Chapter 1

I had carefully prepared the engagement ceremony, and big names from politics and business were all here, giving the Bell family plenty of face.

But as the ceremony was about to begin, the Bells still hadn’t shown up.

And now my fiancée, Emily Bell, wanted to destroy the engagement and marry some random male best friend named Evan Brooks.

A fraud pretending to be me? Ridiculous!

“I’m the Grant family heir!” I said flatly.

“You say you’re the heir to the billionaire Grant family?”

Evan burst out laughing. “You eat and live off the Bells. This billionaire thing of yours—does it even check out?”

“Michael Grant, you think because your last name is Grant, you’re the billionaire’s heir?”

The girls around Emily pointed at me and cursed.

They surrounded me and took turns mocking me without mercy.

“Exactly. You’re a cripple—can you even stand? And you think you’re worthy?”

“Guys like him can’t even stand up. Even if he gets married, he’ll still be getting cheated on every day!”

“Bro, if I were you, I’d hurry up and curry favor with the Grant family heir. Trade the fiancée for money and a future. Worth it!”

Even the people who had been watching for fun jumped in and started flattering Evan.

A whole flock of ducks, all quacking at once...

So noisy!

I looked at Emily. “This engagement was your parents’ idea. Are you sure you don’t want to go through with it?”

Emily bit her lip, looking a little torn.

Evan shoved her behind him. “What century are you living in? ‘Your parents’ idea’? The law says marriage is about freedom. Are you some old fossil from the countryside trying to go against the law?”

“Emily and I are independent, free souls. Our love—no one can stop it, not even if the heavens themselves come down!”

Evan spoke with such righteous confidence, but I only looked at Emily.

The Bell family had gotten to where they were today by riding on the back of my lifesaving debt.

I didn’t believe that Emily, the Bells’ only daughter and future head of the family, didn’t understand what her marriage really meant.

“Emily, you tell me.”

I ignored Evan. He was just a clown.

“I’m not marrying you, Michael Grant. You’re nothing but a country bumpkin. You want to marry me? Keep dreaming!” Emily’s face twisted with disgust. “If my parents didn’t think so highly of you, do you really think you’d even be standing here?”

The cruelty on her face was something I had never seen before.

Every time we met before, she had been gentle and considerate.

To hold this engagement banquet, I hadn’t picked a venue in Harbor City. I had bought this hotel in Sage City outright and renovated it just for this event, spending tens of millions, all so she and her parents could look good.

But judging by what Emily was doing now...

“Then the engagement is off!” I turned my wheelchair and prepared to leave.

The marriage alliance between the Bell and Grant families was my repayment to the Bells.

Back then, I had been in a car accident on the road, and Mr. and Mrs. Bell had saved me.

So when they brought up the marriage alliance, I agreed without a second thought.

Marrying the Bells’ only daughter and pulling the nearly bankrupt Bell family under my protection was more than enough repayment for that lifesaving favor.

But now, Emily wanted to cancel the engagement.

“Emily, take care.”

Without the engagement, my duty to protect her was gone too. Whatever storms came next, I hoped she could face them on her own.

I turned my wheelchair and was about to leave.

“Take care of your damn self, you bastard!” Evan suddenly lashed out and kicked my wheelchair over.

“You one-legged frog pretending to be some big shot. Pathetic and fake.”

“You’re coming at me with that act? I’ll teach you what real power looks like!”