Her Stepbrother Called Me Nobody, But I Own This City

In my twenty-six years of life, no one had ever dared to speak to me that way.

"Say that again," I said, my voice dangerously low. "What, exactly, do you want me to do?"

"Are you fucking deaf? I said get on your knees like a dog and apologize to me, saying, ' I'm a worthless piece of trash.'"

I chuckled. "You're loud enough. I heard you loud and clear—you are a worthless piece of trash."

Brian's face instantly flushed red as he realized he'd been played. "You're asking for it! How dare you mock me on my own turf?"

He roared and charged at me, his fists flailing wildly. The sight would have been comical if he wasn't so loud.

In Veridian City, I had been training with my family's top combat experts since I was a child. This kind of sloppy, undisciplined brawling wasn't even a warm-up for me.

I lifted my leg and drove a vicious, clean knee strike straight into his gut. Brian slammed onto the ground, curling up and groaning on the Persian rug.

A wave of gasps swept through the banquet hall.

"Oh my god, he actually hit Mr. Brian!"

"When Miss Everly gets here, she'll use the Sinclair Group's power to skin him alive!"

"This kid is dead. No one can save him tonight."

I paid no attention to their idle chatter.

The Sinclair Group's current success was propped up by capital from my father's firm. In Veridian City, there was no one I needed to bow my head to.

I slapped the unlimited black card back onto the display counter.

"I said, whatever his limit is, I'll double it. Draw up the property deeds for the 'Siren's Cove Estate' for me."

The auctioneer's legs had turned to jelly. He could barely stand. With trembling fingers, he completed the authorization and personally handed me the leather-bound property folder.

I took the folder and prepared to leave. But Brian, on the floor, struggled to his feet and shakily blocked my path. "You're not walking out of here alive today!"

I tapped the floor with the toe of my shoe and glanced at him. "What? Ready for another?"

He instinctively flinched back in fear.

I gave a contemptuous smile and turned toward the main entrance.

But I was forced to stop after only a few steps.

A line of men in black suits had suddenly blocked the exit, sealing off the entire passage.

Before the onlookers could process the situation, the wall of security guards parted neatly down the middle. A woman walked through the path they had made.

I looked up, and in the instant our eyes met, my heart did skip a beat.

The hall's brilliant lights cascaded over her, outlining a figure that could set a city on fire.

She had the kind of killer curves that could drive a man mad: a narrow waist, long legs, and a perfect hourglass figure.

Her face was a masterpiece of chiseled, cold beauty, radiating an untouchable wildness.

Brian immediately dropped his arrogant act, putting on a pitiful display as he rushed to her. "Everly, this bastard not only stole the estate I wanted, he also hit me…"

So, this was my fiancée. No wonder the old man was so sure she would be exactly my type.

I had to admit, my father knew me well. He had certainly nailed my preferences.

When it came to women, I was an unapologetic sucker for looks, and Everly checked every single box.

Just seeing that face made me willing to forgive her rudeness on the phone earlier.

I straightened my posture, gave her my most confident smile, and introduced myself. "Hello, Everly. I'm Jax Ryder. Your fiancé."

A wave of incredulous gasps rippled through the crowd.

"Did I hear that right? He's claiming to be Miss Everly's fiancé?"

"Don't be ridiculous! The Ryder heir is famously mysterious. There isn't a single picture of him anywhere! And this guy, dressed in those shabby clothes, dares to claim he's Jax Ryder?"

"Yeah, he must be some clueless fraud! If he were really Jax Ryder, why would he show up here alone?"

Everly gave me a cold glare, her eyes carrying a chilling, unapproachable frost.

"Impersonating the heir to the Ryder Group? You've got some nerve. Besides, there's no way the real Jax Ryder is a lowlife piece of scum like you."

Brian huddled behind Everly, his eyes flashing with the triumphant look of a petty villain.

"Look down at the worthless rags you're wearing! A low-class country bumpkin like you dreams of touching her? You're not even worthy to kneel and shine my shoes!"

People trying to curry favor with the Sinclair Group immediately chimed in.

"Exactly. Miss Everly's future partner will undoubtedly be from the highest echelons of society. How could she possibly condescend to look at a hick?"

"He reeks of poverty! Just having him stand there lowers the tone of this entire gala! Comparing him to Mr. Brian is an insult!"

I admit I was dressed simply, but it was far from "shabby." Yet in the mouths of these snobs, I had somehow been demoted to garbage.

Sucking up to the powerful while kicking down the weak. That has always been the law of survival in this hypocritical world.

I nonchalantly raised my eyes, my gaze sweeping across the entire auction hall before finally returning to Everly's face.

"In that case, you can go home and tell your mother to cancel the wedding. As for the reason? It's because I'm done with you."