Chapter 3

I had genuinely intended to walk away clean and let them have each other.

I never expected them to team up and rob me of every single penny I owned!

Chloe screamed viciously, "Dylan was brilliant back then! If you hadn't framed him, how could he have ended up a cripple?"

"Even if I knew about his struggles early on, what's wrong with me securing your house, your car, and your savings to give him a safety net?"

"You and I owe him this! It's payback!"

Blind with rage, I lunged forward, grabbed her by the throat, and slammed her against the wall.

"After everything I gave you over the years, even a stray dog would know to wag its tail at me! But you? Chloe Brooks, how can you be this heartless?!"

Chloe's face flushed a deep purple as she clawed frantically at my hands.

"Let go... you psychotic maniac... You'd lay your hands on your own girlfriend..."

Terrified, Dylan rushed over, shoved me back with all his might, and caught her as she stumbled.

Chloe collapsed into his arms, sobbing hysterically.

Dylan raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the cheek. "It's all my fault! It's my fault for failing to protect you and making you suffer!"

Chloe grabbed his wrist in panic, refusing to let him hit himself again.

"What are you doing?! None of this is your fault! The only monster here is Julian Vance!"

Dylan held her tight, his voice thick with sorrow. "If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have asked for the house or the car. I can't bear watching you get hurt for me."

He paused, a look of faux anxiety creeping across his face. "But you know I can't keep any assets under my name. My mother's loan sharks won't leave us alone!"

Chloe turned back to me with a tense, strained smile.

"Julian, didn't you always want to marry me? Fine. I can divorce Dylan right this second and marry you! But on one condition: you have to help us safeguard our assets. How about we sign a prenup?"

Her voice grew more excited the more she spoke. "The house, the car, and the savings belong exclusively to Dylan and me. You won't be entitled to a single cent. It has to be written clearly into the agreement."

"You're young and healthy. You can easily earn all that money back later. You proposed to me so many times and lost face, right? Well, this time, I'll be the one to propose to you! That should heal your bruised ego. How about it? Do you accept?"

She looked at me expectantly, as if she would explode the moment I dared say no.

I genuinely couldn't fathom the twisted logic inside her skull. How could she possibly believe that I, Julian Vance, would still want a married woman who had used me?

When she didn't get an immediate answer, her expression darkened into venomous rage.

"Julian Vance! Don't you dare push your luck! I'm not negotiating with you, I'm informing you! I'm offering to marry you—isn't that your lifelong dream come true? What more do you want?!"

"Think about it! You crippled Dylan! You destroyed his job and his income! Giving him a house and a car is nothing! Everything he owns—including me—technically belongs to him, but you're the one getting to use it all every day! What right do you have to complain?!"

I had never encountered someone so utterly delusional in my entire life.

As she kept screeching in my face, I grabbed my coat off the rack and slammed the door behind me.

The next morning, I grabbed a coffee outside the office and casually scrolled through my phone.

My notifications blew up. Coworkers were spamming the company group chat with endless messages and photos.

I tapped inside. Chloe and Dylan were dressed in black and white formalwear, hosting a lavish fifth-anniversary wedding banquet right inside the corporate dining lounge.

By the time I walked into the lounge, the employees were already buzzing with whispers.

"Why is Chloe's ex here? Who invited him?"

"Ex? More like side-piece! Chloe's celebrating her fifth wedding anniversary today!"

"Imagine being the side-piece and losing to a crippled guy. How does he even show his face here?"

I curled my lips into a cold, indifferent smirk and kept walking.

Looking up, I spotted Chloe aggressively dragging Dylan around, shaking down every employee for cash gifts.

She shouted at the top of her lungs, "Who else hasn't sent us an anniversary gift? Hurry it up! I'm the company's top sales champion and the biggest contributor here! It won't be long before the VP of Sales seat is mine!"

"Today is my fifth wedding anniversary with my husband! I brought him here so you can all meet him! Once I get my promotion, I'll create a cushy executive role for him, and you'd better listen to every word he says!"

"Five years of marriage! My love for my husband is unshakable! I'll give him everything I have as long as it makes him happy!"

Tears streamed down Dylan's face in theatrical gratitude. He took Chloe's hand and kissed her knuckles over and over.

Watching the long line of employees being coerced into sending cash via PayPal, I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Who authorized you to host a private party on company property?!" I bellowed. "And who gave you the nerve to extort money from the staff?"

The lounge fell dead silent.

Chloe's face twisted with fury. "Julian Vance! You're just bitter because you can never have me! You're a low-level clerk in procurement—what right do you have to talk back to the company's top producer?! Security! Drag this loser out of here!"

Suddenly, the heavy thud of rapid footsteps echoed from the corridor.

"I dare anyone to lay a finger on him!"

A man in a sharp suit flanked by dozens of burly bodyguards marched into the lounge, breaking the tension like thunder.