10
Chapter 2
19:08
Pedro walked away, radiating a bizarre sense of confidence. He announced his wedding plans online with great fanfare, combining the ceremony with his art exhibition.
The original venue I had booked for him was the city’s most prestigious art gallery, a place frequented by elites. Just holding an exhibition there was a mark of prestige, regardless of the art’s quality.
But this time, things were different. With my funding withdrawn, the Lynn Corporation had officially declared bankruptcy. They had barely enough cash for daily expenses, let alone a lavish event. Lily was even worse off; her family had lost everything when she was in high school, and she was now a kindergarten teacher living paycheck to paycheck. The idea of them funding a grand exhibition was laughable.
But, clinging to the memory of Pedro’s first million-dollar sale, his family and Lily pooled their resources, took out massive high-interest online loans, and booked a respectable venue for the joint wedding and exhi bition. They were betting everything on one spectacular comeback.
Their gamble was destined to fail.
The day arrived with balloons, flowers, and all the trappings of a beautiful event. The only thing missing was the guests. The vast banquet hall was practically empty.
Worse, not a single person was willing to buy a painting.
No one was a fool. If Pedro had genuine talent, it might have been a different story. But his art was, to put it mildly, atrocious. Without the Sterling family’s backing, who would throw their money away on his garbage?
Pedro and Lily stood at the entrance, their faces growing progressively paler as they realized that the crowd of fawning admirers who used to praise his work to the heavens had vanished.
He was finally forced to confront the truth: without me and the Sterling name propping him up, his art was
worthless.
A few of his online fans showed up, but none were willing to spend a dime. Instead, they mocked him.
[Is he for real? Lily has no money and she’s not even that pretty. He’s actually marrying her? How is she bette than a billionaire heiress?]
[Right? We were just shipping them for fun, but this dude actually went and got married. This is hilarious.]
[Insider goss: the funniest part is that he tried to pay for the venue with one of his paintings.]
[The venue costs almost a million dollars! And he thought a painting would cover it? He still thinks his art is worth that much? I saw the paintings. I could do better with my feet. LMAO.]
[This guy’s confidence is on another level. He really thought he could make it without the heiress. What a joke.]
[Does he even have the talent for it? Hahaha.]
That day, Pedro Lynn became the laughingstock of the city. Not only did he fail to make any money from his wedding and exhibition, but he also ended up a million dollars in debt to the hotel and the wedding planners.
Chapter 2
Even his online following plummeted.
Seeing that I had truly moved on, my parents were overjoyed. They gifted me a private island in the Pacific and told me to take a long vacation. I happily accepted their offer and spent the next five months relaxing in paradise.
By the time I returned, I realized it had been a very, very long time since the name Pedro Lynn had even cros- sed my mind.
But some people just can’t take a hint.