Shane then pulled me into his arms, trapping me between him and the seat. He stared directly at my lips, and his face made it obvious that he wanted a kiss.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

Ten minutes later, both of us were breathless, gasping for air. His smile wouldn't fade, and the bronze tone of his skin made the sparkle in his eyes even more intense. "Claire, I'm so happy."

To show his determination to get married, Shane quickly set the engagement party for a month later.

By sheer coincidence, it landed on the exact same day as Anthony's wedding, but at locations directly opposite each other.

It meant that we would definitely run into them.

Anthony received news of our engagement. When he saw the date, he sent a message to me. "Claire, I don't love you anymore. Why must you deliberately pick the same day as my wedding with Lila to have your engagement party? Even if you do this, I won't go back to you."

Then he sent another message. "Stop thinking about me. If you keep this up, Lila will overthink things."

But before I could even read the full message, Shane snatched my phone from my hand.

Frowning, he immediately sent a voice message in response. "How do you even compare to me? Why would my fiancee still be thinking about you?"

And just like that, a sense of competitiveness was ignited.

Anthony had rented a giant screen downtown to play a video announcing his wedding to Lila. But not even ten minutes later, Shane paid more to take over the slot. Then, he bought every single screen in the region to broadcast our engagement instead.

Anthony had arranged for two sports car convoys to pick up the bride, but before the purchase went through, Shane paid ten times the price to buy them out. He even added 99 more luxury cars on top of that.

Any time Anthony wanted to buy something, Shane would intercept it on the spot.

Running out of funds, Anthony grew increasingly frustrated. "True love doesn't need money to prove itself. Claire, I really pity you. You're marrying a man who only thinks about money."

I didn't bother replying as I rolled my eyes in silence.

He lived a luxurious lifestyle that was funded by his family's wealth, and he had the nerve to act like it wasn't important.

On the day of the engagement, I was picked up by a fleet of luxury cars. Behind the lead car were dozens more, with Shane's close friends in the passenger seats, holding flags with our photo printed on them.

Everyone was thrilled to be a part of such a grand event.

No matter who passed by, they couldn't help but glance over.

In contrast, Anthony only had a single car that he had to drive himself. He looked absolutely livid.

I sat proudly in the lead car and glanced his way with a smirk. "Don't scowl. It's a happy day! Cheer up!"

Lila was in the passenger's seat, and her face was red with anger. "Ms. Sterling, is this really necessary?"

Shane coldly snorted before saying, "So what? He's just flaunting some temporary wealth. Guys like him don't have any real heritage or background. He'll fall eventually. People like you wouldn't understand what real love is!"

Sure, we didn't understand love. But at least we weren't like him who spent years in college and still hadn't taken over any family responsibilities.

My engagement party turned out to be a spectacular success. Almost everyone had received invitations to both events, but most chose to come to mine.

First, they could see that the Sterling family was not to be trifled with.

Second, they sought to participate in the mining trade in the northwest, as there was significant profit to be made.

Halfway through the event, Anthony sent me a clearly agitated message. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"