Chapter 4
“Now, please welcome the best project team of the year to the stage!” The host’s voice boomed.
I adjusted my tie.
I had pulled four months of all-nighters, averaging three hours of sleep a day, to complete this smart campus project that Sterling Corp was eyeing for investment. I’d finished it just before the deadline.
Although it was credited to the team, everyone knew the core solution came from my hands.
All to make my grandfather proud.
“Let’s welcome the project lead, Kyle Miller! From today, he’s promoted to Director!”
Applause thundered.
My champagne glass, half-raised, froze in mid-air.
On stage, Kyle, dressed in a custom-tailored suit, was bowing gracefully.
On the large screen displaying the project summary, my name was listed last, marked as “material compilation.”
“And a special thanks to my amazing partner.”
Kyle suddenly blew a kiss towards the audience, and the camera promptly cut to the main table, where Charlotte was covering her mouth, giggling coyly.
My heart clenched painfully. I fumbled for a pill and swallowed it.
Just then, a microphone was thrust in front of me.
“Mr. Sterling, as a team member, what are your thoughts?” The host was clearly unaware of the situation. “I hear you pulled several all-nighters?”
The entire room fell silent.
I saw Kyle’s narrowed eyes and Charlotte’s suddenly changing expression.
“It was all thanks to Director Miller and Ms. Peterson’s excellent leadership.” I put on a perfectly timed expression of humility.
“I just helped out a bit. Nothing worth everyone’s attention.”
Kyle immediately beamed, and Charlotte’s expression shifted from tense to subtly contemptuous.
She elegantly stood up, her high heels clicking.
“My Blake,” she said, leaning intimately on my shoulder, her voice carried through the microphone to the entire room, “his biggest strength is knowing his place.”
Her fingers dug hard into my shoulder blade. “After all, being a kept man is a real skill, right?”
Laughter, like a tidal wave, crashed over me.
I maintained my smile, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth. I hadn’t even realized I’d bitten the inside of my cheek.
Kyle’s phone buzzed with a notification. He glanced at it, a wild grin spreading across his face.
I knew what it was.
My rage was being converted in real-time into numbers in his account.
“Oh, right,” Charlotte said, turning back as she walked away. “Tomorrow’s our wedding anniversary. I booked a table at a Michelin-starred restaurant.”
Her red lips curved into a smirk. “Don’t be late.”
Of course, she wouldn’t show up.
Last life, I waited four hours that day, only to receive a text from Kyle.
It contained a hotel room number.
I had gathered evidence of their affair, but my heart couldn’t take any more shocks.
I died right outside that hotel room, becoming the laughingstock of the entire city.
But this time, I had a surprise prepared.
The next evening, I used half a year’s savings to buy Charlotte the Cartier necklace she had admired in a store last week.
I waited at the restaurant until closing.