Chapter 4

Leo truly became my ally.

He never offered me straight cash because he knew my pride wouldn't let me accept it.

Instead, he found endless roundabout ways to help.

Whenever he claimed he was tilted from losing a scrimmage match, he would drag me out to five-star restaurants and "accidentally" order a feast consisting entirely of my favorite dishes.

He would claim his walk-in closet was overflowing and casually dump brand-new, designer clothing onto my couch, all of which miraculously fit my exact measurements.

Once, when two shady debt collectors cornered me in an alleyway behind my apartment, he appeared out of nowhere like a guardian angel, knocking them both flat on their backs in under two minutes.

Even though he took a stray hit and ended up with a bruised cheek, he grinned wider than anyone.

"Elena, was I cool or what?" He tilted his bruised face up at me, practically begging for praise like an excited golden retriever.

Dabbing antiseptic onto his cut, I rolled my eyes fondly. "Cool? You looked like an absolute idiot."

With him around, the suffocating grayness of my life slowly began to fill with color.

I even found the energy to start fighting back.

Jason and Chloe’s formal engagement party was scheduled for a month later. The digital invitation arrived in my inbox courtesy of Kevin, complete with a vicious note: [Elena, you’re warmly invited to bear witness to the happiness you could never keep.]

It reeked of Chloe’s handiwork. She wanted to stomp me into the dirt in front of the entire high-society circle.

I showed the invitation to Leo.

The moment he read it, he slammed his phone onto the couch. "Those arrogant bastards! Elena, let's crash the venue! I'll make sure that wedding never happens!"

"Crashing the venue is amateur work," I said, shaking my head with a cold smirk. "I'm going to give them a real gift. A gift that will haunt the rest of their lives."

I got straight to work. Digging through my father’s old corporate contacts, I started digging into Chloe Quinn's background.

It didn't take long to uncover a fascinating little secret.

Back when Chloe was studying abroad, her degree wasn't in finance as her shiny resume claimed—it was in art history.

The only reason she was handed an executive role at Harris Corp the second she returned to the country was through her father's close ties with the Harris family.

And the sole reason Jason had started viewing her as a brilliant visionary was because, right when he was launching his first tech venture, she had presented him with a groundbreaking master proposal that perfectly mirrored his vision.

On paper, they looked like an intellectual match made in heaven.

Too bad that proposal was written entirely by me.

During our junior year of college, Jason was scrambling to launch his first startup, spending day and night locked in the campus library.

I stayed by his side through every sleepless night, conducting the market research and writing the strategic framework from scratch.

Later on, he told me the project had been scrapped, and the original draft vanished.

Looking back now, he must have handed over my hard work on a silver platter just to win the favor of his precious white moonlight.

On the night of the engagement gala, I slipped into a sleek black cocktail dress Leo had picked out for me and did my makeup flawlessly.

Leo wore a crisp white tailored suit, looking like a prince straight out of a fairy tale.

Standing side by side, we looked striking together.

"Elena, you look stunning tonight," he murmured, his eyes glowing with genuine awe. "A hundred times gorgeous than that Chloe girl."

Linking my arm through his, I stepped into the glittering, gilded ballroom.

Our entrance instantly pulled every set of eyes in the room toward us.

The second Jason spotted me, his face drained of color. Striding over with an icy scowl, he hissed in a harsh whisper, "Elena Vance, what are you pulling? I'm warning you, tonight is the most important night of Chloe's and my life. Don't you dare cause a scene!"

Before I could answer, Leo stepped smoothly between us, flashing an arrogant, mocking grin. "Watch your tone, Mr. Harris. My girlfriend is just here to offer her congratulations. Why are you so terrified of a little scene?"

"Your girlfriend?" Jason’s eyes flickered between the two of us, his expression a mix of sheer disbelief and a flicker of raw jealousy he couldn't quite conceal.

Kevin rushed over, pointing an accusing finger at me. "Elena, you have no shame! How long has it been since you and Jason broke up, and you're already latching onto a pretty boy toy?"

I didn't waste a single breath on them. Gliding past their pathetic outrage, I walked toward a quiet corner near the stage and took a seat.

The formal ceremony began. Jason and Chloe stood together on the raised platform, bathed in warm spotlights, looking every bit the power couple.

The emcee delivered an emotional, dramatic speech detailing their "fairy-tale romance."

"...During the toughest phase of Mr. Harris's entrepreneurial journey, it was Miss Chloe Quinn who reached across the ocean, providing him with an invaluable master proposal that laid the foundation for his empire today. She told him, 'Your dream is my dream.' For a once-in-a-lifetime love like this, let us give them our warmest applause!"

The ballroom erupted in thunderous applause.

Chloe looked up at Jason with dewy, adoring eyes.

Moved by the moment, Jason pulled her into a tight embrace, whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

Right then, I pulled out my phone and hit send, blasting a confidential document package to every mainstream business journalist and tech reporter in the room.

Then, I stood up, walked directly over to Kevin, and spoke in a clear, measured voice, "Kevin, haven't you been secretly harboring feelings for Chloe for years? How about I hand you a golden opportunity?"