Chapter 1

Rebecca's POV

Caleb Greene, my soon-to-be ex-fiance, shoved the car door open and chased after me. His tie wasn't put on properly, and the buttons of his dress shirt were done wrong.

"Rebecca Sutton, hold it right there!"

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at him.

Seizing my wrist in a grip so tight that it hurt, he demanded, "What nonsense did you just say to your mom? What marriage alliance partner? Have you gone mad?"

I broke free of his hold before taking a step back. "It's exactly what it sounds like. I'm going to marry someone, but the groom isn't you."

Caleb scoffed. "Rebecca, you're 29 this year, not 19. Getting married to another man out of jealousy? Don't you think it's childish to play such tricks?"

Pointing at the Maybach behind him, he continued, "I had to offer a significant salary before I was able to poach Yelena to be my personal assistant. The only reason she's dressed like that is because she had to accompany me to meet with an investor.

"She accidentally spilled coffee on herself, and I was just helping her wipe it off. When did you ever see us kissing or doing something of the sort?"

My gaze dropped to the hickeys on his neck. "Were you using your mouth to help clean the coffee off of her? Or could it be that your phobia of women is actually only toward me, while your assistant is immune?"

Caleb froze, his hand instinctively flying up to cover his neck.

At that moment, his personal assistant, Yelena Langdon, came over with his jacket and draped it over his shoulders with practiced ease, as though she had done it many times.

"Rebecca, you've truly misunderstood the situation. Mr. Greene had a sudden dizzy spell just now, so I was just treating him by performing CPR. As his subordinate, it's not like I can just stand by and watch when he's in trouble, right?"

She looked at me, her lips curving into a smirk. "If you can't even be magnanimous enough to accept that, how are you supposed to be the great Mrs. Greene in the future?"

In response, I lifted my hand and struck her right across her cheek.

Yelena shrieked and stumbled back into Caleb's chest. "Mr. Greene, it hurts so much!"

Immediately, Caleb shoved me away before pulling Yelena behind him protectively. "Rebecca Sutton, what the hell is wrong with you? Yelena is a core member of the company! How could you hit her?"

"So what if I did? Am I supposed to wait for the perfect day to come around instead? Since she loves playing doctor so much, I'll give her a little treatment of my own."

Caleb jabbed a finger at my nose. "Apologize to Yelena right now! Otherwise, I'm canceling our engagement party next month!"

Taking out my phone, I searched my WhatsApp for our wedding planner's number. "Why wait when we can do it now?"

Then, I typed out a message and sent it.

"The engagement party is off. I don't want the deposit back either."

Enraged, Caleb snatched my phone from me and smashed it against the ground.

"Rebecca, that's enough of your tantrum! I work my ass off every day, all for you and our future! You're just a freelancer who lazes around at home all day while occasionally drawing some designs!

"My phobia of women is so severe, but for the sake of securing funding, I still force myself to endure the nausea as I interact with women at endless business functions and networking events!

"Yet, not only are you not considerate and understanding of my situation, but you're also being unreasonable and kicking up a fuss now!

"You have to apologize to Yelena right now! Otherwise, even if you beg me on your knees in the future, I still won't marry you!"

He didn't want to marry me? That was precisely what I wanted.

Glancing at the shattered remains of my phone on the ground, I leaned over to pick up my SIM card before interrupting his tirade.

"Mr. Greene, let me stop you right there! The past eight years with you… Well, I'll just think of it as doing charity."

Subsequently, I spun on my heels and headed for the elevator.

Behind me came Caleb's infuriated bellow. "Get lost! Rebecca Sutton, you'd better not come crawling back to me! Let's see just what sort of man you'll be able to marry after leaving me!"

The elevator doors slowly slid shut, finally blocking his disgusting face from my sight.