My ex-fiancé dumped me for my sister because I was “too fat for his image”—then five days later, I walked into their wedding in a wine-red dress beside the one man who made 300 guests go silent.

With Ethan’s civil and criminal trials approaching, the high-society elite of the city were eager to distance themselves from him.

The annual Metropolitan Business Gala was held at the city's grandest ballroom—an event where the most powerful executives, investors, and political leaders gathered.

Alexander invited me as his official guest.

I wore a floor-length, sapphire-blue velvet gown with an open back, my hair styled in elegant vintage waves, adorned with diamond earrings Alexander had gifted me that morning.

When we walked into the ballroom together, the room went dead quiet for a second before filling with admiring whispers. I wasn't the "quiet designer behind the scenes" anymore. I was the CEO of Sterling Design, standing beside the most powerful man in the state.

However, halfway through the evening, as Alexander was engaged in a conversation with the Mayor, I stepped out onto the quiet, moonlit balcony to catch my breath.

The glass door behind me clicked shut.

I turned around.

Standing in the shadows of the balcony was Ethan.

He looked terrifying. He was wearing a rumpled, ill-fitting suit, his eyes bloodshot and unhinged, holding a glass of scotch in his hand. He had clearly used an old pass to sneak past security.

"Hello, Liv," Ethan sneered, stepping out of the shadows. "Look at you. Wearing diamonds. Playing the high-society queen alongside Alexander Vance."

I instinctively stepped back toward the glass doors, but Ethan shifted quickly, blocking my path.

"Don't come any closer, Ethan," I warned, keeping my voice firm.

"Why not?" Ethan laughed, a terrifying, frantic sound. "You destroyed everything I worked for! My firm is gone! My reputation is ruined! The SEC is taking my house, my cars, my dignity!"

"You destroyed yourself when you stole from Vance Global and robbed my trust fund," I retorted.

Ethan slammed his glass down on the stone balustrade, shattering it. "I took what I was owed! I built that firm! And you... you were supposed to be my loyal little wife who stayed home and shut her mouth! But you brought him to my wedding! You made me a laughingstock!"

He stepped closer, grabbing my wrist tightly. "You're going to fix this, Liv. You're going to go to the SEC tomorrow and tell them the $150,000 transfer was an authorized loan from you. You're going to tell them Sarah Miller framed me!"

"Let go of me, Ethan!" I demanded, trying to wrench my wrist free.

"Not until you promise!" he hissed, his face inches from mine. "If I go down, I'm taking your sister with me! I'm taking your family with me!"

"She doesn't need to promise anything to a federal convict," a cold voice growled from behind him.

The glass door opened, and Alexander stepped out onto the balcony.

Before Ethan could react, Alexander grabbed Ethan by the collar of his suit jacket and yanked him backward with immense force, slamming him against the stone wall of the balcony.

Ethan gasped, dropping my wrist as Alexander pinned him effortlessly against the wall, his grey eyes flashing with lethal fury.

"If you ever touch her again, Ethan," Alexander said, his voice terrifyingly quiet, "I won't just ruin you financially. I will personally ensure you spend every remaining year of your life in a maximum-security federal facility."

Two security guards burst onto the balcony, grabbing Ethan and forcing him to his knees, slapping iron cuffs onto his wrists.

"Get him out of my sight," Alexander commanded cleanly.

As Ethan was dragged away screaming obscenities, Alexander turned to me, his terrifying demeanor vanishing instantly, replaced by deep, frantic concern.

He took my hands in his, inspecting my wrist where a faint red mark was forming. "Are you hurt, Olivia?"

I looked at him—this powerful, incredible man who had shielded me, protected my dignity, and cherished my strength.