Chapter 1 The engagement between Manhattan elite's two most powerful families sent shockwaves worldwide. But on the engagement night, I caught my fiancé locking lips with his scholarship student backstage. "Maria Perez, it's not what you think." Gregory Jackson fumbled with his shirt buttons, ears burning crimson. I watched the girl hastily adjust her clothes and let out a scornful laugh: "Still making excuses? Think I'm blind?" I flung the engagement ring at his feet, my voice icy with threat: "Don't blame me if I warn you-every VIP is watching tonight." "Either honor our agreement, or... the Jackson group goes bankrupt!" He gritted his teeth, finally scooping up the ring with a choked "Fine." When the ceremony began, he took the stage in a crumpled suit. Before the glittering crowd, he walked straight past me and offered the ring to the girl feigning innocence behind us. "Maria, Ashley Adams's the only one I love." "Even if you destroy the Jacksons, I'll never marry a gold digger who clawed her way up!" The room erupted in chaos. Sneers and camera shutters nearly blew the roof off. And I became Manhattan elite's greatest joke. Watching him bend to kiss the woman he truly loved, my heart turned to stone. Since you betrayed me first, don't blame me for being ruthless! "Maria, the company's stock price has plummeted 30%." The assistant reported with trembling head. I stared at my phone screen; the top five trending topics were all dominated by the engagement party farce. 0.0 % 12:30 Chapter 1 11 288 Vouchers Under the hashtag #Manhattan elite's crown prince defies arranged marriage for love#, curses flooded the comments. "So what if you have a few stinking bucks? They clearly have true love, yet you forced the marriage? Shameless bitch, you deserve to be dumped!" "Gregory did great! Let this bitch know what retribution means!" "Maria's company should go bankrupt already! Such garbage doesn't deserve to exist!" Line by line, page by page, all accusations targeted me, this scumbag. I calmly scrolled until Gregory's new statement popped up. [Finally free. From now on, I'll run toward a new future with my true love.] The close-up showed him and Ashley holding hands, fingers interlaced. That engagement ring meant for us now adorned another's finger. I stared at those words forever, then suddenly laughed. "Notify legal to activate maximum compensation clauses immediately! Terminate all deals with the Jackson group!" The assistant's hand visibly shook, voice quivering: "Maria, shouldn't we issue an explanation statement first?" "Everyone online is cursing..." "What's there to explain?" I cut him off, slamming my phone on the table. "No need to keep tangling with a faithless man like that." Rubbing my throbbing temples, I sank deeper into the sofa. Memories flooded back. Five years ago, when the Jackson family faced bankruptcy, Gregory made a desperate bid at the auction to save their last ancestral mansion. The whole room waited to mock him. Only I saw the defiance in his eyes. I won the bid and gifted him the mansion outright. Back then, he had nothing. Clutching at me like a lifeline, he knelt at my feet and vowed: "Maria, if you help the Jacksons, I'll do anything." 30.7 % 12:30 Chapter 1 I chuckled softly, helping him up. "Fine. But you'll marry me." He gritted his teeth, anger flashing, yet his eyes shone with light. To save the Jackson group, I drank until my stomach bled at business dinners. He kept vigil by my hospital bed, eyes rimmed red. "Maria, never do this again." Seeing his gaze fixed solely on me, I thought it was worth it. I believed we were each other's destined salvation. I rebuilt his commercial empire with Perez resources and connections. Taught him to become a shrewd businessman. The Jackson group transformed from a teetering small firm into a top multinational corporation. But our relationship started to turn sour. He began resisting intimacy, rejecting my arrangements, even longing for the past's purity. That scholarship student Ashley appeared right then. He poured all his nostalgia onto this girl. One month before our engagement party, I warned him bluntly: "Gregory, I shouldn't need to explain this alliance's importance. Mind your boundaries." He toyed with his teacup, dismissing me carelessly: "Don't make mountains out of molehills. I just treat Ashley like a sister." - "Her family's struggling is helping her wrong?" I lowered my voice: "She's an adult. She can work." She suddenly smashed her cup: "It's different! When did you become so heartless?" "You're just a money-grubbing merchant now! Ashley's purer than you'll ever be!" That's when I realized: he wasn't the down-and-out heir who needed me anymore. He was desperate to shake off my control. 65.2 % 11 288 Vouchers 12:30 Chapter 1 I chose compromise, treating him as just another business marriage prospect. If he cooperated, everything would stay unchanged. But I forgot hearts shift easily. Especially men's. 1298 Vouchers 12:31 96.2 %