Her high heels echoed through the banquet hall, each step an agonizing stomp on my heart. Five years. For five years, I'd worn an orange reflective vest like a second skin, the sweet stickiness of cake batter on my hands blending with factory dust – all for that 'future' she had promised. I'd even burnt the midnight oil, my eyes bloodshot, compiling that thick promotion report, all just for her to say, "Marry me." Now, she stood under dazzling spotlights, her smile radiant, extending her hand to another man, for all the world to see. That man was Dax, the General Manager's son. He knelt on one knee, the diamond ring in his hand glinting, a blinding pain in my eyes. Xiang Wei, *my* Xiang Wei, amidst a crescendo of deafening applause and cheers, softly whispered, "I do." My mind roared, something inside me shattering instantly. Five years – all my blood, sweat, and aspirations – disintegrated into scattered dust at my feet. I surged forward, grabbing her wrist, my voice hoarse with a raw, desperate question: "Didn't you say you'd marry *me*?!" "SLAP!" The crisp slap, more jarring than any peal of thunder, vibrated through me. My cheek stung with a fiery burn, but my heart ached a thousand times worse. Xiang Wei snatched her hand back, her eyes cold and filled with disgust, as if I were some dirty, mud-stained thing. "How could I marry a nobody like you?" she sneered, each word a poisoned blade slicing into my chest. "You're not even worth as much as a dog!" Dax stepped to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist. He looked at me with a triumphant, mocking smile. "Isn't it time you woke up from your so-called 'delusions'?" he sneered. "Some things aren't just handed to you because you *try hard*." He deliberately emphasized "things," the implication igniting the last vestiges of my self-control. Infuriated, I grabbed Dax's collar, my fists clenching. He didn't flinch. Instead, he leaned in, whispering, "Move again, and you won't live to see tomorrow's sun." Xiang Wei's mother then stormed over, jabbing a finger at my nose, screeching, "Romel, you have the nerve to cause a scene here? Get out! Dax, don't waste another word on this trash; people like him deserve to have their legs broken!" Buoyed by Xiang Wei's and her mother's shrill encouragement, Dax's eyes hardened. He delivered a swift kick to my knee. "Kneel!" he snarled. "Kneel down and apologize, or you won't be walking out of here today!" I stumbled back a step, but held my ground, refusing to fall. My spine might snap, but I would never bend. My knee throbbed with a dull ache, yet my gaze was harder and more resolute than ever before. "'I, Romel, would rather die!'" I declared, each word ringing out, clear and defiant. "'I will never kneel before those who insult my dignity!'" A murmur rippled through the crowd. Dax's face turned ashen. He raised a hand, and the bodyguards behind him stirred, ready to act. Just then, an unexpected turn of events quietly descended.