Chapter 1

...

"Mr. Sanford," called out my assistant, Luther, handing me the tablet. "You need to see this."

The screen was flooded with news about that night's concert. This proposal was supposed to be a dual victory for both our careers and our love life.

I had invested more than a hundred million dollars, secured partnerships with dozens of major brands, and orchestrated every detail. If Tiffany Burgess had proposed to me in front of her fans, the commercial value of our "power couple" image would have been incalculable.

Everything had been meticulously prepared and was ready to execute.

But now, photos of Tiffany and Pierre Hamm kissing on stage were being blown up everywhere, with headlines flashing across the screen: [Top Star Defies Capital for True Love.]

My stunned, humiliated exit had already been edited into countless mocking memes. Starry Media's stock value had plummeted by $3 billion overnight.

I scrolled through the reports with a face of stone until I reached Tiffany's freshly posted personal statement, in which she thanked the universe, except me and the company, defined our relationship as an unpleasant cooperation, and vowed to fight for her freedom at any cost.

"Freedom." I stared at the word, then laughed. "Tell the PR team to ignore it—no response, no explanation. Get the legal team ready to activate every punitive clause in her contract."

Luther was stunned. "Sir, shouldn't we release a statement to clarify? Public opinion is tearing us apart right now."

"Clarify?" I walked up to him and pointed at Tiffany's affectionate face on the screen. "There's nothing to clarify with a liar."

I rubbed my temples and sank onto the sofa. The past five years replayed in my mind like jagged film clips.

A young woman stood with a battered old guitar, singing an unknown folk song to a handful of people. Yet I heard something special in her voice and decided to give her a chance.

I hired her and set up a studio.

We started with absolutely nothing. To save money, we slept on the floor of a cramped office, survived on the cheapest food, and spent our nights dreaming aloud about the future.

"When I make it big, the first thing I'll do is marry you," she said.

"You'd better pay off the startup capital first," I joked.

She teased me for being practical, but her eyes were full of hope. To secure her a spot at a music festival, I drank round after round with investors until my stomach lining ruptured. I was rushed to the emergency room in the middle of the night.

When Tiffany arrived at the hospital, her eyes were red from crying. She clutched my hand and said, "I'll never let you suffer like this again."

I looked at her, feeling like everything was worth it. I thought we were soulmates and each other's only support, so I poured all my resources and energy into her ascent.

I taught her how to face the cameras with confidence, how to handle the media, and how to package herself as the perfect idol for her fans.

She absorbed it all quickly and soared to unimaginable heights. As she grew more popular, we moved into the most luxurious office building in the city center, and our studio became a full-fledged entertainment empire.

But somewhere along the way, our relationship started to change. She began to complain about my controlling nature, saying that I packed her schedule so tightly that she didn't have time to create, longing for what she called purity.

That was when Pierre Hamm, her junior from music school, entered the picture. He became the symbol of purity in her eyes.

One month before the concert, I finally confronted her. "We are partners in business and life. I don't want anything to jeopardize the foundation we've built together."

Sitting across from me, she stared at her phone, her tone dismissive. "You're overthinking it. Pierre is just a friend—someone I can talk about music with."

"I manage your music," I reminded her.

Her head snapped up, her eyes full of irritation and resistance. "It's different. That's a product. Commerce. With Pierre, I feel like a real human being, not just merchandise in your inventory."

That was the moment I realized she wasn't the girl who had fought beside me anymore. I had manufactured a star, and now that star believed she could exist independently.

I chose to let it slide, convinced that it was just her post-fame arrogance. I believed once the concert was over and our relationship was solidified with a grand proposal, everything would return to normal.

I was wrong. I had treated her like a predictable chess piece and overlooked the most uncontrollable thing in human nature—betrayal.