The Bride Wasn’t Her

I never expected to run into those two walking disasters at my father's business banquet.

Christine spotted me immediately. The moment she saw me chatting with another woman, her expression darkened on the spot.

Beside her, Michael leaned casually against her shoulder and lowered his voice.

"Christine, it's stuffy in here. I want to get some air."

Christine patted the back of his hand indulgently, though her gaze drifted toward me as if by accident.

She was probably waiting for me to walk over first.

Too bad for her, I had no intention of playing along.

From beginning to end, I did not spare her so much as a glance.

Eventually, she lost patience. She strode over to our table, slammed her wine glass down hard, and demanded:

"Tony, are you seriously angry because I had someone stand in for me at the wedding?"

I could not even be bothered looking at her. I stood up to leave.

"The last wedding was because Michael suddenly had a stomach attack. It was an emergency, that's why I couldn't make it."

Michael quickly stepped in front of me.

"Tony, please don't blame Christine. It's all my fault for being so useless physically and ruining your wedding.

"I know your parents hate me, but I really didn't mean to…"

After hearing that, Christine actually laughed in disbelief.

"Tony, how did I never realize you were this petty? It was just a wedding.

"We didn't even register the marriage officially, so what does it count as? Was it really necessary for you and your father to pull your investment just to force me into submission?"

As she spoke, she reached for my arm like it was the most natural thing in the world.

My expression turned cold and I shook her hand off immediately.

"Ms. Moore, have some respect for yourself."

"About the wedding: didn't your parents tell you?"

She froze.

"Tell me what?"

A flicker of panic crossed Michael's face. He grabbed my wrist and hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"Tony, don't do this. Christine really does care about you…"

He sounded like he was trying to mediate, but his grip tightened hard around my wrist, deliberately provoking me.

The comments exploded across the screen:

[Holy sh*t, what's with the fake heir? He's making a move already?]

I yanked my hand away violently.

"Get lost."

Michael immediately staggered backward several steps and deliberately collapsed onto the floor in a pathetic heap.

Christine's eyes widened in fury. She rushed to help him up and shouted at me, "Tony! Do you even know Michael's stomach hasn't recovered yet? Apologize to him right now!"

I let out a cold laugh and turned toward the security guards hurrying over after hearing the commotion.

"Security, throw them out."

Christine's face turned livid.

"Don't think acting like this will get my attention. If you behave yourself, I'll go register the marriage with you in a few days."

The comments went wild again:

[Bruh, what's wrong with the original heroine? Isn't she supposed to love the fake heir? Why is she acting like such a self-absorbed narcissist?]

[I'm dying. She still doesn't know the male supporting lead already registered his marriage with the rich boss lady. She seriously thinks he's still waiting around to pamper her.]

I smiled faintly.

"Register the marriage? But I'm already married."

The smile on Christine's face froze instantly.

She stood there stunned, brows tightly knotted.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

She stepped closer, her tone arrogant as ever.

"If you're married, then where's your wife? Why didn't she come with you?"

A mocking smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

"My wife is away on a business trip. Unlike certain useless people who need male attention just to feel important."

Before Christine could explode, Michael immediately put on an expression of tolerant restraint and sighed softly.

"Tony, how could you say something like that about Christine? She stays up late every night working for the Moore Group. Not only do you refuse to support her, you're even lying just to upset her. You're really not thinking about the bigger picture at all."

He deliberately paused, and just like that, Christine's gaze toward me filled with disappointment and anger.

"Tony, look at how sharp-tongued and bitter you've become. Other than me, who else would ever marry you?

"I'm warning you, stop playing these childish hard-to-get games. It only makes me look down on you even more."