Stacie's words broke me.

To build that app and push Frostward Corporation toward an IPO, I had spent three straight months barely sleeping more than three hours a night.

After pulling all-nighters daily like a night watchman, I had landed myself in the hospital more than ten times. But to her, all of that meant less than a man who talked pretty and took credit for other people's work.

Just as I opened my mouth to argue, my phone suddenly rang. When I picked up, Mom's desperate pleas came from the other end of the line.

"Reuben, your dad's asthma has flared up again, and he's back in the hospital. The doctors say that if he doesn't switch to that best medicine soon, he may not make it much longer.

"You know how it is at home. I don't have a job, and our savings are completely tapped out from all these years of medical bills for your dad.

"You mentioned that you'd get a huge bonus once the development project has succeeded. Could you… get an advance just to save his life? Please… I'm begging you."

I went cold.

I thought of the 4,600-dollar medicine and glanced at the 0.99-dollar balance in my bank account after topping up my phone credit. My fingers clenched around the phone as I swallowed every argument and explanation at the tip of my tongue.

After forcing a smile, I lowered my voice and begged, "You heard the call, Stacie. My dad's asthma has relapsed. He's back in the hospital and urgently needs the medicine to survive.

"Could you lend me five thousand dollars? I'll pay you back the moment my paycheck comes next month."

Stacie flicked her curls back and didn't bother to hide the contempt in her eyes. "Can't you even come up with a new excuse when lying for money?

"Last week, you told me that your dad was stable, but now you're urgently asking for five thousand dollars for the medicine. Your little schemes can't be any more obvious, Reuben."

My knuckles paled from gripping the phone too hard, and my face burned. My throat felt stuffed with cotton, and I couldn't even muster the strength to argue.

I should have figured. To her, I would always be the useless loser who only reached out for money.

She had totally forgotten that I had handed over all my savings and my monthly paycheck to her after we got married. Even when I needed to top up my phone credit, I had to file an application request with her.

There was no way I could possibly own five thousand dollars.

"Stacie."

Tory suddenly spoke up and reached out to gently pat Stacie's back. "Reuben probably won't joke about his dad's illness.

"Besides, five thousand dollars isn't exactly a huge amount, so let's just help him out with the emergency. If the old man actually dies, the funeral would have to cost way more than that."

Sure enough, Stacie softened at his words. She affectionately pinched his cheek and said, "You're too kind, Tory. Anyone else would have stopped indulging his clumsy act."

She unlocked her phone, but her finger hovered over the transfer button and abruptly stopped. Her eyes, which once looked at me with smiles, now held only cold calculation.

"If you want money, you should at least show the right attitude when you're asking for a favor, shouldn't you?"

My heart clenched as I had a feeling of what was coming, but at the thought of the money, I could only grit my teeth and wait for her to continue.

"You were acting pretty arrogant a minute ago, weren't you?"

She raised her chin and pointed to the glass in front of Tory. "Apologize to Tory, give him a proper toast, and finish this entire bottle of tequila. Do that, and I'll give you the five thousand dollars."

With that, she casually grabbed an unopened bottle of high-proof tequila from the table and slammed it onto the table in front of me.

"If you're too chicken to drink, that's fine, too. Get on your knees and beg him. Every time you apologize to him, I'll give you 500 dollars. Ten apologies for five thousand dollars sounds like a good deal, right?"

The room erupted in mocking laughter. Someone even whistled and egged me on.

"Do it, Reuben! Ten apologies for five thousand dollars is easy money!"

"Yeah! Why should you fight money? It's not like you've got any dignity left anyway!"

The laughter lashed at me like a whip on my back, which hurt so much that I could feel my blood boiling with fury.

I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?

He pretentiously tugged at Stacie's sleeve, though smugness was hidden in his eyes. "Just forget it, Stacie. Reuben didn't mean it, so there's no need to take it this far…"

"No way!" she snapped, shaking him off.

Her gaze turned vicious as she continued, "He embarrassed me in front of all these people, so he has to apologize to you today! Either drink or apologize, Reuben. You choose."

I looked at the message from Mom on my phone, which read "Medical bills overdue". As I pictured Dad gasping for air on the hospital bed, my heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand. The pain was nearly suffocating.

Five thousand dollars was Dad's life on the line, so I couldn't afford to bet anything on it.

"I'll drink."

When I grabbed the bottle of tequila and twisted the cap off, the sharp scent rushed into my nose. Without hesitation, I tipped my head back and chugged it down.

The tequila burned down my throat like molten knives and ignited my stomach in searing pain, instantly setting my insides on fire. The jeers around me slowly faded until all that remained was the sound of my desperate gulps.

My stomach churned violently, and my vision darkened, but I dared not stop. Instead, I kept my eyes glued to the phone screen, waiting for the money transfer alert.

When the bottle emptied, the ping of a notification finally broke the silence. "Payment of five thousand dollars received."

As I let out a shaky breath, my hands shook so badly that I could barely hold the phone. With my last shred of consciousness, I transferred every penny to Mom.

Once the bank transfer went through, everything went dark, and I collapsed heavily to the floor.

The last thing I heard was Stacie's impatient voice. "What a buzzkill. Now we have to get him out of here."

…

I woke up to the smell of disinfectant filling my nose.

The doctor held a medical chart and sternly snapped, "Do you have a death wish, young man?

"Your stomach lining is severely damaged from continuous all-nighters, and you chugged an entire bottle of high-proof tequila on an empty stomach, so it triggered a gastric perforation. You wouldn't have made it if you'd arrived a minute later."

Gastric perforation…

I smiled bitterly and pressed a hand to my still-cramping stomach, but I felt no regret now that, at the very least, Dad's medicine was paid for.

In the next second, my phone buzzed with a message from Stacie.

"If you're awake, get back to the office ASAP! There's an issue with the app backend, and Tory says only you can fix it. Don't delay the company's IPO!"

As I read the text, I suddenly burst out laughing. The movement sent a sharp spasm through my stomach as tears slipped uncontrollably down my face.

She probably had no idea that just before I passed out last night, the self-destruct protocol for the tech database had entered its final countdown. The app's core functions would crash completely within 24 hours.

Instead of replying to her message, I contacted a lawyer and drafted the divorce papers. Then, I started sending out résumés.

Halfway through my job applications, there was a sudden knock on the door of my ward.

"Come in."

When I noticed who the visitor was, I sat bolt upright in shock.

"Karina? What are you doing here?" I asked.

Karina Sherman walked to the side of the bed and set the fruit she was carrying on the nightstand. Her eyes were full of reproach.

"Why else would I be here? I had my men asking around forever before I found you here. Honestly, you're something else, Reuben. You really know how to disappear when you want to."

I was still trying to process the shock of seeing her when she continued, "One of my men told me they received a résumé with such an impressive technical background that it practically glowed.

"I clicked on it and thought, 'Well, look at that! Isn't this the old classmate I lost to Stacie back then?'"

She raised an eyebrow and didn't bother to hide the admiration in her tone. "You single-handedly built all the algorithms and backend for your app that's about to launch, right?

"People in the industry have had their eyes on the tech for a while now, and only Stacie would treat a unicorn developer like a disposable intern. All she does is work you to the bone and force you to pull all-nighters."

Her words were like a needle pricking right through all the grievances I had bottled up over the years. I gulped and said nothing in response.

"Don't play mute with me. I know you've suffered a lot. You're perfectly aware of my messy history with Stacie, aren't you?"

As she paused, a flicker of nostalgia crossed her eyes.

"In high school, Stacie and I fought over everything, including top grades and the campus belle title. Later, when she found out that I liked you, she started putting on that sunny, harmless act and stuck to you until she took you from me."

I jerked my head up to look at her.

Back then, Karina had never confessed to me, while out of nowhere, Stacie had suddenly claimed it was love at first sight. She had stuck to me like stubborn glue and followed me around every day.

She was like a sunflower in full light, who was always all smiles for me. Honestly, no one could say no to someone as bright as the sun, so we inevitably ended up together.

Karina smiled and continued in a surprisingly casual, unbothered tone, "After that… I backed off when I realized you had chosen her, but I couldn't stand the thought of losing to her.

"When she decided to launch a startup and build an app, I made up my mind to become top-tier in the exact field.

"Still, I never thought she'd end up luckier than me. Since you're her technical backbone, getting her company listed on the IPO was a breeze.

"Oh, and why isn't she here? Did you have a fight? A patient needs proper rest, so someone has to be taking care of you."

The light in my eyes dimmed at the mention of Stacie. I forced a crooked smile and replied in a hoarse voice, "No… I've found a lawyer, and I'm drafting the divorce papers. That's why I started looking for work."

The shock in Karina's eyes lasted only a second before it turned into a knowing smirk. She leaned in and fixed me with an intense stare.

"Well then… Isn't that a perfect coincidence?"

She reached into her bag, grabbed a business card, and handed it to me. The words "CEO of Future Tech Innovations" stood out in bold, sharp lettering.

"Instead of starting from scratch somewhere else, come work for me. I know what you're capable of, and it just so happens that I'm missing a CTO…

"You can pick your own team, earn twice your current paycheck, and receive project bonuses.

"I lost to Stacie once, Reuben. Will you give me a chance and give yourself one, too?"

Her eyes were so clear and sincere that I felt something shift inside me.

As I looked at the business card, I was reminded of Stacie's cold, lifeless message. It suddenly struck me that revenge could perhaps take a far more elegant form.