All Chapters of The Rejected Man's Rise: Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
10 chapters
CHAPTER 01
I straightened my tie in the cramped office bathroom, staring at my reflection.I barely recognized the man staring back.Once, I had been confident—sharp suits, tidy hair, easy smiles.That was when I did not have a proper job.Now, years of overtime, stress, and neglect had left me overweight, pale, and hollow-eyed.I’m just 28, but my hair was already thinning at the temples. Dark circles hugged my eyes like shadows that refused to leave.I shook my head, trying to shake off the nerves.“I have a decent job. My pay is good. I’m qualified for marriage.” I told myself.But all these rehearsals did little to nothing to calm the storm of doubt in my chest because I knew in the back of my mind that even the single moms in my neighborhood were ignoring my fat ass.“Just say it,” I muttered to myself. “Just say it, Caleb. It’s only your heart on the line. The worst she can say is…”My lips pressed together.I walked out of the bathroom. Slow and steady, trying to not appear nervous.At my
CHAPTER 02
“You who hate yourself have awakened the Dream Lover System.”The voice rang directly in my mind.My pulse quickened.I looked around. “Who’s there?”“This,” the feminine voice said, almost dripping with sarcasm, “is the Dream Lover System. Let me show your stats.”An aerial screen popped in front of my eyes.[Name: Caleb J. ColeHeight: 179 cmWeight: 242 poundsCharm rating: 9/100.Health: pathetic.Wealth: nearly zero.Hair: disappearing.]My eyes swelled out of the sockets.I rubbed my eyes and looked again.The window was still there. Floating in the air. How’s this possible?Am I dreaming?I pinched myself, and it hurt.I don’t think I’m dreaming.“W-What is this?” My pulse did not slow down a bit. “What are you?”“I’m a supernatural system that will assist you in achieving your dreams,” the voice replied. “My name is Dreamie.”“Supernatural, you say?” I swallowed my breath as I felt heat rising in my body. “Is this really a dream then?”“Only a few people have activated me over
CHAPTER 03
“Warning: Someone is observing you!” Dreamie’s voice rang like thunder in my head.I froze like a chicken in distress. “Who… who’s watching me?”“They left just now,” Dreamie said. “But they will likely return sooner or later. You need to be ready for that time since your survival is at stake.”“Survival?” I swallowed my breath again. “Was it an assassin? Don’t you know who saw me?”Dreamie, however, didn’t respond.The silence was damning.Should I really trust this system or take it for granted?“Let me tell you again. You can get a reward with every charm point you earn,” Dreamie said.“How can I improve my charm?” I quickly asked, expecting there to be a simple, easy way.“Join a proper gym. Do workouts. Lose weight. Buy clothes that enhance your look. Make the old clothes in your closet fit you once more. Dress neatly. Make more money. Learn more knowledge. Gain new skills. Improve upon old skills. Go on dates with beautiful women. All these and more can increase your charm ratin
CHAPTER 04
“Get out of my chair,” Caleb said without hesitation.Mike paused in a bit of disbelief. “Huh?”Did Caleb, an easy pushover, dare refuse him?He looked at Sherry, smiling furiously.Sherry also looked at Caleb as if he made a big mistake, but he didn’t even blink.“Are you going to get up, or do y0u want me to talk to Madam CEO?” Caleb asked.“Pfft,” Mike almost burst into a smile. “You think our CEO would waste her precious time on you? Did she even talk to you once in the time she’s been here?” He got up at once. “But I’ll humor you and leave this spot for now. However, you will come begging to me soon and do everything I tell you to do.”Saying that he walked away with hands in pockets.“Who’s going to move these items?” Caleb said coldly.Mike forced out a smile. “This guy…” The vein in his neck throbbed. He glanced at a couple of coworkers.They quickly moved the items back to his desk and brought Caleb’s belongings back to his desk.Caleb sat down and just did his work.Sherry k
CHAPTER 05
“Go easy on us after you become the head of the department, Brother Mike.”“We will throw a celebratory party for you tonight, Sir Mike.”Everybody began to suck up to Mike, all the tens of employees, except for Caleb who sat rooted in his seat.With hands in pockets, Mike looked at Caleb with smug satisfaction.Caleb ignored him and just focused on his work.Mike smirked and calmly asked the HR manager, “If the deal of Phantom Dream Investments goes through, the core team will be expanded a little, but the regular teams will get cropped, too, won’t they?”“Not by much since there’s demand,” the HR manager’s words relieved all the employees, “but of course…” he particularly looked toward Caleb’s desk and sneered, “if Phantom Dream Investments discovers that the company employs a useless person like him, they definitely won’t invest.”“I was thinking the same. Useless employees like Caleb will be the first to go,” Mike laughed, and many other employees started laughing with him.Caleb
CHAPTER 06
Caleb and the brunette standing before him were living in opposite worlds.She was dressed to the T and was perfect in every regard—wealth, status, and physique.She looked her absolute best.But Caleb was wearing the clothes he had bought over two years ago, and his leather belt that had a dozen cracks in it and could snap any moment. His shoes did not have any polish done recently, but her shoes did not have a speck of dust on them.She was in a class of her own.He was 28. She was 24.They both stared at each other for a good few seconds without exchanging a word.Neither of them blinked as if they didn’t want to back down.Eventually, she looked at his car and saw the broken headlight. “I’ll pay for the repairs.” She took out her checkbook.“No thanks,” Caleb uttered coldly, then got into his car and left quickly.She frowned. “What’s his issue? I said I’d pay. Why did he reject my goodwill? Did he still not get over the past? He better not file a complaint in court later. Since h
CHAPTER 07
Caleb’s POV:After leaving the office, I took a detour and went to visit my father’s grave.I put a single large rose, with the stem attached to it, on his grave and sat down next to it.The cold weather didn’t make it any easier for me to be there, but I still sat there.“I miss you, Dad. Every day…”I fought the tears that tried to come out.“I don’t even know what I’m living for. I feel lonely. In winters, particularly, I keep getting depressing thoughts. The cold weather is eating the little warmth left in me.”I put my hand on the gravestone, and it felt quite cold, as if it was mocking me and making me come to get over the fact that my dad was no more.I looked around.There was no warmth that could be found anywhere in that graveyard.Would my dad really want me to be in a place like this when I’m feeling down?I sucked in a deep breath and got up.I picked the rose back up.“I’ll water this rose stem and grow it into a plant, Dad,” I said. “I’ll bring you the flowers it produc
CHAPTER 08
Caleb stood in front of the wardrobe, staring at the right half of it.He hadn’t opened that side of the wardrobe in years.Now, he did.Most of the clothes sagged with neglect. Shirts bought two sizes ago. Jackets that remembered better days than he did.He pushed all of them aside and then stopped.The big old blazer lay there, inviting him like a quiet challenge.Navy, clean-lined, tailored enough to forgive his body without lying about it.It was his dad’s blazer.He sprayed some perfume on, then slipped it on and paused, surprised by the weight. Not heavy. Just anchoring.The shoulders sat where shoulders were supposed to be, not drooping, not pleading.He adjusted his sleeves, feeling the fabric settle, and for a moment the mirror didn’t feel hostile.The suit went well on top of the white shirt.He didn’t become handsome all of a sudden. But he felt decently put together. He looked like someone who had decided to show up.Caleb looked at his dad’s photo on the wall. “How do I l
CHAPTER 09
Whispers sprang to life immediately.Judge Mercy wasn’t married yet.So, everybody there thought that Caleb was her boyfriend or something. After all, she didn’t bring along any guards. She came alone with him in the car.This was enough for people to imagine crazy things.Edward, however, found that hard to believe.The same could be said for Rita who was giving a bit of sharp gaze at Caleb.Mercy understood what was happening, and so she said, “Don’t misunderstand. This young man’s dad was a good friend of mine. He’s like a son to me.”Her words astonished everybody.And many of them believed her words.But Mike and Sherry couldn’t believe what they were hearing.“She’s lying,” Sherry said in a low voice. “Caleb never told me about that woman. Not once in all the years we’ve been friends.”“I see,” Mike grinned angrily. “Now that he’s lost the job, he was so quick in finding a sugar mommy. And he attended this party on purpose. He probably wants to ruin our happiness, but the opposi
CHAPTER 10
One after another, the investors of Grand Little Interiors arrived at the party.Edward happily interacted with them and talked about the future of the company.And Edward got his eyes on one of his important business partners, Gregory Potter and his son Jared.Jared was a young and successful entrepreneur and was the same age as Rita. He was athletic and handsome with dark brown curly hair. He was also 185 cm tall. He didn’t recklessly spend money, so Edward was thinking of wedding them together, though he was yet to talk to Gregory about it.Gregory was a partner of Grand Little Interiors, but he didn’t own any stake. Rather, he brought investors and received some commission in return. He was also the one who actually brought the Phantom Dream Investments this time, whereas Mike’s uncle just smoothened the process.“Uncle, I know that our company has focused mostly on co-living spaces and franchise homes,” Jared said. “But right now the trend is ready-to-install interiors. We can in