Sean chuckled again.

But this time his laugh sounded more strained.

More angry.

More desperate.

"God, why are You being so unfair to me?"

The voice hung quietly in the empty office.

There was no answer.

Only his own reflection in the tall glass windows of the Weasley Group building.

And Sean hated that reflection now.

Because the man there looked weak.

A mess.

Almost like a stranger.

Sean closed his eyes as he roughly rubbed his face.

"I’ve worked hard my whole life..." he whispered hoarsely. "I built it all."

His company.

His name.

His power.

He was used to winning.

Used to controlling everyone.

But now?

One by one, everything was crumbling before him.

His father lay in the hospital.

The board of directors was quietly making its move.

His trusted men were betraying him.

The media was tearing his life apart.

And Clara...

The woman who used to always forgive him...

Now won’t even look at him for too long.

Sean laughed hollowly again.

Then slowly...

That anger shifted direction.

"I was wrong..." his jaw tightened. "I betrayed Clara."

His gaze was vacant as he stared out the window.

"But why did all the punishment come at once?"

His breathing grew heavy.

Like someone slowly drowning.

"Isn’t all this enough?" he whispered softly. "Aren’t You satisfied seeing my life destroyed?"

Crash.

Sean slammed the whiskey glass onto the floor.

Shards of glass scattered around his shoes.

Yet the man didn’t even blink.

His eyes were turning red now.

And for the first time...

Sean looked truly angry at God.

"I used to have everything!" he shouted at the empty room. "If You really wanted to punish me, why only now?!"

His voice echoed harshly through the vast office.

"Why did You let me realize it too late?!"

Silence.

Quiet.

And that very silence felt even more torturous.

Because Sean knew...

No answer was coming.

The man finally slumped to the floor near the large window.

Still wearing expensive clothes.

Still the Sean Weasley known throughout the city.

But now...

He looked like a man who had lost his way in life.

His hands trembled slightly as he covered his face.

And behind all that anger...

There was one reality that crushed him the most.

If Clara was truly happy without him...

Then perhaps God wasn’t punishing Clara.

God was punishing Sean.

★

Morning had finally arrived in Texas.

Pale sunlight began streaming in through the tall windows of the Weasley Group office.

But Sean’s workspace still felt dark.

It was a mess.

Shards of a whiskey glass were still scattered across the floor.

His laptop was on but untouched.

And Sean was still sitting beneath the large window, head bowed.

He wasn’t even aware of how long he’d been there.

His eyes felt hot.

His head ached.

His chest felt empty.

And worst of all...

His anger at God last night hadn’t made anything feel any lighter.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

There was a soft knock on the door.

Sean didn’t answer.

But a few seconds later, his assistant still entered cautiously.

The young man froze upon seeing the state of the room.

"M-Sir..."

Sean slowly lifted his head.

His eyes were red.

Tired.

"What time is it?"

"It’s already eight in the morning."

Sean let out a hollow chuckle.

Eight in the morning.

And he hadn’t slept a single minute.

His assistant swallowed before speaking cautiously again.

"The board of directors has started gathering."

Silence.

Then Sean slowly stood up.

His body felt heavy now.

But his pride was still alive.

Still too great to let anyone see him broken.

He slowly picked up his jacket from the sofa and put it back on.

His hand paused for a moment when he saw his reflection in the glass.

A pale face.

Red eyes.

A tight jaw.

The man looked like someone fighting a battle against himself.

Sean closed his eyes for a moment.

Then he finally walked out of his office.

---

The main conference room felt cold that morning.

All the board members were already seated in their respective places when Sean entered.

And for the first time...

Some of them didn’t immediately look at him with respect.

They looked wary now.

Calculating.

Assessing.

That made something in Sean’s chest feel even more bitter.

The man sat in the chair of honor without speaking.

Silence for a few seconds.

Then one of the senior board members spoke up.

"The company’s condition is deteriorating faster than expected."

Sean didn’t answer.

"We lost three major investors this week."

"The media is also continuing to put pressure on us."

"And the stock has dropped eighteen percent."

All those voices sounded like a distant hum in Sean’s head.

Because his mind was still in disarray.

Lack of sleep.

Lack of sanity.

Then finally...

One of the board members said softly,

"We’re considering appointing an interim director until conditions stabilize."

Silence.

And the next second...

Sean’s gaze instantly turned incredibly cold.

"Repeat that."

The old man tensed slightly, but continued.

"This is to maintain investor confidence."

Sean chuckled softly.

But his laughter instantly silenced the entire room.

"Confidence?" he whispered softly.

The man slowly leaned back in his chair.

His gaze swept one by one across the faces of the commissioners present.

And the longer it went on...

The darker rage within him began to stir once more.

"When I was making billions of dollars for you..." his voice was low, "not a single one of you mentioned trust."

No one interrupted.

"Now that the company’s facing a little storm..." Sean smiled thinly, his expression laced with venom, "...you’re panicking like drowning rats."

One of the board members immediately hardened his expression.

"We’re just trying to save the company."

"This company exists because of the Weasley family."

Sean’s tone grew sharper now.

"And never forget who made you rich."

The meeting’s atmosphere tensed instantly.

But unfortunately...

Everyone in the room could see something different about Sean today.

He was unstable.

His eyes were too red.

His emotions were too raw.

And that only made the board members even more convinced that the rumors about Sean’s downfall might actually be true.

Sean noticed their stares.

And that made his anger grow deeper.

Because for the first time in his life...

People were starting to see him not as a strong man.

But as a man who was beginning to crumble.

★★★

The Night was getting late.

The rain outside had finally stopped, leaving only the reflection of Texas city lights on the tall windows of Sean’s office.

The room was still a mess.

Whiskey bottles.

Scattered documents.

A full ashtray.

And Sean stood motionless in the middle of it all, like someone slowly turning into the worst version of himself.

His gaze was vacant for a few seconds.

Then...

The man picked up his phone.

He dialed a specific number he rarely called unless things were truly dire.

The call was answered immediately.

"Yes, sir."

The man’s voice on the other end was deep. Calm. Loyal.

Sean got straight to the point.

"I want the media to stop mentioning my family’s name starting tomorrow morning."

A brief silence.

"We can put pressure on some newsrooms," the man replied cautiously. "But the rumors have already spread too far."

Sean smiled faintly.

But the smile was icy cold.

"If they can’t be bought..."

He paused for a moment.

"...make them afraid."

Silence.

Because the man on the other end of the line knew exactly what that meant.

Sean walked slowly toward his desk, roughly loosening his shirt cuffs.

"I also want all of Freddy’s connections cut off."

"Sir?"

"His logistics company." Sean’s gaze hardened. "The port. Suppliers. Distribution channels."

The man understood immediately.

Sean was no longer just holding his ground.

He was starting to strike back.

"And Mr. Freddy?" the man asked softly.

Sean let out a hollow chuckle.

But his laughter sounded dark.

"Teach him a lesson."

"Your intention?"

Sean slowly sat down in his chair.

His gaze fell to the laptop screen, which still displayed a photo of Clara with Leo.

And strangely...

That only made his emotions worse.

Because as Sean’s life crumbled...

Clara still looked calm.

Happy.

As if the world didn’t stop without him.

Sean’s jaw tightened immediately.

"Don’t touch his family," he finally said. "I’m not that low."

But a few seconds later...

His gaze turned cold again.

"But I want him to be afraid every time he steps outside."

The phone line went silent.

Sean continued slowly,

"Make him realize there’s a price for every game he starts."

"Sir... if this gets traced—"

"If I fall," Sean cut in coldly, "I’ll make sure that old man falls with me."

Silence again.

Then finally, the man on the other end replied briefly,

"Understood."

Click.

The call ended.

The room fell silent again.

But this time...

The silence felt far more dangerous.

Sean leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

His breathing was heavy.

His head was filled with too many things.

The company.

Betrayal.

His father.

Mr. Freddy.

Clara.

Always Clara.

The man let out a soft, quiet laugh as he closed his eyes.

"Look at me now..."

His voice was hoarse.

"I’m even starting to turn into a monster just to cling to a life that’s already in ruins."

And the most ironic thing...

Amidst all that dark chaos...

What Sean wanted most still wasn’t the company.

It wasn’t power.

It was Clara, who had even stopped looking his way.