Chapter 2

"This is my fiancée, Eleanor Hayes. She likes you, Mr. Vance."

"She likes your movie-star looks, your decisive demeanor in business, the mature charm that's settled in you over the years…"

Ethan's handsome face was pale with fury as he read the love letter I'd written to Dominic.

He’d helped me write the letter, and all my fancy jewelry and designer clothes were bought with his platinum card.

He skipped a major international meeting and drove me to the city's most exclusive restaurant, personally arranging a candlelight dinner, all to help me confess my feelings to Dominic.

Dominic let out a cold laugh. "Is today April Fool's Day?"

Ethan's jaw tightened in a visible struggle, as he tried to appear nonchalant. "I'm not kidding. Eleanor really likes you. I'm helping her pursue you."

"You can leave now. Don't interrupt my time alone with Mr. Vance." I coldly dismissed Ethan, watching him disappear into the heavy rain.

His back was lean and tall, more mature and charismatic than when I first met him ten years ago.

Back then, he was fresh out of college, interning at my father's company during summer break. His blue shirt was faded from washing, his eyes clear and stubborn, and he worked meticulously.

I saw his character and talent, promoting him from a poor kid to the youngest vice president.

"He says you like me, but your eyes clearly still love him," Dominic commented softly from beside me.

His face was strikingly handsome, his eyes deep and profound. He sat there, like a god veiled by mist.

Just then, Ethan looked up at us from downstairs.

I immediately, shamelessly, sat on Dominic's lap, wrapped my arms around his neck, and made it look like we were being intimate.

"I apologize, Mr. Vance. I had to pretend I wanted to pursue you because it was the only way I could get some alone time with you. My real intention is to discuss a partnership – I'm begging you, please drop Ethan and invest in me."

I didn't know if it was my imagination, but Dominic's eyes seemed to dim slightly.

"You should know, I'm signing a contract next week to invest five billion in Ethan Cole."

Of course, I knew time was critical! So I immediately pulled out the documents I'd brought, passionately introducing the company I had secretly founded.

"…I'm collaborating with university Ph.D.s. Our technology is more mature than Ethan's team's, and it's 100% capable of commercial incubation…"

Dominic flipped through the documents, a smirk playing on his lips. "Everyone says you're a 'love-brain,' but I never imagined your own company would be so impressive."

I forced a bitter smile. "My father is incredibly sexist. He doesn't have a son, so he'd rather hand the company over to a male relative—a nephew—than to me.

At first, I poured everything into mentoring Ethan, thinking we could run the company as a husband-and-wife team after we got married. But then he fell for Chloe Miller—my father's illegitimate daughter with his mistress!"

Dominic calmly reminded me, "The 'mistress' you refer to is now your father's legal wife, and Chloe is the pampered Hayes heiress, adored by your father. If Ethan marries her, he'll still get the Hayes Group."

That was what I resented the most!

I had poured my heart and soul into Ethan, only for it all to become Chloe's gain in the end.

Years ago, when Chloe and her mother officially moved in and took over, it gave my mother a sudden heart attack and she died.

I hated them! Ethan falling for Chloe was the ultimate betrayal!

"I want revenge on them, and now only you can help me. Drop Ethan, and invest in me!" My eyes burned with fervent pleading as I looked at Dominic.

But his gaze was cold. He gripped my waist and gently moved me from his lap to a nearby chair.

"I detest mixing personal feelings with business. Think clearly and then come back to me."

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