For several long seconds, he could not even gather enough strength to speak properly. His mind kept replaying the instruction over and over again.Kneel before Justin.Beg for forgiveness.Or lose everything permanently.The reality of those words was too humiliating for him to accept easily.Finally, Thomas swallowed hard and spoke into the phone again.“H-How can you possibly ask me to do something like that?” he asked shakily.The entire hall listened carefully.Thomas’s voice slowly became louder as desperation overtook him.“Do you even understand who I am?” he continued anxiously. “I am Thomas Ward. I have represented Desktron Technologies publicly for years. I have attended international conferences, business summits, executive meetings.”His voice cracked slightly as embarrassment mixed with panic.“And now you are asking me to kneel before a boy?” he asked in disbelief. “Not just any boy, but a wretched nobody? Someone wearing cheap clothes? Someone beneath my shoes?”The ha

Justin let out a quiet scoff as he watched Britney continue standing stubbornly with her arms folded across her chest. Even after everything that had happened, she still looked unwilling to accept reality. The humiliation on Steven and his father’s faces had not softened her pride in the slightest. Instead, she continued glaring at Justin with visible disgust, as she still believed he was beneath her despite the shocking events everyone had witnessed.The hall remained tense and silent.Justin slowly turned his gaze toward Britney once again. His expression remained calm and unreadable, but there was now firmness hidden beneath that calmness that made several people uncomfortable. It was the kind of silence that felt far more dangerous than shouting.“Britney,” Justin called quietly.Britney immediately rolled her eyes after hearing him mention her name again. Her face was filled with irritation and arrogance, although deep inside, nervousness had already begun creeping into her ch

Thomas Ward walked out of the building with slow steps, his shoulders lowered in humiliation. The same man who had entered the event earlier with authority and pride now looked like someone who had aged ten years in a single night. His face was pale, his jaw was tight, and his eyes carried frustration, anger, shame, and exhaustion all at once.Steven followed closely behind him in silence.For the first time in a very long while, Steven did not know what to say to his father. His mind was still struggling to process everything that had happened inside the hall. The humiliation. The laughter. The whispers. The way Justin had destroyed their pride publicly without even raising his voice.The memory alone made Steven’s chest tighten painfully.As they approached the parking area, Thomas suddenly stopped walking and rubbed his forehead angrily like a man trying desperately to calm himself down.Steven swallowed hard before finally speaking.“Dad…” he called cautiously.Thomas did not an