Chapter 5

"Wow! Elaine, you look stunning today!"

"It's such an honor to finally meet you, Mr. Finch!"

"You two look like the perfect couple!"

Upon seeing the two of them, all of my classmates began to shower them with flattery—especially Howie, who looked like he was about to bend over and lick Tristan's shoes for him.

"Mr. Finch, Elaine, please come and take your seats! We've been waiting for you!" Howie said with a sycophantic smile.

"Oh! You're all here already?" Elaine exclaimed with a smile before deliberately sharing some news. "When Tristan heard about our class reunion, he specifically reserved the best private dining room in Regalia for us. He also said he'll be covering all of our expenses tonight!"

"You're the best, Mr. Finch!"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Finch."

"You're so lucky, Elaine!"

The fawning flattery became even more exaggerated.

Howie led Tristan and Elaine to the main seats at the head of the table, as if honoring them as the king and queen of tonight's event.

Then, he looked around the room. After spotting me, he asked on purpose, "Why are you sitting so far away, Nathan? Come over here and join us. Mr. Finch is a magnanimous man. I'm sure he won't mind."

In other words, he was mocking me for being a failure. Many other eyes fell on me, each pair dripping with ridicule.

Tristan flinched when he heard my name. He immediately looked away, too scared to meet my gaze. Why would he dare to see me when I'd just given him a good thrashing?

Elaine tugged on Tristan's sleeve and said softly, "It's all in the past now, Tristan. Things must be hard for Nathan, so let's not hold it against him."

Tristan simply let out a low hum of acknowledgment without any of his usual arrogance.

"What's the matter, Tristan? Are you feeling unwell?" Elaine asked.

He winced in pain when she touched his arm. No one else knew why, but I did—I'd injured that arm.

"I'm just tired from work… Don't touch my arm…" Tristan muttered to her with his head bowed and his tone a little weak.

A few of the guys who'd never liked me started making sarcastic comments.

"Hey, Nathan. I heard you got fired. My, my. It's such a shame."

"If you ask me, some people should really accept their fate. If it's not meant for you, you can't force it."

"Exactly. Take this dinner at Regalia, for example. For certain people, this is the only chance they'll ever get to dine here. They really should cherish this opportunity."

Felix was so angry that his face turned crimson. He was about to jump to his feet and argue with those people, but I held him down.

Slowly lifting my head, I calmly swept my gaze over the mocking expressions. Eventually, my eyes landed on Elaine and Tristan. My lips curled into an unreadable smirk.

I didn't mind letting them run their mouths now. I wanted to see who would get the last laugh tonight.

After several rounds of drinks and food, the atmosphere livened up a lot, and the obsequious flattery became even more overt.

Still holding onto Howie's arm, Izzy deliberately said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "Look at Elaine's handbag! That's a limited-edition design, you know. Mr. Finch sure dotes on her very much—unlike a certain someone who probably can't even afford a good quality knockoff of the bag."

She shot a look my way when she said the last sentence.

Another woman chimed in, "Precisely. Elaine even uses skincare products from luxury brands like La Mer now. As they say, women need to marry well."

Elaine let out a light chuckle. Stroking her handbag, she looked at me with a taunting expression. "Now that you've been fired, Nathan, do you have the money to cover your rent?"

Laughter erupted all across the room. I could tell that everyone was reveling in seeing me become the butt of their jokes.

Felix shot to his feet. "Don't you bloody push it, Elaine!"

Holding back the infuriated Felix, I slowly stood and said in a calm, unruffled voice, "I found a new job already."

Elaine smirked. "How can you possibly have a job? Tristan fired you yesterday. Isn't that right, Tristan?"

"Oh… Yeah…" Tristan kept his head down, feeling too sheepish to talk.

"Where are you working now, Nathan?" Howie asked.

"I'm not working for anyone. I have my own business," I replied coolly.

"Well, I'll be damned. You really love to talk big, huh?" Howie snorted. "What's the name of your business, then?"

"Elysium."

"What was that?" Elaine burst into laughter. "You're saying that Elysium is yours? Have you lost your mind?"

"We're all adults here. Why would I need to lie?" I said curtly.

"A buddy of mine works at Elysium. I can just call him to ask about this!" Howie offered, jumping at the chance to suck up to Elaine and Tristan.

Once the call connected, he asked with a smirk, "Hey, Ned. Who's running Elysium now? Oh? Mr. Foster, you said? Okay, got it. I was just asking because an old classmate of mine claims that Elysium is his. I've now confirmed that he's just talking out of his ass!"

Elaine looked delightfully smug. "Oh, Nathan. I've known you for years now, but I had no idea you were such a pathological liar!"

"I'm not lying. You should probably be asking the senior management of Elysium instead, Howie," I declared.

Only Simon knew that I was now in charge of Elysium. The other staff hadn't been informed yet.

"So be it, Nathan. Since you're so eager to dig a hole for yourself, I'll let you end up buried in your own humiliation. It just so happens that I saw Mr. Foster here at Regalia just now. I'll call him to come right over."

Elaine was playing right into my hands, and she did, in fact, call Simon.

"Elaine, I advise you to have a clearer grip on reality. Tristan has a fiancee. There's no way he's going to marry you," I warned.

My words stunned the room, and all of our brown-nosing classmates turned toward Elaine.

"Don't be ridiculous! Why would Tristan have a fiancee? You're just jealous that he got me, Nathan!" Elaine stomped in anger.

"His fiancee's name is Amelia Shaw," I responded sharply, my words directed right at Elaine.

"Amelia Shaw?"

"Isn't that the chairman of Crystalia Group and the most beautiful woman in Hearthsea?"

"I heard that Ms. Shaw is not only rich but extremely capable as well!"

Our classmates started murmuring among themselves again. On the other hand, Tristan could no longer keep his composure. Sweat had begun forming over his forehead.

"Tristan, do you have a fiancee?" Elaine asked with a pout.

Tristan quickly placated her, "There's no way I have a fiancee, Ellie. I would never lie to you!"

"That's right! Mr. Finch wouldn't lie like that!" Howie came forward again. "It just so happens that I work for Crystalia Group. I've never heard about our chairwoman being engaged. Nathan, I think you're just jealous of Mr. Finch. That's why you came up with such a nonsensical story. You're so shameless!"

Howie started hurling insults at me again. "Mr. Finch, you shouldn't even treat trash like him to a meal. Let's just kick him out now!"

"There's no rush. We can wait until Mr. Foster arrives first. I'm really keen to see whether Nathan's really the boss of Elysium!" Elaine piped up smugly, looking pretty confident.

Just then, the door creaked open, and Simon came in.

Elaine immediately walked up to him and shook his head. "So sorry to call you over like this, Mr. Foster. There was just something I needed to clarify with you."

"What is it?" Simon asked.

"Well, one of my college classmates here is insisting that Elysium is his. I had no choice but to call you over to verify the truth," Elaine said before pointing at me. "I'm sure you know that plenty of people these days love to brag. That guy over there is the classmate that I—"

As soon as Simon spotted me, he smiled and asked, "Mr. Cole! What are you doing here?"

Mr. Cole?

Everyone was thunderstruck to hear Simon, the manager of Elysium, addressing me so respectfully. They turned toward me with looks of shock.