Chapter 1

The news of my fiancée hiring ten young men for her bachelorette party spread through the elite circles the night before we were supposed to sign our marriage license.

When I burst into the villa, she was covered in marks, lounging in the arms of my driver's son.

"It was just one night of freedom before the wedding. You can understand that, right？"

Sutton Young looked at me lazily, not offering even a hint of an apology.

Looking at the provocative smirk on the man's face, my eyes turned red as I threw the wedding invitation at her feet.

"The scandal is everywhere now. Have you even thought about what happens at the ceremony tomorrow？！"

"This marriage isn't just about us. It's about the merger of our two families' empires！ Go to the press conference and fix this."

She frowned, looking completely annoyed, but finally agreed.

But the next day, the headlines were even worse： "Rhodes Heir's Medical Inability to Satisfy Fiancée Exposed."

When I confronted her, Sutton didn't hold back.

"My heart belongs to Soren now. I won't take a single step back for you！"

"No matter how many times you threaten to pull your investment, my feelings won't change！"

At that moment, my heart finally turned to ash.

I dialed my father's number.

"Pull all funding from Young Industries. Every one of her active contracts―buy them out at triple the price."

1.

"You're still trying to threaten Sutton at a time like this？ The news of your performance issues is the talk of the town. If I were you, I'd be begging her to marry me. Who else would have you now？"

Soren Miller sneered at me.

The woman who ruined my reputation, my fiancée, stood there indifferently, straightening his tie.

"A man with a ruined name... even if he begged, I wouldn't deign to marry him now."

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. My heart felt like it was being pierced by needles.

I thought about how I had stayed up all night, foolishly waiting for her to explain herself. It was pathetic.

I waited all night, only to be met with betrayal and a smear campaign from the person I loved most！

My voice was dry and raspy as I asked her, "Sutton, are you really going to throw away the Rhodes-Young alliance for this guy？ Do you have any idea how much money both companies will lose because of this？！"

"He's just a driver's son. I am your fiancé！"

Her hand paused on Soren's suit. She shot me a cold look.

"Stop looking down on him. Soren just never had the opportunity. With my support, he'll achieve more than you ever could."

"You should worry about your own company. I imagine things are already falling apart because of the news, right？"

As soon as she finished, my assistant called.

"Mr. Rhodes, the stock is plummeting due to the negative press. The board is screaming about pulling out..."

I quickly opened the news feed. The top headline read： 【Foster Rhodes threatens fiancée after being rejected！】

The comments were brutal.

"How did a guy like this ever become CEO？ Who knows what shady shit he did to get there！"

"Corrupt companies like this need to go bankrupt！ Everyone, boycott Rhodes products！"

My fingers shook as I looked at Sutton. "You did this？"

She didn't even try to hide it. She looked at me with total apathy.

"I did. You needed a lesson."

"Foster, Soren is mine now. I won't let anyone think poorly of him."

I gripped my hands into balls, my voice reaching a breaking point.

"Get out！ Get out of my house！"

She knew better than anyone how hard I had worked to get the company to where it was.

In the early days, I spent a month straight working through the night, traveling for projects.

I worked until I collapsed and ended up in the hospital.

Back then, she stayed by my hospital bed, crying as she held me.

"I don't want you to push yourself so hard. I just want you to be okay," she had said.

She also forgot that her company only reached its current height because of my support.

I had gone against the board of directors multiple times, signing three-hundred-million-dollar betting agreements just to help her.

She said she would repay me. She said she would marry me.

The reality was that she found someone new and used me as a stepping stone for him.

Soren chuckled, leaning in provocatively.

"Sir, don't get so emotional. Sutton hates it when you're aggressive. If you keep this up, she'll definitely never marry you."

"I really do want to see you guys make up. After all, today was supposed to be the day you got your license, wasn't it？"

The mention of the license stung like a whip. I snarled, "It's not your place to speak. Get out of my house！"

Sutton grabbed his hand, her brow furrowed in disgust.

"I was going to ask you to apologize to Soren. Maybe I would have helped you out of pity for our past."

"But you're clearly beyond saving. Take this lesson and learn from it."

The door slammed, echoing through the empty house.

I looked around the room, still decorated for a celebration that would never happen. My heart felt hollow.

Hearts change so easily. Sutton's love for me had vanished in the blink of an eye.