Chapter 7

{Robert POV}

When I heard Diana had left the company, my face turned stormy.

I'd already humbled myself to placate her. She still wanted to fight. Now she was using the company to threaten me?

Cleo was picking up pieces of the broken ashtray. She said softly, "Mr. Hamilton, I made reservations at that trendy restaurant. Why don't you take Ms. York there for dinner? You could smooth things over."

I sneered. "Smooth things over? Encourage her tantrums? I want to see how long she keeps this up."

That night, I took Cleo to the restaurant instead.

Cleo was thrilled. She immediately posted about it on social media.

Photo: An elegant spread of dishes.

Caption: [Delicious and happy. Thank you to my CEO for taking me everywhere.]

I liked the post.

The public display caught my friends' attention.

Ewan Smith commented: "What's going on, Robert? Are you going public?"

Beau's message came almost immediately. [Robert, Diana's going to see this.]

Orion Geller replied right after. [So what if she sees it? A woman should stay home and take care of her husband. Is Robert supposed to spoil her forever?]

Jack Clark chimed in. [Exactly. You can't spoil women too much. When they need to be taught a lesson, you have to put them in their place.]

Orion kept fanning the flames. [That's right. I've got the most experience with this. I do whatever I want outside. My wife at home doesn't dare say a word. Robert, want me to help you come up with a plan to teach Diana a lesson?]

The comments grew increasingly crude. I'd liked the post to make Diana jealous. I hadn't expected these guys to be so vulgar.

I was about to tell Cleo to delete the post.

Then I saw Diana had liked it too.

[Nice crowd. Real lively. Let me take this opportunity to make an official announcement. Robert and I have broken up. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other. Don't mention our names together. If you do, I hope he dies badly.]

The comment section went silent.

My face darkened like a storm cloud. My fingers gripped the phone so hard the case nearly cracked. I immediately called Diana, my voice tight with barely controlled fury. [Diana, what are you doing? Bringing up breaking up again? How far are you going to take this?]

All I heard was a busy tone.

No answer. She'd completely cut me off.

{Diana POV}

After I posted the comment, I started deleting Robert's so-called friends from my contacts. One by one. No hesitation.

My phone rang. It was Bella.

She was furious the second she answered. "Are those men insane? And Robert's even worse. He's letting those losers trash you like that?"

I listened to her rant. I laughed softly. My voice was cold as ice. "He's rich and powerful now. Of course he's arrogant. He's gotta enjoy being worshipped, right?"

"Worshipped my ass! When he finds out who you really are, he's gonna regret it until his guts rot. You pushed James away for this trash. James—do you know who he is? How is he not better than this garbage in every way? What were you thinking?"

At the mention of James, I went quiet. I couldn't stop the image that surfaced in my mind. That handsome, aloof face. Always distant.

James…

"Seriously. When you gave up your engagement to James for Robert, did you ever regret it?"

I was silent for a long time. Finally, I spoke, my voice calm but heavy with exhaustion. "Even if I'd married James, it would've been a business arrangement. You come from wealth. You know better than anyone—most arranged marriages end in misery. I can't assume I'd have been happy with him. The only thing I regret is hurting my grandfather and my sister for Robert."

"Fair point. After all, you were already with Robert when the engagement was arranged. If you'd dumped someone you really loved for money and status, I would've lost respect for you. Anyway, forget that. Did you get Robert to sign the share transfer consent form?"

"I did."

"Impressive!" Bella sounded amazed.

Right now, Apex Global Enterprises was booming. Its market value was skyrocketing. There was no way Robert would willingly let go of over half the shares.

Bella teased, "I'm just now realizing you're not completely useless."

I sighed dramatically. "My stellar reputation, completely destroyed by that scumbag Robert."

Bella laughed. "Just wait. I'll be back tomorrow. There's a charity auction tomorrow. I booked a private box. We'll go, have some fun, and talk business."

"Okay."

Not long after I hung up, the photo studio called to remind me not to forget tomorrow's wedding photo shoot.

My tone was flat. Emotionless. "Cancel it. Keep the deposit. Consider it compensation for your trouble."

The staff member was clearly stunned. My wedding with Robert had been planned extravagantly. The photo shoot was a big deal. They'd been preparing for ten days. Canceling now was completely unexpected.

The staff member asked cautiously, "Ms. York, may I ask why? When you say cancel, do you mean postpone or terminate completely?"

"Terminate completely."

The staff didn't dare ask more questions. After a pause, they asked, "Should we notify Mr. Hamilton on your behalf?"

"No need."

That man was probably too wrapped up in his new lover to remember the photo shoot anyway.

{Robert POV}

I really had forgotten.

After dinner with Cleo, I took her and a group of friends to a bar. We partied until three in the morning.

The next morning, Tom's call woke me up.

"Mr. Hamilton, today's the day you scheduled the wedding photo shoot. It starts at nine. You have an hour. Don't forget."

"Got it."

I tossed my phone aside. My mind was blank for a full minute. Then I sat up suddenly.

The wedding photo shoot.

Diana hadn't reminded me.

But that was fine. She'd been planning this wedding for three months. She was dying to marry me. She was definitely waiting for me at the studio right now. I had to hurry. I couldn't keep her waiting.

I showered quickly, changed into my custom groom's suit, and styled my hair. When I walked into the living room, Nancy stared at me like she'd seen a ghost.

"Sir, why are you dressed like that? Are you attending a wedding? If it's a friend's, you should dress more low-key. Otherwise, people will think you're trying to steal the spotlight."

"What spotlight? I'm going to take wedding photos!"

Nancy looked even more shocked. "But Ms. York burned her wedding dress. I thought you weren't getting married anymore."

"What did you say?" My face darkened. I couldn't believe it. "Are you sure she burned it?"

"Absolutely." Nancy nodded seriously.

My vision went black. My legs felt weak. I immediately called the studio to confirm whether Diana had shown up. The staff's tone was certain. "Ms. York officially canceled the shoot."

I panicked completely.

I frantically dialed Diana's number. All I got was a system message. She'd blocked me.