"Sweetheart, you're barking up the wrong tree," Elias remarked, brushing off the previous drama as if it were nothing.

He sauntered up to Vivienne with a leer that made her want to take a shower.

Vivienne recoiled at his icky gaze and pulled Cyrus back with her, creating some distance. "I was talking to him, and I used his name. Did you mishear, Mr. Elias?"

"You!" Elias sputtered, anger flashing in his eyes as he pointed at Vivienne, ready to lay into her with a string of insults.

"Hold your horses, Elias. Cyrus's bride didn't split; she's right here! And..." Vivienne paused for dramatic effect, her gaze sweeping the room like a hawk.

Each person she locked eyes with felt the chill run down their spine.

"From this moment on, Cyrus has got me, Vivienne, in his corner, and the Meyer family backing him up! If any of you even think about messing with him again, I'll make sure your words come back to bite you!"

With a huff of finality, Vivienne grabbed Cyrus's arm and marched out the door with her head held high. "Let's bounce! We've got a wedding to get to, away from this riffraff!"

Cyrus was escorted out of the banquet hall by the determined Vivienne.

Suddenly, a mischievous glint lit up his eyes, and a sly smile crept onto his lips.

Turning back, he aimed a playful flick at Elias who was standing there sulking like a wet hen.

He was still brooding over the beauty that had been 'stolen' by Cyrus.

Thwack!

A petal zipped through the air and pinged Elias right on the cheek.

His cheek stung.

Elias touched his face in bewilderment and his fingers came away with red—blood!

He whipped out his phone in a panic and nearly collapsed when he saw the red scratch marring his face—his handsome mug was now scarred!

How the hell did this happen?

Elias stood amidst the pink petals on the ground, utterly bewildered and horrified, questioning his sanity.

Meanwhile, Vivienne had dragged Cyrus back to her own wedding venue, where Brian was pacing frantically. "Miss, where have you been? Are we calling off the wedding?"

"Call it off? Why on earth would we do that?"

Vivienne continued, "This is today's groom! And Brian, you can go inform the Sinclair family's guests that the Meyer and Sinclair families are having a joint wedding banquet today! Let's double the celebration!"

Cyrus's expression was as calm as a lake. Sensing Brian's gaze, he looked up instinctively, but his presence was so commanding that Brian quickly averted his eyes, thinking, "This is Cyrus, the pride of Bayview City!"

Cyrus frowned.

Was he that intimidating?

"Brian, right? I know my current state doesn't match up with Miss Meyer, but..." Cyrus said, his voice barely above a whisper, his brow lightly furrowed.

Brian was scared stiff and immediately offered a nervous laugh, waving his hands. "No, no, no, it's an honor for the Meyer family to be connected with your family. Please wait here for a moment, and I'll go invite your guests."

Brian then scurried off like his feet were on fire.

Cyrus let out a sigh of relief, glancing at the bustling banquet hall and then at the busy Vivienne, his dark eyes growing serious.

The wedding banquet was soon in full swing, a whirlwind of activity.

In the midst of the chaos, Cyrus wheeled himself to a side room when no one was looking.

His assistant, Ronan, had been waiting patiently.

Seeing Cyrus enter, Ronan quickly wiped his sweat and hurried over, looking around furtively to make sure they were alone before closing the lounge door with a sigh of relief.

"Sir, as you instructed, Fiona has already flown to Cansvale with the money. Before she left, I had her sign the agreement you provided, and she promised not to return to Bayview for ten years."

Fiona was the bride who had fled from Cyrus's wedding, a professional actress he had arranged.

"But sir, what's going on now?" Ronan was puzzled.