Chapter 4 The Ruin of Nathan Parker

The silence that followed the revelation was deafening.

Nathan's entire world had come to a standstill. The murmurs of the guests, the whispers of betrayal, the sharp intakes of breath from people who had once admired him-it all became a suffocating weight pressing against his chest.

His mind was hazy, his limbs still sluggish, and his skin burned from the residual effects of whatever had overtaken him. But the moment his gaze met Olivia's-the heartbreak in her eyes, the tremble of her lips as if struggling to keep herself from sobbing-his blood ran cold.

He had been caught.

The humiliation was instant and absolute.

Sophia was still grasping at the sheets, her face a mixture of horror and confusion as she struggled to process what had just happened. The voices around them began to rise, whispers turning into accusations, judgment slicing through the air like a blade.

"My God, is that really Sophia?"

"Nathan Parker cheated on his fiancée? At his own engagement party?"

"The poor girl... look at Olivia. She's devastated!"

"And with her own best friend! How disgusting!"

Nathan felt his stomach churn as he tried to think, to reason, to fix this. But the haze in his mind made everything disorienting, his thoughts refusing to piece together coherently.

Then-

"Nathan. Explain yourself."

His father's voice sliced through the air, cold, controlled, and furious.

Nathan turned his head, only to be met with Richard Parker's icy stare.

The power in his father's voice sent a shudder through the room, commanding immediate silence. The once lighthearted engagement party had turned into a court of judgment, and Nathan was the one on trial.

He tried to stand properly, to button his undone shirt, to pull himself together. "Dad, I-this isn't what it looks like-"

But even as he said it, he knew how weak it sounded.

How absurd.

He was half-dressed, Sophia was beneath the sheets, and dozens of guests had walked in to see them entangled.

Richard's lips pressed into a thin line. "Are you saying we didn't just see what we all saw?"

Nathan swallowed hard. "I-"

"I trusted you, Nathan."

That voice.

Soft. Shaky. Devastated.

His head snapped back to Olivia, who was still standing near the doorway, surrounded by guests who looked at her with pity and sympathy.

She looked destroyed.

Her hands trembled, clutching the fabric of her gown as if holding herself together. Her eyes-once filled with love and trust for him-now brimmed with unshed tears.

It hit him then.

Not just what he had done, but what he had lost.

Olivia-his perfect, elegant, devoted fiancée-was staring at him as if he had just shattered her entire world.

And in that moment, Nathan realized something terrifying.

He had lost her.

For good.

---

Olivia's Perspective

She had practiced this moment in her head a thousand times.

She had imagined different outcomes, different reactions-Nathan denying, Sophia sobbing, the guests gasping in horror.

But nothing could have prepared her for the sheer satisfaction that bloomed in her chest as she watched Nathan Parker stand before her, utterly ruined.

He looked small.

For the first time in her life, he wasn't the untouchable, powerful, charming man she had once idolized.

He was just a disgraced liar caught in his own deception.

The tension in the room was thick, the weight of expectation pressing down on her. She knew everyone was watching, waiting-to see if she would lash out, if she would cry, if she would crumble like any other betrayed woman would.

But Olivia was not just any woman.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, blinking away the tears that clung to her lashes. She let the raw, heartbroken silence stretch between them before she finally spoke.

"Nathan..."

His eyes snapped to hers, desperation flickering behind them. "Olivia, please-"

"No."

The single word rang loud and final.

Nathan's mouth snapped shut.

She let the silence speak for itself before finally exhaling a shaky breath, turning her gaze toward her father.

And when she spoke, her voice wavered, soft but firm.

"Father... I can't marry him."

Gasps filled the room. The scandal, the humiliation, the betrayal-it was all unfolding in real time, and Olivia knew exactly what she was doing.

She didn't need to scream. She didn't need to slap Nathan or throw a tantrum.

By simply rejecting him in front of everyone, she was making her statement.

Nathan Parker was not worthy of her.

Charles Carter-her father-watched her closely. He had always been a man of logic, of business, of control. And now, as he looked between his daughter and the man he had once approved of, Olivia saw the shift in his expression.

Disappointment.

Not in her.

In Nathan.

Charles slowly exhaled, then turned to Richard Parker. His voice was calm, but the edge in it was unmistakable.

"I will not allow my daughter to be humiliated like this."

Richard's face remained unreadable, but Olivia did not miss the flicker of rage in his eyes.

Not at her.

At Nathan.

The guests held their breath, the weight of the moment thick between them.

Richard finally spoke, his voice eerily quiet. "Nathan."

Nathan's head snapped toward him. "Dad, I-"

"Enough."

The single word froze him in place.

Richard's gaze bore into him with the full weight of power and consequence. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Nathan flinched. "I-"

"You have shamed this family," Richard continued coldly. "You have shamed yourself. You were given everything, and you threw it away for this?" His eyes flicked toward Sophia, who had gone deathly pale.

The silence was suffocating.

Olivia watched as Nathan visibly shrank under his father's fury.

And it still wasn't enough.

She turned back to her father, letting her voice break just enough when she said, "Please, Father. I don't want to marry him anymore."

It was the final blow.

Charles Carter turned to Richard. "The engagement is off."

And with those four words, Nathan Parker lost everything.

---

Nathan's Perspective

Panic clawed at Nathan's chest.

No. No, this couldn't be happening.

His father's expression was pure steel. "You are no longer worthy of this alliance, Nathan."

Charles Carter nodded once. "My daughter deserves better."

Nathan's heart pounded.

Everything he had worked for-gone in a single night.

His engagement. His ties to Carter Industries. His father's trust.

All because of one stupid mistake.

No-this wasn't a mistake.

This was planned.

Nathan's eyes darted to Olivia.

He wished she could listen to him , but alas it was too late.