Chapter 4

Even though I was prepared for her venom, Jess's words still stung.

A faint echo of the pain from my past life.

But this time, it was different. It was a catalyst.

I felt the last lingering thread of any past affection for her snap.

Good riddance.

Jess, however, completely misread my silence.

"See?" she said to my father, a triumphant sneer on her face. "He' s speechless. He knows I' m right."

She then turned back to me, her voice dripping with condescension.

"You used to follow me around like a lost puppy, Alex. You bought me jewelry, cars, that ridiculous penthouse apartment. You showered me with gifts, trying to buy my affection."

She listed my past devotions, my material sacrifices, as if they were proof of my current, desperate longing.

The hypocrisy was astounding. She had consciously exploited my affection, all while despising me.

Now, she and Ryan stood there, practically intertwined, his arm around her waist, her head leaning on his shoulder.

A public display of their "twin flame" connection. It was an eyesore.

It made my skin crawl.

The next day, the news of my "unexpected" choice of Sophia Chen was all over the financial news and gossip columns.

Jess, not one to be outdone, made her move.

She cornered me as I was leaving Peterson Global headquarters.

In front of reporters who had been loitering, hoping for a comment.

"Alex!" she called out, rushing towards me, Ryan trailing in her wake.

"We need to talk about our partnership!" she declared loudly, for everyone to hear.

"I demand that you still go through with a partnership, a marriage of convenience, but allow me to openly continue my relationship with Ryan. It's about equality, Alex! You get your corporate stability, and I get my true love!"

Her voice was shrill, her eyes wild.

The reporters scribbled furiously. Cameras flashed.

I felt a burning wave of public humiliation wash over me.

The sheer, blatant disregard for my dignity, for any semblance of decorum.

It was a new level of audacity, even for Jess.

My chest ached. Not with love, but with a cold, hard anger.

"Fine, Jess," I said, my voice tight, laced with a sarcasm I couldn' t hide. "You want equality? You want your lover? Have him."

I turned and walked away, the cacophony of questions and camera clicks following me.

Jess didn't waste a moment.

The next day, headlines screamed about the "modern" demands of Jess Vanderbilt.

She promptly moved Ryan Miller into the penthouse apartment I had once bought for her, the one she still occupied as part of her family's "understanding" with mine.

She began redecorating it, loudly proclaiming it would be their "love nest."

My father was apoplectic. He ordered Ryan to be thrown out.

His security team tried, but Jess intervened.

She stood at the doorway, a dramatic, defiant figure.

"If you touch him, I' ll tell the world Alex Peterson is a possessive, abusive monster!" she threatened.

She accused my father of trying to control her, of being a patriarchal dinosaur.

I arrived to find a standoff. My father red-faced, Jess screaming, Ryan cowering behind her.

I didn' t want to punish Ryan. I wanted them both out of my life.

I walked past them, into the apartment. I went to the safe where, in my past life, I had kept a pair of jade pendants, family heirlooms meant for my future wife.

I took them out.

I walked back to Jess and Ryan.

"Here," I said, holding them out to Jess. "A wedding gift. For you and your true love."

I dropped them into her hands and walked out, leaving them stunned.

I wanted nothing that tied me to her, to them. Complete disengagement.