Chapter 1

Right after I finished the final technical review meeting, I noticed my phone wouldn’t stop vibrating.

I glanced at the screen. It was the PhD group chat I hadn’t checked in ages, and everyone was tagging me like crazy.

“Ethan, today is our senior’s wedding day. How dare you make him wait? Who do you think you are?”

That was when I remembered. Today was Ryan’s wedding—the former leader of our PhD group.

“Sorry. Something came up recently, so I won’t be attending.” I typed the message calmly.

I wasn’t close to anyone in that group.

I had always been focused on cutting-edge technology. Their childish little projects weren’t worth my time. After years of that, we’d naturally drifted apart.

“Ethan, give it up. I know you’re living like a stray dog now. That’s what happens when you keep yourself outside the core team.”

“Maybe you’re just too useless to find a research team. Are you living off your parents at home, or sweeping streets somewhere?”

“Once Ryan joins the Apex Technologies research division, maybe he’ll be in a good mood and give you a job as a cleaner. Six thousand a month isn’t bad.”

“Other people would beg for that kind of job!”

I almost laughed.

Apex Technologies was nothing more than one of the research teams under my command.

And I had more than a dozen teams like that.

“I bet he’s only hiding because the prettiest girl in our group, Chloe, is marrying Ryan. He’s too embarrassed to show his face.”

The moment I read that message, my brows drew together.

What did that mean?

Wasn’t Chloe supposed to be my fiancée?

I quickly scrolled up. When I saw the wedding certificate Chloe had posted in the group, my gaze turned icy.

Out of the corner of my eye, I looked at my phone’s lock screen. Chloe was leaning against my shoulder, smiling brightly.

“Chloe?”

I returned to my office.

Heart-shaped stickers were still plastered everywhere.

Chloe had covered my office with little heart-shaped notes because she wanted me to think of her whenever I saw them.

I opened our chat history.

“I have something urgent to deal with back home, so I need to go away for a few days. Take good care of yourself while I’m gone, okay?”

I sent her a message.

“There’s an urgent issue at the company. Can you come back?”

It didn’t take long for her reply to arrive.

“Sweetheart, there really is something urgent going on back home… Please understand.”

I opened the PhD group chat again. They were still taking turns mocking me.

I wanted to see what exactly had happened.

“I’ll be there soon!”

After sending that message, I grabbed a trench coat, called my driver, and left.

Inside the black Maybach, I kept scrolling through my chat history with Chloe.

Because of me, Chloe had become the chief administrator of Apex Technologies.

She wasn’t particularly capable. In fact, she was probably the weakest person on the entire technical team.

But that didn’t matter. I always covered for her.

As long as I was there, Chloe would remain Apex Technologies’ chief administrator forever.

Sitting in the car, I kept reading through our old conversations.

Then I noticed a pattern.

Every two weeks, Chloe would take about two days off.

At first, I assumed she simply wanted a break. I never questioned it. I approved every request, and I handled her work for her.

But considering that she was marrying Ryan today, those two days off suddenly seemed very different.

A light rain began to fall outside.

The Maybach moved quickly, and before long, we arrived outside the hotel where Ryan’s wedding was being held.

It was the largest wedding venue in the city. Anyone who could hold a wedding here was either powerful or extremely wealthy.

I didn’t have the Maybach pull up to the main entrance. Instead, I ordered the driver to take us around to the back.

The driver looked confused.

“Mr. Carter, why aren’t we going through the front entrance?”

I stared at the wedding hotel through the window, my eyes cold.

“I want to see what they’re really up to.”

Soon, the Maybach stopped by the rear entrance.

The driver hurried around and opened the door for me.

I stepped out in my trench coat and strode inside. My driver followed close behind.

After passing through the kitchen, I arrived at the grand wedding hall.

I immediately spotted Ryan on the stage, wearing a smug expression. A large group of sycophants surrounded him. Several of them noticed me entering through the back.

“Look! Why is Ethan coming in through the back?”

“Oh, this is exactly what Ryan guessed. Couldn’t this guy make it in research, so now he’s working in the hotel kitchen?”

“Once Ryan joins Apex Technologies with his wife’s help, he can probably give this guy a cleaner’s job.”

“I think Ethan should crawl between Ryan’s legs first before he earns that privilege.”

“No, he should lick Ryan’s shoes clean every day. Then maybe Ryan will consider giving him such a great job.”

Led by Ryan, the group burst into laughter and walked toward me.

I stood perfectly straight, staring directly at Ryan and the others.

“You’re marrying Chloe?”