Clarissa was boiling.For two whole days, she had not stopped ranting. The sound of her heels clicking furiously across the marble floors echoed through the Whintrop mansion like gunfire, every word laced with venom."You wouldn't dare!" she shrieked at him, her haughty face flushed with rage.Ryan stood still, his fists clenched at his sides. Her words had long lost their sting, but tonight something inside him had snapped."You wouldn't dare disgrace me like that!" she spat again, as if the ink on that paper bound his soul."I don't care about your public image, I'm done caring what the world thinks!" Ryan roared back, his voice shaking the walls. "I'm done!"Clarissa froze. For a moment, her breath caught in her throat. Never--not once in their three years of marriage--had Ryan raised his voice at her. He had always been silent, obedient, swallowing her insults like bitter medicine. But now, as he stood before her with fire in his eyes, she felt something unfamiliar. Fear.This sid

Clarissa watched him walk back into the Whintrop mansion, her lips curved into a satisfied smile. He looked defeated, bruised along the jaw, his shirt rumpled, and his shoulders heavy. Exactly as her mother predicted.A Whintrop always got what they wanted.She crossed her arms, leaning against the marble pillar of the hallway as he moved past her. "What happened, Ryan? Finally learned where your place is? You should have listened from the start."He didn’t answer. His gaze was distant, his silence colder than she expected. Clarissa's smirk widened. In her mind, she had already won.But Ryan wasn't broken. Not even close.Later, in the solitude of the dim guest room he'd been using, he sat on the edge of the bed, replaying every moment. The masked men. The near-death taste of blood in his mouth. And then the old man's calm voice cutting through chaos like a blade:"Good. You fought when every reason told you to surrender. That's what I needed to see. Now you're ready to know who you a

The mansion was vast enough to swallow Ryan whole, every corridor humming with quiet wealth and authority, but when the gentleman led him down a winding staircase, Ryan realised he had only glimpsed the surface. Torches flickered along stone walls, casting shadows that moved like living things. At the bottom, the air was colder, denser, carrying the faint metallic tang of iron and something stranger, something that raised the hair on Ryan’s neck.They stepped into an underground hall. Ryan stopped short.It wasn't like anything he had seen before. Rows of weapons gleamed under pale light: blades etched with runes, spears tipped with blackened steel, guns modified with sigils scratched across the barrels. On one wall hung armours of different eras--knights’ breastplates, trench coats stitched with silver threads, even sleek tactical suits. And in the far corner, behind bars reinforced with glowing chains, something shifted. Its form was half-shadow, half-flesh, its eyes burning faintl

The days that followed were brutal. The gentleman assigned Ryan mentors--fighters who pushed his body to the brink, scholars who buried him in texts about demons, and advisers who spoke to him about Grotech. The company was massive, sprawling across industries he had never even touched. He had to learn, quickly, how to command not only his body, but also businessmen.His nights belonged to combat. His mornings, to company boardrooms. Every hour in between, to study.Ryan had thought he knew exhaustion from working for the Whintrops, but this was worse. Yet, strangely, he felt alive for the first time. Each bruise, each scar, each decision in the boardroom chipped away at the man who had been mocked and cast aside.Still, shadows clung to his thoughts. Clarissa. The humiliation she inflicted on him. The way she’d spat in his face, the contempt in her eyes. And Matthias, always Matthias, smirking like he owned the world.Ryan swore he’d never have anything to do with them. But fate had

The hall shimmered with chandeliers and hushed anticipation. Cameras flashed outside the hall as limousines lined the red carpet. Society's most powerful men and women gathered for the night, the great unveiling of Grotech’s elusive owner. Clarissa stood beside her mother, her gown glittering with self-importance, her lips painted in smug satisfaction. At last, she thought, at last they would meet the man she had been chasing after for years through endless proposals. Whoever he was, tonight he would finally take her family seriously.Her mother whispered with pride, "This partnership will restore us, Clarissa. All of them will see."Clarissa smiled, already imagining herself shaking hands with a faceless titan. Then the announcement came. The host's voice rang across the ballroom."Ladies and gentlemen, Grotech’s founder and chief executive officer--Ryan Ardyn."The room stilled.Clarissa’s heart stopped.Across the hall, striding with calm authority, was no faceless titan. It was R