Chapter 3

Two weeks later, Fiona returned to the country after wrapping up the Hangelia project.

At the airport, she saw the private car waiting to pick her up and frowned.

“Why is it you? Where’s Lucas?”

The night before her flight home, she had specifically asked her executive assistant, Rachel Tate, to call Lucas and have him pick her up.

She had ignored Lucas for two weeks. That was more than enough.

She didn’t mind giving him a way out.

To her surprise, Lucas hadn’t come.

“Ms. Shaw, Mr. York hasn’t answered any of our calls. He hasn’t come to work these past two weeks either. No one has been able to reach him.”

As Rachel reported, she opened the car door and respectfully invited Fiona inside.

Fiona’s eyes darkened. Her gaze shifted to the suitcase Mandy was holding beside her.

Inside were limited-edition sneakers worth tens of thousands, bespoke suits worth over a hundred thousand, and all kinds of luxury goods.

The most expensive item was a Richard Mille watch worth more than one million.

They were all gifts she had bought overseas for Lucas.

Canceling the wedding this time had indeed been her fault. But these expensive gifts should have been enough to show the sincerity of her apology.

Yet Lucas had decided to disappear.

Fiona felt as if she had been slapped in the face.

She told Mandy to put the gifts in the trunk, then took out her phone and called Lucas.

He didn’t answer the first call.

He didn’t answer the second one either.

Fiona’s patience ran out.

He was a grown man. Did he really have to be this petty?

She carried the future of the entire Shaw family on her shoulders. She didn’t have time to cater to his little moods.

Fiona got into the car and ordered Rachel, “Take me back to the estate.”

*

An hour later, they arrived at the Shaw family estate.

The estate had an elegant, timeless charm. The household staff moved about in perfect order, and everything looked calm and peaceful.

Fiona entered the main hall and looked around.

Lucas was nowhere to be seen.

The coldness in her eyes deepened.

“Ms. Shaw, you’re back.”

The butler, Mr. Zimmer, quickly served her tea.

Fiona sat down on the sofa, took the cup, and drank slowly.

Only after the cup was empty did she speak.

“Where’s Lucas?”

Mr. Zimmer looked worried.

“Lucas came back that day, packed a few things, and left. He hasn’t returned since. I called him too, but he wouldn’t answer. Ms. Shaw, I’m afraid Lucas may truly be heartbroken this time.”

Whenever Lucas had free time, he often helped Mr. Zimmer with chores around the house. The two had always gotten along well.

Mr. Zimmer was genuinely worried about him.

“He’ll come back.”

Fiona’s tone was certain.

It wasn’t as if they had never argued before.

But Lucas had always been the one to lower his head first.

Now that he wasn’t going to work or coming home, he was probably still angry that she had canceled the wedding.

Fiona set down her teacup and let out a barely noticeable sigh.

Fine. This time, she would be the one to back down first.

Fiona sent Lucas a message.

“Stop being angry. Pick a date, and we’ll hold the wedding again.”

The moment the message was sent, the single check mark stabbed into her eyes.

Lucas had actually blocked her.

Fiona’s face twisted with anger.

Was he serious?

It was just a canceled wedding.

It wasn’t as if she had said they weren’t getting married anymore.

Although she was angry, she still didn’t believe Lucas was truly done with her.

After all, everyone in their circle knew how much Lucas had loved her all these years.

Everything he was doing now was nothing but a tactic to make her chase him.

“Rachel, take some people to Lucas’s apartment in the suburbs and bring him back.”

Fiona knew Lucas had bought a small apartment on the outskirts of the city.

He had no parents and barely any friends here. Since he hadn’t returned to the Shaw estate, he had to be staying there.

Rachel hesitated.

“Ms. Shaw, what if Mr. York refuses to come back?”

A confident smile appeared on Fiona’s face.

“You’re going in person. There’s no way he won’t come back.”

Rachel was the assistant Fiona trusted most. In public, she practically represented Fiona herself.

By sending Rachel to pick Lucas up personally, Fiona was giving him more than enough respect.

He would definitely calm down soon.

Rachel nodded and left the estate.

*

For the past two weeks, Lucas had been looking for a job.

Since he had already decided to cut ties with the Shaw family, there was no way he would go back to work at Shaw Corporation.

But he had signed a noncompete agreement with the company. Any business that competed with Shaw Corporation was off-limits.

That instantly narrowed his options.

Every resume he sent out seemed to disappear into a black hole.

On top of that, Xena had deliberately spread the video from the wedding online. Many companies were afraid of offending the Shaw family, so none of them dared to get involved with him.

Lucas had even applied to be a security guard, but after the background check, he had still been rejected.

That day, Lucas decided to go out and try his luck again.

Some restaurants posted hiring notices right outside their doors. Ordinary people had nothing to do with wealthy circles. Maybe one of them would be willing to hire him.

But as soon as he opened the door, Rachel was standing outside in a tailored designer suit.

Lucas’s eyes instantly went cold.

What rotten luck.

Out of all the assistants, Rachel was the one he got along with the least.

Relying on her status as Fiona’s chief executive assistant, she had practically ground him into the dirt.

Lucas raised his hand to shut the door, but Rachel quickly caught the doorframe.

Aside from her regular work, Rachel was also responsible for Fiona’s personal safety, and she was a skilled fighter.

Taking on a few grown men wouldn’t be a problem for her, let alone stopping Lucas from closing a door.

She looked straight at him with a condescending smile, as if she were staring at some stray dog.

“Mr. York, Ms. Shaw sent me to take you back.”

She didn’t say she was there to pick him up. She deliberately said she was there to take him back, as if he had no say in the matter. She wanted to remind him exactly where he stood.

Lucas simply let go of the door and looked at her mockingly.

“Slap yourself a few times, and I’ll go back with you.”

Rachel felt humiliated. The smile froze on her face, and anger flared in her eyes. Her voice turned cold and merciless.

“Mr. York, do you even know who you are compared to Ms. Shaw? You’re nothing but a lowly live-in son-in-law. The fact that Ms. Shaw sent me here in person is already more respect than you deserve.

“I suggest you take the offer while you still can.”

Instead of getting angry, Lucas laughed.

To be honest, he had been surprised when he saw Rachel at his door.

After all these years, this was the first time Fiona had ever softened first.

In the past, he would have been overwhelmed with gratitude.

But now, he didn’t care anymore.

He knew Rachel was only following orders. He shouldn’t make things difficult for her.

He had never liked making things difficult for women either.

But Rachel was the exception.

Rachel was highly capable at work, and Fiona valued her deeply.

The assistants’ salaries had always gone through Rachel for final review and approval.

And Rachel always found all kinds of excuses to dock Lucas’s pay.

Every month, the salary he actually received was only half of what the other assistants made.

Lucas had confronted her about it.

He still remembered how nasty her smile had been back then.

“I just don’t like you. Slap yourself a few times, and maybe I’ll give it to you. How about that?

“And don’t even think about complaining. Who do you think Ms. Shaw will believe, you or me?”

Lucas hadn’t let Rachel have her way. He had told Fiona about it directly.

After hearing him out, Fiona had only grown impatient.

She said Rachel was probably overwhelmed with work and had made a mistake while reviewing the payroll.

Then she told him to be more generous and stop turning a tiny issue into a big deal. It wasn’t manly.

In the end, Fiona handed the assistants’ payroll review over to a dedicated employee.

The problem was solved, but Lucas didn’t feel happy.

He couldn’t understand it.

He had never done anything to Rachel, so why did she hate him so much?

Then one day, he caught a glimpse of Rachel’s phone wallpaper.

Zac Carter.

The hottest actor in the industry.