Chapter 4

I saw Vivian's pupils contract. She froze.

In the past, I had walked on eggshells just to please her parents.

She probably never expected me to talk back like this.

"If Ethan doesn't want to go, let's not force him," Julian said softly from the side. "He has been shut out from society for years because of his condition. It might be uncomfortable for him to attend such a large event."

He put a nasty emphasis on "his condition."

Vivian stayed silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "It's your celebration, Julian. You call the shots."

Then she turned back to me, her voice cold.

"Let me tell you something, Ethan. Even if we break up, I will be the one to announce it, not you."

"As long as I haven't called it off, you are still my fiancé!"

"You guys," she ordered the bodyguards at the door, "keep an eye on him. He is not allowed to leave this house."

Vivian was incredibly proud. Being dumped by a disabled man was a massive blow to her ego. But I didn't expect her to put me under house arrest.

I thought about it and decided to go to the gala after all.

Julian's words actually reminded me of something. Since the Sterlings cared so much about their reputation, seeing me "unfit for society" at the gala would make them force Vivian to break up with me even faster.

I didn't care who officially called it off, as long as we broke up.

It was better than being locked up at home.

When I arrived at the hotel ballroom, the sheer scale of the event shocked me.

It was far more luxurious than our planned engagement party.

The buzzing room fell silent for a few seconds when I rolled in.

Especially Vivian's parents. Their faces turned incredibly grim.

A security guard immediately rolled me to a dark corner and held onto my wheelchair, preventing me from moving.

I spent the entire night watching Vivian and Julian laugh and socialize.

When the gala finally ended, the guards wheeled me to Vivian's parents in a private lounge.

The moment I stopped, a sharp slap stung my face.

Mr. Sterling glared at me, his face twisted in rage. "A useless cripple like you dared to cancel the engagement publicly? You made a laughingstock of the Sterling family!"

"If word gets out that Vivian was dumped by a cripple, what respectable bachelor would ever marry her?"

"Do you forget how you got this engagement in the first place? If not for that accident three years ago, you wouldn't even be worthy of wiping our shoes!"

I looked at Vivian. She stood there quietly, watching me get insulted without saying a word.

At that moment, my heart completely died.

For Vivian, I had tolerated her family's abuse for years.

But not anymore.

"And whose fault is it that I became a cripple?" I snapped back, my voice echoing in the room.

"You call me a cripple over and over again. But if this 'cripple' hadn't blocked that weapon three years ago, your precious daughter would be six feet under by now!"

I slammed the joystick of my electric wheelchair forward, driving straight at them.

"Today, I'll show you that even a cripple can make you crawl on your knees to apologize!"