I was so furious I almost laughed. The bodyguards blocked my way, and I struggled wildly.
“Jenna, have you lost your mind? This is my house! If anyone should leave, it’s you. Why should I be the one sent to a hotel?!”
My voice grew sharper with every word. I didn’t care that guests were arriving one after another; my image was already beyond saving.
I deeply regretted letting Jenna’s assistant take charge of the banquet. That’s why even my own bodyguards weren’t here.
Since childhood, every one of my birthday banquets had been arranged by my parents. Every public event had been tightly secured.
But now, I was being dragged out by outsiders.
I snapped, my voice cold and steady.
“Jenna, I want to call off the engagement.”
“You are no longer my fiancée. You have no right to be here. Take your guests and get out of my birthday party.”
This villa, where the banquet was held, had been part of the premarital assets left to me by my parents. I had once dreamed of turning it into our marital home after the wedding, never imagining it would end up as the backdrop to our breakup.
Jenna stared at me, eyes wide in disbelief. “What did you just say? Call off the engagement?”
“You’re ending it over something this petty?” Her voice trembled. “Bryce, don’t forget, our families arranged our marriage.”
A flicker of panic flashed across her face, and for a moment, her mind seemed to clear.
This union had always been a one-sided climb, Jenna marrying up into the Reeves family.
For years, she had worked tirelessly to win over my father, waking up at dawn to bring me breakfast, shuttling me to and from work without fail, repeating this routine for three relentless years just to prove her devotion.
Only then had my father reluctantly given his blessing.
She had sacrificed too much to let this engagement crumble over one incident.
Carson gritted his teeth and stepped forward, hastily wiping his tears with trembling hands.
“Jenna, this is all my fault. Please, don’t fight with Bryce because of me. I’m just an assistant, I’m not worth it. I don’t want to be the reason your engagement falls apart.”
“I’m just a small-town nobody. Maybe I was never meant to celebrate birthdays. Even in death, my mom still has to carry regrets…”
He took two steps toward the door, but stumbled over something on the floor. The portrait of his mother slipped from his grasp, crashing to the ground and shattering into pieces.
“Ah! I’m sorry, Mom…”
He let out a guttural cry and lunged toward the fragments. But before his hands could reach them, shards of glass sliced his fingers. Blood welled up instantly.
“Carson!”
Jenna’s face went pale. She rushed forward in a panic, trying to lift him up.
But Carson only cried harder, clinging to her like a lost child, his bloodied fingers forgotten as he buried his face in her shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Jenna… maybe this is karma. Even Mom’s memorial is gone now. The only thing she left me is gone…”
Jenna lifted her head coldly, her eyes burning with hatred as she glared at me.
“Bryce, are you satisfied now?”
“I already told you how pitiful Carson is. He never tried to take anything from you; he just wanted a little grace, a chance to honor his mother’s third death anniversary. Now even her portrait is gone. You must be thrilled.”
Without waiting for a response, she rose to her feet, her voice cutting through the air like a blade.
“Wreck this birthday party.”
“If Carson can’t properly mourn Aunt Symonne, then Bryce doesn’t deserve a celebration either.”
On her command, the bodyguards began swinging their clubs recklessly, destroying everything in sight. Glass shattered, wood splintered, and chaos erupted.
My heart dropped when I saw the porcelain vase, my mother’s gift, worth two hundred million, teetering on the edge of a table.
I lunged forward in panic.
“No!!”
But I was too late.
The vase hit the floor and shattered into pieces, fragments scattering like a cruel farewell.
Stunned, I turned to find Jenna. She was already walking away, holding Carson tightly in her arms, never once looking back.
