With a sharp pull, Shawn loosened his tie, and a dangerous glint surfaced in his eyes. "I will force her to understand her position in front of everyone, just like she once shamed me in front of everyone."

A scornful laugh escaped Shawn, as though the idea itself offended him. "Do I look like someone she can toy with whenever she feels like it? The moment she embarrassed me in front of all those people, whatever love I had disappeared. What remains now is nothing but hatred."

Left slightly open, the door allowed sound to slip through.

Outside, Vanessa stood frozen, and a cold shiver crept through her body. Even though she had always known the truth, the pain still pierced straight through her chest.

At last, she understood that everything Shawn had done was meant as revenge.

And she finally accepted that his love for her had vanished long ago.

That fragile, foolish hope buried deep inside her flickered out completely.

The phone slipped from her grasp and struck the floor, and she hurriedly bent down to retrieve it.

Staying here became unbearable, so Vanessa placed the phone on the front desk and turned away, stumbling forward with no clear direction.

Brilliant sunlight flooded her vision outside, yet despite the warmth, she felt cold to her very core.

Over the years, Vanessa had known that aside from herself, Shawn was the only one who had never shown up at any class reunion.

Because of that, she assumed he would skip this one as well, yet his name appeared clearly on the attendee list for that event.

For a brief moment, Vanessa fixed her gaze on his name before swiping the screen away, forcing herself not to dwell on the thought that he might be attending because of her.

In a blink, three days slipped past.

To Vanessa, however, each of those days had felt slow and agonizing.

When the day of the reunion finally arrived, she found herself awake far earlier than usual.

Stepping into the walk-in closet, she selected a burgundy silk slip dress from the array of extravagant clothing Shawn had arranged for her.

With every step she took, the high slit of the skirt revealed a glimpse of her long, slender legs.

Carefully applied makeup framed her face, and bold red lipstick stood out against her skin while soft curls flowed down her shoulders.

Staring into the mirror, Vanessa took in her reflection, striking and captivating, looking no different from the woman she had been years before.

With her decision already made, Vanessa chose to meet the coming humiliation with as much pride as she could muster.

Descending the stairs, Shawn caught sight of her and stopped.

For the briefest instant, something close to surprise and admiration crossed his sharp gaze, but it vanished just as quickly and left behind a cold edge.

Slow and deliberate, he moved closer, his eyes traveling over her as he assessed her from above.

That stare felt invasive, as though he intended to strip away every layer and expose what lay beneath.

When he finally spoke, his voice carried an unmistakable chill. "Who exactly are you trying to seduce by dressing like that?"

Those words shattered what little resolve Vanessa still held.

Her hands curled into fists, and her nails pressed painfully into her skin.

"I…" She struggled to form a response.

"Change it," Shawn said harshly, his tone making refusal impossible.

Turning away, he reached into the walk-in closet, grabbed a long-sleeved black dress at random, and threw it toward her. "Do not embarrass me."

Even though the fabric concealed most of her skin, the dress could still highlight Vanessa's refined grace in a quiet, deliberate way.

Vanessa did not argue or hesitate.

Without a word, she slipped into the black dress and adjusted it carefully. What stared back at her in the mirror felt composed and restrained, far removed from the striking beauty she had seen only minutes earlier.

"Go there ahead of me. I have a meeting to attend, and I will meet you there later." Shawn studied Vanessa briefly, satisfied this time.

As night settled over the city, the car rolled to a halt beneath the glowing entrance of the Scepter Club.

Keeping her expression blank, Vanessa made her way toward a private room on the third floor.

Because the door was not fully closed, voices and laughter spilled into the hallway before she reached it.

"Have you heard? Vanessa and Shawn are both showing up tonight!" someone shouted.

Another voice answered with disbelief, "Seriously? They have not appeared in five years!"

A man spoke louder than the rest, unable to hide his excitement. "Do you remember the graduation party? Shawn humbled himself completely, and Vanessa would not even spare him a glance!"

"That is true. Back then, Vanessa was glorious in those days. Shawn could barely stand beside her without feeling overshadowed. But now everything has changed. The Owen family collapsed, and Shawn rose to become the city's most renowned lawyer at such a young age."

"Looks like fate has flipped everything around, so tonight should be entertaining for us!"

The laughter bursting from the room struck Vanessa like something sharp and unpleasant.

At once, her body went rigid.

Without warning, the past forced its way back into her thoughts.

The setting had been the same place.

That night marked their graduation party, and everyone had been drunk while loudly pushing Shawn to propose to her.

At that time, even in his youth, Shawn had already stood out for his talent and promise.

After hesitating, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, and his hands trembled because he was painfully nervous.

Rather than a diamond ring, the box held a brooch shaped with seashells and silver wire, which he had crafted himself after countless sleepless nights.

One glance was all Vanessa needed before she struck the box from his hands.

A dull thud echoed as it hit the floor, and the brooch slipped free before rolling across the floor.

"Shawn, do you seriously think something like this is acceptable for me?" she said coldly, and her sarcasm cut through the room until every other sound faded away.

A heavy hush spread through the room as everyone stared, stunned by what they were witnessing.

All the color drained from Shawn's face within seconds.

With a cruel curl of her lips, Vanessa spoke, and her words cut deep. "I was only playing along with you. I would never marry someone poor like you. Do you honestly believe you are some rare prize? You are just a failure trying to rise by clinging to the Owen family. I am sick of this. Do you hear me?"

His body rocked slightly as Shawn looked at her, confusion and pain filling his eyes. "Vanessa, please…"

"Do not say my name anymore! I am finished with you. I have been exhausted by this for a long time. I was already planning to end everything in a few days, so this changes nothing. Whether it happened sooner or later never mattered to me."

In that instant, everything seemed to stop moving.

Most people expected Shawn to lose control and walk away.

However, he remained where he was.

Before anyone could recover from their shock, the young man who was known for his distance and pride reached out and held Vanessa's hand, and he begged her in a voice stripped of dignity not to leave him.

Without hesitation, Vanessa pulled away and turned her back on him. "Go away. Are you incapable of understanding? I do not love you. I am exhausted by you. Do you get it now?"

By the end of that night, he had become the most humiliating spectacle the entire school would remember.

Reality pulled Vanessa back in without warning.

A deep, biting cold spread through her body, and her hands began to shake.

So much grief pressed against her chest that breathing felt difficult.

Only after her fingers brushed against the brooch tucked inside her purse did her emotions slowly steady. That small piece of jewelry was the same one Shawn had given her years ago.

What no one ever discovered was that after she left that night, Vanessa had returned to the club and searched through every trash bin until she found it.

After drawing in a long breath, she fixed a flawless smile on her face and eased the private room door open.

The lively chatter inside stopped at once, leaving behind a suffocating stillness.

Every person in the room turned toward the entrance at the same time.

Under the lights stood a woman dressed in a modest black gown. Her hair was pulled into a neat ponytail, and light makeup failed to hide the pallor of her face.

Even with signs of weariness clinging to her, she still carried a reserved elegance that placed her beyond reach.

Standing there was Vanessa, the very woman they had been whispering about moments earlier.

None of them had believed Vanessa would actually appear. Even when the Owen family was at its height, she had skipped every class reunion. With the family's downfall, her presence had seemed impossible.

What surprised them even more was the way she chose to appear.

A heavy stillness settled over the room.

That humiliating scene from their graduation party had never really faded from memory.

Because of that, what was unfolding now felt unsettling and strange.

Breaking the silence at last, the former class representative stepped forward. He had once been the most admired among them, and with a wine glass in hand and a practiced smile, he spoke carefully. "It has been years, Vanessa. We didn't expect you would come."

Every ear in the room strained to catch her response.

Without revealing the slightest feeling, Vanessa answered calmly, "It has been a long time since I saw everyone, so I thought I would come by and greet a few familiar faces."

At that, a mocking laugh cut through the quiet. "You did not come just to greet people. You must be here to ask for help, right?"

Her face tightened as Vanessa turned toward the speaker. The one who had spoken was Tyler Reynolds.

He had confessed his feelings to Vanessa on the very first day of university, and even after she rejected him, he continued to bother her throughout all four years of college.

Once Vanessa began a relationship with Shawn, Tyler's feelings twisted into resentment, and he started spreading indecent rumors about her. After Shawn stepped in and put him in his place, Tyler finally learned to keep quiet.

Only now, with her family's downfall, did he dare to provoke her again.

His comment plunged the room into an uncomfortable stillness.

Seeing the mood sour, the class representative forced a smile and tried to smooth things over. "Let us not make this awkward. We are all old friends here. Besides, Vanessa has always been capable. It is not as if she needs to come to us for funding."

"Actually, I am here to seek investment," Vanessa said calmly, unruffled.

Another silence swept through the room.

Glances passed quietly between the group, and soon, everyone chose to steer away from the subject.

The people gathered there were sharp and calculating. While they recognized Vanessa's talent in design, they also understood that business success demanded far more than creative skill alone.

In their eyes, the former Owen family heiress was no longer someone to admire from afar or feel intimidated by. Instead, she had fallen far enough to stand before them and ask for support.

At the same time, the person truly worth pleasing had not yet arrived, and that person was Shawn.

With a wine glass in hand, Tyler made his way toward Vanessa. Back then, his family status had never measured up to hers, and she had barely spared him a glance. Now, triumph flashed openly across his face as he studied her.

"Miss Vanessa Owen," he said, "you used to stand so high above everyone else, yet here you are, crawling around for investors, now that your company collapsed."

On the surface, Vanessa appeared calm, yet her hand curled into a fist so tightly that her nails pressed painfully into her skin.

After graduating, she had poured everything she had into building Victrix from the ground up. The company had been modest in size, but it once earned a respectable name in the industry.

When the Owen family fell, partners withdrew their funding and canceled contracts one after another. Even steep breach penalties did not stop them from severing every connection.

There was a time when clients lined up outside her office. Now, she struggled to cover even the next month's rent.

Still, Vanessa maintained a courteous smile as she replied, "Actually, Mr. Reynolds, the company has not shut down."

"Is that so?" Elora Stewart, who once followed Vanessa everywhere, laughed with open disdain while clinging to the arm of a potbellied middle-aged man beside her. "My husband bought the building next door just last week. And I heard you are already three months behind on your property management fees. Who do you think you are fooling? Your good times are long gone, Vanessa."

A crushing wave of shame washed over Vanessa.

Humiliation settled deep in her chest, leaving her feeling exposed and small.

In the past, she would not have even bothered to remember people like them.

Now, however, she had fallen to the point of being nothing more than entertainment in their eyes.

Taking her silence as weakness, Tyler became even more emboldened. Swirling the wine in his glass, he said, "That little company of yours is bound to collapse sooner or later. Your designs might impress amateurs, but they are barely worth looking at for us."

Someone else quickly joined in, saying, "That is right. Just look at Shawn. He is the real success story. Vanessa, what were you even thinking back then?"

Their voices overlapped as they showered Shawn with praise while tearing her down without restraint.

All of a sudden, a calculating look crossed Elora's face as a new idea formed in her mind.

With a subtle gesture, she called over a server, and a tray soon arrived holding ten neatly arranged glasses filled with amber liquor.

Wearing a cruel smile, Elora said, "Vanessa, think of this as goodwill from your former classmates." She motioned toward the glasses and continued, "If you manage to drink every one of these, I will convince my husband to invest one million dollars in your company. Does that sound fair?"

That sum alone had the power to drag Vanessa's business back from the edge of collapse.

Even so, everyone understood that the offer was blatant humiliation.

Anticipation hung thick in the air as every person in the private room waited to see how she would respond.

Fixing her gaze on the liquor, Vanessa felt nausea twist in her stomach.

She shut her eyes briefly, and when she opened them, her emotions had dulled into quiet acceptance.

In that instant, she recalled that she had once valued her pride deeply but had surrendered it the day she knelt before Shawn.

Drawing in a steady breath, Vanessa seemed to steel herself for what came next.

Slowly, she extended her hand, although her fingers shook. She was just about to grasp the first chilled glass when a thunderous crash echoed through the room. The private room door flew open with force, and the sudden noise made everyone jolt in alarm.

Standing in the doorway was Shawn, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and the veins on his hands stood out sharply. Behind his glasses, fury and a dark edge of hostility swirled in his eyes, emotions he had not yet noticed himself.

Every word spoken inside had reached him while he waited outside.

With deliberate weight in each step, Shawn strode into the room, his presence pressing heavily against the tense silence.

Shawn's imposing height stood out beneath a flawlessly cut suit that highlighted his strength, yet the gaze behind the gold-rimmed glasses held nothing but chill and precision.

He ignored the chaos scattered across the floor.

Instead, his cold stare settled squarely on Elora's potbellied husband.

That round face gave a nervous twitch, and fear took hold of him before he could stop it.

Slowly, a faint and unsettling smile appeared on Shawn's lips.

"A million dollars?" he asked quietly, but the weight of his voice slammed into the room. "Do you really believe someone like you gets to make that offer?"

At once, the color drained from Elora's husband's face.

With his gaze lowered in open disdain, Shawn addressed the trembling man, who was now drenched in sweat, and his tone carried nothing but scorn. "How could you find the audacity to boast over such a pitiful amount? You are not even worthy of handling errands for the Madison family."

As soon as the Madison family was mentioned, the atmosphere inside the private room grew heavy and oppressive.

A sharp intake of breath echoed around them.

Within Khance, the Madison family existed far beyond their grasp, appearing only in financial headlines, and it was a dominant force that held the entire business world firmly in its control.

Elora's husband felt his legs give way, and he nearly fell to the floor. "Excuse me, Mr. Madison..."

No opportunity to plead was given because Shawn shifted his attention to Tyler, who had been loudest only moments earlier.

At first, Tyler still wore a trace of smugness, but tension quickly overtook his features, and fear became impossible to hide.

To Shawn, Tyler looked insignificant, like an insect that could be crushed without effort.

"I have no idea if Vanessa's company will survive," Shawn said, his voice tight with restrained fury. "What I am certain of is that your business will not."

What Tyler had experienced before was fear, yet despair now wrapped around him completely.

There was no doubt in his mind that Shawn meant every word.

Only then did these so-called clever and worldly classmates finally remembered the news report that had once dominated headlines and faded from their memories later.

Shawn was never just a self-made elite lawyer.

He was a member of the Madison family.

After Vanessa publicly shamed Shawn and ended things with him, news quietly spread that the Madison family had finally located their son, who had vanished many years ago.

That man was Shawn.

Most people believed he would inherit the Madison family's fortune and coast through life as a spoiled heir with everything handed to him.

What no one foresaw was how quickly and firmly he would seize control of critical sectors within the Madison Group, nor how startling his business instincts would prove to be.

Later, he chose a different path by establishing his own law firm, and within only a few years, he had turned it into one of the most formidable names in the field.

With power and competence like his, destroying them would require no effort at all.

Inside the private room, silence fell so completely that no one dared to breathe too loudly.

Moments earlier, mocking expressions had filled their faces, yet now every head remained lowered as though the floor offered a place to hide.

Slowly, Shawn let his sharp gaze travel across the room, claiming the space with calm authority. "Pay attention. Vanessa is under my protection. If anyone dares to speak against her again..."

Behind the lenses, his eyes hardened with merciless intent. "I will personally make sure they never see another sunrise."

After delivering that warning, he no longer spared the trembling crowd a glance.

Turning away, Shawn reached out and seized Vanessa's chilled wrist with crushing force, as though he had no intention of letting go.

"You're coming with me." Without waiting, he yanked her forward and headed straight for the door, never once turning his head.

Thrown off balance by his grip, Vanessa staggered and struggled to keep pace as she was dragged along.

A sharp slam echoed when the door shut, cutting off the suffocating stillness left behind.

Not a single word passed between them as they headed toward the underground parking garage.

Long strides carried Shawn forward, forcing Vanessa to nearly jog just to avoid falling behind.

Pain shot through her wrist, and the strain drained every trace of color from her face.

With a press of the key fob, a black Bentley responded with a sharp beep.

Instead of opening the car, he suddenly shoved Vanessa back against the cold wall.

Before she could regain her footing, Shawn closed in, leaving her completely pinned between his body and the concrete.

Moments ago, he had been the man who dominated the private room, and now he stared down at her with an intensity filled with anger she could not understand.

"Vanessa," he said, his voice rough and strained. "Where did your pride go? The woman who dumped me at that graduation party would never have let herself end up like this. What changed?"

Vanessa felt his words slice straight through her, leaving a deep ache in her chest. "You always had something sharp to say back then, didn't you?"

Rough fingers brushed hard against her shaking lips, and the ridicule in his gaze made it hard for her to breathe. "So why are you standing here like this now, letting people trample over you without even trying to defend yourself?"

Tears burned at the corners of Vanessa's eyes as she pressed her lips together.

No explanation came to her mind, because she could never admit that she no longer had the standing to resist, nor could she tell him that every trace of her pride had shattered the moment the Owen family collapsed.

Silence remained her only response, and that quiet obedience pushed Shawn past his limit.

A violent crash rang out through the hollow parking garage.

Shawn's fist struck the wall beside her head with brutal force.

Fragments of plaster scattered and landed against her shoulders.

Startled by the impact, Vanessa jolted and shut her eyes tightly.

At that distance, she could feel the weight of his presence and the fury radiating from him without restraint.

The rise and fall of his chest was impossible to miss, and the heat of his breath brushed against her cheek.

"So you're still refusing to be honest with me?" His words came out strained, forced through clenched teeth.

His gaze locked onto hers, and beneath the anger in those unreadable eyes, pain and inner conflict quietly surfaced. "Vanessa, answer me! Why did you end things with me back then?"

That breakup had torn a wound between them that never healed, and the damage had haunted him ever since.

At last, Vanessa lost her grip on her composure.

Tears slipped down her colorless cheeks and landed on the back of Shawn's hand, burning against his heated skin.

Every part of her wanted to explain everything to him.

However, she remained silent, staring at Shawn's face with aching longing while refusing to let the truth escape.

All the unspoken reasons and buried resentment pressed against her chest, leaving her breathless with pain.

Even so, she could not force herself to speak a single word.

To her, revealing the truth would only awaken his guilt and bind them both to endless suffering, and she chose to endure it alone rather than drag him down with her.

The sight of her tear-streaked face sent a crushing pain through Shawn's chest, leaving him struggling to draw a full breath.

No explanation made sense to him, no matter how hard he tried to understand her silence.

He would have preferred her sharp tongue and fierce resistance from the past rather than watch her stand there broken and quietly sobbing, because he knew this was never who she was meant to become.

Suddenly, he released her and stepped away, and his reddened eyes reflected nothing but wounded restraint.

"Vanessa!" he asked her once more, unaware that desperation had crept into his tone, "Are you really going to keep refusing to speak?!"

With her teeth sinking into her lip, Vanessa finally whispered, "I'm sorry..."

Turning his back on her, Shawn let his voice return to its former chill, the same distant coldness she remembered from their first encounter after five years of separation. "Enough. Do you honestly think I won't uncover the truth myself?"