Chapter 2

That evening.

I had my driver pick me up right on time and take me to Twelve Clearwater Bay.

The venue for Brandon's engagement party.

I bought this villa a year ago. I loved the secluded layout and the prestigious location—quiet, private, undisturbed. Perfect for unwinding. I bought it thinking Serena and I would eventually move in together.

Because of work, though, I rarely came here.

I just hired professional cleaning staff to come by every month to maintain the place.

Whenever I bought rare, exotic plants, I'd have them shipped here to be tended carefully. They were my prized collection, after all.

The black executive SUV rolled smoothly into the gated community. The security guard nodded respectfully at me.

From a distance, I noticed the flashy decorations plastered across the villa exterior.

Two massive banners stood right at the gate, featuring a giant photo of Serena and Brandon making out.

Serena looked radiantly happy and lost in the moment.

The sight plunged another dagger straight into my chest.

Brandon stood in the center wearing a sharp black suit. Before I even reached the gate, I could hear his bootlickers gushing around him.

"You've peaked in life, man! You're insane—bagging the female CEO of Apex Global herself! Do you know how jealous everyone is?!"

"Brandon, I called it back in high school. You were always destined for greatness. Look at you now, half of Apex Global is basically in your pocket!"

"Remember back then, everyone praised Cole for his grades? Said he'd make something of himself. What a total joke."

Brandon couldn't wipe the smug grin off his face.

Waving casually, he pulled a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills from his pocket and tossed them into the air.

The others immediately bent down to scramble for the cash, piling on the praise:

"That's our boy Brandon!"

"Pocket change for you is rent money for the rest of us!"

"Apex Global's CEO is already wrapped around your finger, so the whole company is basically yours! Let me be the first to call you President Vance!"

Brandon's grin grew even more nauseatingly arrogant.

It made me want to throw up. I even spotted our former class representative—the guy who used to despise Brandon the most, the one who trash-talked him constantly.

Right now, he was bowing his head, lightly slapping his own cheeks in front of Brandon.

"I was blind back then, Brandon. Total idiot. I thought that loser Cole actually had potential. Look at him now—a complete bum."

"Probably doing food deliveries just to survive."

His face was contorted into the most groveling, repulsive smile imaginable.

Completely shameless, pouring out one flattering line after another.

Hearing them constantly bring up Serena's title, a realization suddenly hit me.

When I first brought her into Apex Global, I only gave her light, administrative tasks. She had worried I was a workaholic who neglected his health and begged to work closer to me.

She knew nothing about high-level business operations or corporate politics.

I never intended to put that kind of pressure on her.

Then came an emergency. My executive assistant was stuck out of town on an assignment and couldn't make it back in time.

The rest of the leadership team was tied up in a critical department summit.

So I let Serena handle a few routine matters for me.

To my surprise, she actually did a decent job. I saw potential in her. Letting her just serve tea and remind me to eat lunch felt like a waste of her talent.

After asking for her input, I had senior executives mentor her, training her on our core operations to sharpen her skills.

Over time, she proved herself competent.

I gradually felt comfortable handing over small, manageable business lines to her.

Maybe that was why she—or Brandon—somehow convinced themselves that she was the CEO of Apex Global, going around bragging about it.

It made my blood run cold.

I had tried to build her up, to give her confidence and independence.

And this was how she repaid me!

I stepped out of the car and walked toward the villa's main gate to enter. But Brandon saw me and slammed the heavy iron gate shut with a loud clatter.

His voice filtered through the bars.

"Cole, take the side entrance. The main gate is reserved for real guests..."

"You're just here to bus tables. I don't want you ruining everyone's mood."

I glanced over at the tiny side gate a few feet away, a bitter sneer spreading across my face.

I knew exactly what that door was.

It was a dog flap I had specially cut into the side wall because Serena loved dogs.

He wanted me to crawl through a dog flap? A blatant, deliberate humiliation.

"Hurry up and crawl in, Cole! The food's getting cold, and we're waiting for you to serve it!"

"What are you acting so high and mighty for? Stepping foot inside Brandon's luxury villa is a privilege you couldn't earn in eight lifetimes!"

"Seriously, don't kill the vibe. Brandon letting you in at all is pure charity!"

Brandon stood behind the gate with his arms crossed.

The corners of his lips curved upward in sheer amusement.

He was dead certain I couldn't get in. Dead certain I'd have to swallow my pride and crawl through the dog flap.

Too bad for him.

Crawling through a dog flap was never going to happen.

I walked up to the main gate's smart lock and pressed my thumb against the scanner.

*Beep.*

"Fingerprint recognized. Welcome home."

The locked iron gate swung open right in front of me.

"How the hell did you get in?! Why do you have your fingerprint registered on this villa?!"

"With your measly two-grand-a-month job, there's no way in hell you belong in this neighborhood! What kind of shady trick did you pull?!"

Suspicious glares locked onto me.

Every single one of them looked at me with venom, accusing me and throwing wild assumptions.

My anger flared.

Just as I turned ice-cold to shut them down, Brandon's booming voice rang out:

"Cole... have you been sneaking around behind my back, trying to seduce my woman?!"