Chapter 4

The evening gathering took place at a private club. When I pushed open the door of the private room, the smell of cigarettes and alcohol hit me at once.

Everyone there was either one of Meghan's business partners or her close friend. When they saw me enter, the noisy room fell silent for a brief moment.

"Oh, Ashton is here! Come on. Have a seat!"

Someone eagerly offered me a seat, but I noticed the barely concealed mockery in their eyes.

Meghan sat at the head of the table. When she saw me, she patted the seat beside her and said, "Ashton, sit here."

I sat down obediently.

"Meghan, I heard you're really living the dream. That young male model is staying at your house, yet Ashton is still being so understanding. We're honestly impressed."

Mr. Brennan was the one who spoke. He had drunk too much and was thoughtlessly expressing himself.

Meghan laughed and cursed at him. "Screw you. Just drink your wine."

Yet, she didn't deny Mr. Brennan's words. Instead, she reached over and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, acting like we were a loving couple. "No matter how interesting other men are, they're only for fun. Ashton is the only one who'll ever be my husband."

As she said that, her eyes filled with pity, as though allowing me to keep that title was an extraordinary act of kindness on her part.

After several rounds of drinks, someone brought up my family, the Nicholsons.

"Come to think of it, Meghan, if the Nicholson family hadn't helped you with everything they had back then, you never would've taken control of Gregory Group so quickly. It's a shame Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson passed away so early. If they could see how well things have turned out, they'd be so proud."

Meghan's expression stiffened slightly, and a flicker of unease crossed her eyes.

Back then, my parents' car accident had been ruled an accident by the police, but the timing had been far too convenient. It had happened when Meghan was in the middle of her fiercest conflict with Raymond's legal wife and desperately in need of a large amount of money.

After my parents died, I inherited everything from the Nicholson family and invested it all in Meghan's projects without hesitation. That was what helped her completely turn everything around.

For all those years, I had never doubted Meghan. It wasn't until recently, while sorting through my parents' belongings, that I found an encrypted email. Although I hadn't fully decrypted it yet, it seemed to point toward a terrifying truth.

In the present, Meghan said, "That's true. I'll never forget everything my father-in-law and mother-in-law did for me."

She sighed and took my hand. "Ashton, don't worry. From now on, I'll treat you twice as well, making up for everything they would have done for you."

Her palm was warm, yet it sent a deep chill through me.

Just then, the private room door was suddenly pushed open. Meghan's assistant rushed in, panic written across her face. She stammered, "M-Ms. Gregory… Mr. Manning… Something happened to him!"