Lana quickly halted Zac and scolded him firmly in front of everyone, saying, "What hard work did he actually do? Zac, we've both been tirelessly seeking inspiration for the competition. Unlike him, sitting around in the office all day, wasting time, and not contributing anything new! I believe he's just run out of ideas and envies your talent. If he wants to quit, then let him!"

Watching her angry and ashamed expression, I sneered.

After six years together, I knew Lana really well. The more she felt guilty, the more she would use her anger to shift the topic. Even when Zac tried to provoke her before, Lana would not openly lose her temper and put me down. However, this time, as soon as she got to the office, she showed so much hostility towards me. There was definitely another reason behind it.

Coming back to my senses, I looked at her pregnant belly and immediately understood the reason.

She thought she could keep it from me that she was pregnant, but she had no idea that Zac had already privately shown off his achievements to me. I just did not bother to expose them.

Seeing me stay silent with my head down, Lana thought she had me wrapped around her finger. She coughed lightly, pulled me into her office, and softly comforted me, "Cruz, don't be jealous. My firing you was just for show. The company and I will both be yours in the future. By the way, how's the wedding planning going? I have good news for you. Weren't your family worried about my fear of marriage and children? I've overcome them and can give you a chubby, healthy son anytime!"

Lana had always manipulated me like this. If I did not know it was Zac's child, I probably would have already held her out of delight.

However, I did not expose her. Instead, I took out a wedding invitation and calmly said, "The wedding date is still the same. It's almost all done."

Thinking I was kept in the dark, Lana breathed a sigh of relief and said happily, "That's good. Take good care of the wedding arrangements. After the baby is born, I'll hand over the company to you and be a housewife."

I did not respond but silently opened the wedding invitation, looked at the name on it, and sneered.

She had no idea that I already had someone else as the bride, although the wedding was proceeding as planned.

The bride's name on the invitation was not Lana Piller. It was Mabel Dawson, my childhood sweetheart.

Lana always thought I had no other choice but her, which was why she always acted so superior, thinking she had me completely under her thumb. However, little did she know that I had always had a fiancé, and she was a genuine, wealthy heiress.

The Dawson family and my family had been close friends for generations. Mabel and I were childhood sweethearts, and our families had arranged a marriage between us since we were little. However, she chose to study abroad for college, while I unexpectedly met Lana, and we got together.

For years, I kept putting off our marriage, believing Lana was the one for me, and this strained my relationship with my family. Now, it seemed I was blind and misplaced my affections.

After I told my family and the Dawson family everything, Mabel did not mind and readily agreed to marry me. I was moved by Mabel and vowed to make her happy.

"Lana, I have something important to tell you..."

Just as I was about to break up with Lana, a shout came from outside the door. "Mr. Newton! Mr. Newton, why did you faint?!"

Hearing that Zac had fainted, Lana immediately rushed outside, helped Zac up, and pulled a bottle of spray from her bag.

"Zac, are you feeling better now? I'll take you to the hospital right away!"

Seeing this, Zac first glanced smugly at me before pretending to cover his chest and replying, "It's okay. Maybe it's just the fatigue from the competition that caused my asthma to flare up again."

Zac was fine, yet Lana was still worried and directly gave him sick leave, insisting on sending him to the hospital for treatment.

As expected, whenever it came to choosing between Zac and me, Lana would always choose him.

She even forgot that I had heart disease and could not work overtime but remembered to bring Zac's medicine with her and even insisted on sending him to the hospital for treatment in case they overlooked. She was so afraid of missing something that she wouldn't let go of the slightest possibility of something going wrong. When I had heart pain earlier, she said I was faking illness and should just tell her that I refused to work overtime.

I shook my head, planning to leave this troublesome place.

Just as I reached the company entrance and was about to wait for the bus, I saw Lana driving Zac away in her car at top speed.

It was the latest top-of-the-line Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. The down payment was paid with the savings I had accumulated over the years. I even chose the license plate personally.

Now, the car was covered with Zac's favorite comic characters. Lana had taken it over and made it Zac's championship gift.

I could not help but sneer.

Over the past six years, whether there was a typhoon or heavy rain, I always took the bus to work.

I told Lana that I was thinking about getting a used car for my daily commute to work and for business trips. However, she called me vain, saying I should not compare myself to others and should just concentrate on myself.

Every year when I went home for Christmas, I had to fight for train tickets. Knowing I had not bought a car, friends and relatives kept pressing me about it. Even though I explained that my commute to work was not far and driving would be wasteful, seeing everyone around me with a car still made me a little sad. Thus, I mustered up the courage to order a car for myself on my 30th birthday.

When Lana found out, she smashed my phone without a word. She called me out as wasting money without her permission, called me vain and materialistic, and then forcibly requisitioned it, claiming it was for company use.

Unexpectedly, it ended up becoming Zac's personal toy car.

If I were truly vain and materialistic, I would have broken up with her long ago, married a rich heiress, moved into a mansion, and driven a Maybach. Why would I endure the disdain of others at work, be gossiped about as a loser, and even scrimp and save to get married? I was even reluctant to smoke a pack of cigarettes.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts. This time, I did not take the bus, nor did I compromise on saving money this time. I took a taxi for the first time in a long time. I planned to go home and pack up Lana's things to avoid any more arguments after the breakup.

Soon, I arrived at my doorstep. It was a small apartment my parents had bought after years of hard work.

When they learned I was going to help Lana start a business later, they left me the key.

To help her save money, we moved here together. At least we would not have to worry about high rent fees anymore.

However, Lana never appreciated my kindness. Instead, she often complained about why we did not buy a bigger house, saying she had nowhere to hang her clothes.

I skillfully entered the password to open the door, but the lock instantly turned red and emitted a piercing beep.

'Why can't I unlock it?' I wondered when the door opened from the inside.

The next moment, I froze at what I saw inside. I did not recognize the people inside at all.

Not only were all my things gone, but the entire layout of the house had been completely changed.

After some inquiring, I learned that Lana had rented my house to Zac's relatives without my consent. She herself had rented another villa outside with Zac.

Honestly, I had been completely honest with Lana and had given her everything I had since we got together. For six years, I never asked her for a penny in rent. I treated her sincerely, yet Lana only regarded me as a sucker.

Seeing the completely different house, I immediately called the police and showed them the deed, saying the contract was invalid, and managed to drive out the tenants.

As soon as I closed the door, Lana immediately called me. "Cruz, did you go to the apartment to make a fuss and drive out the tenants?"

I had no intention of hiding it, so I admitted it right away.

Lana, on the other end of the line, paused for a moment before ranting, "Why did you drive out my tenants? Do you know how much I have to compensate them? How could you make such a big decision without consulting me?"

I felt speechless. "This was my parents' house. Do I need your permission to do something?"

Perhaps I had disobeyed her for the first time in a long time, Lana froze for a moment before sobbing, "Cruz, you've changed. You said before that you would do whatever I say, no matter what!"

I did not deny that I had changed, but it was Lana who had changed first.

Before starting her business, she was not so petty and scheming. Even if we only had a few hundred dollars left in our pockets and were so poor that we could only eat sandwiches on Valentine's Day, she still smiled sweetly.

Even after she started her business, she became increasingly erratic. I thought we would be family eventually, and Lana was indeed under a lot of pressure in the early stages of her business, so I always went along with her.

As the company grew, Lana changed. Especially after Zac came, she became even worse.

Now that I was not planning to marry her, I did not need to accommodate and compromise. With this in mind, I retorted, "Lana, weren't you the one who changed first? Why don't you talk about how much rent I've saved you over the years, how many orders I've brought in, and how much money I've made for you? What right do you have to criticize me?"

Hearing this, the person on the other end of the line paused for a moment before roaring, "You want me to pay rent? Cruz, I think you're just obsessed with money! Let me tell you, this tenant is Zac's relative. How is Zac supposed to face his friends and relatives now? You'd better hand over the house and ask them to move back in, or...we'll have to break up!"

This was Lana's method that had always worked for the past six years.

I was aiming for marriage earlier, thinking that all couples argued, and everyone needed time to adapt, so I tolerated it all.

However, after meeting and spending time with Mabel, I realized how stifling and miserable my life had been.

With that in mind, I just nodded and said, "Okay, let's break up then."

Lana was silent on the other end of the line.

After a long pause, she clenched her teeth and asked, "You're breaking up with me over this little rent? Is a run-down apartment more important to you, or am I?"

Before I could answer, Zac's voice suddenly came through the phone. "Lana, maybe we should just forget about it. I'll think of something else myself."