Chapter 153: Denis discovered Augustine’s past.

Words : 1126 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

Chapter 153: Denis discovered Augustine’s past. A flicker of amusement crossed Augustine’s face. If only she knew the truth—that he was the boss. He opened his mouth, about to reveal it, but she spoke first. "I’ll always support you." She leaned in to press a soft kiss on his cheek. Her simple gesture struck something deep within him. His eyes darkened, desire overtaking them. "You shouldn’t have done that," he growled with hunger. "Now you are mine." Before she could react, he caught her lips with his—urgent, possessive, and intoxicating. Anne tensed at first, instinct urging her to resist. But the heat of his mouth, the firm grip of his arms around her—it melted her resolve. Thoughts slipped away, and all she could feel was him. Her hands slid around his neck almost involuntarily as she gave in, her body responding to the need that had silently simmered within her. In Denis’s sleek office... Haris burst in, looking visibly shaken. Sweat dotted his brow. "I just got an update from the guy we sent overseas to track Mr. Augustine," Haris said, barely catching his breath. "And there is bad news. Which do you want first?" Denis eyed him sharply with suspicion. "What did you find out about Augustine?" Haris hesitated for half a second before answering. "He used to be a fighter in an underground fight club. One that was owned by a mobster." There was a beat of stunned silence. Denis’s expression twisted in disbelief. "A fighter?" he echoed, almost laughing. "You mean that Augustine? That pathetic little nerd who never spoke above a whisper?" His voice dripped with ridicule. "Are you telling me that guy is a fighter?" Haris gave a nervous nod. "I couldn’t believe it at first. But..." He stepped forward and placed a folder on Denis’s desk. "When I saw these, I couldn’t deny it anymore." Denis snatched the folder from Haris’s hands, a mocking smirk still playing at the corner of his lips. But the moment he flipped it open, the smirk died. There, in the center of the photograph, was Augustine —looked nothing like the timid, hunched boy Denis used to shove into lockers. Shirtless and glistening with sweat under the harsh ring lights, Augustine stood in the middle of a bloodstained ring, one fist clenched and dripping red, the other raised mid-strike. His opponent lay crumpled on the mat, half-conscious and battered, shielding his face. Augustine’s expression was pure fury — lips curled in a snarl, eyes dark with rage, jaw clenched so hard his cheekbones jutted like blades. His body was muscular — not the bulk of a bodybuilder, but the hard, lean definition of someone who’d fought for every inch of strength. His torso bore fading bruises. He looked dangerous, like a beast let loose, his stance oozing menace and dominance. His fists were taped, but blood leaked through the wrappings. Veins snaked along his forearms like wires under pressure. Denis swallowed hard. This wasn’t the quiet nerd who used to lower his eyes and walk faster when Denis approached. This was someone else entirely — someone Denis couldn’t recognize. "You’re telling me this is Augustine?" Denis murmured in a daze. He thought the image was a trick of light, some photoshopped hoax. Clinging to that hope desperately, he flipped to the next photograph, which only deepened his disbelief. This time, Augustine was captured mid-fight, his arm locked around another fighter’s throat in a brutal chokehold. His biceps bulged with raw strength, veins popping, every tendon in his neck taut with exertion. His face was twisted into something almost animalistic. "He looks like he wants to kill him," Denis mumbled. "He probably did," Haris said grimly. "You know how underground fights work. No rules. No mercy." Silence filled the room, heavy and suffocating. Denis slowly closed the folder, his hands unusually unsteady. His mind churned with fragments of the past—memories of mocking Augustine in school, snatching books from his hands, shoving him into lockers, laughing as the quiet boy picked himself up with downcast eyes. Back then, Augustine had been meek. An easy target. Someone Denis never gave a second thought to. But the man in those photographs was no longer the boy he once was. The Augustine in that fight cage looked like he had crawled out of darkness—bloodied, feral, and unrelenting. His transformation was staggering, as though he had forged himself into a weapon, honed by fury. Denis swallowed hard. ’What the hell happened to him in all those years?’ he thought, shaken. ’How did he become this... devil?’ Across the desk, Haris let out a slow breath. "There is barely any background on him. It’s like he vanished and came back as someone else. From what we have gathered, he met someone from the underworld... joined a fight club. He became the strongest fighter. The brutal one. People started calling him ’the devil’ because of how merciless he was." Denis’s fingers curled slightly. His mind reeled. Augustine’s eyes in those pictures... they weren’t human. They belonged to someone who had burned in fire and come out scorched but unbreakable. And now, that same man held influence, power, and—most terrifying of all—underworld connections. For the first time, Denis felt real fear claw at his gut. He reached up and wiped the sweat from his face, trying to steady his breathing. The arrogance that had once colored his view of Augustine was gone, replaced by a sober awareness. This was no longer a schoolyard rivalry, and Denis knew, deep down, that the old tactics wouldn’t work anymore. ’I need a new plan,’ he muttered inwardly. ’Crossing him head-on could cost me everything.’ Denis’s brows knit together as he recalled Haris’s earlier words. "You mentioned bad news," he changed the topic. "What is it?" Haris shifted uncomfortably before answering. "The client canceled the billion-dollar project." The words hit Denis like a slap. "What?" he barked, his hand crashing down on the desk with a thunderous thud. "We already signed the deal. How the hell can they pull out now?" Haris grimaced, bracing himself. "Marsh Technology claims to have found a more suitable partner for the project," he explained. "They have decided to terminate the collaboration and move forward with new arrangements." Denis’s jaw tightened, the veins in his neck standing out. "More suitable? Who?" "Marsh Tech has been collaborating with the Sphere Group for the past few years," Haris reported with a serious tone. "The Sphere Group is their primary investor, particularly for this AI development project. Now that Starlite Corp. has come under the Sphere Group’s control, they are planning to gradually shift all operations there. There are also rumors that Marsh Tech might eventually merge with the Sphere Group."

Chapter 153: Denis discovered Augustine’s past.

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