Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex's 'Uncle'
Chapter 417: Glad the Relationship Finally Broke Down

Chapter 417: Glad the Relationship Finally Broke Down

Selina met Luke’s gaze and realized he genuinely found it funny.

Low EQ: "You suck."

High EQ: "You’re so young. Like a little kid."

Selina patted his head affectionately. "Did your teammates ever suggest you’d be good at delivering food?"

Luke shook his head. "Nope. But if they do, I’ll let you know. Why would I be good at that anyway?"

Selina: ... Because you’re so good at "feeding" (giving kills to the enemy).

...

"Sir, breakfast is ready." Miller Butler immediately stepped forward when he saw Logan coming downstairs.

The man nodded and gave Luke a glance. "Had a fight with Owen?"

Luke bristled. "What do you mean fight? That was me crushing him, one-sided! Plenty of staff saw it yesterday. Owen couldn’t even talk back once. Grandpa probably knows already."

The real reason Luke stayed at Sapphire Valley Villa was that he knew he’d get chewed out if he went back to the Reid house.

The blatant favoritism in the Reid Family was just ridiculous.

He didn’t get it. Sure, Logan was unlikable, but he himself was charming—so why would they prefer that sneaky loser Owen?

He was about to vent to Logan, but Logan just nodded. "As long as you’ve made it obvious you’re not on good terms anymore, that’s good."

Luke: ...? Huh?

It’s good to be at odds with Owen?

Logan sounded calm and casual. "The Reid Family at least has to maintain appearances. They can’t openly favor Owen over you. Whatever shares and companies Owen got ’because you were too young’ were supposed to be yours too."

He added with meaning, "Now that you’ve openly split with Owen, taking them back is only natural."

Luke’s eyes lit up. Oh, right. Why should he let that idiot have them?

...

Half an hour later, Owen got the news and nearly burst out laughing.

"Luke? That loser thinks he can compete with me?"

One of his people tried to be diplomatic. "Owen, sir, that media company your grandfather gave you... technically, it was originally Luke’s."

Owen sneered. "Even if Luke wants it, he’ll have to see if he can handle it. That company’s been mine for years, clients are stable. Even if he gets it on paper, let’s see if those clients stick with him."

Especially one big, mysterious luxury retail chain whose real owner was unknown—it had been his biggest account for five years.

As long as they chose him over Luke, he could always claim merit and keep the company.

He felt completely secure.

...

That afternoon, after leaving school, Selina didn’t head straight back to Sapphire Valley Villa. Instead, she went to a luxury boutique.

The store was a gift from the Brown Family. Over the years, she’d hired a professional manager to run it and rarely went in person.

"Miss, Owen’s media company has handled our advertising for about five years with no problems. Are you thinking of replacing them?" the manager asked cautiously.

Selina kept her head lowered. "No, keep the partnership."

The manager wiped sweat from his brow. "Then... what do you mean exactly?"

"The partnership can stay," she said lightly. "But the contact person needs to change. Owen’s unreliable. Switch it to Luke."

The manager blinked in surprise. "Luke? But I doubt Reid Group would agree to that."

Everyone knew the Reid Family’s chosen heir was Owen. Switching to Luke? Reid Group wouldn’t like it.

Selina gave him a slow, meaningful smile. "Uncle, don’t you get it? I reviewed the past contracts. They have always been the ones begging to work with us—not the other way around."

"As the party in control, why shouldn’t I pick who I want to deal with?"

The manager hesitated for only a moment before nodding. "I’ll notify Reid Group right away."

...

Inside the media company.

Luke walked in holding the share certificates and the old transfer agreement. The entire board exchanged wary glances.

Sure, replacing the chairman wasn’t technically a problem, but Luke’s ability... everyone knew he was a spoiled good-for-nothing rich kid. Handing him the company was basically a death sentence for it.

And besides...

Everyone in the boardroom understood perfectly well: they were all loyal to Owen and Amelia.

Even if the company was legally Luke’s—so what? His own mother would always back Owen over him.

...

"Mr. Luke," one shareholder said in a faux-friendly tone, "you’re still young. There are some things you might not fully grasp yet."

"This company—Owen has been here for five years. Even if you don’t want to credit his achievements, he’s at least worked hard. Technically it’s yours, but firing Owen the moment you show up would break everyone’s hearts."

"That’s right. Owen’s been crucial for this company. He’s brokered many big deals. Without him, those projects will evaporate, and the losses will be huge..."

...

Luke leaned back in his chair, listening calmly.

Oh, he got it loud and clear:

Yeah, it’s your company. But since Owen’s worked so hard, shouldn’t you be the bigger man and just give it to him? Without him, there’s no business. No deals. No success.

...

Owen put on that "big brother" act, all gentle and reasonable.

"Luke, I know you were upset last night. Don’t worry—I’m not trying to steal anything from you. I’ve just been taking care of the company for you. When the time is right, I’ll step down and give it back."

He even added in a patronizing, concerned voice:

"You’ve been spoiled since you were a kid, Luke. You never learned anything about this business. It’d be ridiculous to just hand it to you right now, so..."

...

Owen lowered his eyes, but the hatred in them flashed for just a second.

—Luke, you love playing brothers with that bastard Logan, huh? Let’s see how you end up.

Owen couldn’t hold back a smug smile.

"Luke, why don’t you start from the bottom? It’s really for your own good."

...

The board immediately got the message.

"That’s right, young master. Our admin department is short one errand boy."

"Don’t underestimate the value of doing grunt work. You can learn a lot that way."

"Someone get him placed right away!"

"Young master, if you want to stay here, you’ll listen to Owen and start from the bottom. Otherwise, get out! This isn’t your playground!"

...

Luke actually felt like applauding Owen.

No wonder Selina called him a manipulative little snake.

That pitiful, oh-so-hurt look while robbing him blind—Luke could never pull that off.

"Sorry, but it’s your fault for being so useless. Since you’re incompetent, why not just hand it over? Look around—everyone here supports me."

...

Luke narrowed his eyes. ...

Jesus, Owen really is this shameless? Am I actually about to lose this media company?

...

"Mr. Luke, have you made up your mind?" one shareholder asked with a sigh.

"You must understand, without Owen, there wouldn’t even be—"

But his words cut off sharply at the sound of a shocked shout from outside the meeting room!

...