His grip was hard, and panic finally showed in his eyes.

Of course I knew why he was panicking.

Shaw capital was the key every family in Harbor City was fighting for.

Whoever I backed would take the chair of the Chamber of Commerce.

Just then, the doors to the banquet hall burst open.

Evan’s face went completely rigid.

The moment I saw who had come in, the rage from my previous life swept through me again like wildfire.

I looked at Evan and gave a cold laugh.

“Mr. Pierce, I don’t joke.

“And there’s one more thing I may as well tell you now.

“As of today, I, Clara, am officially ending my engagement to Evan.”

Evan glanced at me in surprise, his brows drawing together.

But soon, his attention shifted back to Bianca, who had just walked into the hall.

“Clara, stop throwing a tantrum.”

His eyes stayed fixed on Bianca. He did not even turn his head.

“Bianca is just someone I trained with. She only came to the party tonight to clear her head.”

Looking at how justified he seemed, I almost laughed.

Ten years of growing up under the same mentor, close enough that Evan had to invite her even to his own engagement party.

In my previous life, it had happened on this very day.

Bianca had said, all soft and fragile, that she did not feel well. Evan stayed by her side the entire night.

And I, his actual fiancée, became a joke in front of everyone.

“Clara?”

Evan called my name tentatively. When I still said nothing, he simply walked straight toward the entrance.

His steps were light, and there was a smile on his face that even he did not seem to notice. He slipped an arm naturally around Bianca’s shoulders.

Bianca stood beside him, gentle and understanding, the picture of delicate warmth.

“Clara,” she called softly from a distance, giving me a small nod.

Evan brought her over. Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he said,

“Oh, right. Bianca is highly qualified. She’d be a good fit as my assistant.

“You won’t need to worry about the company anymore. With Bianca helping me, things will be easier for you too.”

Every word meant the same thing.

He was afraid I would interfere with his business.

I looked at the trace of tension in his eyes. He was probably afraid I would refuse, afraid I would damage the precious bond between him and Bianca.

I lifted my glass and smiled as if it had nothing to do with me.

“Sure. Do whatever you want.”

Evan froze, as if he had not expected me to agree so easily.

“Then...” he began carefully.

“Bianca and I will go dance first. Is that all right?”

He was trying to provoke me.

In my previous life, my eyes would have reddened at that. I would have begged him, humbly, not to leave.

Now, I only found it funny.

“Your legs work, don’t they?”

Evan’s expression shifted.

In the end, he only gave a cold snort, then turned and left with Bianca in his arms.

I ignored him.

Just then, a timid voice sounded beside my ear.

“Wow. You’re really good at shutting people down. Can you teach me?”

Warm breath brushed my ear, carrying a faint, crisp scent of mint.

I turned my head and found myself looking straight into a pair of bright, shining eyes.

At some point, Miles had leaned in close, his face full of admiration.

“...Did no one ever teach you about personal space?”

I was helpless.

He froze, then looked down at his own feet.

As if suddenly understanding, he took half a step back and scratched his head.

“Oh... right.

“I just wanted to learn how you talk.”

Then he leaned his head forward again.

“That way Victor won’t keep scolding me, saying I can’t even speak properly.”

When he said it, there was no resentment in his eyes, only a little hurt.

Like a puppy that had been kicked and still did not know what it had done wrong.

Something in my chest suddenly ached.

If Victor had not kept suppressing him all these years, Miles would never have been left with no way to rise.

In the end, he had even become a knife in Victor’s hand, planning the kidnapping in my previous life.

But right now, he knew nothing about any of that.

“It’s fine,” I said, my voice softening. “I can teach you.”

Miles’s eyes lit up at once. He was just about to say something when a gentle voice cut in.

“Clara.”

Bianca came up to me with a glass of wine, smiling with gentle elegance.

“I’d like to toast you.

“Wishing you and Evan a happy marriage and a lifetime together.”

Her posture was graceful, but there was a flash of provocation in her eyes.

I did not take the glass.

“Ms. Vale,” I said, looking at her and enunciating every word, “you already got what you wanted. Drop the act.”

Bianca’s smile froze.

“Clara!”

Evan rushed over at some point and grabbed Bianca by the shoulders.

“Stop being so petty. Bianca came over to toast you out of kindness. What kind of attitude is this?”

As he spoke, he reached out to push me away, as if terrified I would hurt her.

The room was full of people watching the drama, and not one of them came to help me.

They were only afraid the scene was not big enough.

I instinctively tensed.

But before I could react, a slim figure suddenly stepped in front of me.

Miles spread his arms and shielded me behind him, his back held straight.

“D-Don’t bully her!”

Evan froze. He looked Miles up and down as if he had just seen the biggest joke in the world.

“Who do you think you are? Don’t tell me you actually think you matter.”

Low laughter spread through the crowd.

Miles’s ears flushed red at once, but he did not move aside.

“An idiot playing the hero now?”

Evan’s tone grew sharper.

“Even your own brother looks down on you. Why come here pretending to be some big shot?

“What, standing in front of a woman proves you aren’t slow?”

Bianca stood nearby, covering her mouth as she laughed softly.

Miles’s chest rose and fell hard. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

But the words jammed in his throat and would not come out.

In the end, he could only clench his fists and suddenly raise his arm.

“I’ll hit you!”

Bianca screamed at just the right moment and hid behind Evan.

The hall dissolved into chaos.

Taking advantage of the commotion, I grabbed Miles by the sleeve and pulled him outside.

He bristled the whole way, muttering under his breath, but still followed me obediently.

Behind us, Evan’s furious voice rang out.

“Clara, if you walk out now, I’ll end the partnership between our families immediately!”

I did not look back.

Pierce Group’s energy division had been weak for years. It had survived these past two years entirely on Shaw capital.

End the contract?

Perfect.

Langford Group could fill the gap.

On the way back to my office, Miles kept his head down.

His hair was a little mussed. One cuff of his shirt had been scuffed open, revealing a scrape on his elbow.

Only after we entered the office did he speak in a muffled voice.

“I’m sorry.

“I ruined your engagement party.” He paused, his throat shifting.

“I know you... really like him.”

He said those last few words very quietly, with a faint loneliness I could not quite name.

My hand paused just as I was reaching for the first aid kit.

Like Evan?

I gave a faint smile and kept taking out the iodine and cotton swabs.

“No need to apologize. I should be thanking you.”

Without him, I truly would not have known how to bring today’s performance to an end.

Miles looked up, confusion in his eyes.

He was just about to speak when my phone chimed.

I glanced at the screen. Bianca had posted on Instagram.

In the photo, a jade bangle gleamed on her wrist.

The caption read, “Thank you for the gift, Evan. It’s beautiful.”

I recognized that bangle.

It was the Pierce matriarch token.

In my previous life, Evan had given it to her behind my back on our wedding day.

It seemed that in this life, he was truly anxious.

Anxious for me to go back to him.

Anxious for me to lower my head and make peace.

Expressionless, I blocked them both.

When I looked up, Miles was still standing where he was.

His head remained lowered as he lightly brushed the fluffy fringe on the sofa.

Looking at him like that, an idea suddenly came to me.

“However,” I said slowly.

“You did embarrass me today.”

Miles jerked his head up, panic flashing through his eyes.

“Would you like to think about how you’re going to make it up to me?”

He immediately straightened, his eyes lighting up.

“Tell me. I’ll do anything.”

That fearless look on his face actually made me pause for a moment.

“...Do you have final say over Langford Group’s fuel trades?”

The office fell quiet for a few seconds.

Miles blinked, as if he had not understood, or as if he had understood but could not believe it.

Then he nodded hard.

“I do. I do!” he added quickly. “Victor controls a lot of things, but this part is mine!”

There was a cautious hint of pride in his voice.

I had him sit down. As I applied medicine to his elbow, I listened to him stumble through Langford Group’s industrial layout.

He got stuck now and then when he spoke, but once he talked about the part he was responsible for, he was unexpectedly clear and organized.

After a long moment of thought, I set down the cotton swab.

“Call Victor. Tell him I want to talk.”

Miles had been under Langford Group’s surveillance for a long time. He just did not know it yet.

Instead of cooperating in secret, I might as well put my cards on the table.

The light that had just returned to Miles’s eyes dimmed again.

“Oh... right. Right.”

He lowered his head and mumbled as he took out his phone.

“Yeah. I’m this dumb, so of course you’d have to go to Victor in the end.”

The corners of his eyes reddened. His voice was muffled, carrying a childish kind of grievance.

I was helpless. I had just opened my mouth to explain when my phone rang again.

It was Bianca.

I answered, and her soft voice came through.

“Clara, Evan had too much to drink. Could you come pick him up? It isn’t really appropriate for him to stay at my place all the time...”

In the background, Evan’s drunken voice came through indistinctly.

“Clara... she’ll come back... Where else can she go without me... She still has to beg me for that Shaw project...”

I hung up at once.

Then I turned to my secretary, my voice calm.

“Terminate every partnership with Pierce Group. Once the capital withdrawal is complete, redirect all funds to Langford Group.”

The office fell quiet again.

I turned back. Miles was still sitting on the sofa with his head down, fiddling over and over with the bandage I had just wrapped.

I sighed.

“How about I teach you a game?”

Miles looked up. A thin mist clung to his eyes as he stared at me in confusion.

I raised an eyebrow and leaned slightly closer.

I’ll teach you a game.

If you do well, once the game is over, I’ll hand you Langford Group.

Meanwhile, Evan sat restlessly spinning the glass in his hand, then tilted his head back and downed his third shot of hard liquor.

He had pretended to be drunk earlier. Clearly, he had been offering Clara a way out.

But why did she have to be so ungrateful?

Bianca sat beside him and spoke as if the thought had only just occurred to her.

“Evan, Clara seemed very close to Miles tonight. I saw them leave together just now... I wonder what they’re doing now.”

As she spoke, the corners of her lips curved slightly.

According to her expectations, Evan should have sneered. He should have been disdainful. He should have been utterly disappointed in Clara.

After all, what man could tolerate his fiancée leaving with an idiot?

But Evan stopped moving.

In his eyes, something flashed that Bianca had never seen before.

Unwillingness. Irritation. And a trace of... jealousy.

Bianca froze.

Evan set the glass down heavily on the table and gave a cold laugh.

“He’s just a toy. Clara isn’t that kind of person. She’s only using Miles to make me angry.”

He stood and walked to the window, his tone gradually steadying.

“Besides, we formally sign the contract in two days. Without Pierce Group, where else would she find a ready-made partner? Clara wouldn’t joke about something like this.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the office door was shoved open.

His secretary stumbled in, her face deathly pale.

“Mr. Pierce! Just now... just now, Miss Shaw terminated every partnership with us!”