Tony was wearing one of his foulest grimaces. It was clear that Victor had hardened his resolve and made a choice, and that was to become enemies with him rather than to explain themselves out of this fiasco.To ask someone like him to just take the loss and scamper away was akin to asking for the impossible, but admittedly, there was no turning back after all was said and done. Far more impossible things had happened, and if he were to throw a fit right now, their unflattering optics would be all on him.One did not occupy his spot as a mogul without the necessary wits—Tony let what had happened simmer in his mind for a second and immediately saw the key to the issue. With a chuckle, he put on a look of benevolence and looked into Victor’s eyes, proclaiming, “You’re your daughter’s precious little Papa above all else, after all, Victor. Tonight will truly live long in my memory.”It was a proclamation clear as day to every attendee: the Smiths and the Browns were now enemies.To t
Alexandra’s face turned a little paler.William was the worst—and she could not overstate how much she hated him. Why must he be so irksome?! Could he please give himself the boot without one last kick at her?Yes, Alexandra knew who Zayn really was—the maligned son-in-law of the Carter family whose infamy was too well-known in the city. If her family knew all about it, she could bet that their heads would explode. Worse, her dad was definitely not going to let her off the hook this easily, too. How could she not panic?Now that things had come to this, there was no other option for her than to grit her teeth and dissembled nonchalance the best she could. “Oh, please. As if there’s anything for me to hide! Zayn is my boyfriend who, I know, has never killed anyone or violated the law. Honestly, are you done with your yammering? Can you spare us the embarrassment and leave already?”Alexandra had accidentally worded her retort too tartly that she immediately attracted the ire of ever
“What?” Victor’s frown deepened. His long-awaiting relief had mutated into a terrible sense of dread once more.A man who could not even get a job? How useless would that sort of person be? Worse, this person was someone whose reputation in Waltz City was that of infamy. That sort of claim alone could wipe any semblance of good feelings in his face away already!“Alexandra! Who is this friend of yours, hmm? Might you have been fooled by him?” Victor asked, framing his question in a way that highlighted his fast-thinking wits. Surreptitiously, he had changed his language and called Zayn a “friend” rather than “boyfriend”.The young woman in question bit her lips and hung her head, her eyes darting away from Victor’s. She hated to admit it, but Zayn’s real identity was a bit difficult to let know. It was not that she despised who he was—she just could not talk about it to her father under pressure like this.William watched the debacle develop with his grin widening enough to split h
“The Carters’ son-in-law?!”Other members of the Smith family were close to losing their minds, especially the elders, who were so livid that they were visibly shaking. The most reputation-conscious ones among them were even wobbling on their knees, and they were only able to stand because with the help of the youths nearby.Throughout the shock and awe, they kept muttering to themselves, “Our family is cursed…”How could they not feel that way? The Smiths was one of the premier families in the entire city! Their prestige might be shadowed by modern nobility the likes of the Larsons, but they were still respectable upper-class people. And now, Victor’s precious little girl had gotten herself entangled with the useless son-in-law of the Carters, before sabotaging the Browns’ engagement party with a fiasco. How could the family be even more humiliated by this point?The crowd erupted into a furor that just kept intensifying.“Damn me! I didn’t hear this wrongly, did I? This Zayn Lar
William’s smile froze on his lips. He had always hated Zayn’s stupid, placid look with a burning passion—why the hell did the guy always think he had to put on that dumb pretense?!“I really have to hand it to you for being this thick-skinned, Zayn. Despite where you’ve come to, you managed to put on that unfazed face,” William said, his smirk returning. Scorn was dripping from every feature on his face. “What, are you going to pull out an excuse to hide your real identity from your arse to save yourself, huh?”He turned to Alexandra. “Honestly, I don’t get you sometimes, Miss Smith. You knew Zayn’s the infamous son-in-law of the Carters, and a renowned useless piece of sh*t, and yet you see no problem being with him? Gosh, I guess we should all admire your temerity for ‘true love’! You want that so much, you don’t even give a damn about your family’s reputation anymore.”His words cut like a fusillade of knives. With every word, William stabbed the parts where they hurt the Smiths
“Chairman of Violet Vision”—more shocking words had never been uttered.Right before the engagement party had started, the topic that had captivated most of the guests’ had been the chairman himself. Speculations on his background, real look, age, and even his presence had dominated the crowd’s intrigue. The chairman, indeed, was the city’s biggest enigma.Fast forward now, and Zayn claimed himself to be the Chairman of Violet Vision.No joke could be more perfect than this, could it?!Unsurprisingly, what followed the short-lived silence was an explosion of boisterous chortles and guffaws. The only few exceptions were Zayn’s men the likes of Gordon and Sean.“Hahaha! I’m hearing this right, yea, guys? He’s the chairman?”“I’m dying right here, man! What a weirdo this guy is turning out to be! I mean, he could have fantasized himself as literally anyone else in the world, and he had to choose the chairman of Violet Vision! He really thinks that just because the man is a mystery m
“Uh…” Mr. Hyde was so overbearing that his aura wiped the smile off Nathan’s face. He looked like a man caught in a chokehold and it was an amusing sight. He was uncertain of Mr. Hyde’s intentions, so he dared not smile anymore.Mr. Hyde shifted his eyes back to Zayn on the stage. ‘Sir, what the heck are you trying to do? Is this how you plan to announce your return? Or are you doing what your heart tells you to?’“Is that funny?” Zayn asked William the same question as he watched him laugh excessively. William wipes his tears. He had laughed so hard that his eyes were watering. He was having trouble standing straight, so he needed someone to prop him up. “It is funny. Why isn’t it funny? Zayn, you’ve given me a new perspective on mental illness. There are times that I really want to pry open your skull so I can examine the structure of your brain. Could it be that it’s all sh*t? Hah-hah!”Zayn laughed as well. “William, I suggest that you not be so arrogant to avoid embarrassing
Sean had been awaiting this moment for a very long time. There were multiple occasions that he wanted to run up to the stage and announce the chairman’s identity. However, he had to control the urge to do so until he received the chairman’s order, and it left him feeling highly uncomfortable. He was an impatient man. There were no words to describe how irked he was as he witnessed his chairman being taunted by a useless piece of trash like William. It felt worse than if it was himself who was being insulted. Without realizing, he had become a loyal subordinate to Zayn. He was very confident of his judgment in other people, so he knew that Zayn was a capable and righteous man. It was his pleasure to be working for such a boss, and his future was definitely guaranteed. As a result, he had been serving Zayn sincerely, and now, he finally had his permission to announce his identity. He did not need to hold back anymore, so he stepped forward immediately. Sean was considered a man of