Dumped by Three Brothers, Wed to Their Uncle

I loved the three Hunt brothers for ten long years.

I thought giving them everything would make them cherish me.

It didn't.

I gave them my heart. I worked for them for free for ten years. But they took the glory that should have been mine. They took my wedding dress. They gave it all to Serena. That fake little snake.

The most ridiculous part?

When the earthquake hit, I was the one who risked my life to save them.

And they still chose the fraud who stole my identity. They pushed me into the frozen lake.

The moment the water closed over my head, my heart died.

After they pulled me out, I called their uncle.

"Can we move up our wedding?"

Elara's POV

"The winner of this year's Most Influential Internet Personality Award is..."

The spotlight swept across the vast ceiling. The entire audience held its breath, waiting.

I sat in the front row, took a deep breath, and lifted my dress. As a lifestyle blogger with thirty million followers, I had to win this award.

And tonight's gala was hosted by Hunt Corporation. The three Hunt brothers, Cole, Nathan, and Ethan, weren't just the presenters. They were the men I'd grown up with. The men I was supposed to marry one day.

I planned to officially announce my choice of husband in tonight's acceptance speech.

"Serena Shaw! Let's congratulate Serena!"

The host's voice rang out, brimming with excitement. My hand stopped on my dress.

The spotlight swung past me and hit a woman in the back row. White dress. Fake surprise plastered on her face.

Serena Shaw. She'd been active for less than six months. Her entire career was built on copying me. She was also the Hunt family maid's daughter.

The room was stunned. My followers erupted.

"What's going on? Elara's award was stolen?"

"How does Serena even qualify? She clearly cheated!"

But what really made my blood boil were the three men coming down from the stage.

Cole Hunt, wearing an expensive suit, extended his hand to Serena. Nathan Hunt carefully smoothed her dress. And Ethan Hunt, the superstar, casually put his arm around her shoulders and led her toward the stage.

The three of them didn't even glance at me.

I sat there in the front row, awkward and furious, like a complete fool.

After the awards ceremony ended, I returned to the backstage lounge.

I pushed open the door to see the three brothers celebrating with Serena. I asked them, hurt and confused. "Why? My fan vote count was clearly far higher than everyone else's."

Cole frowned with impatience. "Elara, you already have thirty million followers. Do you really care about one trophy? Serena's just starting out. She needs this award to support her career more than you do."

"Exactly," Ethan laughed, playing with his lighter. "Can you stop being so greedy? Don't you know how long Serena prepared for this gala?"

Nathan said coldly, "As compensation, I can give you ads for next quarter. Stop making a scene. You're acting like a clown."

I looked at these three familiar faces, my heart clenched by an invisible hand, the pain suffocating.

These were the three men I'd loved for so many years.

For Cole's media company, I'd worked for free as a tool to boost engagement for all his accounts. For Nathan's investment business, I personally helped him sell products. For Ethan's acting career, I promoted his work on my account every single day.

But now, they were viciously putting me down just to make Serena happy.

"I understand." I didn't lose control. I just answered very calmly.

I turned and walked out of the lounge. The cold wind outside hit my face, and my mind had never been clearer.

I'd planned to marry one of the three. But now I had a better idea.

Half an hour later, I stood shivering in my grandparents' living room.

"I've decided. The person I want to marry is Damon Hunt."

Grandma was so shocked she nearly dropped her cup. "Are you crazy, Elara? Damon is Cole's uncle! He's six years older than you, cold, and impossible to get along with..."

"I'm not crazy." I clutched my clothes, nails digging into my palms. "Those three don't love me, and I'm done hurting myself. Please, Grandma. Ask Damon if he'll marry me."

Grandma saw the pain in my eyes and let out a long sigh. She dialed Damon Hunt's number.

The moment the call connected, I was incredibly nervous.

"Hello." Damon Hunt's voice was deep and pleasant.

Grandma briefly explained the situation. The silence on the other end was suffocating.

Every second of pause was torture for me. My mind went blank. I'd even prepared myself for a ruthless rejection.

After a long time, Damon Hunt on the other end laughed softly, his tone lazy and unreadable.

"Sure. Tell Elara I'm willing to marry her."

The weight on my heart finally lifted. Tears streamed down my face. I squeezed my eyes shut.

Elara's POV

When I returned to the villa I shared with Cole and the others, it was already late at night.

The villa blazed with lights. Serena's and the Hunt brothers' cheers pierced my eardrums.

Streamers hung in the living room. A champagne tower was stacked high. Cole, Ethan, and Nathan surrounded Serena as she cut a cake, celebrating her award.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, everyone looked at me.

Serena fearfully hid behind Cole, calling out softly, "Elara, you're back... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take your award. Cole and the others insisted on giving it to me..."

"Enough, Serena. Why are you apologizing to her?" Ethan impatiently cut her off, then turned to look at me with contempt. "Elara, who are you throwing a tantrum for? It's just an award. Does it really make you this crazy?"

I ignored him and walked straight toward the stairs, ready to pack my belongings.

"Stop." Cole's loud voice halted me. His tall frame blocked the stairway. "Since you're back, there's something I need to tell you. Hand over the password to your account with ten million followers. Give it to Serena."

I suspected I'd heard wrong. "What did you say?"

"Are you deaf?" Nathan mocked. "Serena just won an award. She needs traffic and exposure right now. Your account has a lot of followers. It's perfect for her to use for business deals. You have other accounts anyway."

I was livid with rage.

I'd spent four years building that account. I'd traveled alone to cities all over the country with my camera, spent countless nights editing videos, slowly accumulating those followers!

And now they wanted me to just hand it over to Serena with one sentence?

"Impossible." I looked into Cole's eyes and immediately refused. "That's my personal property. It has nothing to do with you. Want to give my account to Serena? I refuse."

"Elara, you're such a bitch!" Ethan suddenly stood up, pointing at my nose as he cursed. "You usually spend our money, live in our house, and now when we ask you to help Serena with one small favor, you refuse. How can you be so selfish and vicious?"

"I spend your money?" I said mockingly. "I bought this villa. I earned the money for your daily expenses by taking on ads! Who's spending whose money?!"

"Enough!" Cole's expression turned ugly, as if I'd hit a nerve. "Elara, I'm asking you one last time. Are you giving up the account or not?"

"No."

"Good. Very good." Cole laughed mockingly and pulled out his phone to call his assistant. "Freeze all of Elara's social media accounts registered under the company immediately. No one is allowed to unlock them without my permission."

After hanging up, he looked at me with contempt. "Since you're so principled, let me see how you survive on your own without our help. When you come to your senses, kneel down and apologize to Serena. Then I'll consider returning your accounts."

Serena gently tugged on Cole's sleeve from behind, saying softly, "Cole, forget it. Elara just cares too much about that award. I don't need her account anymore..."

"Serena, stay out of this. We need to fix her arrogant attitude today!" Nathan chimed in.

Looking at these three men in front of me, I suddenly felt disgusted.

I didn't want to spend another second in this house reeking of disgust.

I turned and went upstairs. Ten minutes later, I came down dragging a suitcase.

"What are you trying to do now?" Ethan sneered. "Running away from home in the middle of the night? If you've got guts, don't come back once you walk out that door!"

I didn't give them a single glance. I dragged my suitcase straight toward the door.

The moment my hand gripped the doorknob, I paused. Without turning back, I said, "Don't worry. I'll never set foot in here again. I don't want this house anymore."

The door slammed shut with a bang, cutting off the noise inside.

The night wind was very cold. I pulled my coat tighter and took out my phone. Looking at the forced logout notification on the screen, my eyes held no tears, only hatred.

It's fine. If my account is gone, I can rebuild.

Elara's POV

The day after moving out of the villa, I received a call from my mother.

The moment she answered, her abuse came through. "Elara, have you lost your mind?! What did you do to make Cole angry? This morning he cancelled three collaboration projects with our company! Are you trying to destroy our whole family?!"

I gripped my phone tightly, saying painfully, "Mom, they forcibly froze my accounts just to promote Serena, and they tried to steal my work..."

"I don't care!" Mom's shrill voice stabbed my eardrums. "What use is a woman doing social media? Your job is to please the Hunt men and successfully marry them! I order you to go apologize to them right now. Even if you have to kneel to that woman, you need to get those collaborations back for me!"

Before I could speak, she hung up.

I looked at the darkened screen, my lips twisting into a smile uglier than crying.

This was my family. In their eyes, I'd never been a daughter, just a bargaining chip for profit.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed down the bitterness and took a cab to Hunt Corporation.

I wasn't going to apologize. I was going to retrieve my personal hard drive. It contained all my original footage and unreleased work from the past few years. My only capital for rebuilding my accounts.

When I reached my former private office, I was shocked.

The office door stood wide open. The minimalist decor that had been mine was completely gone, replaced with frilly lace and stuffed animals.

Serena sat in my chair, playing with my personal hard drive in her hands!

"Who said you could touch my things?" I strode in, demanding coldly.

Serena jumped in fright. Her hand slipped, and the hard drive hit the desk with a clatter.

"Elara..." Serena's eyes instantly reddened like a startled rabbit's. "I'm sorry. Cole said this office is mine now. I didn't know this was yours..."

"Give it back to me." I was too lazy to listen to her talk. I reached out directly to take it.

Just as my fingertips were about to touch the hard drive, Serena suddenly cried out. Her body lurched backward, and along with it, the hard drive in her hand fell heavily toward the massive decorative fish tank beside her!

Splash!

The hard drive sank instantly to the bottom, releasing a few bubbles before being completely ruined.

"My hard drive!" I screamed in shock and pain. That contained five years of my work!

"What are you doing?!"

An enraged male voice came from the doorway. Cole rushed in quickly, shoving me aside and carefully helping Serena up from the floor.

Nathan and Ethan followed behind them. Seeing this scene, their expressions instantly darkened.

"Elara, have you gone crazy?!" Ethan rushed forward, pointing at my nose as he cursed. "You not only ran away from home, now you're coming to the company to attack Serena? Are you sick?!"

"I didn't push her. She fell on her own and threw my hard drive in the water!" I pointed at the tank, my whole body trembling. "That had all my footage!"

"Enough!" Cole cut me off, his eyes as cold as if looking at an enemy. "Serena is so kind. How could she deliberately destroy your things? You're clearly jealous she took your office!"

Nathan pushed up his glasses, his tone cutting. "Elara, you're getting more and more insane. It's just a hard drive. How much could it be worth? You scared Serena like this. Apologize to her immediately!"

Looking at these three stupid men, I suddenly felt absurd.

I used to think that if I just tried hard enough, was enthusiastic enough, I could eventually move them.

But now I understood. Idiots can't see the truth.

"Apologize?" I stared at them, the light in my eyes extinguishing bit by bit, turning into a desolate wasteland. "Impossible."

I didn't look at the hard drive in the tank again. I turned, straightened my back, and walked out of the office step by step.

Ethan's shout came from behind. "Elara, if you dare walk out that door today, even if you beg us on your knees later, we'll never forgive you!"

My steps didn't pause.

Forgive me?

You don't deserve to.

Elara's POV

After leaving Hunt Corporation, I went to New York's largest underground auction house.

Next month was my wedding with Damon Hunt. Although it was a contractual marriage, Damon had given me enough dignity and respect on the phone. I wanted to prepare a wedding gift for him.

In the auction catalog, a pair of sapphire cufflinks from European royalty in the last century caught my eye. Expensive and luxurious. They seemed exactly like the feeling Damon gave me.

I checked my account. Although my main account was frozen, I still had some money in my personal account. Just enough to buy these cufflinks.

The auction progressed to the second half, and the cufflinks were finally presented on the display stand.

"Starting bid, two million."

I bid without hesitation. "Two million five hundred thousand."

"Three million." A female voice came from the front row.

I frowned and looked up to see Serena sitting on Nathan's lap, holding up her bidding paddle. Cole and Ethan sat on either side of her.

Just my luck.

I gritted my teeth and raised my paddle again. "Three million five hundred thousand."

Serena looked back at me, bit her lip pitifully, and acted coy with Nathan. "Nathan, those cufflinks are so beautiful. I want to buy them as a birthday gift for Cole, but it seems Elara really likes them too..."

Nathan laughed coldly and raised his paddle directly. "Five million."

The whole venue was shocked. Five million for a pair of cufflinks was way over market value.

My palms were sweating. I only had eight million in liquid funds in my account.

"Six million." I gritted my teeth and followed.

Ethan laughed mockingly. "Elara, we kicked you out, and you still have money left? Buying expensive men's cufflinks. Who are they for? Don't tell me you're trying to butter us up and get back in our good graces."

Cole said contemptuously, "It's useless. Anything you give, I'd find dirty."

I didn't even look at them, keeping my eyes on the auctioneer.

Nathan was enraged by my disregard and raised his paddle directly. "Eight million."

At that number, my heart sank completely. I had no more money to bid.

Just as the auctioneer was about to drop the hammer, Serena suddenly grabbed Nathan's hand. "Nathan, forget it. Elara doesn't even have a job now. This might be her last savings. I don't need them. Let her have them."

Nathan snorted coldly. "She's lucky. Serena, you're just too kind."

In the end, I bought the cufflinks for eight million. I emptied every penny in my account and walked out of the auction house with the beautifully packaged velvet box.

Just as I reached the main entrance, Serena blocked my path.

Cole and the others stood not far away smoking, not following over.

"Elara, can I see the cufflinks?" Serena's face wore a provocative smile. "Something you spent all your savings on must be very precious, right?"

I looked at her coldly. "Get lost."

"Don't be so stingy." Serena suddenly reached out and snatched the box from my hands.

"What are you doing!" I was furious, reaching to grab it back.

But Serena suddenly stepped back and loosened her hand.

Click.

The velvet box fell to the ground, and two exquisite sapphire cufflinks rolled out. Serena's high heel seemed to accidentally step forward, directly kicking one of the cufflinks into the nearby storm drain grate!

"Oh no!" Serena covered her mouth, crying out in surprise. "I'm so sorry, Elara. I didn't mean to. My hand slipped..."

My brain buzzed. That was the gift I'd spent all my money on for Damon!

I raised my hand and slapped Serena hard across the face!

Smack!

The crisp sound of the slap was especially loud in the night. Serena screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her face as she burst into tears.

"Elara, you're asking for death!"

Ethan was the first to rush over, shoving me aside. My back slammed hard into a solid column, making me gasp in pain.

Cole and Nathan also rushed over. Seeing Serena's swollen face, their eyes instantly became terrifying.

"Elara, you actually dared to hit her?!" Cole grabbed my throat, pinning me against the column, his eyes full of rage. "They're just cufflinks. Serena accidentally dropped them. We'll pay you double! How dare you get physical!"

"Pay?" I was being choked, struggling to breathe, but I still stared at them, a cold smile on my lips. "Pay with what? You blind trash don't even understand what's valuable!"

"You still dare to talk back!" Nathan's eyes were frightening. "Ethan, throw her in the lake nearby. Let her sober up!"

Ethan didn't hesitate. He came forward, grabbed my arm, and regardless of my struggles, dragged me toward the icy lakeside.

Splash!

The lake water was freezing, instantly swallowing my head.

Elara's POV

The freezing lake water rushed into my nose. I struggled violently in the water.

I couldn't swim.

On the shore, the three Hunt brothers watched coldly.

"What's she pretending for? The water's only five feet deep. She could stand up and live." Ethan had his hands in his pockets, saying mockingly, "Elara, your acting is way too fake."

Serena leaned against Cole, deliberately saying, "Cole, Elara really seems like she can't swim. Maybe we should pull her up. What if something happens..."

"What could happen? She's strong as an ox." Nathan pushed up his glasses, his eyes cold. "Let her soak in the water for half an hour. Then we'll see if she dares hit you again."

Underwater, I heard these words, and the despair in my heart was colder than the lake water.

I gave up struggling and let my body slowly sink.

Just as my consciousness was about to blur, park staff finally noticed something was wrong and jumped in to rescue me.

I was completely soaked, coughing violently on the shore in a wretched state, almost vomiting bile.

Cole looked down at me from above, like looking at garbage. "Today's just a warning. If there's a next time, I guarantee you won't be able to stay in New York."

After speaking, they escorted Serena into their luxury car and left.

The night wind blew, and I shivered all over. I dragged my heavy steps to kneel by the storm drain grate, using my frozen fingers to pick at the gaps bit by bit, trying to retrieve the fallen cufflink.

But it was too deep. I couldn't feel anything.

I was alone on the deep-night street, like a pitiful ghost abandoned by the whole world.

The next day, I developed a high fever.

I forced myself to open my phone, only to find that online abuse had completely drowned me.

Serena had done a livestream last night. In the stream, she held my golden retriever "Buddy" that I'd raised for three years, crying miserably.

Buddy looked very unwell. Serena said in the livestream, "Poor Buddy. His previous owner often locked him in a cage for work and didn't even feed him. Now that I've brought him home, I'll definitely take good care of him."

The three Hunt brothers even reposted this video from their respective accounts with the caption: "People who abuse animals don't deserve forgiveness."

This was undoubtedly slandering me with a scandal.

Online fury was completely ignited.

"Elara can go die! Dog-abusing bitch!"

"I used to like her, but she's actually a poisonous woman!"

"Boycott Elara! Make her get off the internet!"

I looked at those vicious curses on the screen, my whole body shaking with anger.

Buddy was a pet I'd raised from a puppy. I loved him like family. The day I moved out of the villa, Cole forcibly kept Buddy, saying he'd give him to Serena. Now they were turning it around, slandering me for abusing him!

Just then, Mom called again.

"Elara! What have you done! Cole officially announced the withdrawal of investment today. Our company's stock has already hit the limit down!" Mother screamed on the other end. "You need to start a livestream right now and kneel to apologize to Serena! Admit that you abused the dog, that you're jealous of her! Otherwise, I'll act like I never had a daughter!"

I closed my eyes as tears finally slid down my burning cheeks.

"Mom," my voice was hoarse, "I have a fever. One hundred and three point six degrees. I'm dying."

"That doesn't matter!" Mom cut me off. "Even if you die, you need to resolve our company's crisis first! I'm giving you one hour to post an apology video, or don't ever come home again!"

The call was hung up again.

I curled up in the cold blanket, feeling like all the blood in my body had frozen.

No one cared if I lived or died. My lovers. My family. My fans.

Every one of them was pushing me toward the edge.

Just as I was suffering, my phone screen suddenly lit up.

It was a text from an unknown number.

"Need help? -Damon Hunt."

Seeing this short sentence, my despairing heart suddenly beat violently.

I bit my cracked lips and replied with trembling fingers.

"No. I can handle it. Damon, can we move up our wedding?"

He replied almost instantly.

"As you wish. See you tomorrow, Elara."

Elara's POV

After recovering from the high fever, I completely changed my life focus.

I didn't post an apology video, didn't pay attention to the online abuse, but focused wholeheartedly on wedding preparations.

Although Damon was abroad, he arranged the best team to assist me. The wedding venue was set at New York's most expensive hillside manor, a private property under Damon's name.

That afternoon, I went to the bridal shop to try on the wedding dress I'd personally participated in designing. I'd spent an entire year designing it, originally intending to wear it for Cole and the others. Now, I just wanted to wear it and marry Damon beautifully.

After trying on the dress, I took the packaged gown and headed to the hillside manor to decorate the wedding venue.

However, the moment I pushed open the manor's main door, I was completely shocked.

The romantically decorated wedding venue was now in complete chaos.

Expensive imported roses were trampled into mud. Carefully selected delicate decorations were thrown everywhere. In the center of the living room, the three Hunt brothers were playing loud music, partying with a group of friends.

And Serena was wearing an extremely familiar white dress, laughing happily in the crowd.

That was my backup wedding dress!

"Well, well, if it isn't our big star Elara?" Ethan walked over with a wine glass, swaying drunkenly, his face full of mockery. "What, did you come to attend Serena's birthday party?"

I stared at the wedding dress on Serena, my voice cold as ice. "Who allowed you to come in? Who allowed her to wear my wedding dress?!"

"What are you yelling about?" Cole walked over frowning, protecting Serena behind him. "This manor is our company's property. We can use it if we want. As for this cheap dress, Serena thought it looked nice. What's wrong with her wearing it? Are you really that petty?"

"Exactly." Nathan sneered. "Elara, don't tell me you actually think that by finding some random man and holding a fake wedding, you can provoke us?"

They thought there was no way I could actually marry someone else. Everything I did was just to pressure them.

Serena deliberately tugged at the wedding dress hem, saying delicately, "Elara, I'm sorry. I didn't know this was your wedding dress. But this dress fits me perfectly. Cole said when we get engaged, he'll let me wear this one."

As she spoke, she deliberately let her hand slip. Her wine glass tilted, and dark red liquid instantly splashed onto the pure white dress, leaving conspicuous stains.

"Oops, I got it dirty." Serena covered her mouth, apologizing without sincerity.

I watched this scene without losing control like before, without shedding a single tear.

I suddenly felt it was ridiculous. How stupid must I have been to fall in love with these three idiots?

I calmly took out my phone, opened the camera, and clearly recorded this floor full of trash and their ugly faces.

"What are you doing? Put your phone down!" Ethan's expression changed, reaching to grab my phone.

I stepped back, avoiding his hand, a mocking smile on my lips.

"Cole Hunt. Nathan Hunt. Ethan Hunt." I called out their names one by one, looking at them like they were already dead.

"This wedding dress? Think of it as Serena's funeral gown. And this venue? Since you like it so much, stay as long as you want. Play slowly."

"Because tomorrow, I'll put on the world's most expensive wedding dress, at New York's most luxurious hotel, and marry a man you could never measure up to."

After speaking, without a trace of reluctance, I turned and walked out of the manor.

Cole roared from behind. "Elara! Walk out that door, and tomorrow we'll crash your fake wedding. We'll make you the joke of New York."

I didn't stop. I just kept walking.

Crash it?

Good. I'm looking forward to it.

I couldn't wait to see their faces when they found out who the groom really was.