When Mr. Elderstone finished speaking, the first to voice his objection was Mr. Grant. “I object.”
“Oh, Mr. Grant, what is your objection?” Mr. Elderstone asked knowingly. He had been preparing for this moment for years and would not allow his efforts to go to waste.
“Miss Aurora securing this contract is highly unfair. And Julian-don’t think I don’t know who he really is,” Mr. Grant sneered coldly.
“And who is he?”
“Mr. Elderstone, must you still feign ignorance? Don’t think I’m entirely in the dark. Back in Clothville, Miss Aurora had a fiance, and that fiance happens to be Julian. Now she’s landed this contract through him-it’s clearly unfair.”
Aurora, like everyone else in the room, was stunned. “What did you just say? He’s my fiance?” If that were true, then he must also be the father of her unborn child.
Aurora’s emotions surged in a chaotic mix of shock and realization. From the moment he had reappeared in her life, she had felt an inexplicable warmth whenever he was near-a pull toward him that she couldn’t resist.
Suddenly, so many moments began to make sense. Why had he brought her an umbrella when it rained the day they first met? Why, at his birthday party, surrounded by well-wishers, had he chosen to spend time alone with her, sharing cake and personally walking her home? Why had he remained unbothered to learn she was pregnant, treating her with unwavering kindness? Why did he kiss her goodnight every evening, as if it was the most natural thing?
He knew her preferences, her likes, her dislikes. He cared for her deeply and always gazed at her with such tender eyes.
All of it finally had an explanation-he was the one she had been waiting for all along. And to think, she had been so conflicted before this revelation.
“What?! Miss Aurora’s fiance?”
“No wonder she secured the contract so quickly. I was wondering how someone so young could be so skilled. Turns out they have a special relationship.”
“Exactly! This is terribly unfair to Mio!”
The clan members’ opinions shifted dramatically, like neighbors who once praised a child for earning the top grade in school, only to turn sour when someone spread a rumor that the grade was achieved through cheating. They now ridiculed and sneered at Aurora.
Mr. Grant’s goal was clear: to sway public opinion in their favor, giving Mio a better chance to reclaim authority.
Aurora, however, only cared about one thing. “Mr. Grant, are you saying Julian is my fiance?”
“Miss Aurora, there’s no need to pretend anymore. Are you really telling me you didn’t know?”
“I was injected with FT2 and lost all memory of my past. You’re not lying to me?” Aurora’s voice softened as she pieced it all together. The man she had unknowingly longed for was him all along, and with that realization, her heart brimmed with contentment.
“Miss Aurora, do you think acting clueless now will convince us? I’ve checked your schedule over the past few days. You’ve been with him every single day. Even if you’ve lost your memories, there’s no way he didn’t tell you the truth,” Mr. Grant said sharply, his tone brimming with distrust.
Mr. Elderstone, unable to remain silent, interjected. “There’s no need to suspect Miss Aurora. Not only was she unaware, but so was I. This contract was selected through mutual evaluation. If there were issues, why didn’t you raise them earlier? You had no objections at the start, which proves you didn’t see a problem either. Mio lost, and now you bring this up-what’s the point?”
Mr. Grant’s expression twisted with anger. “I see now. This was all part of your scheme, nothing but a trap! How could you be so devious?”
Seeing Mr. Grant’s outburst, Mr. Elderstone felt as though he no longer recognized the man before him. When had Mr. Grant become this desperate, this consumed by greed? His current state was hideous. Mr. Elderstone silently thanked his fortune that he hadn’t succumbed to the same darkness.
“This contract was your idea,” Mr. Elderstone continued, his voice steady. “We evaluated it thoroughly before making a decision to choose Radiant Horizons. At the time, you were the one who praised it the most. Now that you’ve lost, you blame us? How shameless can one be?”
Mr. Grant’s face contorted further. “Shameless? You were the ones who schemed first!”
“Believe me or not, I didn’t know Julian was the young master of Radiant Horizons until the signing. If I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed in the first place,” Mr. Elderstone said, exasperated. “We were all in the same boat.”
“And I’m supposed to take your word for it?” Mr. Grant retorted, his tone growing more hysterical. The meeting room descended into chaos.
“Enough!” A voice finally cut through the tension. Mio, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
“Ah, Mio, you’re directly involved. Tell us!” Mr. Grant said eagerly, hoping Mio would take their side. If Mio could garner sympathy from the clan, their position would be secure.
“I have something to say,” Mio began calmly. “We agreed from the beginning that whoever secured the contract would become the head of the family. Aurora won, fair and square. No matter how she did it, a win is a win. I lost, and I accept that.”
Mr. Grant was stunned. He hadn’t expected Mio to side with Aurora. Even Aurora herself was taken aback. Mio, who had always been at odds with her, was now defending her. Had the sun risen in the west today?
“What nonsense are you spouting, Mio? Have you lost your mind?” Mr. Grant shouted, his voice trembling with fury.
After everything that had happened with Rebecca, Mio had come to reflect deeply on his actions. He had once been consumed by his ambition, willing to go to any lengths-even harming Aurora’s unborn child. But now, he felt nothing but guilt. He had experienced the pain he had caused others and no longer wished to be that kind of person.
“I’m not crazy,” Mio said, his voice steady. “For the first time, I’m thinking clearly. I want to resign from my position as vice president.”
The room fell silent. Mio’s words carried a weight that no one had anticipated.
“I’ve spent my entire life climbing, trying to reach a height where everyone else would look up to me. But the higher I climbed, the heavier the burden became. I had to wear a mask every moment of every day. Now, I’m finally letting go. For the first time, I feel free. Sometimes, giving up isn’t as bad as it seems. It’s actually… liberating.”
“This was supposed to be yours! All you had to do was fight for it, and it would’ve been yours! And now you’re just handing it over?” Mr. Grant looked at Mio as if he were a fool.
Mio glanced at him, his expression calm. “I’m sorry. I can no longer live according to your expectations.”
“You idiot!” Mr. Grant exploded.
“You’re the fool!” A cold female voice rang out, cutting through the chaos. Everyone turned toward the door to see who had arrived.