At the engagement banquet, my fiancé's female assistant plucked a half-eaten piece of broccoli from her plate and dropped it into his bowl.

Bruno Henson smiled, said nothing, and calmly ate it.

I didn't make a scene. I didn't raise my voice. I simply clapped my hands and had my assistant bring out a full bucket of kitchen slop from the back.

"Since you enjoy eating someone else's leftovers so much, why not have your fill?"

"Leave even a single bite, and this engagement is off."

——

The silence that followed was deafening.

Bruno's chopsticks clattered against his plate. He practically launched himself out of his chair.

"Agatha Fox, please don't be upset. This was my fault."

His eyes locked onto mine, terrified I'd say something worse.

Around us, the guests turned to stare, their expressions tinged with the unmistakable gleam of spectators settling in for a show.

Bruno's face flushed crimson. His Adam's apple bobbed twice before he scrambled to explain.

"Genevieve Fox is an intern from a small town. She's only been at the company a few days. She doesn't know proper table etiquette."

"If I'd called her out, word would've gotten around that we bully new hires. Imagine how that would've looked."

He stepped forward and grabbed my hand, his voice dropping to something softer. "I really didn't mean anything by it. I just didn't want to ruin the mood for everyone. I'll make sure she's properly disciplined from now on. Nothing like this will ever happen again."

I looked into his eyes and saw the panic swimming there.

I pulled my hand free and turned to the assistant who'd been standing by the whole time.

"Remove the slop bucket," I said evenly. "Clear the rest of the banquet as well. Cancel everything that comes after."

The assistant nodded. Within seconds, the banquet hall filled with the sound of dishes being collected and chairs scraping against the floor.

Bruno's face went a shade paler. He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

"Bruno Henson. I suggest you take care of yourself."

He froze mid-motion. His lips parted, then closed. In the end, he didn't dare argue. He just nodded.

I didn't look at him again. I stood and walked straight out of the banquet hall.

On the drive home, the car was suffocated by silence.

Bruno tried to speak several times. Each time, my cold stare shut him down before a single word left his mouth.

The moment I got home and sat down, the doorbell rang.

Bruno stood on the other side, spine rigid, holding two gift bags.

I pressed the button to let him in.

He walked through the door and set the bags on the console table in the entryway. He didn't dare bring them into the living room.

"Agatha, this is a written guarantee I prepared."

He held out a sealed letter. "I've laid everything out clearly. From now on, I will have absolutely no private contact with Genevieve. All work-related communication at the company will be handled by someone else."

I didn't take it. I just looked up at him.

He immediately set the letter on the coffee table, then pulled his phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and slid the glowing screen across to me.

"Take my phone. Go through everything. Search whatever you want."

He added quickly, "My messages with Genevieve are strictly work. Project updates. Nothing else."

I glanced at the screen. In the chat app, Genevieve's conversation thread was exactly as he described: one dry work message after another, timestamps scattered, every line about project milestones.

No casual greetings. No personal chatter. Impossibly clean.

I didn't pick up the phone. Bruno saw my expression and rushed to fill the silence.

"I know you're upset. I really was just trying to avoid making things awkward."

I knew exactly what that spotless chat history was. He'd scrubbed it before coming here.

"You don't need to be so nervous," I said flatly.

Bruno's shoulders visibly loosened. He shifted half a step closer, as if drawn by instinct, then caught himself and stayed where he was.

"Agatha, can you forgive me?"

He searched my face. "The engagement banquet, I'll make it right. And Genevieve, I'll handle it."

"You should head home." I didn't answer his question. "It's late."

Bruno's gaze darkened, but he forced the words out.

"I'll come back tomorrow, then."

He retreated to the foyer. "I brought some of your favorite snacks, by the way."

When I said nothing, he managed one more apologetic smile before turning to leave.

The moment the door closed, I picked up my phone.

"I need you to look into two things," I told my assistant. "First, everything there is to know about Genevieve Fox's background. Second, Bruno Henson's financial activity over the past three months."

My assistant agreed immediately.

I sat in the living room, staring at the written pledge he'd left on the coffee table. The handwriting was neat, every promise laid out in meticulous detail. I didn't even have the desire to read it.

Over the next three days, Bruno didn't come to my apartment again. He simply sent one message every morning and one every evening, each a brief report of his schedule and whereabouts.

I didn't reply to a single one. He didn't push for more.

On the afternoon of the third day, I was reviewing project files in my office when someone knocked.

"Come in."

Bruno pushed open the door and walked in, a document in hand. He held it out to me.

"Agatha, take a look."

"It's a copy of Genevieve's resignation letter. I already approved it."

I glanced at the page. Genevieve's signature sat at the bottom, dated yesterday. The approval line bore Bruno's signature alongside the official stamp from Henson Group's HR department.

"I also docked her entire month's salary as disciplinary action for the scene she caused at the engagement banquet."

He looked at me expectantly. "Does that satisfy you?"

But I said nothing, and the smile on his face stiffened by degrees.

After a long silence, I finally spoke, my voice flat. "Let's leave it at that."

He seemed to exhale with relief, nodding quickly before backing out of the room.

That evening, my assistant delivered the report.

Not long ago, Bruno had purchased a one-bedroom unit in a luxury high-rise downtown and put it in Genevieve's name. On top of that, he'd been making regular transfers to her personal account, enough to cover every expense she could possibly have.

But the detail that truly felt like a slap in the face was a photograph tucked into the file. In it, Genevieve wore a watch on her wrist.

I recognized it instantly. It was the limited-edition timepiece I'd given Bruno for his birthday last year. Fewer than ten existed in the world. I'd pulled strings to have someone bid on it at an overseas auction.

Bruno thought his little performance of obedience would be enough to fool me. He had no idea that every move he'd made had already been laid bare.

Shortly after, the two families arranged a dinner.

"Agatha, dear, Bruno's been nothing but sincere." Eva Henson was well aware of what had happened, yet she smiled warmly as she spoke. "That little hiccup at the engagement banquet is water under the bridge. The joint venture between our families is already underway, and the sooner we lock in the partnership, the better it is for everyone."

My father nodded and turned to Bruno.

"Bruno, going forward, I expect you to be more considerate of Agatha. Nurture this relationship properly, and keep a close eye on the project."

Bruno rose to his feet at once, dipping into a slight bow. His deference was flawless.

"Sir, ma'am, you have my word. I'll take the best care of Agatha, and there won't be a single misstep on the project."

He turned to me. "Agatha, to put your mind at ease, I've had the preliminary approval rights for the joint venture compiled and transferred entirely to your side. I won't interfere at all."

As he spoke, he produced a document from his briefcase and held it out to me with both hands.

"This is the signed confirmation of the transfer. It's all ready."

I didn't reach for it right away.

Instead, I studied Bruno with quiet interest.

He'd been holding that deferential posture the entire time, but I caught the calculation in his eyes the moment it flickered.

He thought handing over control of the project would be enough to shut me up?

"You seem very sincere."

I kept my tone light, almost indifferent.

Bruno's expression brightened instantly.

He thought I was letting him off the hook. He bowed his head eagerly. "Yes, Agatha, I truly realize how wrong I was. This authorization letter represents my commitment to you!"

Our parents nodded approvingly from the side of the table.

They'd all been taken in by the performance Bruno was putting on.

"Fine. I'll give you one more chance."

I let the words fall slowly.

Bruno looked overjoyed. Both sets of parents exhaled in visible relief.

What none of them realized was that I wasn't just speaking to Bruno.

I was speaking to all of them.

"Alright, alright, let's put the past behind us."

"To a smooth partnership between our two families!" My father raised his glass.

Everyone broke into smiles, and the atmosphere warmed again.

After dinner, Bruno walked me to the entrance.

"Agatha, let me drive you home."

He reached for my hand as he spoke.

I stepped aside.

His hand froze in midair. His expression went rigid.

"Agatha, what's that supposed to mean?"

"I already let Genevieve go. I handed over the project. What more do you want from me?"

A flash of anger crossed his face.

But I just looked at him calmly, the way someone might look at trash on the sidewalk.

"Bruno, something that's been dirtied doesn't come clean just because you rinse it off."

"Especially not a person's heart."

He stared at me in disbelief, the corner of his mouth twitching.

I didn't bother acknowledging it. I simply told him, my voice flat: "Don't forget, this is the first chance I'm giving you. Don't disappoint me."

Then I turned and walked away.

Bruno stayed rooted to the spot.

A shadow had settled over his face, dark and heavy.

Don't rush. This is only the beginning.

Securing initial approval authority over the project meant that Henson Group had to follow my directives on it without question.

And the first thing I did was freeze one of Bruno's critical payments.

The next morning, his call came in, his voice tight with urgency. "Agatha, the project's startup funds got sent back? This is going to throw off the entire timeline!"

I put him on speaker, unhurried, studying the freshly printed photographs spread across my desk.

"The receiving party's credentials raised red flags. To mitigate risk, I had Finance run a secondary review."

My tone didn't waver.

"What? That vendor has worked with us for years—"

"Didn't you say you were putting me in charge?"

One sentence, and Bruno went silent.

After a long pause, he managed: "But... but—"

"No buts. Protocol is protocol."

I hung up.

I looked down at the photographs and let out a cold laugh.

My private investigator had sent them over just that morning. Genevieve, the woman who had supposedly been fired, was lounging inside that luxury penthouse.

The watch on her wrist had been captured in perfect clarity.

And Bruno's car was parked right below the building.

Begging me to release project funds with one hand, keeping his little songbird comfortable with the other.

Bruno, you really are something.

Over the following week, I turned a blind eye to everything. The stalled partnership issues. Bruno's secret visits to Genevieve behind my back.

All of it.

When Bruno played the devoted fiance, I responded with polite indifference and nothing more.

Then, finally, Friday evening arrived.