Chapter 1

After news spread throughout the company that the CEO's fiancée I had risked my life to save was going to marry her true love and have his child, everyone thought I, as the jilted fiancé, would go mad with anger.

But even after their child was born, I never caused any trouble. Instead, I focused all my energy on securing projects for the struggling company.

My ex-fiancée thought I had finally accepted my role as merely a tool to manage her company. She smugly promised me:

"Seeing as you're so sensible about earning money for me and the baby, I'll reluctantly keep you at the company, giving you a chance to continue taking care of us."

But she seemed rather presumptuous. I wasn't working for her and the child, but preparing to take over the company next week.

From now on, I won't compromise by being her behind-the-scenes supportive partner. Instead, I'll replace her as the new CEO!

I had just finished a meeting with a client when I saw Jack changing his and Olivia's baby's diaper at my desk.

"Mr. Jack, you really have it tough - working and taking care of the baby. Once Ms. Olivia is back from maternity leave, she'll definitely give you a big promotion and raise!" one colleague gushed.

"That's right, a baby born in the Year of the Snake is destined for greatness. When he grows up, he'll be just as outstanding as Mr. Jack - a pillar of the company," another chimed in.

The tiny 50 square foot room, which used to be my office, was now crammed full of my project team colleagues. It had been transformed into Jack's nursery at the office, stuffed with baby supplies. Even the wall that once displayed the awards I'd won for the company had been stripped bare, replaced with photos documenting every day of the baby's life from birth to one month old.

There were plenty of empty rooms in the company due to recent layoffs. But Jack insisted that only my office had the right feng shui for the baby's growth, according to some fortune teller he'd consulted.

Everyone could tell it was just an excuse for Jack to antagonize me. But Olivia, who had always prided herself on being rational and scientific, actually believed it. She even made me move to a tiny cubicle next to the restrooms, claiming I needed to block some sort of negative energy for her and Jack's baby.

She showed not an ounce of guilt for breaking our long-standing engagement to marry and have a child with Jack.

Coming back to my senses, I noticed Jack eyeing the freshly signed contract in my hand. He sauntered over with a smarmy smile.

"I'm so sorry for the trouble, Lucas," he said with fake sincerity. "I've been busy with the baby lately, and Olivia still needs a few more days of maternity leave. Thank you for handling all the business trips recently. I'll be sure to tell Olivia about your contributions!"

Though Jack's words were polite, his right hand was already reaching for the contract I was holding.

In the year since Jack joined the company, he had been constantly stealing my projects and achievements, relying on Olivia's blatant favoritism.

In the past, I always compromised and tolerated it for the sake of my relationship with Olivia. But now that she had married him, I had no reason to put up with it anymore. I swatted his hand away firmly.

"Jack, you've already stolen my fiancée. Are you trying to steal the contract I just negotiated too?"

Before Jack could respond, my colleagues rushed to defend him:

"What do you mean 'stolen'? Lucas, that's so rude of you to say!"

"Yeah, Mr. Jack is just too busy taking care of the baby to handle projects himself. He had no choice but to hand them over to you. You got an easy win and now you're complaining? You're just a freeloader - what right do you have to make a fuss?"

I could only laugh bitterly at the irony.

It's true that Jack was the one who initially brought in this project. But to prove himself, he had gotten drunk with the client and rashly promised to do the project for only 60% of our usual price.

He may have landed the deal, but he gave no thought to whether we could actually deliver at that price.

In the end, I was the one who worked overtime optimizing the technology and even dipped into my own pocket to negotiate with suppliers just to barely bring the costs down enough to make it feasible.

And now it had all become Jack's accomplishment.

Seeing that I remained uncompromising, Jack kept a fake smile plastered on his face, saying as long as the company made money it was all good. But when no one was looking, he deliberately pinched the baby hard.

The next moment, amid a burst of loud wailing, I found myself splattered with the baby's poop and pee. Even the freshly signed contract was ruined.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry Lucas! I'm a new dad and don't have much experience yet. My hand slipped - please forgive me," Jack said with exaggerated concern.

Seeing my darkening expression, my colleagues naturally wouldn't miss this chance to suck up to Jack:

"Lucas, are you really going to hold a grudge against a month-old baby? Have you no shame?"

"No wonder Olivia broke off the engagement. With that nasty temper, you can't hold a candle to the gentleman Mr. Jack is."

Hearing them mention the broken engagement, I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

Olivia and I had been together for seven years and were already engaged, about to have our wedding. But a year ago, her ex Jack suddenly reappeared.

He was hired into the company as an exception, thanks to Olivia. Not long after, Olivia urgently sent me on an overseas business trip.

By the time I returned, I heard the news that they had gotten married due to an unplanned pregnancy.

Rather than a gentleman, "wolf in sheep's clothing" seemed a more fitting description for Jack.

But I had urgent matters to attend to and no time to argue with them. I calmly took a document from my drawer and tossed Jack's discarded diaper back at him.

"Sorry, I've been working too much overtime lately and my eyes are tired. I meant to throw it in the trash can, but my hand slipped. Hope you understand," I said flatly.

A foul stench immediately wafted from Jack's expensive suit. His face turned green, but I didn't give them a chance to berate me. I walked out with the document and drove straight to the business registration office, handing the file to the clerk.

"Please help me register this change in shareholder information," I said.

It was a share transfer agreement that Olivia had personally signed six months ago, right before I left for my overseas business trip. It transferred all her shares back to me.

The company was originally founded by me alone, with my own funding and technology. Naturally all the shares had been in my name at first.

It wasn't until a few years ago when the business took off that I gifted Olivia 51% of the shares as compensation for the hardships she endured with me in the early days. It fulfilled her dream of being the boss.

In recent years, with the tough business environment, the company had been struggling. I had planned to buy back all the shares so I could shoulder the risks myself rather than letting Olivia potentially go into debt.

I thought it would be a difficult conversation and had prepared a bunch of excuses to convince Olivia, worried she might misunderstand my intentions.

But the day before I left, when I approached Olivia about it, she signed without even looking at the document, urging me to hurry up and leave for my trip.

I even asked her then if she wasn't afraid I might be trying to swindle her. But she just smiled and helped me pack, saying we were about to get married anyway, so what was mine was hers and vice versa.

At the time, I thought Olivia loved me deeply. I boarded the plane that very night, vowing to secure the deal and save the company.

But when I returned successfully with the contract, Olivia had already married Jack and even given birth to a chubby baby boy.

Only then did I realize - she hadn't signed out of trust in me. She was already pregnant and rushing to marry Jack. She signed and pushed me to leave quickly because she was afraid I'd notice something was off if her belly started to show.

But it worked out well enough. At least the company was still in my hands.

After verifying that the agreement was in order, the clerk suddenly asked:

"Mr. Lucas, for such an important matter as a share transfer, why didn't Ms. Olivia come with you?"

I shook my head calmly. "She's still on maternity leave."

Hearing this, the clerk was taken aback for a moment before congratulating me on becoming a father. He cheerfully went off to process the public notice for the share transfer.

But I couldn't bring myself to smile. Because I wasn't the baby's father. Nor was I her husband.

As I waited lost in thought, my phone suddenly rang. It was Olivia calling.

I had barely answered when a torrent of angry words came through:

"Jack just accidentally got some dirt on a contract. You could have just asked the client to sign a new one. Why did you make such a scene at the office? You scared the baby!"

Before Olivia could finish her tirade, the clerk had already returned with the paperwork for me to sign.

"Sign?" Olivia's voice came through the phone. "Lucas, it's still work hours. Why aren't you at the office? Where did you run off to?!"

After signing, I finally explained:

"Signing an agreement."

There was a pause on the other end before Olivia's tone softened considerably.

"Well, that's more like it. Seeing how hard you're working to make money for me and the baby, I suppose I can graciously keep you at the company and give you a chance to take care of us."

But I barely registered what she was saying. Looking at the new shareholder list showing me as the 91% majority owner and de facto CEO, I couldn't help but laugh.

Olivia on the other end misunderstood, thinking I was grateful. She continued smugly:

"Look at how pleased you are. Keep up the good work. When I'm back from maternity leave, I might consider giving you a promotion and raise."

After a few more instructions, Olivia hung up with a laugh.

But she had no idea that in just two days, once the review period was over, I would be the company's new CEO.

I wonder if she'll still be able to laugh then.