I had just returned from the world's largest tech summit when my mentor called. She has always been like a mother to me.

She told me she had arranged a marriage for me, with the daughter of a close friend of hers, Tania Jones.

She was a rising talent in the capital's business scene, and a number of my patents were licensed to her company, forming the core technology behind their latest products.

After working late in the lab, I changed into a carefully chosen suit and went to the engagement ceremony.

However, I was stopped at the entrance by Elias Yates, Tania's personal assistant.

He was wearing a perfectly tailored designer suit, every detail immaculate. He looked more like the groom than I did.

"If you know what's good for you, walk away," he said with an icy smirk. "An orphan with no background should know his place. You are not worthy of Ms. Jones."

I frowned and replied, "Does Tania know you are speaking on her behalf like this?"

Elias let out a mocking laugh.

"A kept man living off his mentor's reputation could never understand how important I am to Ms. Jones."

There was obsession and pride shining in his eyes.

I looked at him for a moment, then dialed Tania.

"If this is your idea of welcoming your fiancé," I said evenly, "then perhaps my patents should only be shown to you on paper, right before I sell them to your rival instead."

I'm an orphan who managed to finish school and get into one of the best research labs in the country, all because my mentor, Melissa Rogers, took me under her wing.

She cared for me like I was her kid.

That was why I tried to be patient with the guy she wanted me to marry.

If Tania Jones had sorted that mess out and given me a straight answer, I might have kept giving her chances.

"Simon? What's going on?"

The other end of the phone was buzzing with chatter, like she was surrounded by guests.

She dealt with the guests before casually bringing the phone to her ear, acting like she had not heard me before.

"Come get me, and we'll head into the event. Your assistant–"

I did not get to finish because she let out an annoyed click of her tongue. "You think you're royalty? Your legs are not working?

"I've got guests to attend to, no time to fetch you. Get here on your own."

All I got afterward was the busy signal.

Elias Holmes stifled a laugh, his gaze thick with sarcasm.

"Just doing what Ms. Jones said. If you want in, go ahead. I sure won't stop you."

I could keep my cool through the toughest experiments. However, dealing with that kind of nonsense? It just gave me a headache.

"Feeling pretty secure as an assistant, are you, Mr. Holmes? Making life difficult for the head's fiance at the auditorium doors is part of your career strategy?"

"Too bad, the head can't stand a leech like you. Not when she's got a pro like me."

I gave him an icy look.

"A pro? The kind that's got the hots for his own head?

"Tania must have known her assistant was like a lapdog, always fawning over her, right?"

Elias's face turned red with rage.

He lifted his hand and swung it hard at me.

I stepped back quickly and avoided the blow.

"Lost your cool, and now you're throwing punches? Is this how you handle a business deal gone sour–with a slap? How very high-class of you."

His voice cracked as I called him out, and Elias gasped for air, his eyes fixed on me, his finger shaking as he pointed. "Seize him!"

The security guards, who had been enjoying the show, moved toward me at his command.

"Do you really want to follow Elias's stupid lead? You do realize you're about to rough up Tania's betrothed, right?"

I tried to reason with them.

The guards looked at each other, and the lead one spoke with feigned regret but obvious sarcasm in his eyes.

"Mr. York, we're just following orders. Please understand.

"Mr. Holmes is the president's golden boy. You? You're nothing but a pawn in a marriage deal, with no clout of your own.

"If your late parents were to make a miraculous comeback with some kind of major clout, then sure, we'd be apologizing."

Dressed in a sharp suit and expensive leather shoes for the engagement party, I managed to dodge a couple of times before two guards grabbed me by the arms and shoved me in front of Elias.

He glared at me, a dark look on his face, then suddenly cracked a twisted smile.

He lifted his hand, his designer watch catching the light menacingly, ready to strike.

I braced myself and shut my eyes tight.

"Stop!"

A cool, angry voice cut through the tension, and Elias's hand froze mid-air.

Tania strode over to me, her tall figure cutting an elegant silhouette, her beauty even more striking than in her photos.

She looked me up and down with clear distaste, her eyes lingering on my face for a moment.

"This is our engagement party. What are you doing here, making a scene?"

I shrugged off the security guard's grip and straightened up, fixing my suit collar with an icy laugh.

"Can't you tell what's going on?

"Tania, since when is it polite to have your security rough up guests at the door? Is this how you treat people? Your assistant just–"

She cut me off with a furrowed brow. "Stop it! We're already late for the ceremony, and here you are, picking fights at the door. My security had to step in, or were we supposed to let you barge in and upset everyone?

"You're wasting my precious time.

"You're an orphan, worthless, and stupid. I can't fathom why my mom insists on this engagement."

The onlooking guests glanced my way, their whispers rustling like leaves in the wind.

Their lofty stares made me out to be the jester.

I felt the sting of wasted time, too. I had put in so much effort and even took off work. I could have been updating my latest experiment's data instead.

"Funny. I feel like my time's been wasted as well. If neither of us can stand the other, let's just end this engagement."

Tania paused, her eyes narrowing. "Is this a threat? You think stirring up trouble and threatening to break off our engagement will get you your way? You think you can manipulate me like that?"

As I watched Tania's face, I was suddenly tongue-tied, feeling like I was getting nowhere fast.

Elias stood by her side, the picture of respect, but his voice betrayed a touch of closeness and hurt feelings. "Ms. Jones, if he's making this much trouble at his own engagement party, what's going to happen when he's actually married?

"And he got all red-faced and ready to throw a punch at me just because he saw I'm your right-hand man and thought I was upstaging him.

"I would've been in for it if those security guards hadn't stepped in to protect me."

Tania gave me a look of sheer disbelief. "Elias has been my assistant for two years, sorting out who knows how many issues. Do you really think he's like you, a loser who only got ahead because of who they know? What's there for you to be jealous of?"

I forced a smile, but my eyes were not playing along. "I'm really curious why you would label me a loser. And you're taking your assistant's word over mine?

"Your assistant–"

She cut me off again. "Should I trust my assistant or a lunatic like you?"

Elias covered up a smirk with his hand, blinked back tears, and said, "Ms. Jones, my heart goes out to you.

"You're the one calling the shots in this town, yet you're still under your mom's thumb, getting hitched to a lunatic."

Tania had only been in charge of Jones Group for a couple of years, and her mother, Natalia, could not stop butting in. All that interference had built up a serious head of steam. When Elias finished his spiel, one could feel the tension around Tania thicken.

"Simon, you owe me a serious apology and some form of restitution," she insisted.

"Otherwise, not even my mom's influence will be able to help you out of this one."

It all became clear to me that Elias was less of a right-hand man and more of a conniving flatterer.

He had a talent for saying just the right thing to worm his way into Tania's good graces.

His whispers in Tania's ear certainly contributed to her view of me as a 'loser.'

Tania loved being adored, and playing into that was the easiest way to get on her good side.

I caught her eye and just felt drained.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

She gave an icy, mocking laugh. "I want you to call my mom and tell her you're the one who wanted to break off the engagement."

I nodded without hesitation.

"Fine."

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts as she watched, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.

"Be sure about this. Once you make that call, you can kiss any chance of Jones Group's fortune goodbye."

I ignored her and pressed Natalia's number.

"And that's not all. I want him to apologize to me publicly!" Elias piped up, his voice dripping with self-pity and pretense.

"Ms. Jones, I've been loyal to you for years, all thanks to my hard work. I can't take being pushed around and insulted by him like I was earlier.

"If he doesn't say sorry, I'll never let it go."

I could not help but laugh, though I was fuming inside.

The security guards were right there, clearly showing who the real bully was.

"Elias, you're quick to play the victim and twist the truth. Do you really think we're all that gullible?

"You had the guards on me, and you were ready to throw a punch. And now you're claiming I'm the bully?"

Tania positioned herself squarely in front of Elias.

"You're the one who started this with Mr. Holmes. He was just defending himself. If you have even a shred of decency, you'll apologize to Mr. Holmes.

"If not, I'll make sure you do."

Her eyes swept the room, and the security guards, clued in, fixed me with threatening glares.

"Simon's got plenty of dignity. It's you and your sidekick who seem to have lost all sense of shame," came a crisp voice from behind Tania.

Cecilia Baker, the head honcho of Baker Group, approached with an effortless grace, her signature teardrop mole beneath her piercing eyes catching the light.

Baker Group was the Jones Group's arch-nemesis, their business interests often clashing.

Cecilia had taken the reins of her family's empire early and had been giving Tania a run for her money.

However, with my latest tech giving Jones Group an edge, it looked like they were starting to outpace Baker Group.

Cecilia showing up at the engagement party was a curveball for Tania.

"Ms. Baker, you sure know how to enjoy your downtime. Crashing your competitor's party, and now butting into my personal drama?" Tania snapped.

I watched Cecilia's protective stance in front of me, equally taken aback.

We had talked shop before, and things had been going smoothly.

However, I never expected that midway through, she would hint at using a 'seduction scheme' on me, enough to scare me into running back to my lab that very night.

As for that patent, it was an easy decision: Melissa and Natalia had been close friends for years, so I handed it over to Jones Group without a second thought.

Never did I imagine Cecilia would step up to bat for me.