"Do you know who Yuri is? My brother's the future son-in-law of the Hayes family. If you dare offend him, your life is over!"

My eyes narrowed.

Dad clearly said on the phone that the Hayes family had been waiting for me to return to fulfill the engagement. So why was Yuri suddenly Lauren's fiance?

Could it be that Zoey was just bragging?

Since I still hadn't met Lauren in person, I decided to keep observing for now. "As far as I know, Lauren already has an arranged marriage, yet you say you're her fiance. Do you have any proof?"

"You're just a broke loser, yet you want me to show you proof? Who do you think you are?" Yuri kicked over my motorcycle and jabbed a finger toward my face, shouting arrogantly.

"I'm telling you, even if I want to sleep with Lauren, I can. All her money will be mine sooner or later! If you know what's good for you, hurry up and pay. And lick the entrance clean for me, then maybe I'll let you off…"

I finally had enough. I clenched my fist and charged at him.

Just as I was about to smash my fist into his face, a voice cut through the air. "Enough."

…

An impeccably dressed woman appeared in my field of vision.

I recognized her instantly. She was the woman from the photo Dad had sent me. She was Lauren Hayes, the one I had been promised to since childhood.

I had to admit, her looks were exactly my type. However, the contempt in her eyes when she looked at me was impossible to ignore.

"Lauren, finally you're here!" The moment Zoey saw her, she switched to a pitiful expression and pointed at me.

"This delivery guy not only tried to scam me, but he even tried to record me! Yuri came to help, and this dirtbag still tried to hit him! He's practically spitting on the Hayes family's face!"

Lauren didn't even glance at me. Her tone was airy and dismissive. "Don't let a mere delivery guy delay our spa appointment. I already told the driver to bring the car around."

Then she pulled out a checkbook from her bag, scribbled a number, and handed the check to me. "Take the money and leave."

I looked down. 50,000.

I almost laughed out loud. "Miss Hayes, you didn't even ask what happened, and you're already trying to pay me off?"

Only then did Lauren lift her eyes to me. Her gaze was cold, like she was looking at an insect. "People like you… All you want is money, isn't it? This is more than enough for you to last a few extra years."

A chill ran through me. At that moment, I saw my fiancee's true colors.

"Lauren, why waste time talking to this trash?" Yuri cut in smugly. "Take the money and get lost. Stop being an eyesore."

I held the check between my fingers and suddenly smiled. "Sorry, Miss Hayes. This amount doesn't even cover a fraction of the national heritage porcelain you owe me."

Lauren frowned slightly, impatience flashing through her eyes. "How much do you want?"

I slowly held up two fingers.

"Two million?" She let out a cold laugh, like she'd expected this all along. "Fine. Think of it as charity today."

I shook my head.

Zoey let out a sharp shriek. "Are you insane? You filthy broke loser, you want twenty million? You think that busted bowl was made of gold?!"

I shook my head again. Then, under their stunned gazes, I spoke, "Two hundred million."

Silence fell instantly.

Lauren's hand froze mid-air, as if she had just heard the joke of the century. "Do you even know what you're saying?"

I nodded lightly. "And that's only because your last name is Hayes. Otherwise, you'd be paying much more than two hundred million."

If this blew up and certain people in my family found out, no amount could save her.

Probably because she had never been provoked by someone she saw as beneath her, Lauren finally lost her temper. With a frigid expression, she wrote another check and threw it at me.

"Fine. Here's another fifty thousand. Take it and disappear! Otherwise, I'll make sure you can't survive in Kingshore!"

Yuri immediately waved the security guards over. "What are you standing there for? Drag this arrogant punk out of here!"

Several guards rushed forward to grab me. I stepped aside, grabbed one of the guard's wrist, and sent him flying with a kick.

In the blink of an eye, three guards were lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

Yuri's expression changed drastically, and Zoey was so terrified she immediately hid behind Lauren.

I stepped forward and blocked Lauren just as she was about to get into the car. "Miss Hayes, can we talk properly about compensation now?"

Lauren flushed with anger, glaring fiercely at me. "Do you have any idea what happens to people who offend the Hayes?"

I laughed and shot back, "Then do you have any idea what happens to people who offend the Keanes?"

She froze, then suddenly seemed to realize something. "You're… you're Harrison Keane?"

I let out a chuckle, my gaze sweeping over her with amusement. "Should I feel honored that you still remember the fiance you once had a childhood engagement with, Miss Hayes?"

Maybe Lauren heard the mockery in my tone, and she frowned slightly.

Zoey instantly jumped out from behind her, shrieking, "What?! You're the broke loser who had that childhood engagement with Lauren?!"

She looked me up and down with disgust before bursting into exaggerated laughter.

"Hahaha! Lauren, your fiance is actually a delivery guy? Someone like him isn't even worthy of shining your shoes!"

Lauren gave me a cold, brief glance and didn't deny it. "Mr. Keane, that so-called childhood engagement was just a joke between our elders. You are not my fiance, and I definitely do not like you. Anyway, for the sake of the friendship between our families years ago, I won't hold today's incident against you. Please step aside."

I actually felt a sense of relief when I heard her say she wanted to cancel the engagement. Marrying such an unreasonable woman would only throw the entire household into chaos.

"Call the marriage off. I have no objection. But the porcelain bowl was our family's betrothal gift to yours. Now that your best friend deliberately smashed it, you must compensate me."

"Are you insane?" Zoey immediately shrieked, "Lauren, he's obviously taking advantage of you! How much could that pile of broken junk even be worth?!"

The surrounding bystanders burst into mocking laughter.

"This delivery guy must be starving for money! How dare he try to extort Miss Hayes?"

"His family must've spent a fortune to score a childhood engagement with the Hayes! Someone like him should check the mirror before having such ridiculous dreams!"

"I heard Miss Hayes has already settled down with Mr. Mercer. This guy is clearly just here to latch onto the Hayes family by any means…"

Instinctively, I looked toward Lauren.

Seeing her make no effort to deny it, I knew the rumors weren't baseless.

Seizing the moment, Yuri shoved me forward. "You hear that? Don't overestimate yourself! A delivery guy like you demanding two hundred million from the Hayes family? Keep dreaming!"

He grabbed my collar and murmured so that only I could hear, "So you're the loser who's engaged to Lauren. Let me tell you this—Lauren's already my woman. I'm the future son-in-law of the Hayes family, and you'll never be."

With that, he shoved me away, then turned to Lauren and pointed at me dramatically. "Lauren, he admitted it! He faked some worthless porcelain to scam us. Why don't we just call the police?"

Hearing that suggestion, Lauren hesitated.

Nonetheless, Yuri kept whispering poison in her ear, "Lauren, think about it. If you don't call the police, who knows if he'll keep using the title 'your fiance' to scam people outside in the future? That would ruin the Hayes' reputation."

At that, Lauren finally made up her mind and gestured for Zoey to call the police.

"So your last name is Keane, huh? Get ready to spend some time in prison!"

Hearing Yuri's provocation, I calmly picked up the most intact fragment from the ground and pointed to the letters carved on its base: Aurelius.

"You'd better hold off on calling the police. Maybe look this up online first."

Yuri scoffed, still full of bravado.

However, the moment Lauren's gaze landed on the porcelain shard, her expression changed dramatically. She suddenly shouted, "Don't call the police yet!"

Lauren snatched the shard from my hand, her slender fingers trembling faintly under the sunlight.

The moment she clearly made out the letters engraved on it, the once arrogant and imposing Miss Hayes suddenly found her breathing turning rapid.

"Harrison, where did you get this?"

I kept my hands in my pockets and answered calmly, "Of course, it came from my dad. It was originally a family heirloom. We planned to use it as your betrothal gift."

I paused, then let out a soft chuckle. "But it seems that won't be necessary anymore."

Lauren didn't say anything. She just stared tightly at the porcelain shard, disbelief filling her eyes.

I knew she had already realized the piece was extremely valuable.

After all, the Hayes family built their fortune in the antique trade. As the eldest daughter, there was no way she didn't recognize the weight behind the name "Aurelius".

"Lauren, what is it? Why are you wasting time with this scammer?" Still clueless, Zoey impatiently whipped out her phone. "We should call the police and have him arrested first. Let's see if he dares act cocky then!"

Yuri stepped forward, flattering Lauren with every word, "Lauren, nobody in Kingshore has ever dared speak to you like this. He needs to be taught a lesson today!"

Nevertheless, Lauren completely ignored them. Her gaze moved repeatedly between the porcelain shard and me, her expression turning sourer by the second.

Finally, she forced herself to speak, "This porcelain… It might be real."

"What?!" Zoey shrieked, her face instantly losing all color.

"No way! It has to be fake!" She jabbed a finger at my face. "Lauren, look at him! He's a delivery guy! How could he possibly get a real antique?!"

Lauren couldn't believe it either, but she trusted her eyes. "I'm not mistaken. I've rarely seen pieces this fine, even in my father's collection. It's the real deal."

A heavy silence fell over the entire crowd.

As everyone stared at me in shock, Yuri suddenly chuckled cockily. "Lauren, he's got you fooled! I bet he's a thief!

"If his family had any real wealth, would he show up on a junk motorcycle? I know exactly what happened. He must've stolen the porcelain from some rich family while delivering food. Giving it to you as a 'betrothal gift' is just to cover up the crime!"

He sounded so convincing that even I had to laugh.

I didn't expect Lauren to actually believe him.

"I heard you've been abroad these years," she said, looking at me with disdain, her posture dripping with condescension. "So this is what you've been doing? Stealing antiques? Harrison, if you turn yourself in now, it's not too late."

This time, I really couldn't help laughing. "You want me to turn myself in? Sure."

I immediately pulled out my phone and started dialing. Just as I said my name, Yuri snatched the phone away.

"This thief stole an invaluable antique and offended Miss Hayes! Come arrest him immediately!" He hung up and tossed the phone back at me smugly. "Get ready for prison, loser!"

I glanced at Lauren with a faint smile, unable to hold back. "Miss Hayes, your taste in men is truly impressive. Imagine liking someone like him!"

Lauren's face stiffened, and she was about to snap when the crowd suddenly erupted into chaos.

A line of police cars came speeding in with flashing lights, but even more shocking were the three black armored vehicles following behind them. The bold characters "Special Operations" glinted in the sunlight.

The crowd instinctively backed away.

The leading police car screeched to a stop right in front of us. The door swung open, and stepping out was none other than Grant Jacobs, the Chief of Kingshore Police himself.

Seeing who arrived, Yuri's eyes lit up. He puffed up proudly and raised his voice for everyone to hear. "See that? One phone call from the Hayes, and even Chief Jacobs came personally! Let's see who dares disrespect the Hayes now!"

Before he even finished bragging, Yuri hurried forward, fawning shamelessly.

"Chief Jacobs, perfect timing! This delivery guy stole a priceless antique and tried to extort the Hayes family. You—"

Before he could finish, Chief Jacobs strode right past him, heading straight toward me.