Chapter 3

With that, she turned around without a single backward glance, letting another man wrap his arm around her waist as they walked back into the VIP room.

It was as if she had just swept away a piece of annoying trash.

Watching her retreat, my heart felt like it was being pricked by a thousand needles.

To make sure I wouldn't cause any more trouble, James and his crew tied me up tightly.

When the sky was just starting to turn gray, the door of the VIP room finally opened.

Lucy walked out, surrounded by the guys. Her face was flushed unnaturally, and her steps were a bit unsteady.

She frowned, looking disgustedly at the collar around my neck that they hadn't taken off.

She reached down, untied my ropes, and instinctively tried to touch my face.

"Let's go. If we hurry to the wedding venue now, we might still make it."

The next second, a suffocating wave of cologne mixed with another man’s scent invaded my nostrils!

My stomach churned. Pure instinct took over, and I violently slapped her hand away.

"Christian!"

Lucy’s hand froze in mid-air. The impatience on her face instantly turned into sharp fury.

"What the hell is your problem?!"

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and hissed through gritted teeth, "Lucy, the wedding is off."

Lucy’s pupils shrunk. "What did you say? Say that again?!"

"I said, we are done!" I spat out every single word.

Slap!

A heavy blow landed on my face. She used all her strength. My ears rang, and blood seeped from my lip again.

"Done?!"

"I have tolerated you for so long, giving you the chance to climb into my family’s social circle! And you dare to say we're done?"

"Christian, who do you think you are?! You’re just a blue-collar contractor who got lucky. Without me, you’re absolutely nothing!"

Looking at the woman in front of me and hearing her words, I felt nothing but bitterness.

When I first started dating Lucy, her family was on the brink of bankruptcy.

I was afraid she would feel insecure, so I hid my identity as the sole heir to the Franklin family fortune—the richest family in New York.

Instead, I quietly funded her family from behind the scenes to help them rise again.

Yes, the Fabian family was doing well now, but compared to my family, they were still peasants.

Who would have thought that my good intentions would end up being trampled on like this?

It was as hilarious as it was pathetic.

While I was lost in thought, Lucy grabbed my collar and dragged me forward like a dying dog.

"It seems you didn't learn your lesson last night! James!"

She turned and yelled.

James and the fat guy strolled out of the next room, holding cigarettes, their faces wearing exhausted but cruel smirks after a night of indulgence.

"This loser is acting tough. He wants to call off the wedding. Keep teaching him a lesson!"

Lucy pointed at me, her eyes filled with pure malice.

"Break him until he submits!"

"You got it, babe. Easy!"

James sneered, grabbing me by the hair and dragging me toward the pitch-black alley at the back of the club.

The fat guy and another bald guy immediately stepped up, pinning my arms.

"Take him to the back alley! It’s quieter there!" Lucy’s cold voice echoed from behind.

The back alley of the nightclub was piled with garbage and rusty crates.

They threw me onto the concrete floor like a sack of garbage.

"Loser, I gave you a chance, but you just had to ask for death!"

"I heard your construction site is rushing a deadline? You're almost out of materials, right?"

James squatted down with an ugly smirk, flicking a lighter right in front of my eyes.

"Do you believe that with one phone call, I can make sure your newly ordered shipment of materials... turns to ashes before sunrise?"

My chest tightened. That batch of materials wasn't just about the project deadline; it affected the livelihoods of my entire construction crew!

"If you touch my things, I swear..." I warned, my eyes bloodshot.

"You swear what?" The fat guy laughed mockingly, pulling a thick iron pipe from the trash heap.

He weighed the pipe in his hand, taking slow steps toward me, his eyes locking onto my right leg.

"A dirty contractor trying to play the hero?!"

"Looks like we really need to show you how things work. Broken arm or broken leg? You choose."

A chill ran down my spine. These psychopaths were actually capable of doing it. I gritted my teeth and roared,

"Don't you dare!"

"Why wouldn't I dare?" The fat guy spat, raising the iron pipe high and aiming straight for my knee.