The Scarred CEO's Secret Heirs

Aviah’s POV

The night before my wedding to August Westerfield, I woke up in a hotel room.

My head was heavy from drinking, and my vision was still blurred. When I looked up, I noticed a screen on the ceiling.

A video was playing.

The moment I saw it, I went still.

“August, I’ve wanted you for so long. Now you’re finally mine. Tell me, who do you prefer—me or Aviah?”

I recognized the voice immediately.

Scarlett Chambers.

“You, of course, sweetheart.”

On the screen, Scarlett and August held each other and kissed without restraint.

I tried to move, but my body would not respond.

That was when I realized something worse.

Scarlett was looking at me through the screen.

She knew I was watching.

I remembered how, before the wedding, Scarlett had insisted on handling all the arrangements, including that night’s party. My father had agreed.

And the champagne she had personally handed me had tasted strange.

Now I understood why.

She had drugged me.

She had arranged everything so I would be forced to watch her with my fiancé.

I wanted to move. I wanted to stop them. I wanted to confront her.

But I could do nothing.

Then I heard the door open.

Someone entered the room.

It was too dark for me to see his face clearly, but I could hear his breathing and the sound of his steps as he came closer.

A cold realization settled over me.

Without hesitation, he came toward me.

I still could not move.

His hair was long enough to cover part of his face. I could only make out his lips and the shape of his body in the dim light.

Then he was on me.

I turned my face away and looked back at the screen.

My fiancé and my cousin were together in front of me, while I was being violated by a stranger.

At that point, there was nothing unclear left between them.

August was not being forced.

He had chosen this.

At some point, my consciousness began to fade.

Just before I lost awareness, I noticed a long scar across the stranger’s chest.

It stretched over most of his torso.

Then everything went dark.

I had a dream.

In it, August and I got married. We had children. Our life was calm and ordinary.

Then noise outside the door woke me.

I opened my eyes and saw my body beneath the sheets and the signs of what had happened during the night.

It had not been a dream.

“Darling, are you awake? It’s time. Our long-awaited wedding ceremony is about to begin.”

August’s voice came from outside the door.

I remembered very clearly what I had seen the night before.

I wanted to open the door, confront him, and expose everything.

But I stopped myself.

Because last night, I had also been with another man.

Not by choice.

But that fact would not disappear.

Whatever happened next, I had to get through the wedding first.

The wedding of Alexander Lynch’s daughter could not collapse in front of the whole city.

I forced my voice to remain steady.

“Just a moment. I’ll be right there.”

Soon, the ceremony began.

Under the officiant’s guidance, August and I exchanged rings.

I stood beside him, holding his arm and greeting our relatives, friends, and the city’s elite with a fixed smile.

“I’m sorry, gentlemen. The most beautiful woman in Lakeview is my wife now. You’ll have to give up on your dream girl.”

“Aviah has always been wonderful. In my heart, she’s an angel. I’ll spend my life protecting her.”

“Everyone can rest assured. I’ll love only Aviah for the rest of my life. I won’t even look at another woman.”

August said all of it while looking at me with apparent affection.

I listened and said nothing.

Then a stir spread through the room.

I turned toward the sound.

The large screen that was supposed to be showing our wedding photos had changed.

A bedroom appeared instead.

Two naked bodies were tangled together on the bed.

The footage did not show faces, but no one needed to see them.

Everyone knew the woman was me.

For a moment, I could not think.

Last night had been recorded.

And now it was being shown publicly.

The voices around me changed. The earlier admiration disappeared, replaced by confusion and speculation.

I understood immediately what this meant.

I was finished.

Then I heard Scarlett’s voice.

“Uncle Alexander, please don’t blame Aviah. She never meant for something like this to happen. Maybe things aren’t what they seem.”

Another voice followed—August’s father.

“Alexander, I considered you my oldest friend. Is this how you repay me? On my son’s wedding day, this kind of scandal? Are you trying to ruin the Westerfield family’s name?”

My father, Alexander Lynch, said nothing.

I turned to him.

“Dad, let me explain—”

Then I saw Scarlett standing behind him, smiling.

I raised my hand and pointed at her.

“It was her. She set me up.”

“Enough,” my father said sharply. “After everything, you still refuse to admit your wrongdoing and try to blame Scarlett? I raised you for over twenty years, and this is what you’ve become?”

Scarlett stepped forward at once.

“Aviah, I know you’ve never liked me since I moved into your home. If blaming me makes you feel better, I can accept that. Don’t worry. I’m sure Uncle Alexander and everyone else will forgive you.”

I looked at her and understood, finally, that none of her concern was genuine.

“Shut up,” I said. “You set me up, you—”

A slap cut across my face before I could finish.