The True Heir’s Ex Regrets: I'm The Real Billionaire!

Chapter 3

The crowd around them was still whispering, waiting to see what the poor, humiliated student would do next.

 

Instead of walking away, Lana took a sudden step forward. She let go of Cade's arm for a brief moment and closed the distance between her and Dane. The heavy scent of her expensive designer perfume a perfume Dane had secretly bought for her filled the air.

 

Lana leaned in close, bringing her lips right next to Dane's ear.

 

"Listen to me," Lana whispered, her voice dropping so only he could hear. "If you really don't want to let go, I could still let you be my secret lover in the dark."

 

Dane's stomach turned.

 

In truth, Lana was deeply obsessed with Dane's handsome face and his perfect, athletic physique. But she was a fiercely ambitious woman. As the supposed heir of the Hayes Family, she believed she needed absolute power and elite connections to consolidate her position. To her, Cade offered the money and status she craved, while Dane was just eye candy. She wanted to keep the billionaire fiancé for the public, and keep the poor student for her private entertainment.

 

Dane looked at her. Any lingering sadness he felt instantly evaporated, replaced by pure, freezing disgust.

 

Without saying a word, Dane looked down at his own hands. He casually lifted the beautiful bouquet of flowers he had brought for their marriage registration. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the flowers directly into a nearby garbage can.

 

Then, he reached for his left hand. He grabbed the matching silver couple ring they had custom-made together years ago. He pulled it off his finger.

 

Dane threw the ring right at Lana's chest. It hit her expensive white dress and bounced onto the dirty concrete floor.

 

"The Hayes Family is truly unfortunate to have a woman like you," Dane said, his voice loud and echoing with absolute authority. "The family's entire reputation will be completely ruined by your greed. Remember this, Lana you are not breaking up with me. I am dumping you. Get lost."

 

Lana gasped, her face twisting in ugly, embarrassed rage. The crowd around them gasped too.

 

"You arrogant loser!" Lana screamed, pointing a shaking finger at him. "Don't you ever dare tell anyone you are my ex-boyfriend in the future! It would be far too embarrassing for me to admit I ever dated a beggar!"

 

She spun around on her high heels, grabbed Cade's arm tightly, and stormed away arrogantly. Cade shot Dane one last mocking smirk before following her to his luxury sports car.

 

Dane stood completely still, watching her departing figure until the car sped away. He raised his left hand and slowly rubbed the dark emerald ring sitting heavily on his index finger.

 

His mind flashed back to a very private memory from exactly five years ago.

 

Back then, his family's head butler had taken him to a secret meeting with the elderly head of the Hayes Family. The powerful patriarch of the Hayes Family had bowed deeply, his knees nearly touching the floor in front of young Dane. The old man had stated clearly that the emerald ring was Dane's ultimate token of power. Whomever Dane chose to support would instantly become the official heir of the Hayes Family.

 

Dane rubbed the cold stone. Lana actually stood there today and bragged that she became the heir through her own hard work and business skills. She was entirely clueless. It was his choice, and his secret financial backing, that had given her everything. And now, he was going to take it all back.

 

Thirty minutes later, Dane walked through the front doors of his massive, private penthouse apartment in the center of the city.

 

His head butler was already standing in the grand living room, bowing respectfully.

 

"Sir," the butler said formally. "There's an invite from Paige to attend the Mercer Group banquet tomorrow evening. Should I reject?"

 

Dane walked over to the leather sofa and sat down. He owned six major, industry-leading companies in this city. Mercer Group had the absolute highest market value, dominating the financial sector. The other five companies were also high-output corporations controlling real estate and tech. In addition, Dane personally controlled hundreds of billions in overseas assets. The projected project bidding for Mercer Group this year was twenty billion dollars. Every single company in the city was desperate to get an invitation to tomorrow's banquet to beg for a piece of the pie.

 

"Tell Paige I will attend the event in person tomorrow," Dane ordered, his voice cold and calculating. "Cancel all current and future cooperation with Nexus Group immediately. And remove Lana Hayes from the guest list. She is not allowed to step foot inside my building."

 

"Understood, sir," the butler nodded.

 

"I am not done," Dane continued, his eyes darkening. "Investigate Mara and Cade. I need absolute confirmation on whether Mara truly is the girl who saved my life ten years ago. And find out exactly who Cade is. I want to know why a complete fraud dares to impersonate my identity in public. Finally, notify the head of the Hayes Family. Tell him my engagement is permanently canceled, and all family privileges for Lana are revoked immediately."

 

"Right away, sir."

 

The butler took out a secure tablet, his fingers flying across the screen. In less than two minutes, he looked up.

 

"Sir, the background check on Mara is complete," the butler said, handing the tablet to Dane.

 

Dane quickly scanned the file. He did not waste a single second. He stood up, grabbed his jacket, and headed straight for the door to visit her directly.