Chapter 3

Kevin, not understanding what I meant, leaned his head forward slightly.

"SMACK!"

A thunderous slap echoed across the entire ballroom, immediately followed by Kevin's pathetic, high-pitched howl of pain.

I slowly dusted off my hands, the corners of my mouth curling into a cold sneer:

"Remember that sting. Consider it your first lesson from a senior."

"Trust me, down the road, this slap will be the gentlest pain you ever endure."

Rachel instantly lunged forward, pulling Kevin behind her as she shrieked at me, completely unhinged:

"Sean! Have you lost your damn mind?!"

"On your knees! Right now! Apologize to Kevin!"

I tilted my head, letting out a soft, contemptuous chuckle.

Casually flicking my wrist, I tossed the corporate phone high into the air, letting it plummet toward the marble floor.

Kevin threw himself forward like a desperate dog chasing a scrap of meat, hitting the floor hard on his knees and stomach, just barely catching the phone before it smashed.

Watching his pathetic scramble, I laughed coldly.

Unless they heard my voice on the other end of the line, I'd bet my life savings that not a single Fortune 500 board member would ever take a call from that device.

Besides, every single contact in that directory was already etched into my brain.

"I told you, I've already resigned from the director position," I said calmly.

"I won't be cleaning up this company's messes ever again."

Casting one last icy glance at Rachel, I turned on my heel and strode out of the gala ballroom.

Rachel's eyes burned with a rage that seemed ready to explode.

I was utterly sick of breathing the air in that toxic dump.

Spending even one more second near Rachel felt like dragging myself through mud.

Exiting the venue, I walked along a quiet pedestrian path, letting the cool evening breeze clear my head.

Before I knew it, I had wandered into a quiet waterfront park.

Sitting on a park bench facing the rippling lake, memories of my very first meeting with Rachel crept unbidden into my mind.

Back then, I was a wide-eyed idealist who wanted to revolutionize the supply chain, determined to bring genuine, top-quality products to the wider market.

But reality was brutal, especially for a guy from a humble, small-town background.

I had zero pedigree, zero connections—and in business, zero connections meant nobody would ever look at your product, no matter how good it was.

I thought about my family's high hopes, about the endless nights I had spent studying under dim lamps just to make a difference and send resources back home.

Yet after years of clawing my way up, I hadn't managed to catch a single break.

The park that night had been pitch black, resembling the dead-end path of my life.

Despair had crept in, whispering dark thoughts of ending it all.

Drowning in the cold lake, bloated and breathless...

God, it had felt terrifying.

Right at that lowest moment, Rachel had jogged down the path in her workout gear. Seeing me sitting there, she had warmly invited me to run with her.

"No matter how tough life gets, as long as you keep moving forward, there's always a way out," she had said with a gentle smile. "You look lost. Don't worry about the destination—just finish the run."

After we finished, she pressed a scrap of paper with her number into my hand.

"If you ever hit a wall, you can always reach out to me!"

I remembered how she had carefully guarded my dignity back then, how soft and kind she had seemed.

At that moment, a blazing sun rose in my dark world.

That sun was Rachel. Just thinking about her gave me endless fuel to keep pushing.

Later, through sheer grit, I finally earned the trust of a senior Fortune 500 executive, which opened the floodgates.

Suddenly, any material or product I backed received immediate corporate greenlights.

Right when my career hit its zenith, Rachel heard of my reputation and called me, begging me to save her struggling little startup.

When I joined, I looked her in the eyes and promised, "I will build this company into an industry giant."

Step by step, I made that promise a reality.

I ran myself ragged, drinking with corporate boards, negotiating with cutthroat suppliers, pulling her company out of the gutter and marching it all the way to an IPO.

I scoffed at the memory.

In truth, I had sensed the cracks long ago.

Kevin had been Rachel's college sweetheart.

She had been head over heels for him back then, and Kevin had entertained her affections because she came from some money.

Later, when Rachel inherited a failing, debt-ridden small business with no clear future, Kevin realized there was nothing left to milk. He used studying abroad as an excuse to ghost her completely.

Now that the company was a cash cow, he had naturally returned out of nowhere.

Even though Rachel and I were legally married, Kevin was still her untouchable white knight.

No matter how hard I bled for her, it couldn't compete with a single sweet whisper from Kevin.

And tonight, she had casually handed over the empire I built with my bare hands to him.

It was crystal clear now: Kevin had always owned her heart.

There had never been room for me. Not even a sliver.

I saw it all with brutal clarity.

Lifting her worthless startup to the peak of the corporate world had given her a magnificent dream.

It was time for the dream to end. She was an ordinary, ungrateful person who had been shown the view from the mountaintop solely because of me. I had paid my dues in full.

I pulled out my personal phone.

There was only one contact saved in it: Rachel.

There was no point in holding onto the past.

"Plop."

I tossed the phone into the dark lake.

Just like the memories, let it sink to the muddy bottom.

I was my own sun.