The heavy rain poured down over the city, masking the tears that almost welled up in Aris’s eyes. But these weren't tears of sorrow—they were tears of sweet relief. For an entire year, he had been forced to swallow his pride, bow his head under relentless verbal abuse, and act like a worthless man, all just to stay close to Bella and test the purity of her heart.

He still remembered the day he first met her—she was the woman who had shared her umbrella with him during one of the darkest, rained-out periods of his life. Right then, Aris had pledged to love her for the rest of his days. Yet, a year under the Wijayas' roof had opened his eyes: Bella’s love might have been genuine, but it was far too weak to withstand the tyranny of her greedy parents.

Aris stepped into the sleek black Rolls-Royce parked right outside the main gates.

The moment the heavy door shut, the atmosphere inside changed completely. The warm, masculine scent of cedarwood cologne replaced the damp, suffocating air of his in-laws' home. Sitting in the driver’s seat was Andi—his most trusted personal assistant—dressed impeccably in a crisp suit and silver-rimmed glasses.

"Sir, you're soaked through," Andi said, his worry barely contained beneath a professional demeanor. He immediately handed Aris a warm, dry towel.

Aris sighed, wiping the ice water—left behind by Mrs. Ratna's outburst—from his face. "I'm fine, Andi. Just tired."

"Has the trial come to an end, Sir?"

Aris stared out the tinted window at the grand silhouette of the Wijaya mansion, which now looked fragile and hollow to his eyes. "The test is over. They failed."

Andi nodded slowly, long accustomed to his boss's colder edge. In the business world, Aris was known as The Shadow Emperor—a man who had built a financial empire from absolute zero and routinely crushed his opponents without a shred of mercy.

"What are your orders, Sir?"

Aris fell silent for a moment. The image of Bella's face flashed across his mind—her expression as he was doused in cold water. She hadn't defended him. She hadn't uttered a single word. She had simply bowed her head in silence. Her inability to say "no" to her family, even as her own husband was humiliated right in front of a stranger, was the final breaking point.

"They want me to leave empty-handed?" Aris let out a cold, sharp laugh. "Very well. Let’s see how long they can survive without the 'leech' they looked down on."

Aris pulled out his phone. His fingers moved swiftly across the screen, unlocking a high-level encrypted app accessible to only a select few people on earth.

"Activate all Nexus Global assets in the real estate and retail sectors," Aris commanded in a tone that permitted no argument. "Primary target: Wijaya Construction. Buy up all of their corporate debt. I want them to know who has been keeping them afloat from the shadows all this time."

"Sir," Andi hesitated briefly. "If we execute this aggressively, their stock will plunge within hours. Do you prefer a softer approach so Miss Bella doesn't get caught in the crossfire?"

Aris closed his eyes briefly. A dull ache still throbbed in his chest, but his mind had already pivoted into full strategic mode. "No soft approach. If they want me to be trash, then make them scavengers on the street by tomorrow morning. Let them feel what it's like to have their dignity trampled underfoot by someone they deemed inferior."

"Understood, Sir. Executing orders," Andi replied firmly.

The luxury car glided smoothly away from the elite neighborhood. Halfway through the drive, Aris pulled out the soaked divorce papers. He tore them into tiny pieces and tossed them casually onto the floor mat.

"This past year was more than fair," Aris muttered under his breath. "I gave you the chance to be fully mine, Bella. But you chose to remain your family's puppet. Now, enjoy the consequences."

Meanwhile, inside the Wijaya mansion, the atmosphere remained unsettled. Rian was still chuckling, arrogantly sipping his wine. "You really should have kicked him out much sooner. A son-in-law like that only tarnishes your family’s reputation."

Mr. Wijaya nodded in agreement, but Mrs. Ratna appeared restless. Her eyes kept darting toward the front door. "For some reason... I have a bad feeling about this."

Bella sat in the corner of the sofa, staring blankly at the wet spot on the floor where the ice water had landed. She couldn't understand why her chest felt so heavy. Sure, Aris was useless—a poor guy who worked as a low-level clerk. But... he had never failed to prepare breakfast for her every single morning. He had never complained, even when his shoes were completely worn through.

"Bella, what's on your mind?" Rian asked, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

Bella flinched, immediately brushing his hand away. "I'm... I'm tired. I want to go to my room."

She hurried upstairs and opened Aris's closet. Empty. Only a single faded shirt remained hanging inside. On the nightstand, she noticed a small box Aris had always kept hidden away.

Hands trembling, Bella opened it. Inside was a diamond ring featuring an exceptionally rare cut. Beneath the box lay a tiny handwritten note:

'To our first year, and forever. I hope you're ready for my surprise tonight. —Aris'

Bella sank to the floor, her heart dropping into a bottomless pit. What surprise did Aris mean? And why did she suddenly feel like she had just lost something far more valuable than social status?

Across town, Aris had arrived at his penthouse atop the tallest skyscraper in the city. Standing behind floor-to-ceiling glass, he overlooked the dazzling city lights. He was no longer Aris, the dirt-poor son-in-law. He was a ruler taking a deep breath before unleashing a storm.

"By tomorrow morning," Aris whispered, taking a slow sip of his wine, "this entire city will know exactly who they threw away."

Andi entered the room, tablet in hand. "Sir, the buyout of Wijaya Construction's debt has officially begun. Their primary investors have agreed to sell their debt rights to us at a premium."

"Good," Aris replied smoothly. "Tomorrow, I will personally visit their headquarters as their new investor."

Aris twisted the ring on his finger, his eyes flashing with a mix of ambition and hardened pain. The game had just begun, and he wouldn't stop until the entire Wijaya family fell to their knees—and that went for Bella, too.