Chapter 1

My girlfriend of three years dropped a massive hint recently.

She told me that if I proposed to her on graduation day in front of the entire university, she would finally agree to marry me.

I went all out, preparing nine hundred and ninety-nine premium roses and a limited-edition red diamond that was the only one of its kind in the world.

I knelt in front of the crowd, heart on my sleeve, but she didn't just turn me down.

She publicly humiliated me, calling me a delusional loser who didn't know his place, before hopping into a Rolls-Royce with a balding, fifty-year-old creep.

I couldn't let it go without an explanation, but she refused to even look at me.

She just called later to say she'd arranged a low-level job for me at her father's company.

As for us, she said we belonged to different worlds and that I was nowhere near her league.

1.

I was so livid that I kicked a custom crystal coffee table worth fifteen million dollars, shattering it instantly, and hurled my encrypted military-grade phone across the room.

My butler, Winston, dropped to his knees in terror, begging me to calm down.

The bodyguards were even worse, literally crawling on the floor to pick up the pieces of my shattered device.

Their fear only made me more irritated, my temper flaring like a wildfire.

Winston scurried forward on his knees to take what was left of the phone, signaling the guards to get out of my sight.

"Young Master, please, listen to old Winston... Miss Townsend must have a reason for this," he stammered.

Under the weight of my icy glare, his voice trailed off until he lost all his confidence.

I let out a sharp, jagged sigh and sat back, waving a hand dismissively.

"Fine, Winston. Get up."

"Thank you, sir."

He braced himself against his thigh, shakily rising to his feet.

With a flick of my wrist, I gave him the order to have our people start aggressively squeezing the Townsend family's business interests.

As the sole heir to the Prescott empire, the most powerful family in the country, I wanted to see exactly who wasn't in whose league.

Once my rage had cooled slightly, I slipped out and hopped into my limited-edition Lamborghini before my parents could get home.

Winston was practically sprinting after me as I tore down the driveway.

"Young Master! You lost the bet with your parents! Where are you going?"

I cursed under my breath, flooring the accelerator toward the modest apartment I'd been renting to keep up my facade.

My parents had been dead set against my relationship with Taya Townsend from the start.

To make me see sense, they bet me that if I didn't reveal my identity and could still get her to marry me, they'd stay out of my business.

I thought I was on the verge of winning, but Taya had played me for a fool in front of the entire world.

I was already fuming, and the second I stepped out of my car at the apartment, my family's security team showed up to repossess my keys.

I tried to stop them, but the lead guard just bowed respectfully.

"Young Master, these are the Chairman's orders. Please, don't make this difficult for us."

Before I could even process my frustration, the balding creep who had taken Taya away appeared right in front of me.

He was dressed like a low-rent mobster from an old movie, leaning against his Rolls-Royce and blowing smoke rings with a greasy smirk on his face.

"So, you're the little boy-toy my woman was keeping on the side? Heh, you're nothing special."

"Playing dress-up as a rich kid, huh? 'Young Master'? Is that your stage name at the local strip club?"

He pulled out a pipe and spat on the ground right at my feet.

The goons flanking him burst into obnoxious laughter.

My eyes locked onto Taya, who was standing behind him.

Her small, doll-like face was completely drained of color, and her eyes were swimming with a deep, haunting sorrow.

She was dressed to match the creep, draped in gaudy, tasteless jewelry that looked heavy on her delicate frame.

She wouldn't even look me in the eye.

I caught the flash of panic in her expression and stepped forward, ignoring the goons.

"Taya, tell me the truth. Is this really what you want? Do you actually want to break up?"

Hearing my voice, her lip trembled, and tears began to stream down her face.

My heart tightened painfully. I cursed myself for still being so deeply in love with her, and I reached out to pull her into a hug.

But Taya flinched and took a sharp step back, pressing herself against the balding man's side.

The man beamed with pride, pulling out his phone and making a loud, performative call.

"Check the status of those projects the Townsends lost. I don't care how much they're in the hole; pay it all off from my personal account."

I could see the immense gratitude in Taya's eyes, but there was nothing else behind it.

The creep finished his call and wrapped a possessive arm around her waist.

My gaze darkened, but before I could move, Taya cut me off.

"Quinton Prescott, I'm getting engaged to Baron Zeller soon. Stop interfering in my life!"