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

The bright morning sunlight spread across the university campus as students hurried from one building to another while carrying books, backpacks, and cups of coffee. The atmosphere around the school was lively as usual, yet for Justin, the morning already felt unusually stressful.He was late.Justin tightened his grip around the strap of his backpack as he hurried quickly across the walkway leading toward the lecture hall. The black backpack hung carelessly over one shoulder while his slightly wrinkled clothes and rushed appearance made it obvious he had woken up later than intended.He sighed under his breath while checking the time on his phone again.“Great,” he muttered quietly. “I’m definitely late now.”Normally, Justin would not care much about arriving a few minutes late to class, especially considering how most students barely respected him anyway. However, after everything that happened the previous night at the Desktron Note 13 launch event, he already knew today was go

However, Steven could barely breathe properly anymore.His chest felt painfully tight, and his thoughts were rapidly becoming chaotic. Steven slowly swallowed the dryness in his throat before finally forcing himself to speak.“I’m sorry,” he muttered stiffly.The classroom became quieter instantly.Several students blinked in confusion as they turned fully toward him.Steven exhaled heavily before continuing in a strained voice.“But I’ll have to bow out this time.”For several long seconds, nobody reacted at all.It was as though the entire class needed time to properly process what they had just heard from him.Then suddenly, soft murmurs began spreading rapidly throughout the room.“What?”“Did Steven just refuse?”“That’s impossible…”“This doesn’t even sound like him…”“I thought he was paying for everything?”Several students looked genuinely shocked, while others exchanged deeply confused glances with one another.Even Mr. Frank himself looked surprised by the response.Britne