Chapter 3

The Manhattan night sky was illuminated as bright as day by a dazzling display of fireworks erupting over the Bennett Estate.

As Julian and I stepped into the grand banquet hall of the estate, we were instantly engulfed by the blinding flashes of dozens of top-tier media outlets, completely exposing us to every elite, aristocrat, and socialite in New York.

At the head table in the center of the hall, Chloe sat poised in a flawless white haute couture gown. Damian stood right behind her, playing the part of the fiercely loyal bodyguard. With her chin tilted high, she looked like a noble, compassionate goddess, her eyes locked onto Julian and me with absolute certainty.

"You're finally here."

Chloe let out a soft sigh, her manicured finger tapping the two thick trust agreements laid out on the table.

"The entire press is watching, and my patience has its limits."

Her gaze drifted between Julian and me, her tone laced with a sense of entitled arrogance. "Sign it. Transfer 30% of your respective equity into a fund under my name. I will find a suitable manager for this trust to ensure this money remains untainted by your toxic need for control."

Everyone in the room had witnessed the lengths Julian and I used to go to. They were all holding their breath, waiting for the two hungry wolves of Wall Street to tear each other apart over this beautiful woman.

"Sign it, and prove to me that you can give up everything for love." Chloe offered a faint smile, her eyes retaining that aloof superiority. "Whoever signs first gets to marry me."

Evidently, the words I had used to pacify her legal officer had been relayed back to her, leaving her utterly convinced of our undying devotion.

In the dead silence of the hall, Julian suddenly lowered his head, letting out a sharp, abrupt chuckle. The sound was incredibly jarring in the vast expanse of the room.

"Julian?" Chloe frowned slightly, seemingly displeased by this discordant reaction.

Julian pinched the corner of the agreement in front of him.

Riiip—!

The violent sound of tearing paper shattered the tranquility of the banquet hall. Gasps rippled through the crowd; even the reporters froze, completely forgetting to hit their shutters.

"Julian! Are you out of your mind?!" Chloe shrieked, jumping to her feet like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.

"What a coincidence. The Sterling family thinks your hands are too dirty to touch our money." Julian dramatically swept his arm upward, sending a shower of shredded paper raining down on Chloe's flawlessly made-up face. His gray-blue eyes were filled with an icy, bone-chilling disdain. "The Sterling Corporation is pulling out of this ridiculous bidding war."

The entire hall erupted in an uproar!

Chloe’s exquisitely delicate face flushed crimson instantly. It was a kind of public humiliation she had never endured in her entire pampered life. She bit her lip hard, a flash of pure, incredulous anger surging in her eyes before rapidly morphing into intense grievance.

Her eyes reddened in a split second, and large tears began tracing paths down her innocent cheeks.

Growing up, whenever she cried, no matter what her demands were, Julian and I would always cave in and agree.

"Fine... just fine..." Chloe choked back a sob, immediately assuming a heartbreaking victim persona. She glared fiercely at Julian as he turned to leave. "Julian, do you really have to go to such extremes to get my attention in front of everyone?"

She clenched her fists tightly. "If you dare walk out those doors today, I swear I will never speak to you again! You know perfectly well that even if I chose Arthur as my husband tonight, you would still be my most irreplaceable knight! Why are you forcing my hand like this?!"

Julian didn't even break his stride.

Like a punch landing on cotton, her tantrum had zero effect. Chloe was completely flustered now.

Desperately clinging to her last, sturdiest lifeline, she whipped her head around and locked her tearful, innocent eyes directly onto me.

At that very moment, the piercing camera flashes and hundreds of eyes instantly locked onto me.

Hidden in the shadows, Damian's hands clenched into tight fists, the veins bulging on the back of his hands—a telltale sign of his ravenous greed for the money.

"Arthur..."

Chloe looked up at me, her voice softening into a pitiful whimper. "Did you see that? This is exactly the toxic control I was talking about. You're the only one who truly understands me, aren't you? You promised me... you wouldn't bear to leave me all alone to face a world this ugly, right?"

With a practiced, effortless elegance, she slid the custom Montblanc gold pen over to my side of the table. Smiling through her tears, she waited for me to step up and sweep away all her embarrassment—just as I had done for the past ten years.

I looked at her quietly, slowly stood up, and extended my long fingers toward the gold pen.

The smirk on Chloe’s lips widened, a flicker of triumphant, "I knew it" arrogance flashing in her eyes. Behind her, Damian was so thrilled his Adam's apple bobbed wildly, half of his body leaning eagerly out of the shadows.

I grabbed the pen, and then... loosened my grip.

Clack.