His Cheating Photo Went Viral, I’ll Marry New

When New York City ran its annual ranking for the Most Useless Heir and Most Outstanding Heir, my stepbrother and I still held down the number one spots on both lists. But right after the results dropped, explicit photos of my fiancée in bed with my stepbrother blew up the trending searches. There they were, right by the floor-to-ceiling window, my perfect little fiancée, the one everyone praised as a model of grace, raised strictly on three thousand rules of proper conduct, pinned down by Lucas, twisting through one humiliating position after another. Every single person in the city was holding their breath, waiting to see how I'd react. After all, the last guy who dared so much as flirt with my fiancée was still laid up in the hospital to this day. I chain-smoked all night long. I went through every single one of those thousands of photos, one by one. Dawn was just breaking over the city when Winnie finally called me to explain. "I had a little too much to drink last night," she said, "I mistook him for you. Just go out and take the blame for the photos trending, okay? If you don't, Pattinson's reputation will be ruined forever." This wasn't the first, either. This was the ninth time she'd 'mistaken' Lucas for me. Listening to that pathetic, lazy lie spill from her mouth, I didn't snap, didn't roar. I just ground my burning cigarette out right on top of her name printed on our engagement contract. "It doesn't matter anymore." Who was in the photos? Doesn't matter. Winnie Hudson? She doesn't matter either. If she could mistake another man for me, then there was nothing stopping me from marrying another woman. ***** "Hah! That Winnie girl has gone too far! Does she really think we have no other options but her?" Right after I hung up, my uncle snarled with a cold huff, and ordered one of his men to bring over a thick book of names. "Jerry, every high-society debutante from all the city's top families is in here. Pick whoever catches your eye. I've got your back on this." I stared down at the thick, heavy book of names resting in front of me. For a long time, I didn't say a word. It wasn't until the hot ash singed my fingertips that I stirred, and I plucked a random profile right out of that thick binder. "This one will do." My uncle grabbed the binder and glanced down, his eyes blowing wide as he blurted out, "Her?" A long moment dragged by before he asked me again, "Jerry, are you absolutely sure you want her?" I just grunted in confirmation. My eyes were fixed on the sun creeping up over the horizon, and I never even noticed the strange look on my uncle's face. Ever since my birth mother was driven to her death by my father's mistress, I have stopped believing in love altogether. Even Winnie, the only woman I'd ever let myself fall for, just slapped me hard in the face with cold, harsh reality. Every rotten apple is the same, when you get right down to it. It didn't matter who I married, anyway. After I caught up on some sleep, I drove to the bar I hit up more than any other. On the way, I blocked every last one of Winnie's contact numbers. "Jesus Christ, what the hell is wrong with that b***h? I've heard of mixing up people before, but I've never heard of getting into the wrong fiancé's bed! Does she not remember how much you hate Lucas?" My buddy poured me a drink, his entire vibe bristling with anger on my behalf. This wasn't even the first time. This was the ninth time Winnie had mixed me up with Lucas. The first time, she just grabbed the wrong hand. The second, she hugged the wrong man. And now? She's over there f*****g him, switching through one degrading position after another. What a 'mistake' that is. Our glasses clinked against each other. I didn't let a single emotion cross my face as I unclasped the watch from my wrist and hurled it straight onto the crowded dance floor. My buddy's eyes bugged clean out of his head. "Isn't that the watch the Hudson family dropped a stupid amount of money on at that auction? The one they got for you?" I took a lazy sip of my drink, not caring one bit. When Winnie bought this piece for me, the whole thing even trended online. Every single person in the city envied me, that I'd won the heart of a woman who'd drop a fortune just for me. But what did no one know? I'd begged her for this watch. Years back, the Hudson family dug up a priceless colored diamond from one of their own mines. They had it cut and set into a diamond-studded watch, meant to be the engagement gift for Winnie and me. But you know what happened? Lucas just said he thought it looked good, and Winnie immediately turned around and slipped it onto his wrist. I blew up at her and hounded her about it for weeks over that stupid thing. The very next day, she went to the auction and outbid every other bidder, no matter the cost to snap up this watch, just to shut me up. It was nothing but a lazy, half-hearted peace offering from her, but I'd carried it with me everywhere like it was the most precious thing I owned. Looking back on it now? It's just f*****g laughable. "C'mon, man, what's the point of moping over one girl," my buddy said, grabbing my wrist to stop me from chugging another drink. He hauled me straight onto the pulsing dance floor. I've always loved music, and always loved a good drink. But the Hudson family had their stupid stuffy rules, and Winnie was always so ridiculously strict with herself. So I'd forced myself to shape up into the proper, acceptable fiancé she wanted, cutting out every single one of my hobbies. Thinking of that, I wrenched my shirt collar open hard, baring most of my muscular chest. The move instantly drew a roar of cheers from the crowd on the dance floor. I'd just reached out to take my dance partner's hand to start moving when a shrill scream ripped straight through the thumping bass right next to me. Winnie had slapped the woman so hard she crumpled to the floor, her striking gorgeous features pulled tight with cold fury. "Jerry!" Her cool, clear voice cut through the noise, thick with unmistakeable fury. For a second I thought I was hallucinating. How the hell would someone like Winnie ever set foot in a place like this? I'd just reached for my dance partner, ready to get back into the music, when she snapped. Smack! One sharp slap cracked across my face, hard enough to make my jaw throb. Then she grabbed the drink off the table and flung its contents right in my face, liquor soaking through my shirt and dripping down my jaw. "Jerry, you're absolutely disgusting."