking. I loved her so much. Tomorrow was our wedding day. How could fate let me discover this the night before? My emotions were shattering into pieces, but cold logic was screaming at me: this wedding was off. From fifteen to thirty, I had loved Clara for fifteen years. For the first ten, I was just the kid brother tagging along with her private tutor, her poor classmate who was beneath her in every possible way. I wasn't good enough for her, so I worked myself to the bone, grinding to build wealth, desperately hoping that one day I could stand at her side as an equal. Five years ago, the Vance family collapsed into bankruptcy. Clara tumbled overnight from a pampered heiress into absolute poverty. My company was just finding its footing back then. Everyone warned me not to get dragged into the mess, but I still brought the helpless Clara home with me. I remember so vividly the day she first walked into my apartment. She sat on the couch looking like a broken angel. She sat there in silence for an entire day, until the evening of the second day, when she finally looked at me and said, "Ethan, I can't stand living in a regular apartment." "Okay," I said. "I'll buy a mansion." Maybe because I agreed without hesitation, Clara finally looked up and looked me in the eye. From that day on, she lived with me. I knew she was used to luxury and demanded the finest of everything. So I worked myself ragged making money, all to keep her living like the princess she once was. People in my circle laughed behind my back, calling me a pathetic simp. But they didn't get it. As long as Clara was by my side, I felt completely happy. Now, listening to the shameless, filthy moans echoing in the concrete garage, all those years of devotion and sacrifice felt like a massive joke. I took a deep breath, steeling myself to step out and confront them. Just then, Chad, who had only been grunting, finally spoke up. "Once you're married to him, how about helping me out with his company?" "Tell me, Chad. What do you want me to do?" "Things that'll make me rich. Why does he get to be the CEO while I'm just his damn driver? Once I make bank, what if I take you away with me?"Hearing Chad say that, Clara moaned even harder, purring his name like a love-struck puppy. I clenched my fists and pulled back my foot. My phone had been recording the entire time. Gritting my teeth, I realized the wedding still had to go through tomorrow. Since things had come to this, I wanted to see exactly what Chad planned to have her do. Once I got all the audio I needed, I slipped quietly out of the garage. Stepping back into the mansion, a courtyard overflowing with wild roses met my eyes. Roses were Clara's favorite. When I bought this estate, she insisted on filling the entire yard with them. She never once cared that I was deathly allergic to pollen. Every blooming season, I lived on antihistamines like they were candy. Yet whenever Clara stood smiling in that sea of blossoms, I genuinely convinced myself that suffering through the allergies was worth it. I reached out, lightly brushing a delicate rose petal, then closed my fist tight and crushed it. The petals broke between my fingers, and the sap immediately caused bright red hives to erupt across my skin. After a long silence, I threw the mangled flower onto the ground. Maybe I should have realized it long ago. My relationship with Clara was just like me and these flowers. When you force yourself close to something you shouldn't touch, pain is the only outcome. Looking around at the yard, I dialed the landscapers and told them to tear out every single bush. By the time Clara came home, most of the roses were already gone, and the crew was leveling the soil. Seeing the scene, she charged up to me and snapped furiously, "What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you rip out all the roses?" I looked up at her. On her exposed neck, a couple of fresh, purplish hickeys were barely hidden. Noticing my gaze, Clara instinctively turned her shoulder away. "I'm asking you a question! Why did you tear them out? Don't you know roses are my favorite?" Seeing me stay silent, she threw a petulant tantrum. In the past, whenever she pouted like this, I found it adorable, treating it as cute affection. Now, looking at her, a wave of pure disgust washed over me. What gave her the right? She gave her wild, sensual side to another man, yet came home to take out her bad moods on me, acting completely entitled just because she knew I loved her. I let out a cold smirk inside, then raised my swollen, hive-covered hand. "I just got sick of suffering from pollen allergies, so I had them removed." "If you have allergies, can't you just take your pills? We live in this house together! Couldn't you even discuss it with me before ripping them out?" Clara glared at me with sheer annoyance, as if pulling out the plants that made me sick was an unforgivable crime. I took a deep breath, meeting her eyes. "Clara, does my health really mean nothing to you?" Maybe sensing my anger, the irritation on her face softened slightly. "Look, I was just upset that my favorite flowers were gone. It doesn't mean I don't care about you!" I stared at her for a long second, then said nothing and walked back to my room.The next morning, the wedding went ahead as scheduled. Since the Vance family had lost everything, the bridal party was staying at a luxury hotel. On the way to pick up the bride, a car crashed directly into my wedding limousine. My leg was badly injured on impact, and Chad was rushed to the hospital with a sprained ankle. I was the one who arranged that crash. The thought of Clara disgusted me so much that I couldn't even stomach saying a fake "I do" at the altar. I staged the accident to sabotage my own wedding. As long as I was injured, the ceremony had to be put on hold. The bitter irony was that I had personally designed every detail of that wedding. I spent three whole months preparing it, looking forward to it more than anything, genuinely wanting to build a family with Clara. Now, I had destroyed it with my own hands. Hearing about my hospitalization, Clara rushed over without even taking off her wedding gown. Seeing my leg in a cast, she asked with obvious panic, "Ethan, are you okay? When I heard about the crash, I was terrified!" Looking at her flawless makeup and pristine white dress, I felt a brief moment of disorientation. For a split second, I wondered if she had ever loved me, even for a moment. Surely her panic right now was real. A second later, she completely shattered that delusion. She casually asked, "By the way, the driver in the car with you... his name is Chad, right? Did he get hurt? I just didn't expect something like this on the way to a wedding. If he's injured, you should definitely compensate him well." At that moment, the truth hit me completely. Clara didn't come here out of concern for me. She was worried about her lover. And me? I was just a walking ATM. She didn't just want my money for herself; she wanted me to fund the man she was sleeping with. Clara... Clara... In the five years I kept you, how did I fail to cultivate even a single shred of conscience in you? A bitter taste spread through my mouth. I gave her a cold smile. "Sure. Once I'm better, I'll definitely give him a massive surprise." Because of my injury, the wedding was postponed. While I recovered in the hospital, Clara brought me meals every day. I had my assistant watch her closely. It turned out that before coming to my room every day, she always stopped by Chad's room first. Stirring the soup in the container, my heart sank lower and lower. My soup was made of bare chicken bones; the juicy thighs and wings were probably sitting on Chad's plate. "Someone mentioned you've been bringing food to my driver too when you visit me?" Hearing that, a flash of panic crossed Clara's face. "Oh, yeah. I heard he didn't have anyone taking care of him. Since I was cooking anyway, I figured I'd pack him a portion too." Hearing her self-righteous excuse, I chuckled softly. "Anyone looking in might think he's the one you're marrying." "How can you make a joke like that? Why would I ever marry a driver?"Clara's temper flared instantly at my words. People who are close to getting caught always react violently to cover up the truth. Too bad Clara didn't even realize how guilty she looked. Watching her defensive posture gave me a twisted sense of petty satisfaction. I steered the conversation toward work. Over the past few days, Clara had used her status as my fiancée to visit my corporate office multiple times. In the past, she only cared about enjoying luxury and never set foot in my company. I knew Chad must have put her up to it. At the mention of the office, Clara perked up immediately. "Ethan, there's a safe in your office. What's the passcode? I tried using my birthday, but it didn't open!" I hadn't expected her to bring it up so directly. Then again, I had loved her so unconditionally in the past, giving in to her every whim, that she never felt the need to hide anything from me. Now, that former devotion was a blade stabbing right through me. "The code is the date we first met." I looked straight into her eyes as I spoke. Clara froze, likely because she had no clue when that day actually was. "My family was dirt poor back then. After my parents passed away, my older brother raised me. He was an Ivy League student at the time, and he worked as your private tutor. He brought me along. September third, fifteen years ago—that was the first time I ever saw you." I kept my voice dead calm. "You probably don't even remember that day. But from the moment I laid eyes on you, I never forgot you. That was the first time I ever knew what it felt like to fall in love." Clara looked down, avoiding my gaze. The only reason I brought that up was because a tiny, naive part of me still hoped she had a lingering shred of genuine feeling left for me. The brutal truth crushed that fantasy entirely. The moment she left, she handed the passcode right over to Chad. She loved Chad so much that she was willing to burn down everything I built just to help him. Luckily, I had already seen through her. Otherwise, if I woke up ruined one day, I wouldn't have even known who stabbed me in the back. That very night, Chad snuck into my office with Clara. During my days in the hospital, I hadn't been sitting idle; I had thoroughly investigated Chad's background. He started working as my driver a year ago and had been doing a decent job. But my digging revealed that he was actually the illegitimate son of my biggest business rival, Richard Walker. If he could steal my company's confidential files, Richard would officially acknowledge him as a legitimate son of the Walker family. I combed through all the security footage and discovered that he and Clara had hooked up about six months ago. Since his driver gig wasn't yielding any corporate secrets, he had shifted his target to Clara. Realizing it took him only six months to wrap Clara around his finger made me feel utterly pathetic. It had taken me ten years of secret longing and five years of open devotion just to get a shot at marrying her. And now, that chance was completely gone. Through the live surveillance feed, I watched Clara and Chad enter my office. On screen, they leaned against each other intimately, laughing and talking. They looked like two lovebirds planning their bright future together. Too bad they wouldn't have one. The second they cracked the safe open, I pushed through the door with my security team.