I was so furious I almost laughed. The bodyguards blocked my way, and I struggled wildly.

“Jenna, have you lost your mind? This is my house! If anyone should leave, it’s you. Why should I be the one sent to a hotel?!”

My voice grew sharper with every word. I didn’t care that guests were arriving one after another; my image was already beyond saving.

I deeply regretted letting Jenna’s assistant take charge of the banquet. That’s why even my own bodyguards weren’t here.

Since childhood, every one of my birthday banquets had been arranged by my parents. Every public event had been tightly secured.

But now, I was being dragged out by outsiders.

I snapped, my voice cold and steady.

“Jenna, I want to call off the engagement.”

“You are no longer my fiancée. You have no right to be here. Take your guests and get out of my birthday party.”

This villa, where the banquet was held, had been part of the premarital assets left to me by my parents. I had once dreamed of turning it into our marital home after the wedding, never imagining it would end up as the backdrop to our breakup.

Jenna stared at me, eyes wide in disbelief. “What did you just say? Call off the engagement?”

“You’re ending it over something this petty?” Her voice trembled. “Bryce, don’t forget, our families arranged our marriage.”

A flicker of panic flashed across her face, and for a moment, her mind seemed to clear.

This union had always been a one-sided climb, Jenna marrying up into the Reeves family.

For years, she had worked tirelessly to win over my father, waking up at dawn to bring me breakfast, shuttling me to and from work without fail, repeating this routine for three relentless years just to prove her devotion.

Only then had my father reluctantly given his blessing.

She had sacrificed too much to let this engagement crumble over one incident.

Carson gritted his teeth and stepped forward, hastily wiping his tears with trembling hands.

“Jenna, this is all my fault. Please, don’t fight with Bryce because of me. I’m just an assistant, I’m not worth it. I don’t want to be the reason your engagement falls apart.”

“I’m just a small-town nobody. Maybe I was never meant to celebrate birthdays. Even in death, my mom still has to carry regrets…”

He took two steps toward the door, but stumbled over something on the floor. The portrait of his mother slipped from his grasp, crashing to the ground and shattering into pieces.

“Ah! I’m sorry, Mom…”

He let out a guttural cry and lunged toward the fragments. But before his hands could reach them, shards of glass sliced his fingers. Blood welled up instantly.

“Carson!”

Jenna’s face went pale. She rushed forward in a panic, trying to lift him up.

But Carson only cried harder, clinging to her like a lost child, his bloodied fingers forgotten as he buried his face in her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Jenna… maybe this is karma. Even Mom’s memorial is gone now. The only thing she left me is gone…”

Jenna lifted her head coldly, her eyes burning with hatred as she glared at me.

“Bryce, are you satisfied now?”

“I already told you how pitiful Carson is. He never tried to take anything from you; he just wanted a little grace, a chance to honor his mother’s third death anniversary. Now even her portrait is gone. You must be thrilled.”

Without waiting for a response, she rose to her feet, her voice cutting through the air like a blade.

“Wreck this birthday party.”

“If Carson can’t properly mourn Aunt Symonne, then Bryce doesn’t deserve a celebration either.”

On her command, the bodyguards began swinging their clubs recklessly, destroying everything in sight. Glass shattered, wood splintered, and chaos erupted.

My heart dropped when I saw the porcelain vase, my mother’s gift, worth two hundred million, teetering on the edge of a table.

I lunged forward in panic.

“No!!”

But I was too late.

The vase hit the floor and shattered into pieces, fragments scattering like a cruel farewell.

Stunned, I turned to find Jenna. She was already walking away, holding Carson tightly in her arms, never once looking back.

I heard Carson cried so hard he nearly passed out, and Jenna spared no expense in helping him. She ordered her assistant to urgently commission a new black-and-white memorial photo of Carson’s mother, this time, framed in glass and adorned with delicate diamond inlays.

To help her assistant save face, she even live-streamed the entire memorial through the company’s intranet. A few media reporters were invited as well, publishing flattering pieces that praised Carson as a symbol of filial devotion, declaring that such loyalty was rare among today’s younger generation.

Meanwhile, I crouched in silence, carefully gathering the shattered pieces of the blue-and-white porcelain vase. My mother’s final gift, now lying in fragments.

I had no idea if it could ever be restored, but I couldn’t stop myself from trying.

As I turned on my phone, a message from Carson lit up the screen.

[Bryce, so what if you come from a good family and were once Jenna’s fiancé?]

[In the end, didn’t she still choose me over you?]

Right after those two lines, another message appeared, this time, a photo. Jenna’s hand, still wearing the engagement ring, was tightly entwined with Carson’s fingers.

[See this hand? She touched me with it last night. You’re engaged to her, but you’ve never even gotten a taste, have you?]

[She felt bad that I had no one to lean on. We did it in the office. So even if you marry her, you’re just getting what I’ve already had.]

Without a flicker of emotion, I closed the message and issued my command with ice in my voice.

“Tell Legal to wrap up all matters related to the engagement. I want it terminated.”

After all, I never had a taste for secondhand goods.

My father had already seen everything. The livestream captured the entire humiliation, the disgrace I suffered during my own birthday banquet.

He brought people with him to the venue to salvage the mess.

He didn’t hold back, not even in front of the reporters he brought.

“My son doesn’t need to cling to anyone to find a wife. This engagement ends today.”

“From this moment on, Jenna is no longer his fiancée. Their lives, their futures, they have nothing to do with each other anymore.”

The moment I saw my father, my vision blurred. My throat tightened, and I couldn’t hold back the tears.

“Dad…”

He walked straight to me, gently helping me off the ground. His face was etched with heartache.

“Come on. We’re going to the Ortega estate.”

Only then did I realize he hadn’t trusted anyone else to handle my birthday banquet. He and my mom had already arranged everything themselves, planning a grand and joyful celebration at the Ortega residence.

With just one phone call, he informed all our friends and relatives of the new location. The celebration wouldn’t stop; it would simply continue somewhere better.

I looked at him, dazed. “Dad, did Uncle Ben and Aunt Martha come back to the States?”

As a child, the family we’d been closest to was the Ortega family. Their warmth had once felt like an extension of our own.

Uncle Ben had been my dad’s sworn brother, and Aunt Martha was my mom’s closest friend. I had grown up side by side with their daughter, Dixie Ortega, and we were childhood sweethearts.

But in recent years, they had been tied up with business overseas and had settled abroad. It had been years since we last met.

My dad gave me a mysterious smile and said, “Not only are Ben and Martha back, your little childhood sweetheart is here too.”

The moment I stepped into the Ortega residence, I was enveloped in a warm, heartfelt welcome.

Ben and Martha had always been fond of me, especially Martha, who took my hand with a tender smile.

“We haven’t seen you in years. And just look at you, our little Bryce, grown into such a handsome young man. The more I look at you, the more I like you.”

I saw Dixie again, my childhood sweetheart, after so many years.

She had grown taller, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and carried herself with quiet elegance and grace.

“Bryce, long time no see.”

She smiled gently as she extended her hand. “Do you still remember me? I’m Dixie.”

I gave a small nod, and when her gaze lingered on mine, I felt an unexpected heat rise to my cheeks.

Back then, I had once written her a love letter, even stolen my mom’s gold ring just to gift it to her, boldly calling it my “token of affection.”

I once said that when Dixie grew up, I’d ride a white horse and marry her.

Now that she was bringing up those childhood memories, I was so embarrassed I wished I could disappear into the floor.

Throughout the birthday banquet, Dixie was incredibly considerate, offering me tea and water, handing me tissues right when I needed them.

She always looked at me with a soft, gentle smile, and every time our eyes met, my cheeks would heat up and I’d quickly look away.

But Aunt Martha saw right through our little feelings, her eyes gleaming with a kind, knowing smile.

My dad let out a hearty laugh and seized the moment.

“My son is single now. He was engaged, but it’s already been called off. Why don’t we let our two children get engaged instead?”

Ben and Martha immediately set down their utensils, excitement lighting up their faces, ready to agree.

Just then, a hoarse voice rang out from outside the door.

“No!”