Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown

Read Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown by Novelxo. Genre: Chinese novels. Read the full novel online for free here

Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown

Genre: Romance

Serena once believed that love could conquer anything—until the day her wedding turned into heartbreak. Standing outside city hall in a sleek gray suit, Serena tightly clutches a crumpled marriage certificate application. She has been waiting for her long-time boyfriend, Aaron Vance, the powerful and charismatic CEO of Vance Holdings, to arrive for their wedding. But once again, he disappoints her.

As Serena tries calling him, all she hears is the robotic message: "The number you have dialed is currently busy." Then a breaking news notification shatters her last sliver of hope—Aaron has been spotted at the airport with Cynthia Lynwood, his longtime lover, warmly welcoming her back from abroad. They looked deeply in love. The photo says it all, and worse, Cynthia sends Serena a message laced with cruel intent: a picture of a pregnancy test—8 weeks along. The father? Aaron Vance.

For Serena, it isn't the first betrayal. She has known for years that Aaron's heart was never fully hers. From the moment she saw him at eighteen, she chased him, believing love could make him choose her. After three long years of pursuit, he finally became hers—but she never found happiness in the relationship. Aaron was emotionally absent, always flying off to where Cynthia lived. Even the moment Serena confessed her love years ago, he had abandoned her to answer Cynthia’s call.

Now, devastated but determined, Serena calls her mother with a bold declaration: she will return home and accept the arranged marriage she once resisted. It’s not out of love, but survival. After seven years of chasing a man who would never fully choose her, she finally decides to let go—for real this time.

But when she returns home, exhausted and broken, something unexpected happens.

That night, Aaron shows up beside her, whispering apologies in her sleep, embracing her in the dark. He promises to get their marriage certificate first thing in the morning. Yet just moments later, she hears him on the phone with Cynthia again, soothing her as she cries.

And in that moment, Serena finally sees Aaron for who he is.

With a calm but bitter resolve, she turns on the lamp and stops him at the door.

“Aaron, don’t go…” —her voice soft, but final.

It’s not a plea for him to stay. It’s the quiet signal that this time, she’s the one walking away.