Chapter 3

He sneered, a mocking curl on his lips, leaning back into the sofa with an arrogant posture.

“Of course I’m not clueless.”

“Your eyes are always on profit! You even calculate and plan our engagement party for gain!”

Holly tugged at his sleeve, her voice barely a whisper.

“Ms. Sterling, please don’t blame Liam. It’s all my fault.”

“I just couldn’t control my feelings…”

“Shut up!”

I snapped, cutting her off sharply. “You don’t have a say in this room!”

Holly’s face turned pale, and she immediately fell silent.

This scene completely enraged Liam. He shot up, pointing at me, and spat:

“Victoria Sterling, that’s enough!”

“Don’t think that just because you helped me, you can control me forever!”

“I’m telling you, every single day I spent with you was suffocating! You helped the Blackwood family, you socialized and drank for deals, but it was all just to solidify *your* business empire!”

“And I was just your most obedient pawn!”

Every word was a knife, twisting in my heart.

I took a deep breath, meeting his eyes.

“So, in your eyes, from the moment I bought that ancestral estate, I was just using you?”

“When I used my private jet to fly in top global specialists for your mother’s medical consultation, that was also an act?”

“Liam Blackwood, do you even have a heart?”

His eyes flickered, a momentary panic in their depths.

I smiled, but my eyes were bloodshot.

“Liam Blackwood, I’m asking you one last time.”

“Did you—”

“Yes, I did!”

He interrupted me, his face a mask of angry defiance.

“Satisfied?”

“Do you really need to hear such an over-the-top answer to stop?”

With that, he defiantly took Holly’s hand, his other hand resting on her stomach.

“However, things are different now.”

“Holly is pregnant with my child. I have to take responsibility for them.”

The sudden truth hit me like a sledgehammer.

It turned out I was just one more pawn in this pathetic cheating couple’s game.

The next day, Liam Blackwood wasted no time in holding a press conference.

I sat in my office, watching the news footage expressionlessly.

Liam’s eyes were bloodshot, his face pale, looking utterly haggard.

Holly sat quietly beside him, looking as if she had suffered the greatest injustice.

“First, I want to sincerely apologize to all friends concerned about this matter.”

His voice was deliberately choked with emotion.

“For five years, I’ve been repaying a past kindness, forced to endure the Sterling family’s whims day in and day out!”

“My life was carelessly decided by a single contract.”

His voice remained hoarse throughout, his demeanor sorrowful.

Only when he spoke of Holly did a faint smile touch his lips. “Only Holly truly cares about what *I* want.”

He turned his face away, his Adam’s apple bobbing twice.

“I admit, Victoria Sterling is indeed an outstanding businesswoman. Blackwood Industries wouldn’t be where it is today without her help.”

But the very next second, his words turned sharp:

“However, she questioned every client I met, every restaurant I chose.”

“Even the evening gowns I wore to galas, the watches on my wrist, were all pre-arranged by her.”

“I felt like a puppet without a mind of my own, my entire life lived in the shadow of one woman.”

Holly, sensing her cue, appropriately clutched his arm, sobbing, her face a picture of sorrow, and pleaded to the camera:

“Liam just wants to live for himself. I couldn’t bear to see him suffer so much.”

“Ms. Sterling… I’m sorry. Please, I beg you, show us mercy and let us go.”

The flashbulbs below flared, and reporters frantically pressed their shutters.

The live stream’s comments exploded, curses filling the entire screen:

[OMG! This wealthy heir had it so bad, he was practically a kept man!]

[Victoria Sterling, that control freak, go to hell! This kind of bullying, obsessive psycho woman deserves to rot!]

[Support Mr. Blackwood’s rebellion! True love can conquer all!]

Finally, Liam Blackwood announced the establishment of a new company, completely severing ties with Sterling Corp.

“I will rebuild a company my own way.”

“This path will surely be difficult, but with Holly, and… our child.”

“I won’t feel the slightest bit of hardship.”

The press conference ended, and the entire internet was in an uproar.

Everyone loves to kick a person when they’re down, and I became the target of public condemnation.

Sterling Corp’s headquarters’ phones were bombarded by media calls, and several long-term partners subtly hinted at terminating contracts.

They were all terrified of being associated with a negative enterprise.

I stared at Liam Blackwood’s hypocritical face on the screen, feeling nothing but nausea.

A chilling hatred churned within me.

I raised my hand, wiping away the cold dampness on my face, and pressed the phone button.

“Notify the legal department, meeting in five minutes.”

Alex hesitated, his voice tinged with uncertainty. “Ms. Sterling… is there really no room for reconciliation?”

I snorted, my voice terrifyingly calm.

“What’s done is done.”

“I’m going to make that pathetic cheating couple’s reputation utterly ruined!”

“Ms. Sterling.”

Sarah, the Legal Director, entered with her elite team. I slammed the prepared documents onto the conference table.

“Within thirty minutes, publicly release these three documents on all media platforms.”