Chapter 3

"Hey, don’t leave yet, Ethan! By the way, a handsome guy like you—do you have a girlfriend? How come I’ve never seen you…"

"I’m single."

Dropping that reply, I stood up and headed for the breakroom.

To my surprise, the moment I stood up, my eyes locked with Victoria’s. Julian was standing right behind her.

I lowered my eyes, pretended not to see them, and walked right past.

After filling my mug with water, I turned around and saw Victoria already standing at the door.

"What did you mean by what you just said?"

I avoided her gaze and gave a faint smile. "Nothing. Just talking nonsense."

"Ethan! Why did you say ‘maybe’? Don’t you know better than anyone who my boyfriend is? Why did you say you’re single—"

"And if I told them, then what? If I said I had a girlfriend, they’d dig until they got an answer. Victoria, would you really want me to say your name?"

I looked at her coldly, adding with complete indifference, "Isn’t this better for everyone?"

As I walked past her, I paused and said slowly, "Compared to having them know you’re with me, you’d much rather be linked with Julian anyway, wouldn't you?"

Victoria frowned. "Don’t listen to their gossip… You know I only see him as an older brother."

"Right. Got it. Could you excuse me?"

Seeing my detached attitude, Victoria scowled in frustration. "Why didn’t you drive the car I gave you today? You—"

I looked down into her eyes and said, "I don’t like using someone else’s leftovers."

"Ethan!"

I shrugged. "I’m talking about the car."

"Ethan, this is the biggest difference between you and Julian. You’re always so petty. You could never match his grace."

From that day on, Victoria stopped coming home.

She started a silent treatment against me, and honestly, I enjoyed the peace.

After all, I really needed some time to re-evaluate this broken relationship.

I thought it would take a while before she reached out again.

Unexpectedly, she showed up out of the blue, asking to take me out for dinner.

I agreed. After all, she would probably be called away halfway through the meal anyway.

"Ethan, I want to apologize. It was my fault for forgetting to pick you up that night."

Halfway through dinner, Victoria suddenly dropped those words, catching me off guard.

"Okay."

Victoria pouted, clearly dissatisfied with my lukewarm reaction.

"You’ve been so cold to me lately. If I don’t reach out, you never contact me… How are we even a couple?"

I looked at her with a half-smile. "You’ve been busy too, haven’t you?"

Her expression shifted. I shrugged and kept eating.

"Ethan, there’s something I need to inform you about."

I set my fork down and looked at her coldly.

"I’m planning to transfer thirty-five percent of the company’s shares to Julian."

My face instantly darkened. "Victoria! Are you out of your mind?!"

Startled by my sudden outburst, her face hardened too.

"What are you yelling at me for?! This is my company! I can give them to whoever I want. It’s none of your business!"

I let out a breath, trying my best to steady my voice. "Victoria…"

"I’m just here to inform you today. I’ve already signed the transfer agreement."

Hearing that, my vision went completely black. My body felt instantly drained, as if I were about to pass out.

I could see Victoria’s lips moving, saying something else, but I couldn't hear a word.

All I caught were fragments: "Julian," "sick," "his wish…"

Finally, Victoria looked down at her phone, a smile blooming in her eyes, and walked away.

I leaned back against the chair, an excruciating ache tearing through my chest.

Back when we started, Victoria claimed that fragmented shares would make it hard for her to maintain control, so she only gave me a measly one percent.

Now, she handed over thirty-five percent to another man without a second thought.

After everything, the company I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into was just handed away like garbage.

I closed my eyes and rested for a while before my senses slowly returned.

My phone rang. I answered, and my father’s deep voice came through.

"Have you made up your mind now?"