Chapter 3

That engagement party five years ago is still fresh in my mind.

The champagne had just been poured. Just as the engagement ceremony reached its climax, Jace walked up to me holding a delicate velvet box.

The box popped open, and inside lay a set of skimpy, black lace lingerie.

"A wedding gift for the bride-to-be," he said, the corners of his mouth curling up. "Miss Elle will surely love it."

Whispers and giggles erupted around us.

All the family elders and big shots present were pointing at me, the amusement in their eyes completely undisguised.

Everyone was waiting for me to make a fool of myself.

Jace obviously didn't think it was enough.

He moved half a step forward and lowered his voice so only I could hear.

"So what if you're the family heir? You're still marrying a woman I've slept with."

"You're just a weakling, Cole. A weakling who couldn't even keep another man out of his own bed."

Before he finished speaking, he flashed his phone screen in front of my eyes.

In the photo, Elle was wearing the black lace lingerie. She was kneeling on a bed with a glazed look in her eyes, with something smeared on the corner of her mouth.

She looked completely different from her usual cold and aloof self.

Jace smirked at me, his face showing a satisfied glow.

My pupils shrank violently. My blood instantly boiled.

At that moment, a man's pride completely burned away all my reason.

I raised my hand and smashed a punch into his face. That very punch gave them the excuse to kick me while I was down. It led to two full years of brutal torture in the family's underground cells.

"Hahaha!"

My thoughts were pulled back to the present. Jace was still laughing triumphantly.

The other people in the club joined in, laughing loudly without any restraint.

Everyone was eagerly enjoying my current predicament.

My eyes turned cold. I suddenly jerked my head, shaking off his dirty hand from my chin.

Then, my shoulders suddenly surged with power, violently breaking free from the grip of the two massive bodyguards.

"Looks like living off a woman gave you amnesia."

"It's been so long, you probably forgot how that front tooth went flying. I don't mind being merciful today and helping you remember."

My eyes were ice-cold. My voice carried a deadly silence.

In that instant, the entire room was suppressed by the sudden aura radiating from me. The laughter came to a screeching halt.

Meeting my gaze, Jace's face changed. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Aren't you afraid I'll throw you back in those cells and beat you half to death?"

I curled my lips into a sneer. "You can try."

Ignoring his threats, under the shocked gazes of everyone in the room, I swung my fist. I smashed it ruthlessly into that pretty face he was so proud of.

"Ah!"

Jace staggered back two steps, clutching his mouth and letting out an agonizing scream.

A mouthful of blood mixed with a broken front tooth sprayed onto the expensive carpet.

"You fucking dare hit me?!"

Jace was both shocked and terrified.

He never dreamed that a convict he had trampled into the mud would actually dare lay a hand on him.

Club manager Tony broke into a cold sweat and sharply scolded me.

"Open your damn eyes and look whose turf this is! You dare cause trouble here? You must have a death wish!"

Jace got beaten on his turf.

If Elle's family decided to hold someone accountable, his life would be over.

The others also woke up from their daze, gasping as they looked at the blood on the floor.

"Is this guy crazy?"

"A bottom-feeding convict actually dares to hit Miss Elle's man?"

Everyone looked at me like they were looking at a corpse that was about to be dumped at the bottom of the ocean.

I, however, pulled out a tissue and slowly wiped away the dirty blood on my knuckles, completely unfazed.

Jace's eyes were bloodshot. He glared at me through gritted teeth, looking like he wanted to chop me into minced meat.

"Cole, either you get on your knees and apologize to me right now, or I'll fucking kill you today!"

"Make your choice!"

I threw the bloody tissue right in his face and sneered.

"You want me to admit I'm wrong? You don't deserve it."

"Fine. Have it your way!"

Jace spat. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out several stacks of crisp hundred-dollar bills.

He slammed them onto the bar with a loud smack and roared at the security guards behind him.

"Get him! Beat him to death! Whoever kills him gets ten times this amount!"

The security guards' eyes lit up. They cracked their knuckles and closed in.

Just as those massive fists were about to smash into my face.

A surprised and doubtful female voice suddenly came from behind me.

"Cole?!"