"Father, please go with Grandfather," Chen Lin said, her voice steady despite the chaos unfolding around her. "I'll handle the wedding."
Chen Jie hesitated, his gaze darting around the Chapel. With a reluctant nod, he finally agreed.
"Yuan, help me guide the guest out."
Shi Yuan nodded and along with her brother assisted the guest out of the Chapel.
"Linlin..." Madam Wu's voice trembled, as though she wanted to plead for her son, but when Chen Lin turned towards her with eyes as cold as ice, the words died in Madam Wu's throat. She could only purse her lips.
"Madam Wu, Master Wu, please." Chen Lin gestured towards the door, her voice unwavering.
The message was clear: there would be no wedding today.
It was Liu Yanmei who made her way toward the door, her eyes brimming with tears, still trying to hold herself together.
"Where do you think you're going?" Chen Lin's voice was sharp, her anger rising like a storm.
Liu Yanmei turned slowly, and despite her trembling, there was a note of defiance in her voice. "Grandfather's already at the hospital, and you're still standing here?"
Chen Lin's anger flared, more intense than she had anticipated. Without thinking, she strode toward Liu Yanmei, her hand raised in fury.
The slap came down with a force that echoed through the Chapel, the sound sharp and reverberating in the silence that followed.
Liu Yanmei staggered, her cheek flushed with the red imprint of Chen Lin's palm.
"Chen Lin!" someone called, grabbing her arm, but she jerked away violently.
"Don't touch me!" Chen Lin spun, her fury now focused on Wu Changming, who had stepped forward. She slapped him hard across the cheek, the impact just as powerful as the one on Liu Yanmei.
She stood there, chest heaving, eyes blazing with anger and disbelief. She could barely process the betrayal, the gall of these people.
"What? What do you want from me now? Are you going to accuse me of stealing Brother Ming?" Liu Yanmei spat, her words laced with venom as she pressed her hand to her sore cheek.
Chen Lin's voice was trembling with a mixture of hurt and fury. "Liu Yanmei, why are you doing this? Why betray me like this?"
Liu Yanmei's eyes glinted with an emotion Chen Lin couldn't quite decipher, but it wasn't remorse. "I've always been envious of you, of everything you have," she admitted, her voice breaking slightly. "But it turns out I was entitled to everything you have… but it was all taken from me."
"You're jealous?" Chen Lin spat, her voice rising in a mix of disbelief and fury. "You weren't even a Chen before, yet you had everything I have! I treated you like a sister, even before we knew we were blood-related. And despite everything, you went ahead and destroyed my marriage when you knew damn well what was at stake. What kind of twisted reasoning do you have?"
She thought she was only angry, but as memories of their shared moments flooded her mind, tears began to slip down her face. The pain of betrayal was sharp, cutting deeper than she'd anticipated.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that she and her grandfather had embraced Liu Yanmei as their own family.
They had opened their hearts and their home to her, treating her like one of their own without hesitation.
Chen Lin, determined to build her career on her own merit, had forged her path from scratch, working tirelessly to prove her worth. But when Liu Yanmei decided to pursue a career in modeling, it was Chen Lin and her grandfather who stepped in to help.
They secured her a spot in a prestigious modeling agency, smoothing the way for her to take her first steps into the industry.
They even helped with her contracts, ensuring she had the best opportunities possible.
Chen Lin had gone above and beyond, introducing Liu Yanmei to her high-ranking manager, one of the best in the business.
She had done everything in her power to set Liu Yanmei up for success.
"You don't understand, and you never will!" Liu Yanmei shot back, her voice laced with venom. "No matter what I've accomplished, they'll always respect you more because of your damn family background! So don't you dare act like I have everything you have!"
"You—Liu Yanmei, when did you become this delusional?" Chen Lin couldn't suppress the scoff that escaped her lips. "You think they're all so enamored with me because of my 'background'? No, it's because they know where I started—at the very bottom—and how hard I fought to get here. I built my career on my own, while you were handed everything, including your success, on a silver platter. If you wanted respect, you could have earned it like I did—without destroying me, Grandpa, and everyone who trusted you!"
Her frustration boiled over.
If this was Liu Yanmei's twisted idea of gaining admiration, then it was beyond sick.
"And don't even talk about having 'everything' I have—hell, you even have my kidney inside you!" Chen Lin spat out in disbelief.
She couldn't believe it—how could Liu Yanmei, after everything she had done for her, act like this?
Just as she expected Liu Yanmei to come to her senses, the girl smirked, her eyes gleaming with disdain. "It's the least you can do, isn't it? As my sister, who took everything that was supposed to be mine. Now I'm taking it all back. And don't forget, I was the one who met Brother Ming first."
Chen Lin's head spun.
How could she argue with someone who was so utterly lost in her own lies?
What kind of twisted logic was this?
How could Liu Yanmei claim everything as hers when Chen Lin had no idea they were even related?!
But the worst part was Liu Yanmei's final, taunting words.
"Are you completely insane? You think this is a competition of who got here first?"
Chen Lin's tears fell freely now, her voice shaking with rage and hurt. "What's wrong with you? Is this really how you think—first-come, first-served? You ruined my life for some deluded sense of entitlement!"
She had never imagined that Liu Yanmei's mind could be so warped.
The twisted justifications, the pure disregard for everything Chen Lin had done—it made no sense.
So what if Liu Yanmei met Wu Changming first?
That didn't excuse their betrayal!
"Meimei, that's enough!" Wu Changming stepped forward. He placed a hand on Liu Yanmei's arm, trying to stop her. "You're getting too worked up—it's not good for the baby."
But Liu Yanmei was far from calming down. "No," she snapped, her voice hardening. "Tell her what you promised me. You're with her because she's the heir to Grandpa's company, but now, I'm a Chen too. You don't need to keep pretending with her anymore."
Wu Changming pursed his lips, glancing at Chen Lin.
He was clearly uncomfortable with the pressure, but he hesitated only briefly before turning to Chen Lin. "I—look, I only got involved with you to secure Grandpa's company," he said bluntly, as if that somehow justified everything. "I never expected things to turn out like this."
Liu Yanmei crossed her arms, her gaze hard as steel. "And now that I'm a Chen too, don't you think it's time to stop pretending?"
Wu Changming was silent for a moment before he added with a sneer, "You're too proud, Chen Lin. I've always hated how you thought you were better than me. You really think you had it all just because of who you are?"
The words hit Chen Lin like a slap in the face.
She had trusted this man, believed in their future together. But now it was all laid bare in front of her—his deceit, his selfishness, his complete disregard for her feelings.
She couldn't believe she had ever wanted this man by her side!
"Thank you," she said coldly, her voice steady despite the storm inside her. "Thank you for showing me who you really are. You've saved me from making a decision I would have regretted for the rest of my life."
She could only blame herself for being so blind, for trusting the wrong people.
She had nourished a snake with both hands, only to be bitten in the end.
She gave Liu Yanmei a second chance at life, sacrificing her own health to donate a kidney.
She had helped her build a better future, offering her career opportunities, all in the name of sisterhood.
But this... this betrayal?
It was unforgivable.
"Don't think just because you're a Chen that you'll be part of this family," Chen Lin said, her voice icy, every word sharp. "I won't let you take anything from me, not a single dime. If I can give you everything, I can just as easily take it all back."
With that, she turned away, her hand clutching the long train of her wedding dress, the weight of it almost suffocating.
With a final glance at the man she thought she would spend the rest of her life with, and at the woman who she could trust her life to, she turned and walked out of the Chapel.
They might have shattered her wedding day, but they would not ruin her life.
She could rebuild. She would make them regret what they had done to her.
Her fingers released the gown's delicate fabric, and as she turned to leave, she accidentally collided with something hard. The jolt of pain made her gasp.
"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" a voice asked, filled with concern.
Chen Lin looked up to apologize, but her words caught in her throat as her eyes met a familiar face.
"Wu Yuxuan?"