He Played My Trauma on Our Wedding Day

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At our wedding, my fianc Julians assistant swapped our carefully prepared romance video for a recording of my sexual assault from six years ago.

Amidst the dead silence of the ballroom, Chloe Bennett held my hand down, preventing me from shutting off the giant screen.

Oh, Vivian, don't get me wrong. I didn't mean any harm, Chloe whispered, her voice dripping with fake innocence. "I just wanted to remind everyone how much Julian loves you. He doesn't care that you're dirty."

"You must never betray him in the future. Don't let Julian down."

I scrambled for words, desperately trying to claim it was an AI-generated deepfake, while frantically signaling Julian to shut down the screen.

I looked at him, praying he would move.

And Julian did.

He walked over to the control panel, dragged the progress bar, and zoomed in on my terrified face. My hand froze. I stared at him in pure disbelief. "Julian... what are you doing?"

The screen paused on my crying face. Julian stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me in a gentle embrace, but his next words plunged me into a bottomless ice cave.

"Vivian, theres no need to lie about AI. No one here is an idiot."

"As long as you stay faithful to me from now on, I won't hold your past against you."

With that single sentence, the whispers in the crowd turned venomous.

Julian seemed completely oblivious to the damage he had caused. He smiled, pulling out the diamond wedding ring. "Come on, let me put this on you."

I forced back the tears burning my eyes and took a step back.

"I don't need your charity. This wedding is over."

Julians face darkened instantly. "Vivian Vance, do you have any idea what you're saying?"

"Or do you honestly believe," Julian sneered, gesturing toward the sea of high-society guests, "that theres another man in this room willing to marry someone with your kind of baggage?"

The hall fell into a suffocating silence.

Julian smirked, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

"You see, Vivian? No one else wants you except me. Stop throwing a tantrum."

His gentle words were like knives, stabbing repeatedly into my chest.

Five years ago, I was kidnapped and assaulted.

He had found me even before the police did.

Back then, he had held me tightly, tears streaming down his face, and sworn: "Vivian, I swear to God, no one else will ever know about this."

"You will always be the proud heiress of the Vance family. You hold all the cards."

I gritted my teeth and slapped his hand away.

The ten-million-dollar ring slipped from his fingers and rolled across the floor. Chloe rushed over and snatched it up.

She glared at me, pointing an accusing finger. "Vivian! Julian gave you a way out of this embarrassment. How can you be so ungrateful when you're already damaged goods?"

My eyes burned with rage. I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.

"Who the hell do you think you are to interfere in our relationship?"

"Enough!"

Julians face was thunderous as he pulled Chloe behind his back. He took the ring from her hand and slid it onto her finger. "From this moment on, Chloe is my bride. The only one who doesn't belong here is you."

I froze. The tears I had been holding back finally spilled over.

This weddingfrom the imported roses and the silk carpet to the lighting and the musichad been handpicked by him to match my exact tastes.

Yet now, the bride standing beside him was someone else.

I wiped my face roughly, turned around, and walked away. But before I could take three steps, someone yanked the train of my gown.

Chloe smiled innocently.

"Vivian, since Im the bride now, do you mind taking off that dress and giving it to me?"

"I mean, everyone in this room has already seen you naked on that screen anyway. Its not like you have any modesty left to protect."

I instinctively looked at Julian.

Julian merely raised an eyebrow. "If you want to keep the dress, fine. Get down on your knees and apologize to Chloe."

"Go to hell!"

I gritted my teeth, violently ripping the train of my dress from her grip. As I turned to leave, several notorious wealthy playboys blocked my path.

"She used to look down on me at business galas," one of them sneered, his eyes scanning my bare shoulders. "If I knew she was this easy, I would've laid my hands on her a long time ago."

"Right? Who knew the ice queen was actually a rag?"

Greasy hands reached out to grab me, dragging me back into the nightmare of that night five years ago.

I opened my mouth to scream for help, but then I saw my "hero"the man who had rescued me back thenwhispering softly to another woman.

The scream died in my throat. I clamped my mouth shut, grabbing whatever I could reach, scratching, clawing, and fighting like a wild animal.

Yet, I couldn't stop them from tearing at my dress. Despair suffocated me. Just as the last piece of fabric over my chest was about to be ripped away, someone kicked me hard in the stomach.

A sharp, agonizing pain shot through my abdomen, and warm blood began to trickle down my thighs.

"Holy shit, is she bleeding?"

"Hey, I didn't touch her stomach! It wasn't me!"

The crowd scattered in panic.

I clutched my lower abdomen in agony, crying out to the father of my child. "The baby... Julian, please... take me to the hospital!"

Julians face paled. He took a step toward me, but Chloe let out a sharp laugh.

"Vivian, faking a miscarriage with your period blood? Classic. You really will do anything to keep Julian, won't you?"

"If you love that ruined wedding dress so much, keep it. I don't want it anymore."

Julian stopped in his tracks. He looked down at me, his eyes cold and disgusted.

"You're filthy."

"Just leave. Having you wear that dress near Chloe is bad luck."

The physical pain numbed my mind. Tears streaming down my face, I looked at him and whispered, "Julian, I regret it. I regret ever helping you leave that rundown trailer park."

"I regret teaching you how to run a business, making you the CEO of Montgomery Group, and... falling in love with you."

Julians eyelashes fluttered slightly.

Ignoring the tearing pain in my abdomen, I grabbed a random coat from a chair, wrapped it around myself, and stood up with great difficulty. I ignored the hand he suddenly tried to offer me.

Though I was bleeding, I held my spine perfectly straight. Under the mocking stares of the entire high society, I walked out and caught a cab to the hospital.

In the emergency room, the doctors face was grim.

"If we perform surgery now, we can save your life, but the damage to your body will be severe. Do you want to keep the pregnancy?"

I placed my hand gently over my stomach. After a long silence, I shook my head.

Since there was no wedding, this surprise was no longer needed.

The surgery was quick. As the anesthesia wore off, I felt as though I had lost not just the pregnancy, but every ounce of love I had ever held for Julian.

"Make sure you rest properly when you get home, otherwise your future fertility"

The doctor's instructions were cut short as Chloe barged into the room.

"Vivian! Julian said you were having bad cramps, so I bought you some supplements on the way."

I glanced at the box she tossed onto my bed. The packaging was torn and dirty, looking like some expired clearance item from a dollar store.

Julian walked in behind her. He glanced at the medical chart at the foot of my bed and said casually, "Don't get the wrong idea. Chloes appearance is important to her career. I just didn't want our wedding day to be ruined by a scandal."

Chloe tilted her head at the perfect angle, showing the doctor her slightly red cheek, tears welling in her eyes.

Julian didn't want his wedding with Chloe to be ruined, yet he had willingly used my deepest trauma to destroy mine.

Suddenly, Chloe snatched my medical chart. She let out a dramatic gasp.

"Vaginal tearing? Oh my god, it wasn't cramps! No wonder you bled so much, Vivian."

"Did you... did you hire those men to stage another assault?"

"Is ruining Julian's reputation your ultimate goal?"

"Chloe, stop it," Julian said half-heartedly, though his eyes narrowed as he stared at me, waiting for my explanation.

My fingernails dug deep into my palms.

So, he was just like those other men.

He, too, believed the rumors. He believed that six years ago, the young CEO of Vance Enterprises had staged her own assault because she was lonely and wanted attention.

I stared back at him defiantly. "Julian, are you really that blind? Look at the chart yourself."

"Vivian, theres no need for Chloe to lie about something so easily disproven," Julian said, his voice flat.

My vision blurred with tears of anger.

To him, I was nothing but a pathological liar. I grabbed the medical chart and threw it directly at his face.

"Read it yourself, you coward!"

Chloe panicked and tried to grab it, but Julian caught the paper and ripped it to shreds.

"I don't need to read it to know how pathetic you are, Vivian," he said coldly. "Have some self-respect."

Without another word, he took Chloes hand and walked out.

The doctor, who had tried to speak up several times but was interrupted, sighed and sat down beside me.

"That man... he is the father of the child, right? I can tell he still has feelings for you. Why didn't you let me explain that it was a miscarriage?"

I let out a bitter laugh. "You can't wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep. He wants to believe her. Nothing I say will change that."

Six years ago, when our rival company spread rumors that I secured contracts by sleeping around, Julian had stormed into their office and beaten the executive senseless.

When I was patching him up, his face was swollen and bruised, but he had smiled like a fool. "Vivian, I don't understand big business, but I believe in you. Always."

He had used his sheer ruthlessness to suppress the rumors and shield me from the world's cruelty.

Back then, I thought he was the sweetest, most reliable man in the world.

Now, he chose to believe a cheap liar, throwing the most venomous insults at me without hesitation.

My phone rang. I took a deep breath, blinked back my tears, and answered.

My secretarys voice was frantic. "Vivian! The high-definition video from the wedding has leaked online. Its viral on Twitter and Instagram!"

"People are calling for a boycott of our products. Our partners are pulling out of contracts. You need to get back to the office right now!"

Still dazed, I asked instinctively, "What about Montgomery Group?"

"Montgomery Group"

Sarahs voice was drowned out by the angry shouting of shareholders in the background, and the call was abruptly disconnected.

Thanking the doctor, I ignored the physical pain of my recent miscarriage, got into my car, and drove straight to the office.

Montgomery Group was Vance Enterprises' largest partner. If they pulled out, our entire supply chain would collapse, and we would face bankruptcy within days.

The moment I stepped into the office, I grabbed Sarahs arm. "What did Julian do?"

"Julian terminated all our contracts," Sarah said, her voice shaking. "Montgomery Group was the first to pull out the moment the video went viral. And... they just announced a new wedding date."

I felt my blood run cold.

Julian knew that video wasn't my fault.

He knew Vance Enterprises was the company my mother had literally worked herself to death to build for me.

He knew that Montgomery Group pulling out would trigger a domino effect that would destroy my family's legacy.

Yet, he did it anyway, just to make Chloe happy.

I leaned against the wall to steady myself, forcing my mind to focus. I had to calm the shareholders first. I had to convince them we could still turn this around.

But the moment I walked into the boardroom, one of the major shareholders sneered and shoved his phone into my face. "Turn this around? With what?"

"The proprietary AI chip technology you spent six years developing? Montgomery Group just registered the patent and announced its launch!"

My mind went completely blank.

That chip was our saving grace. I had spent millions hiring top talent and went through hell to develop it.

I had only ever shared the core blueprints with Julian.

I had even planned to give Montgomery Group exclusive distribution rights as a wedding gift.

Now, Julian had stolen it, completely cutting off my only escape route.

"I knew we couldn't trust a woman to run this company," a bloated shareholder sneered, his eyes scanning me with disgusting suggestiveness. "Who knows how she got this position in the first place?"

"Vivian, the video of you is all over Snapchat and Twitter," another shareholder pressured.

"Whether you sell your body or use whatever 'talents' you have, you have three days to resolve this crisis. Otherwise, we will vote to replace you as CEO."

These greedy, calculating men were backing me into a corner.

This was the company my mother and I had suffered through endless slander to protect.

I closed my eyes, clenched my fists, and said, "Fine. Give me three days. I will give you a solution."

I spent the next day visiting our former partners.

"Vivian, weve known each other for years," one CEO said, leaning back in his leather chair. "If you're willing to take a loss on the deal, I might consider helping you."

"But first... why don't we go to my hotel room and discuss your assets?"

Another predator.

I didn't even have the energy to throw my bag at his face. I turned and walked out.

Finally, the owner of a smaller company, whom I had helped in the past, gave me a quiet warning.

"I'm sorry, Vivian. Montgomery Group is too powerful. Julian put the word outanyone who helps you is an enemy of Montgomery Group. You have to go see him."

I collapsed over the steering wheel of my car, my body shaking with silent sobs.

Promises Julian had made in the past echoed in my mind.

Years ago, when I risked my reputation to give a major project to his struggling start-up, he had been so nervous. He had taken my hands and sworn:

"Vivian, I won't fail you. I won't let those shareholders use me to mock you."

When the project succeeded, he had spun me around in his arms, laughing. "Once Montgomery Group grows big enough, I will be your shield. No one will ever bully you again."

Now, those promises were nothing but dust. I was the only one who remembered.

I wiped my tears, touched up my makeup, and drove to Montgomery Groups headquarters.

No one stopped me. I took the private elevator straight to the penthouse suite. The moment I pushed the door open, the sound of muffled moans pierced my ears.

Julian looked up from his desk, making no effort to stop what he was doing with Chloe.

Chloe looked back at me, licking her lips with a smug grin. "Vivian, Julian is really as good as they say. I honestly don't know why you felt the need to look for those cheap thugs in the past."

A wave of intense nausea hit me. I turned around and threw up in the trash can by the door.

Julian walked over, patting my back gently as if he actually cared. "Can't even handle this? When you were pinned down by those men, I felt a hundred times more disgusted than you do right now."

Disgusted?

My ears rang.

If he was so disgusted, why had he grabbed the knife from my hand when I tried to end my life back then?

Why had he gotten down on his knees to beg the best prosecutor in the country to put those thugs behind bars?

I wanted to scream, to tear his face apart, but looking at his indifferent eyes, I felt utterly defeated. I stood up, my voice hoarse.

"Julian... what do you want? What will it take for you to leave Vance Enterprises alone?"

Julian gently stroked my hair, a look of satisfaction in his eyes, as if he had finally tamed a wild animal.

"Three days from now, on our original wedding date, Montgomery Group will announce a strategic partnership with Vance Enterprises. The crisis will disappear."

Seeing my confusion, Julian explained with a rare touch of gentleness, "The wedding with Chloe was just to teach you a lesson. The ceremony in three days will still be ours."

Chloe chimed in, her voice filled with envy. "Vivian, Julian is swallowing his pride for you. Don't be ungrateful this time."

I looked at him, my heart filled with bitter irony. "Youre willing to marry a 'filthy' woman?"

He smiled, a cruel glint in his eyes. "So now were even. Your past is erased. Well get married and live a good life."

Seeing that I remained silent, he chuckled. "Take your time. I know you'll make the right choice."

I walked out of the building like a ghost.

My phone was filled with threatening messages from shareholders, harassment from sleazy business partners, and alerts about my father's illegitimate children trying to claw their way into the company.

I sat in my car all night, eventually deciding to surrender. But the next morning, as I stopped by a coffee shop down the street, I saw Chloe sitting by the window.

Sitting across from her were the very thugs who had assaulted me six years ago.

Weren't they supposed to be in federal prison?

My eyes widened. I crept closer, hiding behind a large decorative pillar.

Their conversation drifted clearly to my ears.

"For every time you guys ruin her over the next three days, I'll pay you ten thousand dollars," Chloe said, pushing an envelope across the table.

"I want to see if Julian will still marry a literal street whore."

Chloe slid my photo across the table to confirm her lies.

One of the thugs picked up the photo, cleanings his teeth with a toothpick. "Oh, a familiar face."

"Six years ago, we got a hit on her too. Now it's her again."

"What's the matter? Do you girls have some kind of blood feud with her?"

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked, confused, but she didn't press further. She whispered a few more instructions and left quickly.

But I understood.

I ran back to my car as if my life depended on it, locking the doors before letting out a gut-wrenching sob.

No wonder Julian had found me faster than the police.

No wonder he refused to let me testify in court, claiming he wanted to spare me the trauma.

Because he was the one who had hired them in the first place.

Those men had never spent a single day in prison.

I remembered my mothers pale, lifeless face on her deathbed. She had died of a stroke brought on by the shock of my assault.

"If I hadn't fought so hard for the company... would my daughter... have been safe?"

I remembered Julian kneeling by her bed, promising he would protect me forever.

"Vivian, with me around, no one will ever hurt you again."

He had killed my mother, yet he let me believe for years that it was my father's illegitimate family who did it. I cried in the car until I blacked out.

When I finally woke up, my phone was filled with over ninety-nine missed calls and messages from Julian. I had been unconscious for an entire day and night.

I scrolled through his texts.

[Vivian, don't be stubborn. Your mother died for that company.]

[Vivian, if you give up, there are plenty of women waiting to marry me. But who else will take you?]

[Today is the last day.]

I curled my lips into a cold smile and dialed his number. "Julian, I agree."

"But this time, I want to invite the guests."

Julians voice filled with triumph. "Fine. Invite whoever you want. Just use my name, they'll show up."

I hung up, started the engine, and drove straight to the police department.

On the day of the wedding, I invited every prominent media outlet in the city.

Dozens of cameras and flashing lights were aimed at the stage.

I wore the exact same wedding dress from that day, while the giant screen behind us projected romantic photos of our past.

Julian knelt down before me, holding a ring, looking deeply in love. "Vivian, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

The moment his voice faded, the screen behind him flashed.

The sounds of my screams and cries from my assault six years ago echoed through the grand ballroom once more.

Julian whipped his head around, his face turning pale. "Who did this? Shut it off! Now!"

"I did," I said calmly into the microphone.

Julian spun back to face me, utterly bewildered. "Vivian, what is the meaning of this?"

I looked toward the heavy double doors at the back of the hall. "Julian, my special guests are here."

"They said... you aren't worthy of marrying me."

The blare of police sirens echoed from outside, and a dozen armed officers marched into the hall, escorting the six thugs in handcuffs.