Chapter 1
When they found me, my limbs were stiff with cold.
My body had long gone numb, and I lay in the cable car, barely clinging to life.
With the staff’s help, I was rushed to the emergency room.
Skylar was listed as my emergency contact. When the doctor called her, her languid voice filled the phone.
“So what if he froze all night? He’s not dead. Tell him I’ll come after I’ve had my sleep.”
After she hung up, the nurse looked at me with profound pity.
I lay silently on the bed, my thoughts replaying.
Last night, I’d foolishly thought Devin was deliberately blocking Skylar’s calls.
But hearing Skylar’s callous indifference to my near-death experience, my heart hardened. There was nothing left to give her.
My life, it seemed, meant so little to her.
I pulled out my phone and dialed that long-uncalled number again:
“Dad, I’m ready to come home and take over the family business. On one condition: acquire all of Thorne Enterprises.”
My father’s relieved voice came through the line.
“Son, you’ve finally come to your senses. Three days, max. I’ll personally come pick you up.”
It wasn’t until the afternoon that Skylar finally showed up, with Devin in tow.
The moment she stepped through the door, she wrinkled her nose in disgust.
“What is that awful smell?”
I’d been unconscious from the cold all night, and I’d had an accident. I hadn’t had a chance to change my clothes after waking up.
Devin, standing behind her, looked at me with feigned concern.
“Mr. Hayes, we were indeed with a crucial client at the hot springs last night. That contract was extremely important, which is why we couldn’t answer your calls.”
Skylar looked at me with blatant disdain.
“Why bother explaining to him? Thanks to you, we secured that big deal last night.”
So, in Skylar’s eyes, I was worth less than a contract.
That contract, the very one they were celebrating, was only secured because of my connections.
If I hadn’t specifically brokered the partnership with Mr. Stone, how else would they have landed such a massive deal?
Yet, at this moment, Skylar was crediting all the success to Devin.
The irony was sickening.
Devin, hearing Skylar’s praise, shot me a triumphant look.
Before Devin joined the company, Skylar and I always treated each other with respect, like a perfectly polite couple. But ever since he appeared, everything changed.
Skylar had no patience for incompetence. If an employee made a mistake, she’d never give them a second chance.
Even I, when I made errors, faced her harsh criticism.
But Devin? Every time he made a rookie mistake, she’d just laugh it off, always finding excuses for him.
She’d claim it was “to give new hires more opportunities to learn from their mistakes.”
Initially, I didn’t think much of it, until I accidentally overheard their conversation one day.
“Devin, it’s great to be young and full of vitality. Not like Owen, so lifeless these days.”
“He just walks around with a long face all the time.”
It turned out Skylar was just bored with me and had found someone new. Her heart had already shifted towards Devin.
Skylar and I built this company from the ground up right after college. I even gave up my family’s inheritance for her.
In the early days, it was my connections and background that got the company off the ground.
I thought we’d walk this path together until the end, but I never imagined I was planning for a future that only included me.
Skylar had already kicked me out of the game.
Just as I was lost in thought, Skylar’s cold words sharply cut through my reverie.
“When we get back to the office, I plan to give Devin ten percent of the shares.”
“And your Vice President position? That’s going to Devin too. Consider it a reward for securing that big deal.”
If I’d heard these words before, I would have erupted in a furious rage.
But now, my heart was eerily calm. When you’ve been disappointed beyond measure, there’s no hope left to crush.
I simply replied, my voice flat, “Fine.”
She didn’t expect me to agree so readily. A flicker of surprise crossed Skylar’s face, but it was quickly overshadowed by glee.
“Smart move.”
With that, she took Devin and left.
In three days, I’d be gone for good. Nothing here mattered to me anymore.