Chapter 2

Before long, the door of the lounge was pushed open.

A tall young woman walked in, surrounded by a group of bodyguards, and Vincent immediately put on an attentive expression as he went up to greet her with movements that were natural and familiar.

“Mandy, you’re here. This Mr. Carter has a ‘tiny’ issue with the agreement.”

“You are Mandy Young, my fiancée?”

I carefully looked over the woman in front of me, and I had to admit that she was indeed beautiful.

She was nearly five-foot-seven, and her luxurious gown wrapped perfectly around her flawless figure.

If I had to find one flaw, it could only be that her gaze toward me was too cold, while when she exchanged glances with Vincent, there was a faint intimacy that was hard to notice.

“Miss Young, since this is our first meeting, please allow me to briefly introduce myself.”

“My last name is Carter, and my first name is Ash, and I am from the Ko—”

“No need!”

Before I could finish speaking, Mandy impatiently raised a hand to cut me off while naturally accepting the wine glass Vincent handed her.

“I have absolutely no interest in who you are. You only need to remember that once you are in the Young family, you will follow Vincent’s arrangements in everything.”

I had wanted to state my background so that she would restrain herself a little, but I never expected this arrogant young lady to refuse to even let me finish speaking.

From her eyes and her tacit interactions with Vincent, it was not hard to see that her heart already belonged to someone else, and I was nothing more than an inconvenient symbol in this arranged marriage.

“Miss Young, although you and I have never met, and this engagement was our parents’ idea.”

“But you will not even let me finish speaking, and isn’t that a little too disrespectful?”

As soon as I said that, my fiancée’s expression changed at once, as if she had heard some kind of joke.

“Respect?”

“Carter, you need to understand your own position. Respect is for useful people, not for a... ‘decoration’ like you.”

My fiancée gave me a contemptuous glance and let out a cold snort.

“I can tell you clearly that if my father had not insisted on forcing me to get engaged to you, I would not even bother to glance at some random man like you who came out of nowhere!”

At the end, she suddenly raised her voice, as if she were saying it for Vincent beside her to hear.

“And after you sign the agreement, you may be my husband in name, but in reality, stay away from me. Vincent is enough to worry about my affairs.”

I stared hard at her, then swept a glance at Vincent, whose lips held a smile, and my tone carried not a trace of emotion.

“Since Miss Young is so unwilling to get engaged to me, why make yourself suffer?”

As I spoke, my tone suddenly changed.

“Why don’t... we cancel the engagement, which would be good for you, for me, and for your... ‘capable assistant.’”

I had wanted to resolve this peacefully, but the self-righteous woman in front of me could not listen at all and instead thought I was mocking her.

“You useless loser, stop playing games with me!”

“Do you know how many men in New York are lining up to marry me?”

Instead of getting angry, I laughed.

“Miss Young, I do not care what other people think. I simply feel that since you two are in love, why should I step in and make myself a nuisance?”

“As for Mr. Young, I will personally explain everything clearly to him, so you do not need to worry about that.”

After several exchanges, the entire lounge immediately erupted into an uproar.

“My God, is this guy stupid? He actually offered to call off the engagement? Isn’t he pushing away wealth and glory that were already in his hands?”

“Exactly. Miss Young is the goddess in the hearts of so many men in New York, and this idiot has no idea how lucky he is.”

“If it were me, I would probably wake up laughing from my dreams if I could get engaged to the Young family’s heiress.”

The doubts around me kept coming, but I did not care at all.

In families like ours, marriage was never only about matching status, and loyalty and dignity mattered even more.

It was obvious that this wealthy heiress, whose relationship with her assistant was murky and ambiguous, was not only not my type, but was also trampling on the dignity of both families.

Even now, I still remembered the way Mandy’s father, Michael Young, the CEO of Young Enterprises, had treated my grandfather with deep respect.

During a meeting that lasted less than half an hour, sweat had been beading on Michael Young’s forehead the entire time, as if he were afraid of saying a single wrong word.

I guessed he still did not know that the protection he had begged so hard for, as well as his family’s dignity, were being trampled underfoot by his daughter and this ill-intentioned assistant.

“Carter! I will ask you one last time, are you truly going to break off the engagement with me?”

I slowly raised my head and met her eyes, my gaze firmer than ever before.

“Without question. I will accept neither this engagement nor this ridiculous agreement.”

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