So, Vivienne’s heart belonged to someone else—not me.

I stared at the large red letters on the wall: "CONFIDENTIAL AREA – NO ENTRY." The sign reminded me of my boundaries—of what I couldn’t afford to do. I clenched my fists, suppressing the urge to flip the table in front of me.

I had a clearance-bound contract tied to a national defense project. I couldn’t risk a public altercation.

“Have your people dismantle everything—now—or I’ll call security,” I warned coldly.

Isolde’s expression twisted with spite. Without a word, she unclipped the leash of her Tibetan Mastiff. The beast snarled and lunged.

I dodged and slammed my boot into its side. The dog yelped, crashing into a cabinet before retreating to a corner, whimpering.

“You hit my dog?” she shrieked, charging at me with clawed fingers, nearly scratching my face.

Before I could react, security guards burst in.

But instead of stopping her, they grabbed me.

“Stand down!” I barked, flashing my ID.

The security captain gave me an apologetic smile. “Mr. Lennox, Miss Quinn said you harassed her. We’re just following protocol.”

The hallway was already packed with spectators, whispering among themselves:

“Isn’t that the guy marrying the Hale family’s eldest daughter? I thought he was some scientist—why does he look like a stray dog?”

“You didn’t hear? He’s an orphan. The old man picked him up, raised him, sent him to the Westbridge Defense Academy. If not for that, he’d be begging under a bridge somewhere.”

“Tsk… and Vivienne is worth billions. You really think she’s marrying this nobody willingly?”

“Maybe the Hale family got duped.”

“Look—Miss Quinn is her best friend and the daughter of Avondale’s second-richest man. This guy dares touch her? He must have a death wish.”

“If I were him, I’d just put up with the insults. Marrying into the richest family in Avondale, getting a mansion and a fortune... who wouldn’t swallow their pride for that?”

Isolde soaked in the attention, hands on her hips, grinning like a queen. Her blood-red nails jabbed at my chest.

“Kneel and apologize,” she said, loud enough for the crowd. “Do that, and I’ll pretend none of this ever happened. Otherwise—get ready to be humiliated tomorrow in front of every guest at your wedding.”

I reached for my intercom to call base security—but before I could press the button, a sharp pain exploded at the back of my neck.

Everything went black.

“Throw him out,” I heard her say as I lost consciousness.

---

When I came to, I was lying next to a fire hydrant in the corridor. My body ached. My neck felt like it had been branded with fire. I gritted my teeth and tried to push myself upright, fingers scraping against the cold floor.

Standing over me was Sebastian Quinn.

He was flanked by suited bodyguards, his expression composed but menacing. The faint glint of cruelty behind his gold-rimmed glasses gave him away.

“Mr. Lennox,” he said, voice low, “I don’t think hitting my sister is something a gentleman does.”

He stepped forward and crushed the back of my hand with his polished leather shoe.

I hissed but forced myself to sit upright, blood and dust smeared across my sleeves.

“Who started it—me, or your sister?” I shot back.

Sebastian smirked. “Doesn’t matter. She’s my sister. Scaring her is enough reason.”

He turned to his men. “Hit him.”

They moved fast.

I moved faster.

I grabbed Sebastian by the arm and yanked him in front of me as a human shield. The bodyguards froze.

“I’m Vivienne’s fiancé,” I said sharply. “Do you Quinns really want to go down in history for beating the nation’s top defense scientist on the eve of your sister’s wedding?”

“Fiancé?” Sebastian scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain. “If you hadn’t used that new energy project to pressure Uncle, do you really think Vivienne would’ve agreed to marry someone like you?”

He took a slow step forward, looking me over like something stuck to his shoe. “You—always out in the sun, covered in dirt—you’re not even fit to carry Vivienne’s shoes.”

Isolde turned sharply, her eyes flashing with provocation, like she was daring me to strike back.

I clenched my fists, suppressing the anger rising in my chest. I tried, one last time, to reason.

“You’re Sebastian, right? Is that who Vivienne truly wants? Because if you knew what I—”

“Shut up.” He cut me off with a flick of his hand, his tone laced with annoyance. “I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what you do. All I care about is one thing—”

He pointed at Isolde. “Kneel. Apologize to Isolde.”

I stared at him, speechless for a moment—then I laughed. A cold, bitter laugh that echoed in the corridor.

He didn’t even know the Hale family had begged Vivienne to marry me. And now he expected me to kneel?

“Mr. Quinn,” I said flatly, “Miss Hale and I may not know each other well, but she doesn’t hate me. I don’t know what kind of relationship you have with her—maybe you have feelings for her. But I’m her legitimate fiancé. If you want to take her from me, you’ll need a better reason than arrogance.”

“A reason?” he scoffed. “I’ll give you one—because you’re nothing. And people like you don’t get to marry up.”

“So I deserve a beating just for existing?” I muttered.

Isolde jumped in before he could respond, a wicked smile tugging at her lips. “Oh, please. It’s not you who’s marrying her—it’s her who has to marry you. She’s already on the way, isn’t she? If she backs out now, will you get on your knees and beg her to stay?”

The spectators murmured. One laughed. I caught fragments—“lucky orphan,” “free mansion,” “the Hale family’s charity case.”

Isolde’s voice rang out again, mocking. “His family should thank the heavens for eight generations just for this match. There’s no way he’d have the guts to break it off.”

The two siblings looked at me like I was a beggar trying to steal from royalty.

I smiled coldly. “The Hale family? You think they’re royalty? That every man is dying to marry their daughter?”

I turned to Sebastian, who was casually wiping his leather shoe—the one that had ground into the back of my hand.

“You don’t want her to marry me?” I asked, voice low and tight. “Fine. Then cancel the engagement. But you want the project authorization too?”

He looked up.

“If you hand it over now,” he said, “we can make this painless.”

At that moment, Vivienne finally arrived.

She paused when she saw me—bloodied, dusty, humiliated. Her expression shifted into a practiced softness, her eyes just slightly red.

“Malric,” she said, her voice gentle, “don’t blame Sebastian. He’s doing this for my sake…”

I cut her off. My voice was cold and dry—like the wind in the Sonoran Desert.

“I’m not asking about him,” I said. “I’m asking you. Do you want to marry him, or me?”

Before she could answer, Isolde jumped in gleefully. “She doesn’t want to marry you! She wants my brother! Just agree to cancel the engagement and be done with it.”

“Don’t be so shameless, Malric Lennox,” Sebastian sneered, pulling out a checkbook. He scribbled something and tore the page with a flourish. “Here—five million. Take it and disappear.”

He pressed the check into my chest.

“You think I don’t know what’s going on?” he said. “Your little project is close to completion, but without the Quinn family’s materials, you can’t finish it.”

I looked down at the check, then back at him—and suddenly smiled.

So that was it.

No wonder the Hale family had been so desperate to tie me down. It wasn’t about marriage. It was about control. About access to the classified controlled nuclear fusion project I led. And the Quinn family? Just pawns in the Hale family’s bigger game.

For years, both families had grown fat on the back of the last major technology initiative I spearheaded. The rare metals they hoarded were useful—but only temporarily. Once the new core stabilizer was perfected, they’d be obsolete.

And if that technology went to another investor? The Hale and Quinn families would crash overnight.

Technology evolves fast. Faster than greed can react.

I crumpled the check slowly and met his eyes.

“Sebastian,” I said, voice sharp as ice, “you’re too naïve. When this project succeeds, it won’t just be worth more than your five million—it’ll rewrite the industry.”

I stepped closer, tossing the check to the floor between us.

“As for your materials?” I gave him a faint smile. “Just stepping stones. Nothing more.”

I dropped the smile, my expression turning cold. “I’ll break off the engagement. But the project stays with me. If any of you dare interfere—prepare to face the consequences.”

Sebastian’s face twisted. He lunged, but I sidestepped and slammed him to the ground. He let out a sharp cry of pain.

I dusted off my hands and turned to Vivienne. “Ms. Hale, I’ll ask one last time. Tell them to restore this place to its original state—now. Or else…”

Her smile vanished. Her voice hardened. “What if I don’t?”

“Don’t think you can threaten me just because you're the project leader, Malric,” she snapped. “You’re a scientific researcher. Don’t think you can act like a warlord in California.”

I smiled faintly. “Really? Should we talk about the radioactive waste buried in your family’s warehouse? The batch that exceeds national safety standards? I wonder what the Ministry of Environmental Protection would say.”

Her face paled.

I tilted my head. “Or perhaps your father’s side business—reselling military and civilian air defense materials three years ago? Would you like me to dig that up?”

Sebastian’s expression darkened. He scrambled to his feet and raised a hand again.

I caught his wrist mid-air, the pressure in my grip making his bones creak. “Don’t touch me.” I threw his hand off and took a step back.

“This wedding is over.” My voice was cold. Final.

I pointed to the door. “Now get out.”

“You think just because the wedding’s off, the house still belongs to you?” Isolde scoffed like she’d heard a bad joke. “Do you even know what real estate prices are like in California?”

Vivienne bit her lip, fury simmering in her eyes. “We used all our connections to secure this place for you. Now that the engagement’s void, so is your right to stay here.”

The crowd had returned, eager to witness more drama.

“He must be delusional,” someone muttered. “Thinks a house in the National Defense Science and Technology Park belongs to him?”

“With one word from the Hale family, he won’t just lose this place—he’ll be out of California by morning.”

Sebastian sneered, his voice low and venomous. “You heard her. Get out while you still can. Don’t make me drag you out.”

I calmly pulled out my phone and opened a document.

“This property was specially approved by top-level authorities,” I said, showing the screen to everyone. “It has nothing to do with the Hale family. Now, kindly remove your garbage and leave.”

“Still pretending?” Sebastian waved his hand dismissively. “Tear it all down. I want to see who stops us.”

His bodyguards moved instantly, grabbing tools and smashing whatever they could. White paper effigies tumbled. One of them swept my radiation detector off the table.

“Stop!” I shouted. My voice cracked with urgency. That wasn’t just any device—it was a radiation calibrator I had just brought back from the test site. If it was damaged—

“Oh? Did that hurt?” Isolde smirked, walking over and slamming her stiletto heel onto the detector. “Hit me if you’ve got the guts.”

My eyes locked on the pale blue liquid beginning to seep out beneath her foot. My blood ran cold.

That was a standard radioactive source—used to calibrate detection equipment. Highly toxic. Even trace exposure could cause severe radiation sickness… or worse.

“Everyone, get out of here now!” I shouted, lunging forward to pull her back.

Sebastian misread the movement and drove his foot into my gut. “Don’t you dare lay a hand on my sister!”

The kick landed hard. Pain exploded in my abdomen. I doubled over, breath knocked out of me—but my eyes were locked on the glowing radiation warning light in the corner, now blinking red.

The indicator light was turning red—fast. Danger was escalating by the second.

"Malric, aren’t you supposed to be tough?" Isolde jeered, standing defiantly. "Let’s see you handle this!"

But Vivienne suddenly screamed, her voice shrill with panic.

"Isolde! Look under your feet—what’s glowing?"

A pale blue liquid had begun to seep through the cracks in the floorboards. Everywhere it touched, sensors flared violently, and warning sirens blared in a deafening chorus.

"Get out! Now!" Clutching my stomach, I forced myself upright, shoving aside anyone in my path. "That’s a radioactive source!"

"Still playing tricks?" Sebastian scoffed, unfazed—until he glanced at his wristwatch. The hands had begun ticking backward. It was a radiation-resistant model. His face drained of color.

"Brother... my legs feel numb..." Isolde whimpered as panic finally took hold. She stumbled, collapsing to the floor.

In the chaos, I slammed my hand against the emergency button on the wall. A shrill alarm erupted, piercing the night and setting the entire building’s containment protocol into motion.

"It’s over," I whispered, watching the now-blazing red warning light.

This wasn’t a minor leak. This called for a full-scale emergency response.