Chapter 2

One of Ryan’s lackeys shoved me hard.

“Who gave you permission to call her by her name?”

“Ethan, do you still think we’re students? Do you think we’re still on the same level?”

“Things are completely different now. Being allowed to see Ryan is already a privilege. And you still dare to call his wife by her first name?”

The other lackeys began shoving me too.

I lost my balance and was pushed onto the red carpet.

My driver tried to step forward, but the men shoved him to the floor as well.

The hotel staff watched without doing anything.

They all knew who the real boss was today.

They probably assumed I was some broke nobody who had shown up to cause trouble. Better to avoid getting involved.

Ryan waved his hand in false politeness, and his lackeys finally stopped.

“Back when we were doing research, people were always saying you were chasing Chloe.”

“So what happened? You heard that the woman you loved is marrying me, and you couldn’t handle it?”

“How about this? Get on your knees and bark a few times. Then I might let you become a junior cleaner at Apex Technologies.”

Ryan walked up to me and kicked me hard.

The lackeys around him began shouting in agreement.

“Six thousand a month? You really hit the jackpot!”

“If Ryan hadn’t remembered your old friendship, you wouldn’t even have a chance at such a valuable job!”

“Hurry up and thank him!”

My expression grew colder.

I had never pursued Chloe back in school. I had been completely absorbed in genuine cutting-edge research.

The truth was, Chloe had been the one chasing me.

She checked on me every day and constantly tried to get my attention.

After months of persistence, she finally succeeded.

I remembered her.

After graduation, I brought Chloe into my company.

I had founded that company through my own groundbreaking research.

Everything we developed represented the nation’s most advanced technology.

Chloe joined the research company without hesitation—a place she could never have entered through her own abilities.

And now these clowns, who had never even touched the highest level of science, thought they were qualified to discuss research?

My phone fell out of my pocket during the struggle.

At Chloe’s insistence, my lock screen showed her smiling face.

The moment Ryan saw it, his smile disappeared.

“Ethan, I can’t believe you’re still obsessed with her!”

He picked up my phone, his expression growing darker.

“But today, I’m going to make you watch the woman of your dreams marry me.”

He raised the phone, preparing to smash it against the floor.

“Ryan, put my phone down!” I suddenly shouted.

That phone contained a huge amount of my research data.

Most of the core files were stored on it. If Ryan damaged it, the losses would be impossible to calculate.

Seeing my reaction, Ryan assumed I was simply worried about Chloe’s picture.

He sneered.

I had just started to rise and reach for my phone when Ryan’s men forced me back down.

My driver tried to protect me, but there were too many of them.

The hotel staff rushed over as well.

They knew who was paying the bills. They immediately surrounded my driver and began beating him.

I could only watch as Ryan slammed my phone onto the floor.

The phone had been specially reinforced. It was extremely durable, so the impact didn’t destroy it.

Ryan stared at the unharmed device.

Why was this phone so tough?

When I saw that it was still intact, I breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly reached out—

Ryan noticed and immediately gave me a mocking look.

“What? You want your phone back?”

“Keep dreaming.”