Chapter 1

The system said, "Because you were bound to Regina Horton's Sugar Baby System as a lapdog, you were forced to fawn over her no matter what she did.

"However, you persevered and broke the system's world record for Most Resilient Lapdog. Therefore, you received a random reward, allowing you to be unbound to her system," the mechanical voice continued, explaining everything clearly to me in my head.

"Can she rebind me again?" I asked. The question had been in my mind for a while.

"No, she can't. Once the lapdog turns things around, he will rise to power and be above everything else in the system. And if you keep becoming stronger, Dominic, the system will even randomly bestow various mysterious rewards to you from time to time."

After getting a clear picture of everything, I felt as though I'd been reborn. It was like the clouds had finally parted, the fog had cleared, and I could finally catch a glimpse of the blue sky hiding behind everything.

I looked at the guests whispering amongst themselves below the stage, then at Regina's, Larry Dickson's, and their relatives' smug faces. Finally, I met my parents' eyes, filled with worry, and I quietly took a deep breath.

I took the microphone from the host and stood in the center of the stage.

"It is very regrettable to be changing my engagement partner today, under such circumstances," I said, the entire hall falling silent at once.

Regina and Larry both wore smug, arrogant expressions. They always enjoyed stepping all over me to climb the social ladder, taking advantage of me to show off their abilities.

I continued, "A moment ago, Ms. Regina Horton said that she would be swapping me out as her engagement partner at our engagement ceremony. I respect, understand, and support her decision."

A gasp swept through the room. However, the guests weren't too surprised by my actions.

Then, I dropped the bombshell. "As of today, Regina and I are peacefully broken up. We will no longer have anything to do with each other."

Everyone froze in disbelief.

I raised my voice. "Moving forward, she and her family have nothing to do with me, Dominic Carlson, or my family. You may treat them however you want.

"As for the expenses today, consider it my breakup fee for Regina. Eat and drink to your heart's content! Don't bother holding back. Just enjoy yourself fully today."

Regina had used the excuse of "testing me" over the past two years to amass wealth in my name. She did so to benefit both her family and Larry's.

However, yesterday, when I proposed to her again for the 100th time, she finally agreed to get engaged with me, and everyone in Valdington knew about it.

Fortunately, we weren't married. If we had, I would suffer terribly and continue being humiliated by her for the rest of my life.

Just as I stepped off the last step, Mom and Dad came up to me, one on each side, and grabbed my hands, tears streaming down their faces.

"Dom, did you mean what you said on the stage?"

I nodded. "You're both right. I should choose someone of equal social standing when picking a wife. Someone like Regina is definitely not worthy of our family name."

Mom and Dad exchanged glances, their hands trembling as they held mine. Yet, they still spoke in unison and said, "Okay, Dom. We believe you."

They would always believe me, only to be disappointed each time. But they would still always believe me again and again as long as I said it.

In fact, they would even let me squander away all of our family fortune if I wanted to. If I hadn't feigned a falling-out with them when I was still thinking straight, forcing them to take back my shares in the company, our family would have fallen to ruin by now, and the richest family in Valdington would either be the Hortons or the Dicksons instead.

I sighed softly and gripped their hands back tightly. This time, I was determined to show them that I wasn't going back on my word and disappointing them again.

While chatting among ourselves, Regina, who had been left onstage, belatedly realized what had just happened and began to attack me.

"Dominic Carlson! I dare you to repeat what you just said to me!"

She glared at me, confident that I wouldn't have the guts to repeat myself.

I smiled lightly and looked at her barely passable pretty face. "We're done, Regina Horton," I said calmly. "You're free to marry whoever you want, and so am I. This engagement party will be the last thing I ever do for you."