CHAPTER 3 CRASH THE WEDDING

The receptionist seemed quite shocked and a little scared to hear that there was a high-profile criminal in their hotel. So she stepped back, wisely deciding not to question them after that point.

Dave confidently led his colleagues to the elevator, and some questions began to appear in their mind… 

Most of them were suspicious about what Dave's real motives were, because even though the receptionist had not asked them for any documents, they couldn't exactly arrest anyone without a warrant!

It seemed like he was being vague on purpose. Was it his plan to take advantage of his position and his authority to ruin Julia's wedding?

As they reached the fifth floor and Dave started to walk towards the ballroom doors, one of the officers decided to speak up;

"Walters, just be honest. Are you just trying to interrupt their ceremony because you want revenge!?"

Because of the courage of one person, everyone else also suddenly felt bold enough to speak up.

"Yeah, we decided to come with you as your colleagues, but we won't support you for something so petty and personal." 

"If your intentions are good, then why are you not telling us anything? It just looks like you want to splash mud on the couple because you can't digest the fact that she moved on and found someone else."

"Walters, don't drag us into the mud with you!"

Even though the officers had invitations for the wedding, they could still be thrown out for causing disturbance.

In fact, their careers as police officers might also be at risk! 

Dave felt slightly annoyed at their questions, and said,

"I asked you to just trust me and follow me here. If you now feel that you don't trust me anymore, then you are free to leave."

Mark stepped forward and tried to explain,

"No no, it's just that… we don't want to do anything impulsive that we all might regret later."

"Lee is right, even if you feel upset, don't forget that we are still servants of the law and we have taken an oath."

Although Dave could understand why they had these doubts, he really couldn't explain the situation to them right now.

If he told his colleagues that he had unlocked a supernatural system a few minutes ago, which had confirmed the criminal record of Noah Stone… he had a feeling that they would probably carry him out of there and dump him into a mental institution.

He just shook his head and tried to reassure them;

"Guys, you all know me well. Even if I haven't been the best or more heroic officer, you know I don't take stupid risks. I would never put my career at risk just for the sake of an ex- girlfriend, and I would never bring you here if I didn't know exactly what I am doing."

There was a tense silence in the hallway as he finished speaking, and Peter decided to intervene.

"I completely support Dave, if he insists, then I'm sure he is really here to arrest someone. But this situation might be more complicated than it seems. So before we enter, can you tell us, which guest we are trying to arrest?"

With a smile on his face, Dave revealed;

"It's not a guest, but the groom."

"The groom! Walters, I swear if you are trying to take your frustration out on an innocent person–"

"And he is a wealthy businessman, he might even have political connections–"

"This one mistake can land us in major trouble with the authorities–"

Several people tried to speak at the same time, but Dave interrupted them with a wry smile. 

"There is no mistake, and I'm confident that nothing will go wrong. I felt that something was wrong, when I first saw Julia's engagement photo with him in the newspaper. But I brushed it off at that time…" 

Everyone was listening quietly, as the atmosphere of suspense heightened. 

"I am sure you remember that three months ago, we were supposed to be on duty at the Annual City Fundraising Auction at the G&K Museum. And at that auction, a lot of precious gold and diamond jewelry worth millions of dollars had gone missing."

He continued, knowing that everyone's attention was focused on his words.

"At that time, we had to file a missing case because the person who had stolen the jewelry turned out to have some powerful connections and he managed to escape before the trial."

"Walters, what are you trying to say!"

"Just come here and see for yourself."

Dave said as he opened the door a little bit, inviting Lee to step forward, so that he could see the stage where the wedding ceremony was taking place right now. 

Meanwhile, Dave stood beside him and pointed;

"Look carefully at the man standing on the stage, in the navy blue suit. Don't you think he looks somewhat similar to the culprit who had managed to flee from prison?" 

There was a stunned silence as Lee finally exclaimed,

"Holy shit! That's him… I can see the similarities!" 

As soon as the other officers heard this, they rushed forward to crowd around the door and took turns to press against the door, trying to get a look for themselves. 

Their disbelief was reaching new heights, as they saw the man smiling under the lights like an angel… somehow, it was difficult to believe that this was the same guy! 

"Whoa… I can't believe that he actually looks like that criminal!" 

"If not for Walters, I would never have paid enough attention to figure it out! Maybe I would have taken one look at this man and thought he reminded me of someone… without ever realizing the truth!"

"Do you think he got plastic surgery to change his facial features? Because his height and body build certainly seem eerily similar…"

Seeing that his team had seen the truth with their own eyes now, Dave pushed open the double doors of the ballroom, causing many pairs of eyes to turn towards the newcomers.

The entrance of Dave and his team plunged the entire ballroom into a tense atmosphere. 

A collective hush swept through the crowd of guests as they exchanged confused glances, trying to figure out the reason behind the unexpected appearance of the police officers, at what was meant to be a cheerful wedding celebration.

However, the actual couple had no idea of the upcoming storm, and they were reciting their vows to each other.

"I, Julia, take you, Noah, as my husband for life and I promise to…"

Her speech was cut short as the background music was abruptly shut off, and the bride and groom turned towards the entrance, trying to understand what was going on. 

The bride's face carried a sweet smile, even though she could sense the unusual tension… but the moment her eyes fell on Dave Walters, her expression turned sour. 

Julia clenched her hands in anger, crushing the poor flowers in her bridal bouquet. 

She thought she had made it very clear that she had no interest in him anymore, after that shitty proposal he had planned.

He hadn't even tried to contact her once since then, which led her to believe that he must be hiding his face in shame. And yet, this man had the audacity to show up to her wedding! 

"Dave! What the hell are you doing here?"

She blurted out in disbelief, and by now, even her relatives had started whispering amongst themselves.

"Dave… isn't that the name of her ex-boyfriend?"

"Yes, I think that's him! She brought him to my daughter's graduation party once…"

"Is that him, the cop? Whoa, I wonder what drama he is going to create."

Julia could hear these whispers, and she couldn't control her temper.

"Are you here to beg for me? Or are you just trying to gather some sympathy? Let me tell you, nobody here will have pity on you! A penniless man like you, who has no self-respect, you can never get any respect in society!"

As far as her past with Dave was concerned, Julia had no feelings for him apart from anger and frustration.

Instead of feeling thankful that she had decided to spend five precious years of her life with him, he had the guts to make a scene on the most important day of her life?

There was not a drop of regret in her heart, because she knew from the very beginning that she was just with him until she found someone better.

And now that she had met her current husband, who was easily a hundred times richer than him, why would she even look in Dave's direction? 

She had met Noah Stone before, a handful of times at some high-profile parties. She had just flirted with him lightly, but obviously, Noah wanted to see her more often– after all, given how young and beautiful she was, how could anyone not be interested in her?

Ever since then, he had been trying to get her number and invite her out on dates. 

When Dave decided to stupidly propose to her, she understood that this was the best time for her to leave him and find someone else. 

Otherwise, she would be stuck with this loser for the rest of her life! 

So, she had called Noah that night, and accepted his invitation for a date. When he proposed to her a week later, she had no reason to say no! 

But it looked like this unlucky charm named Dave Walters just couldn't see her happy.

Even now, he was slowly walking towards the stage, and Julia warned him with a cold expression;

"If you have any misunderstanding that you will be able to scare me with these cheap stunts, then you are wrong! You should be ashamed of these childish tricks, do you think that you will really convince me to marry you by crashing my fucking wedding?"

On hearing her words, a sarcastic smile appeared on Dave's face, as he took one look at her. 

At first, he had thought that he would feel sad or hurt on seeing her as a bride, with some other man standing beside her.

But right now, he couldn't understand what his past self had seen in her. She wasn't even that beautiful, nor did she have any class… so where did she find the confidence to boast? 

"Miss, I am perfectly capable of seeing the truth, but I think you are under some delusion. Not everyone is obsessed with you, so just move aside. I haven't come here for you!"