The $100,000 Wedding Crash Chapter 1

On the morning of my wedding, the makeup artist looked around the luxury hotel suite.

Suddenly, she completely scrapped the elegant bridal look we had previously agreed upon and painted my face into a disaster.

My fiancé laughed and asked her, "What, are you trying to make me marry a clown?"

It turned out, the expensive makeup artist was my fiancé’s ex-girlfriend.

Seeing their deeply familiar banter, I wiped off the makeup and called off the wedding right then and there.

Carter tried to stop me, but Sierra suddenly stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips.

That was when I noticed that underneath her surgical mask, she had already done her own makeup to absolute perfection.

She wasn't just here to ruin my look. She was here to steal the groom.

I raised an eyebrow. Stealing the groom means you have to take over the whole package.

The $100,000 final bill for this luxury wedding reception was supposed to be paid in full by the bride’s family. Let's see if she can take over that, too.

* * *

Last night, our two families stayed up late finalizing the details of the wedding. I barely got any sleep.

Today, I had to wake up at the crack of dawn. So, when the makeup artist arrived to greet me, I was still groggy.

The moment she walked in, she began evaluating the hotel suite. When her eyes landed on the diamond bridal set and the expensive heirloom jewelry laid out on the table, her hands paused over her makeup kit.

"Wow, Lauren. Your fiancé must treat you so well! Booking such a high-end hotel for the wedding, preparing such a stunning diamond set... You're the envy of everyone!"

"Must have been incredibly expensive, right? You're so lucky to have found a man who is so generous with his money."

Hearing this, a wave of annoyance washed over me.

Every single expense for this wedding was paid for by my family. She didn't know the first thing about our arrangement, yet she assumed it was the groom’s money.

But I didn't feel the need to explain myself to a stranger. I just nodded and let it go.

Suddenly, she unzipped her makeup bag aggressively and looked at me with a half-smile.

"Lauren, why do you think women these days love stealing things that belong to other people?"

"Are they just born desperate?"

Honestly, hearing those unprovoked, bizarre comments, I was getting angry.

But it was too late to find a replacement makeup artist.

After she applied the foundation, I drifted off to sleep. I kept my eyes closed to rest while she worked. After all, she was a senior stylist from a reputable salon. I wasn't worried about her stealing my jewelry.

I figured if she needed me to open my eyes or adjust anything, she would communicate with me.

But when I finally opened my eyes, the stranger in the mirror made me jump.

Frowning, I was just about to ask what on earth she was doing. I was already calculating how to demand compensation from her salon for such a massive blunder.

But when I looked at her, the makeup artist was looking down, desperately trying to hold back her laughter. Her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably, as if she were looking at the most hilarious joke in the world.

A cold realization began to sink in.

This was entirely intentional.

I hadn't done anything to offend her. As I frowned, trying to figure out why she would sabotage me, someone walked into the room.

The moment my eyes shifted, the girl couldn't hold it in anymore. She burst out laughing.

"Hahaha!"

Still laughing, she ran and hid behind Carter, who had just walked through the door.

Her small hands gripped the back of his suit jacket. "I'm... I'm sorry, Carter! I didn't mean to laugh!"

"I just didn't expect Lauren's face to be so... uniquely suited for this kind of makeup!"

With that, she covered her face, giggling uncontrollably.

Watching my ridiculous reflection, I realized her hiding behind Carter was laced with pure malice.

And hearing her call him "Carter" with such intimacy... the bad feeling in my gut skyrocketed.

My intuition is rarely wrong. This girl knew Carter.

And they were close.

I didn't want to assume the worst, but I turned to Carter, my brow furrowed. "What is the meaning of this?"

"You two know each other? What kind of stunt is this? Is today a wedding or a circus act?"

Carter looked at my face and froze for a second.

He helplessly looked back at the girl hiding behind him, yet he didn't utter a single word of reprimand.

My initial frustration was instantly extinguished by a bucket of ice water.

Carter casually leaned against a chair, looking at the girl with total familiarity.

"You were doing just fine the last few times. Why are you dropping the ball today?"

"What, are you trying to make me marry a clown?"

He looked at her, amused.

The girl shrank her neck playfully, stuck her tongue out, and made a face.

"You asked me to do your bride's makeup. I can't be that generous."

After saying that, she shot me a mocking half-smile. She was waiting for me to make a fool of myself.

I picked up my phone and scrolled for my backup makeup artist's number.

"Make her apologize to me."

"I'm calling someone else to redo this. Whenever it's fixed, that's when I'll go downstairs."

"We can discuss her compensation to me later."

I didn't even care how they knew each other right now. Today was my wedding day. My parents had invited important business partners and associates. I wasn't going to let things fall apart at the last minute.

Carter and I had met through a mutual setup. I came from a wealthy, established family.

Carter's background wasn't great. He grew up in a single-parent household, raised entirely by his mother.

He was capable, though, and had good career prospects. But in this expensive metropolitan city, he still had no house and no car. Even with a decent salary, he wasn't exactly a hot commodity in the local dating market.

I chose him because I valued his ambition, his looks, and his potential.

But to my surprise, hearing my demands, Carter frowned.

He reached out and pushed my phone down.

"Is that really necessary?"

"You just naturally look like that."

I let out a cold, sharp laugh.