THE DISCARDED CEO

Bab 2 - The Double Betrayal

The icy rain soaked through the thin cotton shirt clinging to Julian's body. Beneath the dim glow of San Francisco's streetlights, he kept walking without hesitation, letting the storm wash away the last traces of the false honor he had left behind with the Miller Group.

Suddenly, the sharp screech of tires split the silence.

A gleaming black Mercedes-Benz Maybach came to an abrupt stop beside the curb, splashing dirty rainwater across his shoes. Julian stopped walking.

The rear passenger door opened.

A figure wrapped in a designer fur coat stepped out beneath a large black umbrella, which the chauffeur hurried to hold over her.

Evelyn Sterling.

For the past three years, she had called him her fiancé. Now she looked at him with eyes colder than the rain pouring over them. There was no warmth. No sorrow.

Only pure disgust.

"So this is how the Miller Group's great visionary ends up?" Evelyn said, her voice dripping with contempt beneath the steady rhythm of the rain. "You really are pathetic tonight, Julian."

Julian looked at her beautiful face without expression.

"What is it, Evelyn? Here to pick me up?"

She let out a dry laugh. It sounded strangely unfamiliar to him.

"Pick you up? Don't flatter yourself. I came to clean up the trash before tomorrow morning's papers start reporting that the Sterling Group's daughter is still engaged to a nameless beggar."

Evelyn took a step closer, making no effort to share the warmth beneath her expensive umbrella.

The scent of her Chanel perfume seemed to fade beneath the cold smell of rain-soaked pavement.

"Our engagement is over," she said without the slightest hesitation. "The Sterling Group was only ever interested in the Miller heir. And now you're nobody. Just a worthless adopted stray who got kicked out like a mangy dog."

"You made your decision pretty quickly," Julian replied.

His voice remained perfectly even.

There wasn't the slightest trace of heartbreak in it.

His calmness only deepened the frown on Evelyn's face.

"Quickly?" she snapped. "It's called being strategic, Julian. I'm not going to let my future be ruined because of your stupid pride and your obsession with defying Arthur. Did you really think you were someone important? You've spent your whole life hiding behind the Miller name. Without them, you're nothing more than dust blowing down the street."

She pulled off one of her leather gloves.

Then, with a harsh motion, she slipped the platinum engagement ring with its three-carat diamond from her finger.

It was the ring Julian had bought with the bonus from the first major project he had ever completed.

She held it up for a brief moment.

Then she tossed it into the muddy puddle at the tip of Julian's shoes.

Plunk.

The precious metal sank halfway into the black sludge.

"Take your cheap ring back," Evelyn hissed. "And just so you know, I've already reached a new agreement with Christian tonight. He's far more deserving of everything. He's true Miller blood, the rightful heir. Not some fake parasite like you."

Julian glanced at the ring lying in the mud before lifting his eyes to hers again.

Something in his gaze sent an inexplicable chill through Evelyn.

"A new agreement with Christian?" Julian asked.

The faintest hint of a smile touched the corner of his mouth.

"That's right. Christian isn't weak like you." Evelyn lifted her chin proudly. "He's promised the Sterling Group the massive steel supply contract for the harbor project. It's worth tens of millions of dollars. We'll announce our engagement next week. So let me make one thing clear, Julian. Don't ever show your face in front of me again, and don't come begging the Sterling family for help."

Hearing that, Julian almost burst out laughing.

Instead, he held it back perfectly.

He simply looked at his former fiancée with quiet amusement hidden beneath the cold of the night.

The Sterling Group's massive steel supply contract.

Evelyn was so arrogant, so utterly blind, that she had no idea the exclusive contract was actually controlled by a shadow company called Apex Steel, a business entity that belonged entirely to Julian.

Without his confidential approval, every shipment of steel owned by the Sterling Group was nothing more than stacks of lifeless metal that would never reach a single harbor project.

Christian Miller had just sold a promise built on a foundation completely controlled by the very man they had thrown away.

"A steel supply contract?" Julian murmured softly.

His voice was calm, barely louder than the whisper of the rain.

"I hope everything works out for you."

"Of course it will." Evelyn cut him off sharply. "Christian has real Miller blood, unlike you. No one even knows where you came from."

She never noticed the quiet satisfaction hidden in Julian's eyes.

"Driver, open the door. This place is disgusting."

Without another glance at Julian, Evelyn turned and climbed into the warm interior of the luxurious Mercedes-Benz Maybach.

The door shut, sealing out the roar of the storm.

The sedan pulled away immediately, its tires splashing another wave of muddy water across Julian's trousers before disappearing around the corner into the deserted street.

Julian remained where he was beneath the relentless rain.

His soaked white shirt clung even tighter against his skin.

He looked down at the muddy puddle beside his feet.

The engagement ring lay abandoned there, no longer sparkling beneath its coat of black grime.

Three years of devotion.

Countless sleepless nights balancing business while protecting her family's reputation.

In the end, it was worth no more than a diamond that could be tossed into a filthy gutter without a second thought.

Julian had no intention of picking it up.

The pain that should have filled his chest had already hardened, crystallizing into something as cold and unforgiving as molten steel cooling into a blade.

The last burden weighing on his conscience had just been cast aside by Evelyn herself.

No more debts of gratitude.

No more emotional compromises.

No more mercy.

"Thank you for your foolishness, Evelyn," Julian whispered into the darkness.

At that very moment, an intense beam of white light suddenly pierced the curtain of rain ahead.

The silence surrounding San Francisco's harbor district shattered beneath the smooth, commanding rumble of powerful engines.

Not one.

Three jet-black Rolls-Royce Phantoms advanced in flawless formation, moving with disciplined precision.

They glided through the rain-soaked streets before slowly pulling up to the curb where Julian stood.

Their headlights blazed through the storm, casting his unwavering silhouette across the wet pavement.

The convoy came to a perfect stop.

Then the rear door of the lead Rolls-Royce opened slowly, revealing a luxurious interior that radiated an unmistakable aura of absolute power.