At the wedding seven years ago, during the ring exchange, my bride slapped me in front of everyone. “Marriage? It’s just a game. You don’t actually think I’m serious, do you?” The next moment, a wealthy young man took the stage, wrapping his arms around her and looking at me with disdain. “How dare you touch my woman? Here’s the deal. Crawl through my legs and bark three times, and I’ll spare you. I’ll let you serve me like a dog.” I stood there in disbelief, tears welling up as I asked her why. But she swiftly kicked me off the stage. She told me to get lost. She said I wasn’t even worthy of being a dog. Seven years later, when I returned to the city where I was born, I was already a renowned tech tycoon. I never expected the next time I would see her to be on the golf course I owned. The sight of her pregnant belly made me pause in shock. I wasn’t familiar with the entertainment industry in Bumville. I only bought it for the convenience of holding business events for the company. Cutting costs was an instinct I had developed since my childhood. After all, I had once been poor, and the feeling of living in a basement stayed with me for a long time. That was why I cherished everything I had earned more than anyone else. WEI gradually became a notable presence in Bumville. It was said that if you wanted to mix in Bumville, you had to get through the door of WEI. In the past, I didn’t pay much attention to it. But this afternoon, I gave the order to stop accepting new guests. Because I was about to host a dinner for my future business partner at the golf course. Dylan Creeway, just over forty, was incredibly experienced. Every project he handled was profitable, and what I wanted was the most lucrative one in his hands. After a few rounds of golf, Dylan and I went to a private box. As drinks were being passed around, his secretary came to fetch him for another meeting. I was about to step out to get some fresh air when my assistant was waiting for me outside. He respectfully handed me a business card. “Mr. Ferguson, a young man downstairs insists on meeting you. Doesn’t even realize his own standing.” Normally, I wouldn’t see such people. They were just some hungry wolves who smelled an opportunity and wanted to grab a piece. But today, I had already cleared the place, yet this guy still managed to sneak in. His actions intrigued me. Honestly, it was rather impolite to make such a move. I gestured, grabbed a bottle of aged red wine, and followed my assistant downstairs. At the door, I asked my assistant to wait and pass on a message to Dylan, telling him to give me a few minutes. After handling these situations often, I naturally learned how to manage them. I knocked three times before a familiar voice sounded from inside. “Come in.” As I pushed the door open, the sight before me left me frozen in place. Sitting directly across from me was Edward Wilson, the same reckless young heir who had stolen my bride and publicly humiliated me. And sitting next to him was Georgia Marvis, equally shocked to see me. Her eyes, which had once been so filled with affection, were now wide with disbelief. Her hand involuntarily slid down to rest on her swollen belly. She was pregnant. I hadn’t noticed when I last saw Georgia. That encounter had been purely accidental. I was on a business trip, and I ran into her struggling with someone outside a high-end hotel. She had insisted she wasn’t selling herself, clinging to her dignity. I stepped in and drove the man away, looking down at her. Wasn’t she dying to climb the social ladder? How had her standards dropped so much in just a few years? That day, Georgia had looked at me with helpless eyes, begging me to take her home. I couldn’t quite explain how I felt at that time, maybe I wanted to ask her why she treated me like that back then, maybe I wanted her to regret it, or maybe I just wanted to humiliate her. I said, “Name your price. Have a drink with me.” She quickly climbed into my car and said, “I owe you. I won’t take your money.” I drank a lot that night, and I couldn’t remember what happened afterward. I only remembered that in my sleep, it felt like a fire was surging within me. The next morning, when I woke up, Georgia was gone. She had left without a trace as if she had never been there at all. Now, looking at her swollen belly and Edward’s large hand on her, I suddenly understood. She had eventually gotten what she wanted. Edward seemed to read the expression in my eyes and immediately turned to look at Georgia with concern. “Did the baby kick you again? Such a playful one, just like me.” The next moment, he raised an eyebrow at me. Then he clicked his tongue and said, “Martin, it’s been so long, and you’ve fallen so far. You’re actually working here?”
The large private room echoed with the sound of laughter. These people were all familiar to me. They were the guests at that humiliating wedding, Edward’s closest friends. “How could someone who went to college end up like this?” Edward sneered. “You’re better off being my dog.” Apparently, he thought I was one of the staff members here. The people around him burst into laughter, some even whispering to each other, speaking loud enough for me to hear. “Wasn’t it him? The one who lost the bride and the wedding.” “Poor enough to live in a basement, he deserved to have his woman stolen…” I placed the bottle of fine wine on the table as a sign of politeness. Since they were somehow my guests, I considered the wine a charitable gesture. These sycophants surrounding Edward looked at me with contempt. “Such a decent wine. Even your life isn’t worth that much.” Actually, he was wrong. I was now a rising star in the industry, with assets exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars. And my company’s market value was still on the rise. I smiled politely and turned to leave. Engaging with people like them was beneath me. As for Georgia… Our fates were probably sealed. She had a family now, about to become a mother, and we were destined to have no further connection. Just as I reached the door, a voice rang out behind me. “Wait a second. Are you leaving just like that? “Mr. Wilson didn’t say you’re free to go. How dare you!” I turned around and saw Edward’s top lackey, Adam, frowning at me. He stood up as if preparing to block my path. Edward snorted. He shot me a sideways glance. “You’ve spent all these years without improving, but your guts sure have grown.” I took a deep breath. Since I had already decided not to engage with him, the sooner I left, the better. “Everyone, I need to get back to work.” I cleared my throat. “Today’s work is very important to me.” I wasn’t lying. It wasn’t easy to get Dylan here. Had I known it was Edward, I wouldn’t have bothered to come. My words were met with merciless laughter. “Come on, you’re just a waiter. No more than a useless servant.” “That’s ridiculous. You truly are poor to the bone.” I didn’t get their sense of humor. Even though my business wasn’t the biggest, the employee benefits here were top-notch. All the out-of-town staff were provided with nearby housing, and their salaries were higher than those of white-collar workers. The people here probably didn’t earn more than my waitstaff. As if to provoke me further, some of them fiddled with the car keys and watches on the table. I glanced over. They were nothing more than basic models. I couldn’t understand what they were laughing about. Seeing that I didn’t react, Adam intentionally pulled back his sleeve and flashed his keys and watch. “See? You’ll never earn enough to buy these in your lifetime.” He sized me up, his gaze full of disdain. “You’ve probably never even touched a car.” He was right. I never drove. “Yes,” I responded calmly. “I walk to work every day.”
Laughter erupted again in the room. I was stunned once more. I was telling the truth. My estate was connected to the golf course, so I didn’t need to commute. What were they laughing at? Edward, sitting at the head of the table, cleared his throat, and the room fell silent. At that moment, I realized that everyone in this room, except for me, was Edward’s lackey. They were eagerly waiting for their master’s next command. Edward pulled Georgia closer, his chin rubbing against her head. “Georgia, if you hadn’t listened to me back then, you probably wouldn’t be sitting here,” he said. “Martin’s just a good-for-nothing.” The entire room burst into laughter. Only Georgia glanced at me cautiously before immediately looking down, seeming a bit flustered. In that instant, I became curious. Was she worried I would expose the fact that we’d drunk together? Was she worried that Edward would get angry? I wouldn’t stoop to such petty acts. Edward’s gaze swept over the room, and once again, the place went quiet. He looked at me from his high position with a condescending gaze. “If you kneel and beg me now, I’ll have Mr. Anderson help you out. Getting a raise will be no problem.” Mr. Anderson? I furrowed my brows in thought. Seeing my confusion, Adam laughed louder. “Stop thinking about it. Mr. Anderson is the trusted confidant of the owner of this golf course. A lowly employee like you will never get a chance to meet him.” He sneered. “Hurry up and kneel. This is your one and only chance to turn your life around. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Mr. Wilson is rarely kind.” A group of people telling me to kneel and beg for mercy. How was this supposed to be kind? Their morals were even lower than I’d imagined. Being Edward’s dog was certainly about personal gain. They were like flies hovering over the crack in an egg. There was no need to argue with them. And I definitely wouldn’t let them know my true capabilities. I smiled calmly. “Enjoy your meal and your laughter. I’ll take my leave now.” What I had to do was a thousand times more important than this. Just as I was about to leave, a force from behind nearly caused me to stumble. Adam glared at me, and his face was full of anger. Edward looked at me with a smirk, saying nothing. Then, Adam kicked me in the knee. Although the pain shot through me, I remained steady on my feet. “Didn’t I tell you to kneel?” he snapped. “You can’t wait to learn your lesson, huh?”
After Adam’s barrage of insults, the crowd around me looked on with eager anticipation, their faces lighting up as they waited for me to fall to my knees and beg for forgiveness. That would be an ending they expected to cap off the evening’s disappointment. Even Edward rose from his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “I truly want to help you, you know. Why not show a little appreciation?” he said, his voice cool but tinged with a subtle mockery. “I’m about to make a big deal with the owner of this place tonight. A few good words from me, and you could be on your way to the stars.” Adam furrowed his brow, clearly displeased. “Mr. Wilson, that’s Dylan’s project. Why not let me have a piece of the pie?” The people around us immediately jumped in, eager to flatter. “Yeah, I heard Dylan’s been working with some big tech mogul, their company’s worth billions of dollars.” “Mr. Wilson and Dylan go way back. If he could lend us a hand, we could make a little extra before the New Year.” Lackeys buzzing around him, Edward seemed unbothered, his expression haughty as he glanced around. “Do you even know the scale of this project? Even if you risked every penny you have, you wouldn’t be able to get a piece.” A collective gasp swept through the crowd. Edward tilted his chin and met my eyes, his gaze sharpening with a new level of disdain. “Looks like you’ve gained some backbone over the years.” With a swift push, he shoved Georgia aside and perched himself casually on another chair, leaning with one leg draped over the edge. “So, Martin,” he drawled, his voice smooth. “Here’s another chance. You want to be a lapdog or not?” The room fell silent, their eyes fixed on me like vultures, waiting for my next move. I had endured so much, swallowing my pride at every turn, but nothing had worked. This time, I couldn’t keep quiet anymore. I straightened my back, feeling the weight of the moment. “The Dylan you’re talking about,” I said, my voice unwavering, “is someone I invited. “This place belongs to me, and I’m going after that project. It’s mine.” The room went deathly quiet for a few seconds before laughter erupted, even louder than before. Adam shoved me roughly, a sneer twisting his face. “You’re the boss? I could just as easily say I’m Elon Musk!” “Yeah, keep dreaming,” the others jeered, joining in the mockery. Edward, smirking, gave me a long look. “If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable. Say you know Mr. Anderson, or something.” I didn’t flinch. “I do know him.” How could I not know the assistant I’d personally brought back from a famous overseas university? The laughter roared again, drowning out my voice, but I stood my ground, smoothing the wrinkles in my jacket as I looked at them all, my tone steady. “I graduated from Quenca University, class of 2013. You can’t fake that.” Some in the crowd seemed to waver, their disbelief beginning to crack. “Quenca? Now that’s impressive.” But just as their uncertainty began to show, Adam’s voice cut through, cold and dismissive. “So, why don’t you show us your diploma then? Let’s see if it’s real.” Who would carry their diploma around with them? Adam’s taunt was deliberate, and the crowd laughed along with him, feeding off his cruelty. I took a deep breath, my patience beginning to fray. “Is that what it takes for you to believe me? A piece of paper?” No one answered. They just looked at me, smug and certain of their superiority. But then Georgia’s voice broke the silence, soft and almost tentative. She tugged gently at Edward’s sleeve, her touch light. “Could you… let him go? I think he’s starting to make me feel sick.” The room erupted in laughter again, but I felt a sharp pang in my chest. I knew she was trying to help me. But it wasn’t just relief I felt. It was confusion. Why was she helping me? She’d been so uneasy all night, so nervous around me, as though she was terrified of facing me. Just as I turned to leave in search of my diploma, a sudden force blocked my path. I stepped back, instinctively moving out of the way. The door opened, and Julius Anderson walked in, followed by a few others. Edward, his face paling, stumbled back, his voice trembling. “Mr. Creeway, Mr. Anderson!” He cast a fleeting glance at me, his expression twisting with sudden panic. “Martin, good dogs know their place. Get out of the way!” But before I could move, Dylan’s voice rang out, cutting through the tension like a blade. “Who are you telling to get out of the way?”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295569”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #重生Reborn
Leave a Reply