A Crown of Strength

---- Chapter 3 | returned to the company, where everyone stood respectfully ina line. Looking at the familiar surroundings, | took a deep breath. | was back, back to this battlefield of ambition and gain. My heels clicked sharply on the marble floor, each sound striking fear into those around me. "l am Lorraine, Curtis the new chairman of Curtis Group. As for your former chairman, Kory Curtis, he is dead." My cold words made several of Kory's loyalists collapse in fear. | kindly helped them to their feet. "Whatever you took from this company, you'll return it today.

Otherwise, | don't mind reuniting you with Kory." Watching their trembling figures, | placed the investigation files in front of them. "My patience is limited." Within hours, news of Curtis Group's new chairman and its massive overhaul spread like wildfire. Panic swept through the company. ---- | sat in my office, leisurely sipping coffee. Back then, Kory wanted me dead most of all because of my remarkable business talent and the shares | held, which threatened his position. Just like my mother, whose brilliance earned her half the company's shares. That drove Kory mad with jealousy.

To seize full control, he didn't just target me-he targeted my mother too. "Ms. Curtis, about the merger..." | looked at Leo's weathered face. A pang of emotion hit me. He was my mother's most trusted assistant, the best in the industry. But when Kory took over, he fired Leo immediately and blacklisted him from the industry. Upon hearing of my return, Leo came to my side without hesitation. | flipped through the files and nodded lightly. "Curtis Group is now officially renamed Midsummer and will merge with my Shining Group." The news sent shockwaves worldwide.

---- The once-crumbling Curtis Group, on the brink of bankruptcy, came back to life under its new chairman. It even merged with the world's largest conglomerate. While everyone speculated about the new chairman's identity, Xander was among them. He sent me an invitation to his engagement party. The name Dorothy Walton on the invitation stung my eyes. Once, Xander used the Fuller family's gold-embossed invitations for me. He said only those could show his affection for me. | attended his engagement party as promised. The Fuller estate looked just as | remembered, filled with blooming roses.

| wore a tailored black suit, moving through the venue. From a distance, | saw Dorothy in a custom gown, clinging sweetly to Xander's arm. She held a vibrant bouquet of red roses. Guests around them gushed over their pure love. "Mr. Fuller is so devoted! To protect Ms. Walton, he lived with a woman he didn't love for three years!" ---- "It must've been tough for Mr. Fuller. If it were me, even a day with someone | didn't love would feel disgusting." "Thank goodness it's over. Mr. Fuller and Ms. Walton are finally together!

| sipped the estate's champagne, listening to their chatter indifferently. It felt like none of this concerned me. Amid the praise, Dorothy giggled shyly. "Okay, okay, stop it, or someone might get upset. It's time to toss the bouquet! Get ready, everyone. Xander and | want to share our happiness!" Looking at the exquisite bouquet, my guarded heart still tightened painfully. Back then, | wanted a rose bouquet too. | heard the estate's flowers symbolized a lifetime of love, so | wanted to pick some here. But Xander cut me off harshly, the first time he ever got angry with me.

He said those things weren't for me to touch or even think about. Now | saw it clearly-his "lifetime" was always meant for ---- Dorothy alone. | gave a cold laugh. Xander had to pay for using me. As | thought this, the bouquet flew straight toward me.