Back when the Miller family was splitting their inheritance, it was about to fall into the hands of an illegitimate child.
I willingly married into the family and agreed to have a child so that Claire could remain in the Miller family registry and secure her status as heir.
Because of that, the Brooks family in New York City cut ties with me, even refusing to attend our wedding.
To help Claire firmly establish herself as CEO of the Miller Group, I endured being forced to drink at the U.S. Department of Commerce until I suffered stomach bleeding.
The patents the company needed—I traveled to the United States repeatedly, waiting outside a professor’s research lab at Columbia University until he was finally persuaded.
But all those efforts were casually credited to Claire’s so-called brilliance by outsiders who didn’t know the truth.
My own contributions were dismissed as mere benefits from the Miller family’s reputation.
I never cared about such gossip, but Claire was furious when she heard it.
She summoned everyone in the company who mocked me—those who could be fired were fired, the rest demoted or docked pay.
It wasn’t until every employee greeted me respectfully as “Mr. Brooks” that she was satisfied.
I worried she was making too many enemies, hurting her authority.
But she didn’t care at all.
“I want everyone in the company to know,” she said, “that if I stand where I am today, it’s because of you, Ethan—you’re the greatest contributor of all.”
Back then, as long as Claire Miller understood me, I felt everything was worth it.
But now, her words—“Without the Miller family, you’re nothing”—stabbed into my heart like a blade.
Ever since Ryan Carter returned from the United States, the Claire who once had eyes only for me seemed to have become a different person.
Later, I learned the truth from a trusted business partner.
Years ago, when the Miller and Carter families were close, Ryan went abroad early with his father.
Later, the Carter family suffered an accident overseas, leaving only Ryan alive.
When he returned to the U.S., he was said to have developed severe depression and needed long-term hospitalization.
From then on, whenever Ryan had an episode, Claire would bring him home to care for him.
I voiced my discontent, but she brushed it off as me making a fuss.
And strangely, each time I went on a business trip, Ryan just happened to relapse.