Elena lifted her mother gently, ensuring no bones were broken from the heavy impact on the marble floor. Her hands trembled with deep rage as she wiped the tears from her mother's soft, wrinkled cheeks. Guests began murmuring angrily, pulling out their phones to record the unbelievable scene unfolding in the center of the venue. Carter showed no remorse at all, stepping closer with a malicious sneer painted across his arrogant face. A fresh red scratch was visible on his cheek where Evelyn had tried to catch herself while falling down. Carter pointed a finger at Elena, mockingly shouting down at her in front of all two hundred horrified guests. He claimed that she and her poor family had nothing without his wealth, status, and corporate connections. He told her she was a nobody who should be grateful he was willing to marry her at all. Elena stood up slowly, her body trembling with intense emotion as she locked eyes with her cruel fiancé. She demanded that he get on his knees immediately and apologize to her mother for his horrific behavior. Carter laughed aloud, mocking her order and telling her that powerful men never apologize to weak old women. Elena felt thirty years of her mother's sacrifices rush through her mind in a single split second. She stepped forward without hesitation, raising her right hand high in the bright air of the ballroom. A loud, sharp slap rang out across the hall as her palm struck Carter's cheek with incredible force. Carter's head snapped to the side, his arrogant smile disappearing instantly as his cheek turned bright red. The entire room went silent again, stunned by the bride's sudden and violent defense of her family's dignity. Carter held his burning cheek in utter shock, staring at Elena as if he could not process what just happened. She stepped right into his space, her eyes blazing with fierce determination and cold anger. She ordered him to never insult her family again, ending their engagement right then and there on the spot.