My Bartender Husband is a CEO

Chapter 1.

Brianna POV

Ballroom of The Emerald Monarch Hotel

Tonight, the atmosphere was lively at my engagement party with Garth Foster, a young man from the Foster family. He had been my boyfriend for a year, although there were business interests between our families behind this engagement. But I loved him very much.

“This can't be happening! Why does it have to be like this, Garth?”

I was stunned as I stared at my phone screen. I was sitting alone in a hotel room. Tears streamed down my face, ruining the makeup done by a famous makeup artist. Each precious tear fell for a bastard like Garth.

I was Brianna Lawson, a young, beautiful woman, and the youngest child of the Lawson family. My family and Garth's family were wealthy, second-tier families in Avalon City.

However, the festive atmosphere contrasted sharply with my chaotic emotions. My heart felt like shattered glass, broken into a thousand pieces. How could I not be distraught when the show on my phone screen was tearing my heart apart?

“Garth, how could you be so cruel to me? What did I do wrong? And why with Chloe?” I said between sobs, my voice trembling like leaves rustling in a strong wind.

A live video had been sent from an unknown number right after the makeup artist left.

With my own eyes, I saw Garth making passionate love to Chloe, my close friend. And just an hour before our engagement ceremony.

I was utterly devastated by this. "Just this afternoon, I was so happy celebrating my bachelorette party with my friends. Chloe was also at my party. But all my beautiful hopes with Garth vanished in the blink of an eye,” I said, feeling like I was being stabbed by a thousand invisible knives, each second adding unbearable pain.

I decided to leave my room. I didn’t care about the expensive, luxurious gown perfectly fitted to my body. I deliberately tore some of the dangling lace that hindered my steps. I had one goal now: to prove their betrayal.

I hesitated as I passed the ballroom. “Which way should I go? My family and Garth's family are all there,” I muttered, standing behind a wall and scanning in every direction for a way out.

I had booked Chloe’s room myself, so I knew exactly where it was.

With the storm of rage in my chest, I forced my legs to move quickly toward that room, knowing I was about to face a bitter truth. My anger was like a volcano ready to erupt, and every step felt heavy, as if walking on burning coals.

Now, I was standing in front of Chloe's room, my body trembling. I raised my hand hesitantly towards the door handle, which suddenly opened by itself.

“Wow, were they in such a hurry that they forgot to lock the door? Incredible,” I thought to myself.

The room was dimly lit as I started to step inside. I saw women’s and men’s clothes scattered from the front door to the bedroom door. My heart broke even more at the sight, as if a sledgehammer was pounding on my chest every time my eyes caught a detail of the clothing.

Erotic sounds greeted my ears immediately. The moans and groans were disgusting, making me feel like I had fallen into the deepest abyss.

“Ssshhh … Oh, Garth. This is amazing.”

Chloe's voice made my head spin. My blood seemed to stop flowing when I heard her. It felt as if the world around me stopped turning, leaving me in cold, suffocating emptiness.

“Can I handle seeing their crazy scene in there?” I wondered to myself.

“Do you like it, Darling?”

I closed my eyes, and my tears flowed again upon hearing the voice of the man I loved so much. It was clearly Garth's voice, my fiancé. The man who was supposed to get engaged to me tonight. My God, I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t heard it with my own ears.

“I like it. But we should stop before Brianna realizes you’re not at your engagement party, Garth.”

“No. I’d go crazy if we didn’t finish this. I’m sure Brianna is busy with the makeup artist now, Chloe. Soon, I’ll be engaged to her, and it will be harder for us to meet.”

I heard Garth's hoarse, rough voice, making me feel like a living corpse. He seemed to be striving for something. Each groan felt like a stab to my heart, each moan like a shard cutting through an already deeply wounded heart.

For a moment, my legs felt numb and hard to move. My ears kept hearing Garth and Chloe’s pursuit of pleasure, making my heart bleed even more.

Finally, I managed to regain control of my mind. With my heart shattered, I strengthened my resolve to leave that cursed room. My world had completely collapsed. It felt like walking on invisible shards of glass, each step painful and full of sorrow.

I wiped my tears again as I arrived at a corner of the ballroom with guests continuing to arrive. Fortunately, no one noticed my presence. But suddenly, my eyes focused on a group of crew members working behind the scenes.

I couldn’t just let their betrayal go. I wiped the tears from my cheeks. I resolved to retaliate for how they treated me. This pain had to be avenged, like fire needing to be extinguished with fire.

Tonight, before Garth and I exchanged rings, there was supposed to be a short presentation of happy photos of us together, along with a short film showing me running along the beach with Garth, displayed on a big screen in the hotel ballroom.

I walked toward the crew. I tried to look calm as I approached them. A female crew member turned to me.

“Oh, it’s you, Miss. What are you doing here?” she asked, looking puzzled.

I smiled warmly at her. Before approaching the crew, I had dried my tears so they wouldn’t be suspicious.

“I just want to make sure everything goes according to my wishes,” I said. I tried to appear relaxed, though inside, my heart was storming.

The female crew member sighed in relief. “I thought our team made a mistake, and that’s why you came down here.”

“No. Everything has been going very well. However, there is a slight change,” I said, sounding mysterious.

“What is it, Miss? Please tell us,” she said.

“I want to replace the video to be shown before my engagement ceremony,” I said again, a thin smile on my lips. “Give me the previous flash drive, and I will replace it with a new one.”

The female crew member nodded and handed me a black flash drive, which I replaced with a white one.

“Make sure everything goes as planned,” I ordered.

“Sure. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied tonight.”

I walked away from the female crew member. There will be a great show tonight. Just as the female crew member said, tonight I would feel satisfied.