Chapter 4

Watching her still holding Ryan, a desolate laugh escaped me.

I slowly took off the corsage from my chest and placed it on the table.

"Chloe, I'm not good enough for you. This engagement really shouldn't happen."

Seeing that I wasn't apologizing or begging for forgiveness, but actually daring to call off the engagement, Chloe instantly flew into a rage. She grabbed a nearby wine glass and hurled it at me.

"Get out!"

"Julian Sterling, if you walk out that door, you'll never marry me in this lifetime! Even if you kneel and kowtow to me a hundred times, I'll never want you again!"

*Crash!* The glass shattered on the floor, and blood trickled down my forehead, into my eye.

Chloe flinched, but she still didn't release Ryan. Her face was dark with anger as she snapped,

"Serves you right."

"Who told you to cause a scene on such a happy day? If you were even half as good at making me happy as Ryan is, we wouldn't even be engaged today."

At that moment, Chloe's eyes were filled with resentment, disappointment, and lingering regrets.

So that was why she had rejected my proposals time and again.

I could no longer bear to see the smug disdain in Ryan's eyes. I pushed through the crowd and strode out of the hotel.

This time, I had lost. Lost completely and miserably.

I'd sacrificed my health, my time, only to be another man's unresolved longing.

"Chloe, I'll grant you your perfect romance and moonlit nights."

When I reached the gate of our old estate, my father, Richard, was already waiting in the main hall.

He looked at me with deep, knowing eyes.

"Do you see clearly now?"

I knelt before him in shame. "I'm sorry, Dad."

For six whole years, I'd neglected the Sterling Corporation, leaving my father to toil day after day with his ailing body.

He even had to introduce clients and orders to Westbrook Pharmaceuticals for his useless son.

My father's tone was calm.

"It's not that I interfered with your marriage, son. The Westbrook family was never a good match."

"Years ago, old Mr. Westbrook conspired against Master Liam's family, killing all eighteen members and stealing their ancestral formula to make his fortune."

"For years, he's dealt in counterfeit drugs, cold-hearted and selfish. Everyone in high society knows."

I lowered my head in shame. When I returned from my studies in the US, I instantly fell for the lively and beautiful Chloe.

Listening to her soft, gentle voice, I was utterly captivated.

I thought she was different, a delicate and innocent young woman. How could she be ruthless?

But some things, deep down, never change.

"Dad, I agree to the arranged marriage. Please propose to the Thompson family."

My father immediately smiled.

"Good. I'll call old Mr. Thompson right away. Grace has been waiting for you, you know."

Then, he looked at me uneasily.

"Son, think this through carefully. Once you're allied with the Thompson family, you can never contact Chloe again. You mustn't let Grace down."

I nodded solemnly. I couldn't blame my father's doubts. After all, my pathetic devotion was infamous throughout the city, utterly without bottom line.

When the counterfeit drug scandal turned deadly, I stood in front of Chloe's father, taking three stabs and breaking my ribs for him.

I publicly apologized, voluntarily took the blame, even tarnishing the Sterling family's reputation.

When Chloe and Ryan's rumors spread, I was the one who stepped forward, claiming Ryan was like a younger brother to both of us, and that I'd asked him to look after Chloe.

Recalling all those past events, my face burned with shame. I spoke decisively,

"Dad, withdraw all resources from Westbrook Pharmaceuticals. From now on, I will never interfere in any of their affairs again."

The next day, my father spoke with Mr. Thompson about the arranged marriage. To my surprise, Grace came to find me that very evening.