Ten years ago, I had nothing.

Back then, even filling my own stomach was a daily struggle.

Yet Megan—our university's campus beauty, pursued by countless rich trust-fund heirs—had chosen to be with me without hesitation.

When I tried to back away, she held me tightly and told me she believed I would achieve great things someday. She was willing to walk beside me from nothing all the way to the top.

I promised her that the day I finally succeeded, I would set off fireworks across the entire city for her from the rooftop of the most luxurious restaurant in Alyes City.

I would buy her the newest model of a luxury sports car.

But now that I had finally done it, the feeling was completely different from what I had imagined back then.

After calming her parents, Megan tugged lightly on my hand. "Honey, take us to watch the fireworks."

A weary smile tugged at the corner of my lips. "Alright."

…

Standing on the rooftop, the dazzling nightscape of Alyes City stretched out beneath us.

Brilliant fireworks burst across the sky for a full thirty minutes.

As the finale faded, the name "Megan" lingered in the night sky, drawing crowds of people below to stop and stare.

While preparing this surprise, I had imagined countless times how she would react—so moved that tears streamed down her face.

We would kiss beneath the fireworks.

Megan would become the happiest woman in Alyes City.

But when I looked at her expressionless profile… the last shred of expectation in my heart quietly collapsed.

"Is it over? Then let's go home."

There wasn't the slightest ripple in Megan's eyes, as though she had merely completed a task.

My mother-in-law widened her eyes, glancing around in disbelief.

"What? Thousands of dollars just for a bunch of loud explosions? What a waste! With that kind of money, you could buy a house back in our hometown! And instead, you spend it on these flashy but useless things. How much suffering must our Megan endure being with you?"

My father-in-law hunched his shoulders, hands tucked into his sleeves, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Young people really don't understand the hardships of life. No regard for anyone else's feelings. All this for a moment of happiness and some so-called romance—polluting the air and adding extra trouble to the city's environmental work! Absolutely selfish!

"That's enough. Now that it's done, let's head back. This wind is cutting my face."

With a cold snort, he turned and started downstairs.

My mother-in-law hurried after him, muttering under her breath.

"If I'd known it would be this miserable, I wouldn't have come!"

Brandon asked a waiter for three cups of hot water and carried them over.

"Here, have some hot water to warm up. It's not much, but it'll help."

He flashed a pleasing, slightly shy smile.

My in-laws immediately stopped complaining and accepted the cups with approval.

"Ah, Brandon is so thoughtful and observant! When Megan's dad hurt his back not long ago, you ran back and forth taking care of him at the hospital like a real son."

My mother-in-law deliberately shot me a sideways glance and snorted.

"Not like a certain someone who didn't even bother to show their face!"

A glint flashed in Brandon's eyes, but he pretended to defend me.

"Please don't say that. Tyler was just too busy with work to come."

But instead of calming them, his words only fueled their anger.

My father-in-law's face flushed red as he shouted, "How busy can work possibly be? Acting like some big-shot president in front of me! If I dropped dead one day, would he still say he's too busy with work to come?!"

My mother-in-law chimed in indignantly.

"Exactly! Tyler, even though you don't have parents, you're almost thirty now. How can you still not understand basic manners?

"You married Megan, which makes you part of our family. When your father-in-law is hospitalized, no matter how busy you are, you should still be at the bedside showing filial respect. No excuse is acceptable!"

I wasn't stupid. I could hear the hidden meaning behind their words.

In the past, my father-in-law and mother-in-law had looked down on me, but at least they maintained a basic level of courtesy.

Recently, however, their words had turned sharp and sarcastic, constantly comparing me with Brandon.

So this was what it was about.

They were still upset that a week ago, when my father-in-law sprained his back, I hadn't gone to the hospital to visit him.

But they seemed to have forgotten the reason I couldn't come.

After I gained my boss's trust at the company and started holding real authority, they forced me to hire Brandon.

But he hadn't even finished middle school. Even starting from the most basic position as an intern assistant, he caused trouble every other day.

He once misremembered the time of an important meeting and showed up late, offending the client so badly that the deal nearly fell apart.

Another time, he accidentally sent our core profit data to a partner company.

They seized on the information as leverage, and our company ended up losing thirty percent of its profits.

Every time, I had to clean up the mess he left behind. Yet, he never learned his lesson.

With Megan and her parents backing him, he acted recklessly. In the end, his stupidity and ignorance were exploited by someone with ulterior motives.

For the sake of a massive kickback, he abused his position and secretly embezzled company funds. Luckily, I discovered it in time and stopped it.

I went to enormous lengths to calm the client and pleaded with my superiors. Only then did we barely manage to preserve the partnership.

I even kept him from going to prison.

Because of the disaster he caused, I had been running around like crazy, apologizing everywhere, begging forgiveness.

Meanwhile, he simply resigned and ran off, then busied himself flattering my in-laws.

And now it seemed he hadn't said a single good word about me to them.

A truly ungrateful wolf.

I glanced at Megan.

She kept her eyes lowered, as if silently consenting to everything.

I had expected it—but my heart still grew a little colder.

At last, I could no longer suppress my temper.

"Dad, Mom, you can't have it both ways. If I didn't focus on my work, where would you get the money to stay in a VIP room at a private hospital?

"I hired the best doctor in Alyes City to treat you. Seven days in the hospital cost eight thousand. Yet in your eyes, that's not worth as much as Brandon casually asking how you're doing?

"If that's the kind of concern you want, fine. I'll give it to you from now on. But the three thousand dollars I send home every month for living expenses will be adjusted to three hundred instead."

My mother-in-law was so shocked that the cup in her hand slipped and shattered on the ground. Her voice rose to a shrill pitch.

"On what grounds? Who could live on three hundred?!"

My father-in-law pointed at me angrily.

"Tyler, as a junior, supporting your elders is your duty! What right do you have to reduce our living expenses without permission?!"

Brandon chimed in, pretending to mediate.

"Tyler, don't be jealous. I know you're acting like this because you think I stole the spotlight. But when you didn't come to the hospital, it's normal that they had complaints. You could just behave better and smooth things over with them. Why do you have to argue like this?"

My mother-in-law patted his hand approvingly.

"Brandon is the thoughtful one. Everything he says and does always hits right at our hearts!"

My father-in-law nodded along.

"Exactly. If you can't do things properly yourself, can't others say a few words about it? You're not even one-tenth as sensible as Brandon!

"Oh right—speaking of that, I heard the salesperson who sold you that car was introduced by Brandon. How are you planning to repay that favor?

"No matter how busy you are, you can't push everything onto Brandon. He's not your servant. And he took care of me for several days while I was in the hospital—you definitely owe him compensation for the work he missed!"

My mother-in-law looked at Brandon with sympathy.

"Brandon delayed his own work to help us. At the very least, he should be compensated three times his usual salary!"

Then she turned to him.

"Brandon, how much do you earn?"

Brandon quickly waved his hands, pretending to decline.

"It was only right for me to take care of you while you were hospitalized. How could I possibly take your money?"

"Besides, Tyler already arranged a job for me," Brandon added quickly. "Even if it's only eight hundred a month, I'm already grateful! I really can't take your money!"

My mother-in-law looked deeply pleased, though she still found time to shoot me a glare.

But my father-in-law seemed to sense something off.

"Why are you only earning eight hundred a month?" he asked suspiciously. "This is one of Alyes City's fastest-growing tech companies. Even fresh graduates start at a thousand a month. Why are you getting so little?"

He turned to glare at me.

"Well, well, Tyler. So you've been sabotaging Brandon behind his back! You ungrateful thing!"

I couldn't bear to carry such an outrageous accusation.

"Enough!" I snapped. "With his résumé, he wouldn't even make it through the application process. I already made an exception to bring him into the company—what more do you want? He should be grateful to earn eight hundred!"

"The trouble he caused nearly dragged the whole company down with him, and I didn't even hold it against him! Yet, now you're turning the blame on me? Do I, Tyler, really owe your entire family something?"

My father-in-law pointed at me in disbelief. "You insolent brat! Tyler, how dare you speak to me like that?!

"Brandon is only an intern. Even if he made mistakes, that just means you failed to teach him properly. You should take responsibility!"

My mother-in-law stepped protectively in front of Brandon, hands on her hips, pointing straight at my face.

"I think you did this on purpose. You ungrateful wretch—you just can't stand to see our family doing well!"

Brandon's eyes reddened as if he were both anxious and wronged.

"Please don't get so angry—it's bad for your health! If Tyler has a problem with me, I'll just leave. After all, you're family. I'm just an outsider. It's not worth causing a rift between you because of me."

He wiped his eyes with his fingers and turned as if to leave.

My mother-in-law hurried to stop him. "Don't go! This isn't your fault!"

My father-in-law suddenly reached out and dragged me in front of Brandon.

"Apologize to Brandon right now! He's such a sensible and obedient boy. While you're busy, he's the one helping take care of us. He's practically fulfilling your duties of filial piety for you, and yet, you dare say something so outrageous!

"If you don't give Brandon the apology and compensation he deserves today, I'm not letting this go!"

The force of the pull made me stumble, nearly falling.

A sharp pain pierced my chest.

I looked toward Megan. She remained silent the entire time.

"What if I say I won't apologize?"

My in-laws stared at me in disbelief, so furious they could barely speak.

Megan frowned deeply, looking at me with reproach.

"Tyler, do you really have to anger my parents to death?"

I let out a bitter smile. "You think I should apologize too?"

Her face showed only impatience, as if the question of right or wrong didn't matter at all.

"Even if you're right, can you really bring yourself to defy my parents?"

"That's enough. Stop arguing. Tyler, transfer ten percent of the company's shares to Brandon as repayment."

She spoke as if she wanted nothing to do with the conflict.

Beside her, a flash of calculation flickered in Brandon's eyes.

My father-in-law wasn't satisfied yet and added another demand.

"And that sports car too—transfer it to Brandon as a return gift!"

A self-mocking smile curved at the corner of my mouth.

"And if I don't?"

"Then I'll have Megan divorce you!"

Megan said nothing.

Suddenly, I felt very tired.

"Fine."

I turned and asked my lawyer to send over a divorce agreement, then had the waiter print it out.

Without hesitation, I signed my name.

Then I handed it to them.

"Sign it."

Megan shouted in shock, "What?"