Drown in Your Regret The Heiress's Revenge

On our wedding day, Julian’s first love ripped my wedding ring off my finger, hurled it into the lake, and shoved me straight in after it! "Julian said you’d do anything for him! Now go fetch that ring, Claire!" Weighted down by layers of soaked silk and lace, I struggled for air, screaming for Julian to pull me out. Instead, he stood at the edge of the stone terrace, staring down at me coldly. "Prove it, Claire. Show everyone here that you'd literally die for me!" With a desperate lunge, I lunged forward, grabbed his suit trousers, and dragged him right down with me! If I was going down, he was coming too. Neither of them was getting away with this! The splash threw the entire crowd into pure panic. Bianca’s face went chalk-white. "Julian! Let him go, Claire! You're going to kill him!" I locked my arms around Julian’s waist as we bobbed in the deep water, screaming at the top of my lungs, "You wanted me to prove my devotion? Then we live together, or we drown together! If we can't find that ring today, we die right here!" I dragged him beneath the surface. Julian panicked. "Claire, have you lost your mind?!" He tried to kick me off, but I held on like a vice, using every ounce of strength I had. Just thirty minutes ago, our wedding had just begun. That was when Bianca showed up in a floor-length white lace gown, her eyes swollen and red. The second Julian and I finished exchanging vows, she intercepted us at the cocktail bar. "Claire, you got so lucky," she sneered quietly. "If I hadn’t moved abroad, you’d never have had the chance to stand next to Julian." I ignored her pathetic jealousy and called a server to escort her to a seat. But she grabbed my wrist instead. "Claire, can I just look at your ring? Just once, please?" I didn't want to make a scene, so I let her look. But the next second, she yanked it violently off my finger and threw it into the estate pond! She turned around, laughing with Julian's smug group of frat-boy friends. "See? I told you she couldn't resist showing it off! She takes every chance she gets to flaunt what she didn't earn!" "Are you insane?! That's my wedding ring!" I yelled, furious. Before I could react, her hands slammed against my chest, shoving me into the water! Julian stood on the bank, actually trying to calm me down. "Claire, just swim down and get it. Bianca is having a rough day. Once you bring the ring back up, we’ll call it even!" Watching Bianca fake-cry while Julian's toxic circle sneered and laughed at me made my blood boil. The heavy gown dragged me downward. Pure survival instinct made me thrash wildly. But the more I fought, the faster I sank. A familiar terror from a childhood near-drowning incident surged back, choking the breath from my lungs. Seeing the malicious triumph in Bianca’s eyes, a surge of adrenaline hit me. I lunged up, grabbed Julian by his ankles, and pulled him down with me! The entire shore erupted. Bianca screeched like a banshee. "Get off him! You're going to drown him! Claire!" I wasn't letting go of my only lifeline. Julian choked, flailing and thrashing his legs in a desperate dog-paddle, struggling to stay afloat with me clinging to him. Then Bianca shrieked, "Knock her off him! Hit her!" At her command, the rich snobs on the bank grabbed heavy crystal wine glasses from the tables and hurled them down at my head! A sharp, searing pain exploded across my forehead. Blood poured into my eyes. My grip slipped, and Julian took that split second to shove my head underwater, using me as a springboard to hoist himself onto the dock. As he hauled himself up, his wet leather shoe kicked right into my shoulder. "You nearly drowned me, Claire! Stay down there and think about what you did!" He scrambled onto the stone pavement, drenched and shivering, looking like a drowned rat. And I, half-blinded by my own blood and dragged down by eighty pounds of wet gown, sank into the icy darkness. "Wait... she's not actually drowning, is she?" someone muttered. Bianca rolled her eyes. "She knows how to swim. She’s just being dramatic." "Besides," she added casually, "I’ll tell the staff to fish her out in a minute. She just needs a lesson." Julian stayed silent. From beneath the rippling surface, I watched those blurry silhouettes laughing so casually, and a blazing rage ignited in my chest. Beneath the fury, a profound, bone-chilling cold washed over me. I had known Julian for three years. When his family filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and lost everything, Bianca had packed her designer bags and caught the first flight out of the country. She hadn't looked back once, no matter how desperately Julian begged her. I was the one who pulled him out of the gutter. I built the software, rebuilt his company from scratch, and made him a tech prodigy again. And the second he was back on top, Bianca flew back, bat of an eye, expecting to take my place. Like hell she would.The dark water swallowed me whole, and from above, muffled laughter echoed across the surface. "Damn, Julian, you're generous. That custom Vera Wang cost a quarter of a million, completely ruined." "Whatever. She’s been with me for three years. She owes me that much." Julian brushed off the comment with a careless shrug, though glancing at the still water gave him a twinge of unease. "Someone drag her out. Let's not turn this into a circus for the media." Bianca clung to his drenched arm, pouting. "Are you feeling bad for her?" Julian pinched her cheek playfully. "How could I? I just don't want her throwing another hysterical tantrum and ruining our day. Today is supposed to be a celebration. You guys pull her out. I'm going to change." He turned on his heel and walked away. Bianca watched the surface of the pond, a cruel smirk touching her lips, before running after him. "The minute isn't even up yet! We'll get her in a bit. Julian, wait for me!" One by one, the guests trickled back toward the reception hall. Nobody stayed behind to check on the woman underwater. My lungs were burning like fire. Gritting my teeth, I reached behind my back and wrenched the gown open. Thank God I had insisted the designer install a heavy-duty side zipper. The second the heavy fabric slipped off my body, I kicked against the pond floor and shot toward the surface! The moment cold air hit my face, I gasped for breath, coughing out water. I swam to the edge, pulled myself up onto the stone landing with trembling limbs, and looked around. The garden was dead empty. A bitter, freezing laugh escaped my lips. I marched into the poolside cabana, tore a dry linen tablecloth off the buffet table, and wrapped it tightly around myself. I flagged down a passing server and borrowed his phone to dial 911. "Hello? I need police at the Vance Estate immediately. There's been an attempted murder and grand larceny." The young server stared at my bleeding forehead and drenched hair in absolute horror. After hanging up, I slipped into the private dressing room, booted up my laptop, and went straight to work. With a few swift commands, I deleted every proprietary algorithm, core framework, and cyber-defense system Vance Technologies was currently developing. Three years. Every single line of code was the result of my sleepless nights. Julian genuinely believed his genius resurrected his family’s empire. He had no idea that without my architecture, his company was nothing more than an empty shell. I had already patented the latest system under my personal LLC weeks ago. Now, I executed the pre-set transfer to sell the exclusive license. Next, I liquidated every single share of Vance Technologies stock I held. Finally, I compiled our multimillion-dollar contract negotiations and forwarded every file to Julian’s biggest corporate rival, on one single condition: crush Vance Tech completely. I did it all with terrifying composure. Once finished, I showered, threw on a clean cocktail dress, blew my hair dry, and called hotel management. I told them I had prepared a surprise wedding tribute for the groom and needed full access to the ballroom's main projector and central control feed. The stage was set. Meanwhile, Julian had slipped into a crisp, dry tuxedo. Bianca lingered by his side in the green room, tears welling in her eyes. "Julian, do you really have to go back out there? That woman doesn't deserve you!" "Do you have any idea what my life was like these past three years? Why does she get to wear your ring?" "My parents forced me to go abroad! I was alone, terrified, struggling every single day!" Julian held her shoulders, his voice softening as she broke down. "Bianca, listen... she stayed by my side for three years. My parents and the board already view her as Mrs. Vance. I can't just—" "I don't believe you! You two are just business partners! Have you completely forgotten how much I suffered out there without you?" Julian let out a heavy sigh, pulling her into an embrace. "Bianca, you know you'll always have a place in my heart. She will never replace you."That was all Bianca needed to hear. She rose on her tiptoes and crashed her lips onto his. After a brief, feeble show of resistance, the room filled with the rustle of clothes and heavy, ragged breathing. An hour later, I pushed open the double doors of the Grand Ballroom. The moment I stepped inside, Julian’s group of friends stared at me in shock. "Well, well, look who crawled out! Turns out she can swim after all. Did you find your ring, sweetheart?" "Doesn't look like it! How dare you show your face back here without it? Julian’s going to be pissed. You'd better dive back in and look!" One of the guys stepped forward, smirking as he reached out to grab my arm. Smack! I swatted his hand away and landed a vicious slap across his face. The crack echoed across the room. He stumbled back, clutching his red cheek, his eyes bulging with rage. "You bitch! You dared to hit me?!" "I did. You're nothing but Julian’s lapdog. What are you going to do about it?" My gaze was so razor-sharp that he actually took a step back, sneering nervously. "Acting tough, huh? Just wait until Julian gets out here. You're finished!" I didn't waste another second on him. I checked my watch, walked straight up to the stage, and picked up the wireless microphone. "Good evening, everyone. Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend Julian Vance and my wedding." "Unfortunately, the groom’s heart belongs to someone else. Today's wedding is officially canceled!" Gasps ripped through the hall. Julian’s parents stood up in disbelief, but before they could speak, Julian came sprinting in through the side doors. His shirt was wrinkled, the top buttons undone, his hair disheveled. "Claire, what the hell are you doing?! Bianca was just playing a prank on you! Who gave you the right to call off the wedding?!" "Do you have any idea what you're saying?!" "Get off that stage right now and apologize to everyone!" Looking at his arrogant, hypocritical face, I let out a cold laugh. "Apologize? Go to hell, Julian!" He froze, dumbfounded. Bianca rushed in behind him, clutching her chest in mock horror. "Claire, what is wrong with you?! It's your wedding day! Stop acting out like a child, think of the bigger picture!" Seeing the hidden triumph glittering in her eyes, I began to slow-clap into the mic. "What a fake, manipulative little snake! You two couldn't even wait for the reception to end before screwing in the green room, and now you want me to 'think of the bigger picture'? Screw both of you!" The second the words left my mouth, I tapped my tablet. The massive LED wall behind the stage flickered to life. High-definition surveillance footage from the dressing room played on the 80-foot screen. There they were, Bianca and Julian, tearing each other's clothes off, pawing at each other in a frantic, shameless embrace. The entire ballroom erupted in screams and chaos! Bianca turned white as a sheet, lunging toward the audio booth like a madwoman. "Shut it off! Turn it off right now!" "Julian, do something! Our reputations are ruined!" Julian bellowed at the staff, his face purple with rage. "Cut the power! Turn it off!" Too bad for them—I held master access to the hotel’s multimedia system. In a frenzy, Julian grabbed a metal chair and smashed it into the control console. The screen cracked and went dark. Tsk, tsk. That sounded like a very expensive repair bill. Julian spun around, trembling with fury. "Claire! If you have a problem with me, deal with me directly! What the hell do you gain from ruining our wedding?!" "What do I gain? My freedom, for starters. Julian, we’re done. And as for her pushing me into the lake to drown—I haven't forgotten." He stared at me, dumbfounded. "You... you made it out fine, didn't you?!" "Yeah, because I stripped off my gown and clawed my way out. Otherwise, today would've been my funeral." I turned my cold gaze toward Bianca. "Save your excuses for the police, Bianca." She froze. "What? You called the cops?!" Right on cue, two uniformed LAPD officers walked through the ballroom doors. "Bianca Moore? You are under arrest for attempted murder and grand larceny. Hands behind your back, please." The room fell dead silent. Julian stepped forward, red-faced. "This is ridiculous! It was a misunderstanding!" The lead officer stepped in front of Julian and clicked a pair of handcuffs around his wrists as well. "According to security footage, Mr. Vance, you are an active accessory to the crime. You're coming with us too."