Chapter 1Rolex Rage: My Fiancée's True Colors

The day I got my promotion notice, my sister, Harper, celebrated by gifting me a Rolex watch I’d been eyeing for ages.

But my fiancée, Tiffany Hayes, saw it and absolutely flipped out. She insisted I sell the watch and warned me not to get too ahead of myself.

"What's the point of a man like you getting promoted and making so much money? You'll still end up getting married and settling down, won't you? Sell the watch, give me all your savings, and I'll hold onto it for you. We can use it to buy a car later."

"If you really like watches, I can find you some on Wish. They're like fifty bucks each, I'll buy you three or four. You can wear whichever one you want."

I sneered. Her bad ideas were exploding everywhere like fireworks, showering me with her true intentions.

"Are you out of your mind? Dream on! If I didn't get promoted and earn money, I'd be stuck with someone like you? My parents spend money on me, and I'd have to look at *your* face for approval?"

Tiffany saw my face darken and immediately switched to a gentle tone.

"Oh, Liam, I was just a little worked up. Please don't be mad."

She moved to hug me, but I frowned and blocked her with my car keys.

"Alright, what do you want? If it's nothing, I'm going home."

With that, I turned and headed for the parking lot.

I had planned to celebrate with a nice dinner, but Tiffany's behavior today genuinely disgusted me.

As I turned, she grabbed my arm.

I looked back, frowning, and told her to let go, but she put on a 'deeply affectionate' act.

She pulled two crumpled plastic flowers, like the ones handed out at a supermarket promotion, from her bag.

"Liam, these are for you."

I took the flowers with my fingertips, mumbled "Thanks," and practically sprinted to my car.

As soon as the car left the complex, I tossed the flowers out the window.

Back home, my friend Aiden Miller had already prepared beer and barbecue skewers to celebrate my promotion.

All the unpleasantness from earlier instantly vanished from my mind.

After a shower, as I leaned back on the couch, I realized Tiffany had called me a dozen times.

Annoyed, I turned off my phone, hoping to catch a nap to the sound of the wind outside, but Aiden knocked on the living room door.

"What's up? Just say it."

I couldn't help but chuckle at his hesitant expression.

"Uh, Tiffany seems to be shouting your name downstairs."

I threw off my blanket, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtain. Tiffany really was standing in the wind, calling my name.

That annoyed me even more. I grabbed an old jacket from the entryway and headed downstairs, intending to tell her to get lost.

Tiffany and I were college acquaintances. She was pretty, with a decent personality, and quite popular on campus.

Honestly, I didn't feel anything special for her.

I only agreed to be with her because she publicly confessed her feelings to me at graduation, and I was put on the spot and felt too awkward to say no in front of everyone.

If she hadn't been relatively easy to get along with, I would have broken up with her ages ago.

Even after graduation, I didn't notice any major flaws.

But today, this whole thing really made me want to dump her.

The moment she saw me come downstairs, her face was flushed and wind-blown from rushing over, and she tried to rush at me.

I quickly used my jacket to block her.

Her expression stiffened, but she forced a smile.

"Liam, I was wrong today. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sorry, please don't be mad at me, okay?"

Wrapped in my jacket, I stared coldly at her as she made a scene in the wind.

She seemed oblivious to my coldness and continued.

"Liam, I didn't mean it like that. Even though we're still young, getting married and settling down will cost a lot, right? Your current position is already good enough, there's no need to burn yourself out just for a promotion."

"My dad said that if men get married too late, their energy won't keep up, and raising kids will be tough. You'd have to hire help, which costs even more. It's better to settle down while you're young and still have the energy."

"Spending tens of thousands on an impractical watch is such a waste. You should save it for our future kids."

"Besides, none of your colleagues wear such expensive watches. If you stand out too much, and get ostracized, I'll be the only one who cares about you."

The more I listened, the more I felt something was off. A suspicion started gnawing at me.

My family's well-off. My parents own a company.

We're not billionaires, but we're definitely worth tens of millions.

I've always kept a low profile at school, and I didn't use family connections to get into this company after graduation.

Just because I got promoted and bought a Rolex, Tiffany thinks I'm different from others.

There was a controlling vibe in everything she said. I started to wonder if she was trying to brainwash me.

I sneered, glancing at her.

"You make a good point. So how about I return the watch tomorrow and stop saving my salary?"