Chapter 3

The atmosphere froze.

Just then, my dad stood up, his voice heavy. "If the kids aren't feeling up to it, we can always do this another time."

Richard Lane, who'd been silent all along, finally spoke up. "Calling it off now would be a big deal. If they're having a little disagreement, let them sort it out in private."

He spoke calmly, as if he were handling a routine business dispute.

That was when it really hit me why the Lane family could push me to this point.

To them, I wasn't a person. I was part of their business deal, a bargaining chip they could marry off.

Feelings could be trampled, pride could be swallowed, but profit was the only thing that mattered.

Seeing the tension in the room, Ethan softened his tone. "Claire, let's get through today first. If you're upset about something, we can talk about it when we get home."

I asked him, "And then what? You'll keep putting her first, and I'm supposed to keep being the understanding one?"

His face darkened. "Can you stop making such a big deal out of one trip?"

I laughed. "Just one trip, huh?"

I pulled out my phone and projected several screenshots onto the banquet hall's big screen.

It was his chat history with Emily.

There was a screenshot of him booking a flight in the middle of the night, and a text to his assistant that read: [Push back the engagement. Don't rush me.]

And then there was the one that really stood out: [She's always easy to appease. She won't actually make a scene.]

The whole room went dead silent.

Ethan's face went pale. "Were you spying on my phone?"

"You logged into my tablet and forgot to log out," I said calmly. "You thought I'd freak out, cry, or sit here waiting for your excuses.

"But today, I want everyone to hear exactly how you've been deciding my place in your life."

Emily took a step back, like she was scared she'd get dragged into the mess.

But Olivia pulled herself together fast, her voice icy. "Young people say things when they're upset, but don't bring this drama out in public.

"Claire, are you really trying to wreck the partnership between our families with this little show of yours?"

I stared right at her. "I'm not the one wrecking things. It's the person who treats the engagement as a safety net, puts his ex first, and sees me as nothing but an afterthought."

Richard tapped the table. "Since everything's out in the open, let's lay it all out.

"Merging the project is a big deal. It shouldn't get derailed by emotions. Ms. Sutton, if you have any conditions, you can state them now."

So, conditions. Finally, the moment I'd been waiting for.

I slowly looked up. "First, the engagement is off. Second, the project stays separate. Third, Ethan is out of the R&D partnership."

Ethan's head snapped up. "What gives you the right?"

"Because I built the core algorithm, and my team answers to me, not you," I shot back.

I paused, then added, "And because you guys are the ones who blew things up first today."

Richard's face darkened. He probably never expected that the one he thought was easiest to control would flip the table in front of everyone.

Olivia couldn't hold back her anger. "Claire, don't be so impulsive. Without the Lane family's connections, your so-called technology is a pipe dream."

I didn't bother to answer her. I checked the time. It was about time.

Footsteps approached from the direction of the elevator.

I looked up, and for the first time today, I actually smiled. "Who says the Lane family is my only option?"