Chapter 1 I can’t believe you’re doing this to me

I never knew the man I loved the most would betray me the hardest.

RYAN Reynolds, the son of my father’s friend was supposed to marry me. but the night before the wedding, I caught him in bed with my butler’s daughter.

She was kind, generous, fragile, but all on the surface.

Noone knew her face like I did.

‘Are you kidding me? You’re saying you choose her over me?’ I cried, looking at Ryan. He stood on the door, covering Isabelle from me.

“Listen to me, Iris Young,” He rolled his eyes, “I would never marry you. You’re just the daughter of Mason Young. Without him, you’re nothing.”

“What… what do you mean? I am nothing? I am the director of Young firm.” I gasped.

Ryan laughed, “Young firm? Which is about to go bankrupt in a few days! You think I don’t know about it?”

“Oh, is that why you want to be with her? Just because my family is getting bankrupt, you are with Isabelle now!”

He remained silent for a moment.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me,” I whispered. My throat burned, and warmth rushed to the corners of my eyes. “After everything I did for you.”

Ryan scoffed, taking a step closer to me. His figure towered over me, “Everything you did for me? Iris Young, you did nothing. You just followed your father’s orders like a spoiled little princess!”

“Don’t you dare call me that!” I screamed, stepping back. My voice cracked, “You were the one who begged my father for this marriage. You said you loved me!”

He laughed. It was cold and cruel, which I had never heard before. “Love? I said what I had to. Your father promised me shares in Young Firm. But now that your empire is sinking…” He smirked as he looked at Isabelle, “I don’t waste my time on sinking ships.”

Isabelle came out from behind him, clutching the bedsheet around her body. Her face looked pale and guilty. “Please, Iris. It’s not what you think…”

“Oh, shut up!” I waved my hand to shut her up. “Don’t you dare play innocent in front of me. I treated you like a sister. You lived in my house. You ate at my table. And this is what you do?!”

She trembled, holding Ryan’s hand like it was her only shield. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I just…”

“Just what?” I cut her off, my voice breaking, “You just wanted my life, my fiance, and my future, huh?”

Ryan rolled his eyes again. “Stop being dramatic, Iris. It’s pathetic.”

Something clicked inside me as I heard his words, “Pathetic?” My voice trembled as I stepped closer to him, “You used me, Ryan. You used my father’s company, my love, everything I had…”

“And I would do it again,” He said coldly, “Because I get what I want, Iris.” He leaned against my ear as he laughed, “Always.”

For a moment, the room went silent. Even Isabelle looked shocked by his words and expression.

I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his betrayal crush my heart. I weakly spoke, “Then I hope you get everything you want. Because one day, you’ll realise what you lost.”

Ryan tilted his head, “Lost? You think I lost something? No, Iris. You did.”

He put his arm around Isabelle and walked inside the room, like I was nothing, like I was invisible.

My vision blurred. My hands were shaking. I wanted to scream, to destroy everything in that room. But instead, I laughed. It sounded hollow and broken, even to my own ears.

“You know what, Ryan?” I said softly, “You’ve just created your biggest mistake.”

He froze for a second, then slowly turned around, his smirk fading off his face. “What did you say?”

“I said…” I walked closer, “The moment you betrayed me, you created your own downfall.”

He frowned, his eyes sharpened, “You can’t touch me, Iris. You’re finished. Your company’s done. Your father’s dying. You have nothing left.”

I stared at him, the man I once thought was my future husband. And felt something inside me go completely cold.

“Then I have nothing to lose,” I murmured.

He blinked his eyes, probably thinking about what I said.

Isabelle looked scared as she clutched Ryan’s arm tighter, “Ryan. Let’s go. She is just losing it.”

I smiled faintly at her, “Losing it? You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Ryan walked towards me, his voice dropping low, “Stay out of my way, Iris. You don’t want to make an enemy out of me.”

I met his eyes, unflinching, “I already did, the moment you touched her.”

For a moment, his eyes met mine, and then he turned and slammed the door shut.

The silence that followed was deafening.

I sank to the floor, clutching my chest, my tears falling from my eyes. Everything, my love, my trust, my dreams, my hopes… shattered in just one night. I felt like my mind was screaming his every word, every smirk, every cruel laugh.

A long while passed, and I wiped my tears. Because I realised something. He thought I was broken. He thought I was powerless. But he forgot something. I was still Mason Young’s daughter.

If there was one thing my father taught me… It was how to destroy someone quietly.

The Next Morning.

The world thought I ran away.

The news headlines screamed: “Iris Young was dumped on her wedding.”

They said I was too heartbroken to face the world.

Good! Let them think that.

While Ryan was busy showing off his new lover to the press, I was busy meeting my father’s lawyer.

It turned out that the Young Firm wasn’t bankrupt yet, but Ryan had already signed documents to merge his father’s company with ours.

I smiled as I looked at the papers in my hand.

“Let him believe he owns me,” I said quietly to myself. “When this deal will be finalised… he’ll realize who actually owns him.”