The following day, Mei and Zeke attended the consortium event. All the banks Representatives in Central city were in full attendance as well as heads of major corporations who were affected by the stock crash.The meeting was held in a conference hall, large enough to contain a hundred people.Mei sat at the forefront while Zeke sat quietly beside her. Neither of them bothered exchanging pleasantries with anyone. There was no warmth in the air, only gloomy weary faces.When the crowd were settled, the lead bank representative rose to his feet and approached the podium.He cleared his throat. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen for coming. We are well aware that the recent stock crash has dealt a heavy blow to each one of you. Your businesses are struggling, and your families are barely holding on. It's truly a depressing era for everyone."He paused, letting his words sink into the audience. Then he went on. "Many of you have already approached us for assistance. Today, I stand before

"Xavier and I used to date. He was my ex-fiancé," Mei revealed.Zeke felt a chill crawl down his spine. He couldn't believe his ears. "You and Xavier were engaged?""That was before I met you," Mei said, her shoulders sagging. "We met at a business submit and we hit it off. Xavier wasted no time. Six months later, he proposed. My father approved immediately, but my mother... she didn't trust him. She said Xavier wasn't the right choice for me."Zeke listened quietly without interrupting her. His silence pressed her to continue."I couldn't help it," Mei continued, her tone tinged with regret. "I wanted to marry Zeke but my mother insisted I end it. It was hard but at the end, I called off the engagement. I was devasted for months but I managed to move past it. Eventually, my mother introduced me to you."Zeke clenched his jaw. It was true their union had been arranged by Mei's late mother.That was because Mei's mother was a good friend to the Rockechilds family. An arranged marriage

Mei couldn't believe her eyes. Xavier was right there behind her desk, sitting like he owned the office."What are you doing here, Xavier? This is my office. You have no right barging in without my consent!"But Xavier coolly responded with a lazy shrug. "Don't take it out on me, Mei. I was going to wait for you. But your father insisted I stayed in your office. We had a wonderful conversation before you arrived. Seems he still holds me in high regard."Mei clenched her fists by her sides. "Then you've overstayed your welcome. I'd be grateful if you'd leave now, Xavier. I have a busy schedule today and I—""Hey, take it easy, tiger," Xavier cut her short, a playful expression on his face. "You work too much. Maybe you should learn to let off some steam—it might do you good.""Xavier," She warned. "This isn't the time nor the place. Leave. I don't have the time to argue with you."Xavier chuckled as he slowly rose from her seat and began approaching her. "You know that's funny. I only

Zeke’s hands slowly fell from the desk. For a moment, he could only stare at her. Zeke’s chest tightened with rage. Everything now made total sense. Of course it was Xavier. Who else had the power, the influence, and the audacity to drag up a broken engagement from the past and parade it across the skies for the world to see? Xavier had deliberately painted Mei’s history in a way that humiliated Zeke, branding him as nothing more than the “second choice,” a man unworthy of Mei's love.But Xavier hadn’t stopped there. No, he had gone further. He had smeared Zeke’s name with rumors of infidelity, planting poison into the ears of Mei’s friends, her family—even Mei herself. That was so unforgivable. Zeke's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, jaw set, eyes hardening with a cold fire. “Very well,” he said gravely, his eyes boring into Mei’s. “I’ll come to this party tomorrow night. And I’ll make that bastard pay for what he did.”Mei’s gaze slide down to her hands as she placed