Chapter 19 Chapter 19
The moment Oliver’s car disappeared into the night, Dr. Kai stood there in the car park like a man boiling from the inside.
His jaw tightened so hard it looked painful.
A vein rose sharply at the side of his forehead, throbbing with every angry breath he took. His chest moved fast, his hands opening and closing at his sides as if he was trying to hold himself back from smashing something.
“That dirty thing,” he muttered under his breath.
His face twisted with hate.
“That good-for-nothing dirty pig…”
He stopped, dragged in a breath through his nose, then spoke again, harsher this time, his voice low and venomous.
“How dare she disgrace me in front of everybody like that?”
The humiliation kept replaying in his head.
The crowd, the whispers, the looks.
Oliver taking her side.
It burned him badly.
“And even Oliver…” he said to himself, laughing bitterly now. “Oliver actually sided with her.”
He shook his head.
“Well, I’m not surprised. That’s how he has always been. He follows whoever he can benefit from. When he was benefiting from me, he was my best friend. He was always around, always trying to please me, always acting loyal.”
His eyes darkened.
“But now that it looks like he has found someone else to gain from, I’m not surprised. Not even a little.”
Still, even with all his anger toward Oliver, it was Megan his mind kept returning to.
That woman, that insult, that public shame.
Her face flashed in his head again, calm and cold, standing over him like she had every right.
His teeth clenched.
“What is her name again?” he muttered, then remembered. “Megan.”
He spat the name out like it offended him.
“That good-for-nothing Megan…”
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
“I’m going to show her that nobody disgraces me like that and goes scot-free.”
He began pacing now, each step hard and restless against the ground.
In his mind, he kept trying to argue with what happened, trying to force the story into a shape he could still control.
If she was right and he still refused to fully accept that then the couple would go to that hospital and the truth would come out.
And if the truth came out, people would talk.
Those guests inside would talk.
The woman and her husband would talk.
The staff would talk.
And by morning, it could spread.
His reputation could start taking hits from every corner.
That thought made something hot rise in his throat again.
“If they start spreading stories about me…” he said bitterly, “if they start dragging my name around…”
He paused and corrected himself inside his own anger.
No.
He did not even want to call them true stories, to him, they would be rumors.
Dangerous rumors.
Rumors strengthened only because Oliver had chosen to back her publicly.
“That is the only reason they would even dare,” he muttered. “Because Oliver vouched for her. That is the only reason.”
At that moment he stopped pacing and stood still again.
His face became colder.
Harder.
“Well,” he said quietly, “that is not going to happen.”
The words came out with wicked certainty.
“I’m going to deal with her.”
His lips curled slightly, but there was nothing nice in that expression.
“I’ll deal with her to the point that she won’t even know what hit her.”
He stared into the night, breathing slowly now, but his eyes were still full of rage.
“Next time, when she sees people like me, she will learn how to keep her mouth shut and don’t cross the line.”
It was already the next day, and from the moment Vincent Bushman opened his eyes, excitement had been running through his body like fire.
He could hardly sit still.
Yes, the wedding had been yesterday, and under normal circumstances, that alone should have been enough to keep him smiling for days. But this… this was bigger.
Much bigger.
The contract he was supposed to sign today was not small. It was the kind of deal men spent their whole lives chasing and still never touched. A contract worth over one hundred billion dollars.
Just thinking about it made his chest rise with pride.
He stood in the middle of the sitting room that morning looking sharp, freshly dressed, full of confidence, while the rest of the Bushman family gathered around him with glowing faces and restless joy.
Deborah could barely contain herself.
Jessica looked like she had already started celebrating in her head.
Even Mr. Bushman, who usually tried to act calm and measured, could not hide the satisfaction on his face.
All of them knew what this meant.
The moment that contract got signed, everything would change.
No, not change.
Explode.
Their family name would rise to another level completely.
People would no longer speak of them as just wealthy or influential. No. They would become a force people could not ignore. A family others would study, envy, and desperately try to connect with.
Deborah was the first to speak, her face glowing with ambition.
“Vincent,” she said, almost breathless with excitement, “the moment this contract is signed, that is it. That is it for us.”
She placed a hand on her chest as if the thought alone was too sweet to hold.
“Everybody will start speaking highly of this family even more. Everybody will want to be around us. Everybody.”
Jessica quickly joined in, unable to keep quiet.
“Do you even understand what one hundred billion dollars means?” she said, staring at Vincent like he was already a legend. “That’s not just money anymore. That’s power. Real power.”
Mr. Bushman stepped closer to his son and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
“Son,” he said, his voice full of pride, “I know you can do this. Just go there and sign it for us.”
His eyes shone.
“And when it is done, we are going to throw a party. Not just any party. A rich party. A massive one. The kind people will keep talking about for months.”
Immediately Deborah laughed with joy.
“Oh, they will hear about it,” she said quickly. “Everybody will hear.”
Jessica was already carried away by the picture in her head.
“Do you imagine what this means for you?” she asked Vincent. “You are going to be on the cover of Premium Magazine. Golden Magazine. Even Diamond Magazine.”
She pointed at him dramatically.
“Do you even know what it takes to be on the cover of Diamond Magazine?”
Her voice rose higher.
“That magazine does not just carry anybody. And now imagine your face there. Not as one of the youngest entrepreneurs…”
She shook her head and corrected herself with a wide smile.
“No. As the youngest. The first ever young entrepreneur to sign a contract worth one hundred billion dollars.”
At that moment Deborah clapped softly in excitement.
“The whole country will know your name,” she said.
Then Mr. Bushman added, with his chest full of pride, “Not just the country. The whole world will hear your name.”
Vincent stood there soaking it all in, his lips slowly stretching into a proud smile.
And then his father looked him straight in the eye and asked, “That is what it takes. Aren’t you proud?”