Chapter 1

At the World Aeromodeling Championship in Russia, my fiancée’s scale-model aircraft stunned the entire arena.

A local reporter interviewed her in Russian.

“Is it true, Miss Miranda Cole, that your gold medal is all thanks to your fiancé’s support?”

Miranda gave a cold, dismissive smirk.

“What does a vulgar, money-grubbing businessman know about cutting-edge science?”

“Everything I achieved today is because of Senior Wade Mercer’s tireless mentorship day and night.”

Under the blinding spotlights, she wrapped her arms around Wade in a tight embrace.

She thought I couldn't understand Russian.

She didn't know my grandmother was born and raised in Saint Petersburg.

She called me a vulgar businessman.

Yet, the winning model she brought to the competition was designed entirely by my hands.

To manufacture its ultra-precision components, I had built a dedicated production line from scratch, burning through half my net worth just to make her dream come true.

1.

The diamond ring slipped through my fingers and hit the carpet with a dull thud.

My heart sank straight into an abyss along with it.

Thunderous applause echoed through the auditorium, but all I could hear was the sound of my world shattering.

Miranda was still holding Wade tightly until another microphone was pushed in front of her.

“Excuse me, Miss Cole. Word has it your fiancé poured massive resources into your research. Don’t you have anything to say to him?”

“No,” Miranda snapped, her face twisting in pure annoyance at the interruption.

“My research is my own work. It has nothing to do with him.”

“But sources say he set up an entire manufacturing line just for your model…”

“He did that entirely on his own accord!” she scoffed in disgust.

“Besides, once that production line is running, isn't he the one cashing in?”

“I have places to be. This interview is over.”

With that, Miranda slipped her hand into Wade’s, and the two walked off the podium hand in hand.

My mind felt as if a bomb had gone off, completely paralyzed by the shock.

Miranda claimed the research was all hers.

Yet she had scrapped draft after draft, unsatisfied with every single concept until I spent an entire month redesigning the blueprints for her.

Once the exterior was finalized, I visited dozens of specialized factories across the country just to source aerospace-grade materials.

Some parts were so ridiculously precise that no supplier on the market carried them.

Seeing her in tears over the dead ends, I defied my family’s warnings and built a custom production line solely for her project.

To this day, that facility has swallowed half my fortune.

Breaking even is still nowhere in sight.

And now, Miranda told the press I only did it for the money?

I had never heard anything so absurd in my entire life.

She sneered at my vulgar wealth, claiming I couldn't hold a candle to her brilliant senior, Wade.

Yet without my money, she wouldn't even have qualified to stand on this global stage.

Deep down, I should have realized long ago that Wade always came first in her heart.

Whether we were shopping, grabbing dinner, traveling, or just watching movies at home, she constantly compared me to him.

In her eyes, Wade was flawless―a prodigy who earned his doctorate at a young age, with a glorious academic future ahead.

Meanwhile, I was just a rich heir who coasted on family money, devoid of any real talent.

That was why she spent every waking hour glued to him.

She even used my credit cards to book hotel rooms and order late-night takeout with him.

Whenever I confronted her, she would lash out and scream at me.

“Tyler Cross, is your brain completely wired in the gutter? Can't a man and a woman work together without you making it disgusting?”

“We are discussing academic research! Do you even know what science means?”

Watching their fingers intertwined now, I finally realized I truly didn't understand her definition of science.

If this betrayal was what she called science, then I was done.