Chapter 1

On the day the company went public, my CEO fiancée was supposed to announce our engagement to the world.

Instead, during her keynote speech, she called her golden boy—who had joined the firm less than three months ago—up to the stage in front of the entire company.

Standing under the spotlight, their fingers intertwined. Julian looked down at me, smirking with pure triumph.

"I didn't want to make things official this early, but someone beside me insisted on giving me a title. I had no choice but to say yes."

Chloe glanced sideways at him. Not only did she not refute his claim, but her eyes were also brimming with affection.

She went so far as to sign over all the equity I had spent years sweating blood for directly to him.

"Without Julian, our company wouldn't be standing here today. Julian, I hope you will lead everyone to even greater heights from this day forward!"

The two put on a sickening show on stage, and the employees below erupted into cheers and applause.

Meanwhile, I sat quietly in my seat. No shouting. No drama.

I really wanted to see how far they could go.

Without me—their biggest financial lifeline—let's see just how "brilliant" their future turns out to be!

When Chloe handed the stock transfer agreement to Julian, my mind went blank.

The roar of applause and cheers in my ears pulled me back to reality. This wasn't a nightmare. It was happening.

"Wait, what's going on? Wasn't Cole the CEO’s man? How did it become Julian?"

"He hasn't even been here for three months, right? Talk about securing the bag—he's set for life!"

"Tell me about it. I almost feel bad for Cole. He busted his ass for this company for years, only to end up with nothing."

As the clapping faded, whispers rippled through the crowd. They didn't even bother keeping their voices down around me.

I knew they were purposely trying to humiliate me to kiss up to the new major shareholder.

"Cole, are you unhappy with Chloe's decision? Or... are you mad that I got these shares?"

Julian spoke in a timid, fragile voice, clutching the edge of Chloe's blazer as if seeking protection.

"I know I just got here, so it makes total sense that you'd resent me. But I'll work hard to earn your respect. I really hope you can just be happy for me today."

Julian’s manipulative speech made my head throb. I had been sitting there without saying a single word, yet he just had to play the helpless victim. He wouldn't be satisfied until I threw a public tantrum!

"Which of your eyes saw me being unhappy for you?"

"What's your problem, Cole? Who are you glaring at?" Chloe snapped, her tone turning ice-cold, though her eyes had just been melting with tenderness toward Julian a second ago. "Julian was being polite and considerate. What's with this attitude? Don't forget, he's going to be your superior from now on!"

In that moment, I realized just how laughable my five years of sacrifice had been.

"My superior? A guy who can't even get financial spreadsheets right? I wouldn't dare work under him."

"Shut up! Last time, the error happened because you handed Julian the wrong files! You were sloppy with your work, and now you're blaming him? Cole, where is your backbone as a man?"

I stared at the woman I had loved for five years, a deep chill creeping into my bones.

Julian had been with the company for two months. In that time, he had botched contracts three times, lost a major client, and made countless rookie mistakes.

Every single time, she blamed me. She claimed that as his manager, I hadn't trained him properly, which led to those pathetic blunders.

Even now, she firmly believed Julian was exceptionally talented.

And that I wasn't even fit to shine his shoes.

"It's fine, Chloe. I really am just a rookie. It's only natural that Cole is upset," Julian whimpered, his fingers gripping her wrist tightly, putting on a frightened act. "Please don't fight with him because of me."

"He's been screwing up lately and cost the company tens of millions! What right does he have to be upset?" Chloe scoffed. "Letting him keep his current title is already pure charity on my part. If he can't handle it, he's free to walk out that door. Though once he leaves me, good luck finding any firm willing to pay him this much or give him this kind of rank."

Looking at Chloe's smug, arrogant face, I let out a mocking laugh.

Her company was only able to go public because of the elite connections and massive funding I poured into it behind the scenes.

Now that she had made it to the top, she wanted to kick me to the curb, run the show herself, and hand my money and authority over to her boy toy?

Did she really think the world worked that way?

Ignoring their petty provocations, I stood up. Julian thought I was going to jump him, and his face turned dead white.

Chloe's eyes snapped into defensive mode immediately.

"Why are you both so terrified? Since you claim you're so capable, it hardly seems fitting for a major shareholder to sit in an assistant's desk. How about I just hand you my General Manager position?"

The moment those words left my mouth, every pair of eyes in the room locked onto me.

Nobody expected me to surrender the GM seat so easily.

The veterans at the company knew better than anyone: I had built this empire from a tiny two-person operation into a powerhouse with thousands of employees.

During the startup phase, I handled every single grind myself. The only reason I pushed myself to the brink of exhaustion was to be Chloe's strongest pillar.

Now that the company was thriving, everyone assumed Chloe would share the glory with me. Instead, she demanded I surrender my real authority.

Just last night, Chloe had curled up in my arms, sketching out our future and talking about going public with our relationship.

That night, I had been too excited to fall asleep.

I promised myself I would give her an even better life. Yet when the day finally came, the star of the show was Julian, and I was reduced to a nameless background prop.

Only then did I realize that this five-year romance was nothing more than my own one-sided delusion.

Chloe didn't hate grand gestures or public romances. She just didn't love me.

Without another word, I turned to leave. Chloe suddenly cut in front of me, blocking my path.

I paused.

Given how much she cared about saving face, she wouldn't normally bother chasing me in a setting like this. She knew that no matter how angry I got, I would never leave her.

Just when I thought she was going to ask me to stay, her next sentence shattered whatever illusion I had left.

"Cole, the company needs fresh blood. Those outdated methods of yours need to be phased out. I didn't actually want you to step down as GM, but since you offered, go ahead and hand over your authority."

I looked straight into her eyes and smiled faintly.

What a high-and-mighty speech.

In the past, I would have argued and defended myself. But now, none of it mattered anymore.

"Whatever you say."

Chloe's eyes widened in sheer disbelief at my casual reply.

An awkward silence hung in the air for a second before Julian’s sycophants broke it with loud congratulations.

Watching their cozy little celebration, I turned and walked straight out of the banquet hall.

The moment I stepped out the front doors, a sleek Rolls-Royce pulled up curbside. The chauffeur stepped out and bowed respectfully.

"Young Master, your father said you've had enough fun outside. It is time to return home and take over the family empire."