Chapter 3Love's Cruel Mistake

My words seemed to sting Victoria’s pride.

“Regret? Julian, I think you’re the one who’ll regret this!”

She pointed at me, her voice dripping with disdain.

“Do you think you’re still the same young master Hayes from five years ago? Your family went bankrupt long ago!”

“Now, you’re just a gold-digger who relies on me to survive!”

“I give you food and clothes; making you kneel is me showing you respect!”

Brandon immediately chimed in, “Exactly! Julian, don’t be ungrateful!”

“Victoria is the CEO of Caldwell Tech now; countless men are lining up to marry her!”

“If it weren’t for her sentimental attachment, you wouldn’t even be fit to tie her shoes!”

The surrounding guests also began to whisper.

“Oh, so his family went broke. No wonder he’s so pathetic.”

“I thought Victoria married some rich husband. Turns out he’s just dead weight.”

“Serves him right, no ability and still so arrogant. He’s just asking for humiliation!”

Every harsh word pierced me like a knife.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and forced myself to calm down.

There was no point in arguing with people who were already dead.

Memories flooded my mind.

That winter, Victoria’s company suffered a cash flow crisis, hitting dead ends everywhere. She got drunk and collapsed in the snow.

It was I who carried her home from the snow, used the living expenses I secretly earned from part-time jobs to pay her rent, and bought her warm food.

She used to hold me, crying like a child, “Julian, I swear, I’ll never let you suffer, not ever.”

How laughable those vows seemed now.

Today, for a mere investment, she treated me like a toy, humiliating me at will.

The drop tower ride continued, and my strength gradually faded. My consciousness began to blur.

Each impact with the water made my head ache as if it would split open.

My phone had slipped out of my pocket during my struggles and sank to the bottom of the pool.

It didn’t matter. Alfred had already received the message.

“Victoria, he looks like he’s about to pass out.”

Brandon, seeing my unresponsive state, started to get scared.

“What are you afraid of?” Victoria scoffed.

“Men like him are stubborn. If we don’t teach him a lesson, he’ll never know his place!”

She turned to Genevieve with a sycophantic smile. “Genny, how about we try something more exciting?”

Genevieve’s interest was piqued. “Oh? Do tell.”

Victoria pointed to a water slide not far away.

“Let him slide down that tallest slide without a life vest.”

“How’s that? Exciting enough?”

My gaze instinctively darted to the slide she indicated, and a sudden shock gripped my heart.

That slide was a thousand feet high, a newly installed attraction that hadn’t officially opened because it hadn’t passed safety tests.

Genevieve clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh, that’s brilliant! Brilliant! I love watching handsome men get wet!”

Brandon shrieked, “Victoria, you’re a genius!”

With that, I was unstrapped from the drop tower and carried to the top of the highest slide.

Looking at the nearly 90-degree slope, fear constantly gnawed at me.

Victoria didn’t know I had a fear of heights. Sliding down from here would almost certainly kill me.

She walked up and personally held the rope that bound me.

I looked at her with pleading eyes. “Victoria, please, don’t let go of me.”

But she simply gave me a look of disgust, then released her grip without hesitation.

I slid down the chute. Since I had no protective gear, I was thrown off the slide halfway down, flying through the air.

I tumbled through the air, my screams echoing, and plunged straight into the pool, creating a massive splash.

This time, I felt like my internal organs had been shattered into pieces.