The Charismatic Zane with System

Chapter 7

The next day, at Danzel’s office.

“I can’t believe you betrayed me, Zeeva. Was I not enough for you?” Danzel put on his best heartbroken act.

“Oh, please. Isn’t this coming from the same man who cheated on me with that rookie actress?” Zeeva’s tone dripped with sarcasm.

Danzel chuckled. “Are you jealous?”

“Tch! Don’t flatter yourself. I wouldn’t waste my time being jealous of you.” Her expression radiated pure disgust.

“My relationship with Lucy is just business. We’re using each other for profit,” Danzel explained casually.

“Just like us, right?” Zeeva let out a bitter laugh. “I actually feel sorry for her. She fell right into your trap. But forget that, I didn’t come here to discuss your love life. I’m here to end our agreement. From now on, you and I have nothing to do with each other, professionally or personally.”

His smile vanished. “Did that guy pay you millions to make you bold enough to threaten me?”

“Threaten you? Why would I be afraid of cutting ties with you?”

Danzel’s face darkened. “Careful, Zeeva. Do you forget who I am?”

“You’re just a disgusting man.”

He laughed at her insult. “You’re such a fool. So here’s my advice... apologize now, and I’ll give you one last chance before you regret it. Leave that guy and stay my fiancée.” His tone turned cold, almost menacing.

Zeeva crossed her arms and smirked. “And if I don’t? What then? Are you scared you’ll go bankrupt without me? I didn’t realize you were so afraid of losing me.”

“I just pity you. You’ll end up broke, and your mother will die.”

“Unfortunately for you, that won’t happen. My mother is healthy now.”

“You’re naïve, Zeeva. I don’t need your mother to destroy you. I can make you suffer in so many ways.”

“Oh? Let me guess, you’ll spread fake scandals to ruin my name?” Her laugh was sharp, cold. “How original. Is that all you’ve got? Cheap tricks?”

Danzel’s face turned crimson with rage. “You…!” He raised his hand, ready to slap her.

“I’m recording this,” Zeeva said calmly, lifting her phone. “Go ahead, hit me. The headline will read: ‘Famous Billionaire Assaults Ex-Fiancée.’ The women of USA will tear you apart.”

His hand froze mid-air. He lowered it slowly, jaw tight, his eyes burning with humiliation.

Zeeva smiled, victorious. “Looks like we’re done here. Goodbye.” She turned and walked out without a second glance.

The moment the door shut, Danzel exploded, hurling everything on his desk. “That bitch! She’ll crawl back to me. I swear she will!”

He hated nothing more than a woman defying him.

His phone rang, flashing Alfredo’s name.

“What is it, old man?” Danzel snapped.

“I’m guessing you want to know why Zeeva called it quits. Her mother recovered because some guy donated a kidney. Now she’s engaged to him, and the wedding’s in a week.”

“Son of a—!” Danzel cursed, gripping his phone tight. “Send me his photo. I’ll make him regret this.”

“Hold on.”

Moments later, a notification popped up. Danzel opened it and froze.

“Zane?” His brows furrowed, then his lips curled into a sinister smile. “So it’s him. Perfect. This time, I’ll crush him completely. I’ll steal Zeeva from him, just like I stole Lucy. And this time, it’ll be even easier than taking candy from a baby.”

***

Meanwhile, Zeeva hurried to an upscale restaurant, where her mother and extended family were celebrating Liana's recovery.

“Where have you been, sweetheart?” Liana asked, worried.

“Sorry, Mom. Traffic was horrible.” A lie, of course. Zeeva didn’t want her mother knowing about her encounter with Danzel.

“Come, sit.” Liana patted the seat beside her. Most of the family was already there, gathered around an extravagant dining table. Her uncle, Samuel, sat proudly with his wife and two sons.

“Who paid for all this?” Zeeva whispered, nervous. She dreaded receiving a bill she couldn’t afford.

“Don’t worry, dear. The restaurant belongs to your cousin’s fiancé. Everything is on the house. Remember your Aunt Layla, my sister? She’s here too, after decades!”

“And… is that leech coming too?” Zeeva muttered bitterly, thinking of her younger sibling, the one who claimed to study in Australia but blew all the money Zeeva sent on luxury trips.

Liana chuckled. “Don’t call your sister that.”

Zeeva rolled her eyes, biting back a retort.

“Oh, Samuel, this is my daughter, Zeeva,” Liana said warmly.

The 60-year-old man smiled with pride. “Amazing. I’ve seen you on TV so many times. I’m proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

“Thank you, Uncle.”

It had been years since she’d seen him. Last she remembered, he worked as a janitor. Now, he exuded authority and refinement.

“These are your cousins, Leon and Liam,” Samuel added.

The tall, handsome twins gave polite smiles.

“They’re CEOs at our company, Ritz Corp.”

“Ritz Corp?” Zeeva blinked. “Wasn’t that the place you worked at before?” The firm specialized in gold and diamond investments.

Samuel chuckled. “You remember well. But now, I own it, my father-in-law passed the company to me.”

Zeeva’s eyes widened, then shifted to the elegant woman seated beside him. So that’s why.

Just then, a voice chimed in, “Sorry we’re late!”

A glamorous middle-aged woman approached, Layla, followed by a young woman and a man.

“Layla! At last!” Liana embraced her sister tightly.

But Zeeva’s smile froze the moment her gaze fell on the man and woman behind her.

“Lucy? Danzel?!”

“You?!” Both of them blurted out in shock.

Liana and Layla exchanged delighted looks. “Oh, you already know each other?”

“Of course, Mom,” Zeeva replied with a tight smile. How could I ever forget these two snakes?

Lucy—her biggest rival in the industry—had always tried to snatch every role from her. And then Danzel… the man who once claimed to love her. Lucy had thrown herself at him shamelessly, even flaunting the affair in front of Zeeva.

What a pair of vultures.

Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to see them again—as family.

“So nice to see you, Zeeva,” Lucy said sweetly, clinging to Danzel’s arm like a trophy.

“Likewise,” Zeeva replied with a brittle smile.

“How lovely—you two already get along! Must be because you’re both in showbiz,” Layla gushed.

While the older women chatted excitedly, Zeeva kept her face neutral, even as nausea coiled in her gut.

Across the table, Danzel and Lucy made a show of their affection—laughing, whispering, holding hands. Zeeva gritted her teeth.

“So, where’s your fiancé, darling? I bet he’s as incredible as Danzel,” Layla asked with a curious smile.

“Yes, no way a beauty like Zeeva would settle for less,” Samuel chimed in warmly.

Zeeva forced a smile. Inside, dread crept in. Her cousins were all accomplished, her uncle a tycoon… and now Lucy and Danzel were watching her like vultures circling prey.

What will they say when they learn Zane isn’t wealthy? Will they humiliate him? Or worse, will Danzel try to destroy him?

Her fists clenched under the table. No. I won’t let them hurt him.