He made 180 guests wait for his first love, so I dropped my bouquet and married his boss instead

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse suite at The Dewberry Charleston, casting long golden patterns across the hardwood floor.

I woke up wrapped in Egyptian cotton sheets, the rhythmic, steady breathing of a sleeping man warming my shoulder. I turned my head slightly. Ethan was lying beside me on his side, one strong arm draped possessively over my waist, his dark hair messy against the white pillow.

Without the sharp, tailored suits and the intimidating corporate armor, he looked dangerously handsome. Relaxed. Real.

I smiled, gently tracing the line of his jaw with my fingertips.

Ethan’s eyes flickered open instantly—sharp, clear, and focused, as if he hadn't been deeply asleep a second ago. A slow morning smile spread across his lips.

"Good morning, Mrs. Hayes," his deep morning voice rumbled, sending a pleasant shiver down my spine.

"Good morning, Mr. Hayes," I replied, resting my chin on his bare chest. "Did you sleep well after crashing our own wedding?"

Ethan laughed, pulling me flush against him so that my face was buried in his neck. "Best sleep I’ve had in a decade. Though, technically, I didn't crash the wedding. I rescued the bride."

"Debatable," I teased, though my heart did a happy little flip. "You executed a hostile takeover of my entire life plan."

"And look how well the stock is performing," he murmured, kissing the top of my head.

Our peaceful morning was abruptly shattered by the violent buzzing of Ethan’s cell phone on the bedside table.

Ethan groaned, blinking against the bright sunlight, and reached out blindly to grab the device. He glanced at the screen, and the relaxed warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced instantly by the cold, calculating glare of a tech billionaire.

"Speak," Ethan answered crisply.

I propped myself up on one elbow, watching him.

"Mr. Hayes," came the voice of his executive assistant, sounding breathless and panicked through the speakerphone. "I'm sorry to disturb you so early on your honeymoon, but... we have an emergency at the Southeast division."

Ethan’s jaw tightened. "What kind of emergency, Sarah?"

"It’s Jack Conway," Sarah said, her voice dropping an octave. "Before we could lock his terminal yesterday, he managed to export a massive cache of proprietary product data and client lists. He’s apparently trying to shop our upcoming Q3 software architecture blueprint to our biggest competitor, Apex Tech."

My breath hitched. Jack had always been ambitious, but corporate espionage? That was federal-offense territory.

Ethan didn't blink. His expression turned glacial.

"Has legal been notified?" Ethan asked, his voice dead calm.

"Yes, Mr. Hayes. But Conway also leaked a heavily edited version of yesterday's chapel confrontation to a tech gossip blog, claiming you abused your corporate power to steal his fiancée and fire him wrongfully."

I gasped, sitting up straight. "He's trying to ruin your reputation."

Ethan slowly lowered the phone, his grey eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made the room feel suddenly smaller. He didn't look angry. He looked like a grandmaster who had just watched his opponent make a catastrophically stupid move.

"Sarah," Ethan said into the phone, his voice smooth and absolute. "Contact our legal team. File an immediate injunction against Jack Conway for theft of intellectual property, breach of NDA, and corporate sabotage. Sue him into bankruptcy before noon."

"Yes, Mr. Hayes," Sarah replied briskly.

"And as for the gossip blog?" Ethan continued, a dangerous, razor-sharp smile touching the corners of his lips. "Send them the unedited security footage from the chapel—the part where he spent an hour on the phone with his ex while my wife stood at the altar waiting for him. Let public opinion do the rest."

"Consider it done, boss," Sarah said.

Ethan hung up the phone and tossed it onto the mattress. He turned to me, his hands sliding up my arms to pull me close.

"Well, darling," Ethan murmured, his eyes glittering with dark amusement. "It looks like our honeymoon is going to involve a little corporate warfare."