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Cage held the tray with the glass cup and wine tightly, releasing a deep breath, attempting to suppress his nervousness.

He joined the other staff, striding down to the meeting hall. He didn’t feel good about it, but he was in charge of serving this section.

The hall's door swung open wide, and he led the staff in, carrying drinks and food.

“Welcome to Trump International Hotel. Here is the order you placed,” Cage bowed his head, a clean handkerchief in hand, resting at the base of the wine bottle.

He tilted the wine slightly, pouring a few glasses for the young man.

It was a business meeting involving five businessmen and women. Among the women was his wife, Jones Lucy.

Bowing his head, he gently placed the wine bottle in an ice bowl. Cage felt eyes on him but decided to focus on his work, not wanting to cause trouble for his wife or be looked down upon by her boss and colleagues.

“Isn’t he your husband? I almost couldn’t recognize him for a while,” Mr. Augustus asked Lucy.

She cleared her throat slightly, glancing at Cage, not wishing to be acknowledged as his wife at that moment.

“Sure.” Her replies were quick yet faint; she knew lying wouldn’t help because her boss knew him well.

Cage realized what was about to happen and wanted to walk out with the other staff.

“Mr. Jones, stay and have a drink with us,” Mr. Augustus said before Cage could leave. Cage halted, swallowing hard.

“I do not think that’s necessary, sir,” Elsa, Lucy's best friend, spoke up before things got even more awkward.

“What do you mean not necessary? I’m just trying to be nice to my business partner's husband, and I don’t think that should be an issue,” Mr. Augustus snorted.

“Sir, I think we should just let him be since he’s still working and he’s not needed here,” Lucy quickly said, knowing her boss well.

He was far from being nice, especially with his choice of words.

“Come on, Lucy! You know how important this contract is, right? Let’s not delay it and just let him have his seat already,” Mr. Augustus said frankly, giving no room for another opinion.

Cage realized he had no choice but to sit with them, not wanting his wife to lose an important deal because of him.

Swallowing his dry throat, he took his seat beside his wife gently, staying quiet, fearing he might add to the tension. But eventually, he found he couldn't escape.

Lucy had always wanted to avoid this kind of situation, but it only got worse each time. The meeting was a high-stakes contract, and she couldn’t afford to lose it.

Mr. Augustus was not an easy man to deal with, and she knew that well. Cage felt uncomfortable, even lifting a glass of water to his mouth.

“It’s unexpected to meet you here. I mean, you working as a waiter is unexpected and unbelievable too,” Mr. Augustus laughed.

Cage looked down at his fingers, trying not to let his brows rise in discomfort. He already felt uneasy and too low sitting among them.

“Tell me. Why are you working as a waiter? I did hear that Lucy married a pauper, but I never expected someone who is not qualified for a decent job,” Mr. Augustus said.

The other staff, except Elsa and Lucy, ended up laughing, while some chuckled and others appraised him in his simple clothes.

Cage remained quiet. He felt the man intended to mock him, and he regretted not turning down the offer immediately and walking away before it got worse.

“We should talk about the business, sir,” Elsa said, attempting to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.

“Business? That’s unfair to Lucy's husband, the waiter. How is he supposed to understand? Is he even educated?” Mr. Augustus asked.

Most of the meeting attendees couldn’t hold in their laughter anymore. “He does look too poor, I will say,” Mr. Augustus's close associates said frankly.

“That’s true,” another lady agreed.

Cage held his hands tightly under the table, trying not to break down with their words. It was becoming too much for Lucy to bear.

If only the contract wasn’t important. She tried not to show that he was her husband, yet this happened.

Cage kept staring at the glass of water before him while they laughed and joked at him.

“I feel like I made a mistake letting someone of a lower class sit with us. I shouldn’t have allowed that, and now I’m afraid his cheap perfume will contaminate mine,” Mr. Augustus said with scorn in his voice.

Cage was about to burst at that moment, wanting to stand up from the table. Elsa and Lucy couldn’t say anything.

Stopping Mr. Augustus would only make things worse, and they were already as bad as they could get. Just until this meeting ended, and she could breathe.

Cage wondered why the man had to be like that. It wasn’t as if he wanted to be in this situation either; it was just the circumstances of life that had brought him down.

Did he feel happy looking down on him this way, turning a man like him into a laughingstock? Cage wasn't surprised by his words.

He felt that just because the man was rich and he was not, didn’t mean he could demean him in such a way.

All this because his wife wanted a contract from him. His leg started shaking, and his head refused to leave the glass cup in front of him.

“I have finished the wine. Come, pour me more wine,” Mr. Augustus said, and Cage was forced to raise his head this time.

“You shouldn’t be looking at me that way, Mr. Jones. It’s your work, and you could have been out there bowing your heads to people better than you are,” Mr. Augustus said plainly.

The meeting ended, and everyone started leaving one after the other. Mr. Augustus had his eyes on Lucy the whole time.

She was a beautiful lady with a great body, and he wondered why she would end up with a poor man like Cage.

“Don’t you think this contract should be discussed more privately between us?” Mr. Augustus asked Lucy, his lips curled cockily.

Lucy was packing her things, ready to leave, while Cage was still attending to him. It seemed intentional on Mr. Augustus's part, wanting to humiliate Cage further.

“What do you mean by that, sir?” Lucy asked, looking perplexed. She didn't know the extent of the man’s shamelessness anymore.

“You know what I’m saying, Lucy. Don’t act naive,” Mr. Augustus replied with a mischievous smile, while Cage swallowed hard.

He must have thought so little of him to discuss this right in his presence. There was no dignity left in him, and Mr. Augustus seemed keen to provoke Cage more.

“If the company needed an investor that badly, they can do that without her help,” Cage interjected, seeing how boldly Mr. Augustus behaved even in his presence.

“Cage, stop it! Don’t add more salt to the wound,” Lucy cut Cage off. She was already hurt, and his interference would only exacerbate things.

He should just be quiet!

How could Mr. Augustus discuss such a thing in her husband's presence? Lucy thought, concluding that Mr. Augustus never really considered him a man.

“You see, you’ve never become anything more than a waiter because your way of thinking is too lame. Do you think she would climb up to the top if she were as thoughtless as you?” Mr. Augustus laughed and reached out to touch Lucy, who stepped back and headed for the door. Staying there longer wouldn't do her any good.

Mr. Augustus's men stepped forward, stopping her from leaving. “You thought you could come and go as you like, right? It’s me you’re dealing with, Lucy,” he laughed and faced Cage.

“Take a look at yourself. I wonder how useless you would have looked without your uniform. The attire suits you perfectly, but have you thought about how much it takes for her to even say, ‘Yes, he’s my husband’? It’s like swallowing poison and pouring yourself dirt in public,” he taunted Cage, who lowered his lashes.

Cage felt a sharp pain in his heart with those words. He wasn’t wrong, was he? If the man didn’t know him that well, Lucy would have denied him.

“How about you let her leave and deal with me?” Cage asked Mr. Augustus.

“Why? You’re worthless to me and have no use for me, but she does. How much do you even earn monthly? I’m sure even this wine is worth more than what you earn,” Mr. Augustus picked up the wine bottle Cage had been serving him.

“Look at you and look at her. What gives you the impression that you could be her man?” He laughed and walked towards Lucy, sneakingly.

Cage tried to keep his cool, holding his fist tightly, blinking away his tears. But when Mr. Augustus laid his hand on Lucy, Cage snapped.

He threw Mr. Augustus’s hand off Lucy and punched him in the mouth instantly. He had had enough and couldn’t keep his cool anymore. He felt like ripping his mouth off his face.

The same mouth that knew nothing but to speak ill of people below him. It wasn’t his fault he was poor!

Mr. Augustus looked at Cage unbelievably, “How dare you lay that useless hand on my face? Do you know what you have done!?” Mr. Augustus yelled, and his men stepped closer, ready to pounce on Cage.

Cage looked at them all and sighed, knowing he had already lost his job as a waiter for punching him.

One of Mr. Augustus’s men sneakily took a wine bottle and smashed it on Cage's head. He fell on his knees, bleeding from his head.

He looked at them one by one and used the napkin on the table to wipe the blood from his face. He stood on his feet and started fighting his assailants.

They started beating him, even with his injuries, but he didn’t want to back down.

Mr. Augustus went to take his seat and watched from there. “I want him beaten until he’s on his knees, begging for forgiveness!” He ordered his men to start immediately.

Lucy panicked and rushed to Mr. Augustus, falling on her knees and pleading with him.

“Please don’t let them hurt him,” she begged.

“Hurt him?” He laughed. “That worthless thing dared to punch me?” Mr. Augustus said furiously, annoyed, checking his wounded mouth.

“Please forgive him and tell them to stop,” Lucy continued pleading.

“They should stop beating him until he asks for forgiveness, and you will lose the contract? Which do you prefer?” Mr. Augustus asked her with a smirk.

“I don’t think all this should concern you, Lucy," He said, using the tip of his finger to lift her chin.

“Are you sure you won't sacrifice for the contract?” He smirked.

Lucy didn't know what to say and was torn between the two.

Cage fought off the men, even with his wounds. He was determined not to give up!

He threw the last man across the room, surprising Mr. Augustus. “How could he?” He swallowed hard.

His fighting skills shocked everyone, including Elsa, who had been quietly supporting Mr. Augustus and was now panicking.

Lucy watched as Mr. Augustus called for more men while Cage continued to fight them off.

Lucy regretted all this; she should have stopped it.

Mr. Augustus looked at Lucy and shook his head, “Just know that I will personally see to it that your company crawls to the ground,” Mr. Augustus said coldly.