Chapter 2The Birthday They Kneeled

The moment the words left my mouth, whispers erupted around us.

‘What the hell? Who’s his boss? Rejecting a gift from the Fairfaxes? Does he want to be blacklisted in this city?’

‘There are maybe three families in all of Crestview Mr. Fairfax would send a gift to, and those are always in return for a favor! I’ve never heard of the Fairfaxes sending the first gift!’

‘He said… the Sterlings? As in, the Sterlings on the global rich list? No way…’

Mr. Fairfax’s eyes, sharp as daggers, raked over me. I couldn’t be bothered. I shoved the box into his arms and turned to leave. I’d only taken two steps when he called out.

‘Hold on a minute.’

I sighed internally. Rich people always had to make things so complicated.

I turned back. ‘I have things to do. I don’t handle business matters, so talking to me is useless—’

‘You’re saying this is the gift we sent to the Sterlings?’ Mr. Fairfax cut me off, his voice hard.

My patience was wearing thin. ‘Yes. Don’t you know who you send gifts to?’

A strange smile played on his lips. ‘Young man, I know you kids are always looking for shortcuts. I’ve seen every trick in the book, but I have to admit, this one is new.’

I had no idea what he was talking about.

Suddenly, his tone turned severe. ‘This thing you handed me is not what my family sent to the Sterlings. My assistant just confirmed that the gift for the Sterlings has just been prepared. I was planning on delivering that one myself!’

I stared at the box on the floor, completely bewildered. I pulled out my phone to call Raina and ask what was going on, but before I could dial, a brutal kick landed squarely in my side.

The force sent me flying several feet. A mountain of a man, at least six-foot-three and pushing three hundred pounds, stomped toward me. He crushed my phone under his heel, then pinned my head to the floor with his shoe.

‘You son of a bitch!’ he roared. ‘You pull your scams at my father’s birthday gala? I’ve been watching you. You’re that pathetic ex-boyfriend of Lena’s, aren’t you?!’

His foot felt like an iron cudgel. I struggled, but I couldn’t break free. The pressure on my temple was excruciating, making my head spin with pain.

Then, Lena’s sickeningly sweet voice cooed from above. ‘Brock, darling, what took you so long? You should have seen how arrogant he was with Dad. I was just about to teach him a lesson for you…’

Brock, her husband, leaned down and noisily kissed her ear before grinding his foot down harder. He hawked and spat right in my face.

‘You little bastard! You think the Fairfax family is someone you can mess with?! Today is my father’s sixtieth birthday. You ruined his mood, and for that, you deserve to die! Now, get on your knees, kowtow to my father three times, call him Grandpa, and I’ll let you crawl out of here. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you can’t survive another day in this city!’

Lena playfully smacked Brock’s fleshy backside, her face a picture of adoration. ‘Oh, honey, you’re so dominant. A shameless, pathetic loser like him needs to be put in his place!’

Her words were the cue for our old classmates to join in the chorus of ridicule.

‘Ethan, you really are hopeless! Lena was trying to help you, give you a chance, and you pull a disgusting stunt like this?’

‘Exactly! It’s Mr. Fairfax’s gala! And you show up to run a scam? You have no shame! Don’t you ever tell anyone you were my classmate. I’m embarrassed to even know you!’

‘Yeah! Do what Mr. Fairfax Jr. says! Get on your knees, apologize to his father, and call him Grandpa!’

The air was thick with their jeers.

With a final, desperate surge of strength, I managed to shove Brock off me. I scrambled to my feet, grabbed the old man’s sleeve, and lowered my voice, trying to contain the damage.

‘Mr. Fairfax, I am Raina Sterling’s husband. That gift is from your family. There’s been a misunderstanding. If you let me leave now, we can forget this ever happened. But if you insist on this, you will not be able to bear the consequences.’