After the Rich Groom Broke My Ribs

I'm invited to a wedding thrown by the wealthy Gardners on Labor's Day.

But the groom, Daniel Pearce, treats me like an imaginary love rival just because I've complimented the bride, Isabelle Gardner, on her looks.

He publicly mocks me for wearing fake brands just to satisfy my vanity and calls me a beggar who's here for free food. On top of that, he also strongly hints that I intend to steal Isabelle from him because I prefer younger women.

To make things worse, Daniel even ignores my warnings and commands the groomsmen to corner me in the washroom, where he breaks one of my ribs by force.

"Who the hell do you think you are for seducing my wife? Boys, stuff everything you can find in the trash can into his mouth! Let's see if he still can go on yapping with this rotten mouth of his!"

The pain and agony is far too much for me to handle. I almost pass out several times in-between the torments.

But what Daniel doesn't know is that I'm the Gardners' financial backer when it comes to their business!

Thomas Gardner came to greet me personally at the entrance, making small talk as he kept one eye on the stream of arriving guests. That day was his daughter's wedding day, and he was clearly stretched thin. I told him not to fuss over me and made my way to the reception table on my own.

I pulled out my gift and was about to hand it to the groom, Daniel Pearce, when he glanced at me and muttered under his breath, "What kind of knockoff is that? And he has the nerve to show up wearing it."

His voice was low, but it reached me clearly.

I assumed at first that the stress of the day had put him in a foul mood. But when he took my gift and gave it a testing squeeze, he looked up, smirking. "Who dragged this charity case in here?

"Fake belt, low-effort gift. And he still has the cheek to show up for a free meal?

"Our reception costs two thousand dollars a head. This isn't the kind of place people like you belong."

The groomsmen nearby stifled their laughter. "Probably some nobody with no real connection to either family."

"Look at him. He's probably hoping to ride the coattails of the wedding and find some rich woman to leech off."

I almost found it funny. The entire hotel had been booked out by the Gardner family. You couldn't get through the door without an invitation, and I had walked in with Thomas himself.

When I said nothing, Daniel stepped closer, then recoiled with an exaggerated look of disgust. "That's what that smell is. You reek of cheap synthetic cologne. Like plastic."

With that, he threw my gift onto the floor. "Get that thing out of my sight. I don't need your pocket change."

I stayed quiet. That gift inside was worth a million dollars.