Replaced by the Cocky New Bodyguard

The new bodyguard, Martin Chapman, is arrogant and unruly. Not only does he refuse to follow my orders as his team leader, but he also constantly steals credit for my work to impress my wealthy heiress girlfriend, Wrenley Quale. Wrenley, who claims to love me more than anything, decides to teach him a lesson. But instead of confronting him, she strips me of my position as team leader and promotes him to take my place. She says, "With great power comes great responsibility. Once he starts running into obstacles at every turn, he'll learn to keep his arrogance in check." But right after saying that, she goes and buys Martin a car and a house. She even takes him on private trips. Every time something like that happens, she insists it's all part of her plan and tells me not to rush things. Soon, my mom falls seriously ill and wants to see Wrenley one last time. I beg her to come to the hospital as soon as possible, and she readily promises she will. I stand outside the hospital for an entire day and wait until night falls. I don't even dare to blink for fear of missing her, but she never shows up. Instead, I see a social media post from Martin announcing that he's boarding a plane. He writes, "My boss is too naive and doesn't understand how evil people can be. She believed a random phone call without question. Luckily, I stepped in just in time and saved her from a huge loss! Thank you, boss, for such a generous reward. Now, it's time to take off. I'll do my best to protect her!" He even attaches a selfie that displays the pendant around his neck. My hands clench into fists. That pendant is the heirloom my mom gave me to pass on to her future daughter-in-law! Just as I'm about to confront Wrenley, news arrives that Mom has suddenly passed away. One whole day later, Wrenley finally calls and offers an explanation. "Please explain things to your mom for me. I didn't mean to miss the visit. Everything I've done was to help you deal with him. I've almost tamed him and curbed his arrogance, so don't worry. "In a couple of days, I'll make him apologize to you. Then, you and I can hold a lavish wedding and give your mom something to celebrate." But I've already seen through her lies. Her so-called plan to teach him a lesson is nothing more than an excuse to openly take his side. I will never trust her again. I'm done with my girlfriend. Chapter 1 Seeing that I remained silent, my girlfriend, Wrenley Quale, continued explaining. "I went through all that trouble just to stand up for you and make him acknowledge your authority. We're at a critical stage now. If I don't double down now, wouldn't all my efforts over the past few months go to waste? "Are you really okay with seeing all my hard work amount to nothing? Anyway, I'm still busy right now. Once I'm done, I'll go to the hospital to visit Jasmine." Hearing her make yet another promise, I felt my blood run cold. When my mother, Jasmine Yaeger, had been hospitalized after suddenly falling very ill, I'd begged Wrenley countless times to accompany me to visit her. She always agreed, but she had never once followed through with her promise. The only time she'd ever agreed to visit Mom was after I'd gotten down on my knees and pleaded with her for ages. Even then, she hadn't exactly honored her promise. She'd stood outside the hospital room and stared coldly at Mom like a complete stranger without saying a word. Seeing this, Mom was stunned for a moment before trying to smooth things over with a smile. "The hospital room is full of germs. It's not good for your health, so you'd better stay outside." I'd known perfectly well why Wrenley refused to enter. Before we'd left, she'd promised Martin Chapman that she'd only look at Mom from a distance. When I saw the relieved smile on Mom's face, I'd gritted my teeth and chosen to bury the truth. But even now, Wrenley was still trying to deceive me. She wanted me to believe that everything she did was truly for my sake. If that were really the case, why didn't she just fire Martin? Wouldn't that be a much simpler solution? The truth was, she was playing favorites. I was about to argue when I suddenly heard Martin's voice coming from the other end of the call. Wrenley hung up right away. As I listened to the abrupt cut-off tone, a bitter laugh escaped my lips. Now that things had come to this, did she seriously still think she was doing everything for my sake? Just as I put my phone away, a nurse handed me the emergency treatment bill. The total came to 4,200 dollars. I took the bill and glanced at it. I'd already spent all my savings paying off Mom's previous hospital bills. I was completely broke. Chapter 2 Over the years, I'd devoted my entire life to Wrenley. So, I didn't have any friends to turn to. After she'd stripped me of my position, even the coworkers I used to exchange a few words with had begun distancing themselves from me. I'd called everyone in my contacts, but not a single person was willing to lend me money. I couldn't even get anyone to lend me 40 dollars. Thinking of my mom, who was now lying in the tiny refrigerated compartment at the morgue, I gathered what little hope I had left and called Wrenley. The phone rang over and over, but she never answered. All I heard was the cold automated message. I tried messaging her on social media, but the moment I sent it, a notification popped up saying we were no longer friends. I tightened my grip on my phone. I then composed a text message, telling her to call me as soon as she saw it because I had something urgent to discuss. I kept my eyes glued to my phone, not daring to let my guard down for even a second. I was terrified of missing a single message or call. Just as my battery was about to die, the screen finally lit up. Wrenley's name appeared. I hurriedly answered, feeling hopeful. To my surprise, a drawling male voice came through, and it was dripping with contempt. "Bowen Yaeger, you've got quite a few tricks up your sleeve. The moment you realized using your mom's critical condition as an excuse didn't work, you came up with another one about needing money. Do you really think Wrenley is stupid?" I ignored Martin's sarcastic remarks. I didn't have the time or energy to entertain him, so I immediately told him to put Wrenley on the phone. Hearing that, Martin scoffed. "Forget it. Wrenley isn't going to take your call. She's busy right now. She's taking me to an upscale Fermondian restaurant later. The entrance fee alone is a thousand dollars per person. Someone like you, who lives on plain meals every day, wouldn't understand the finer things in life. "So, I guess I'll just have to enjoy them on your behalf. Did you want to borrow money from Wrenley? Keep dreaming. As long as I'm around, you'll never get what you want. Hmph." With that, he hung up. When I tried calling again, her phone was suddenly unreachable. In a way, Martin was right. I couldn't even afford 4 dollars right now. How could I possibly know what a Fermondian meal costing at least a thousand dollars would taste like? We were both bodyguards, and I was even the team leader. By all rights, my salary should have been higher than Martin's. But in reality, he earned ten times what I did. I only made five thousand dollars a month, while he took home 50 thousand dollars. Perhaps Martin had been special to Wrenley from the moment he'd joined the Quale family. I'd just been too blind to see it. Even when he'd repeatedly picked fights with me, challenged me, and started taking credit for my work in front of everyone, I'd assumed it was an issue with his character. I'd never once suspected there was something more going on. Looking back now, I'd been terribly naive. The nurse's voice gradually pulled me out of my thoughts. "Sir, hospital policy allows a maximum of three days for payment. Please settle the outstanding balance as soon as possible." I clenched the bill in my hand and replied after a long silence, "Got it. I'll pay the full amount within three days." The nurse nodded and walked away. As I was trying to figure out how to raise the money, a notification popped up on my phone, informing me that my property registration had been approved. The moment I saw it, I stumbled to my feet. This was exactly what I desperately needed right now. I'd bought the apartment so Mom could enjoy her retirement there. It was only a tiny studio unit that was barely more than a hundred square feet, but it had the advantage of being near public transportation. Now that Mom was gone, the property no longer served its original purpose. I might as well sell it and use the money to give her a proper funeral. With that thought in mind, I quickly listed the apartment at a low selling price, hoping someone would be interested in it. Before long, a potential buyer contacted me. After arranging a meeting place, I hurried home to retrieve the property certificate. Looking down at the thin sheet of paper in my hands, I couldn't help but feel emotional. It might have been nothing more than a tiny studio apartment, but it was proof of my seven years of hard work. I'd saved every penny little by little from the odd jobs I'd taken on in my spare time. Not a single cent had come from my salary as a bodyguard for the Quale family. Chapter 3 It was almost laughable. After all these years working for the Quale family, I hadn't managed to save a single penny. To make matters worse, Martin had repeatedly slandered me in front of Wrenley. Then, she'd punished me by stripping me of every bonus I was entitled to. I couldn't even hold on to my base salary. Meanwhile, Martin got everything handed to him without lifting a finger. All he had to do was say a few words to Wrenley, and he'd get a luxury apartment overlooking the river and a supercar, which I could never afford even after working my whole life. For a moment, I honestly couldn't tell which one of us her boyfriend was. As time ticked by, I finally met the buyer. Once we'd completed the paperwork, I took the 4,900 dollars and rushed back to the hospital to settle the bill. After that, I contacted the funeral home and paid for the arrangements. By the time everything was settled, I had only 20 dollars left in my pocket. It was already dark by the time I walked out of the funeral home. I lowered my head and looked at the cold urn in my arms. My nose stung, and my eyes began to water. I'd once promised Mom that I'd buy her a spacious home to enjoy for her retirement. Who would've thought she'd end up in this tiny urn instead? My eyes burned, and tears instantly blurred my vision. I'd originally applied for a job with the Quale family because I wanted to ease Mom's financial burden and let her enjoy a comfortable retirement. However, Wrenley had blindly believed Martin's lies and slashed my salary again and again with the excuse of punishing me. Not only had she given him all kinds of special privileges and benefits, but she'd also granted him paid leave. And now, she was even taking him on a private vacation. When I'd confronted her about it, she'd stood her ground and said firmly, "He's arrogant and self-centered. He has no idea how to be considerate of other people's feelings. The only way to change him is to put him in a position of authority and let him run into obstacles. "Once he suffers enough setbacks because of his incompetence, his arrogance will wear off. Only then will he stop talking back to you and learn to follow your instructions." She'd sounded so confident that I'd actually believed her. I'd thought she genuinely had my best interests at heart. But what had happened in the end? Martin hadn't changed one bit. If anything, he'd become even more arrogant. He'd openly challenged me and teamed up with other coworkers to make things difficult for me. To make things worse, he'd even sabotaged my work time and again to prevent me from meeting my targets. I'd reported his behavior to Wrenley countless times, but she'd ignored me every single time. Instead, she'd accused me of lacking foresight and interfering with her plans. Looking back now, it was obvious. All those excuses had been nothing more than a cover for her blatant favoritism toward Martin. I wasn't going to fall for it again. With the last 20 dollars I had, I bought a bus ticket back to my hometown. Then, I carried the urn to the Quale residence to collect the belongings I'd left behind. I'd also decided to hand in my resignation. The only reason I'd stayed in the job all this time was that I didn't want Mom to worry about me. But now that she was gone, there was no reason to keep working there. The six-year relationship I'd shared with Wrenley would be over for good too once I officially ended things with her. As I approached the mansion, I suddenly heard laughter and excited chatter coming from the courtyard. When I walked in, I discovered that Wrenley was setting off fireworks with Martin. The moment I looked up, fireworks burst across the sky, scattering brilliant sparks that illuminated the entire courtyard. I saw Wrenley gazing at Martin affectionately as she handed him a sparkler. Martin, in turn, thoughtfully handed her a glass of water. As I watched them exchange loving looks, I felt my heart clench painfully. It was so intense that I could barely breathe. So, this was what she'd been so busy doing? Spending time setting off fireworks with Martin? It wasn't until a sharp ache spread through my chest that I finally snapped out of it. Just then, Wrenley noticed me. The moment our eyes met, the smile on her face instantly froze. After recovering from her surprise, she frowned and asked, "Why are you back? Shouldn't you be at the hospital taking care of Jasmine at this hour?" She seemed irritated, as though my presence had ruined her evening. Realizing that, I couldn't help the wave of sorrow that washed over me. Now that I'd stumbled upon her having a good time with another guy, she couldn't even be bothered to put on an act to cover it up. I stared at her coldly and replied, "What? Did I interrupt your little date with Martin?" Chapter 4 Hearing my words, Wrenley looked embarrassed and tried to explain. "That's not what I meant. You've got it all wrong." I turned my head away, my gaze falling on the spent fireworks scattered across the ground. Seeing this, she pulled me aside and lowered her voice. "This is all part of my plan. I wasn't actually setting off fireworks with him. I've practically finished putting him in his place. He won't pick fights with you anymore. "But you still need to wait for two more days. Two days from now, I promise I won't disappoint you. Just trust me!" After saying that, she gave me that same confident look, her eyes filled with conviction. Unfortunately for her, I wasn't going to believe her anymore. I replied coldly, "Do your words even mean anything anymore?" She clearly hadn't expected me to talk back. A look of surprise crossed her face. Still, she quickly recovered and shoved a set of car keys into my hand. With a stern expression, she said, "I'm doing all this for your sake, and you still have the nerve to question me? If I weren't trying to get even on your behalf, would I have to spend every day running around and exhausting myself? Just look at how sunburned I've gotten!" As she spoke, she pointed to her noticeably tanned arm, presenting it as proof of all her hard work. I glanced at her arm without saying a word. She was indeed more tanned, but that was because she'd gone surfing with Martin at the beach a few days earlier. When I remained silent, she paused before continuing, "Whether you believe me or not, I'm seeing this plan through to the end. Now, take Martin's car to the dealership for servicing, then pick up the custom cake from the bakery. I've already called them. I'll send you the address in a bit." Just then, Martin's voice rang out from behind us, calling for her. She immediately turned to leave. I stopped her, wanting to bring up my resignation and our breakup. I hadn't even gotten the words out when she impatiently cut me off. "Whatever it is, we can talk about it later. Right now, the most important thing is getting the tasks I've assigned you done!" Seeing the icy look in her eyes, I knew she was angry. She'd always been like this. Whenever I refused to do as she said, she'd give me that exact expression. And if I continued to resist, she'd say I was acting out of line against the rules she set and have me whipped 20 times. She wouldn't stop until I gave in. After everything she'd done for Martin, how could any of that be considered discipline or punishment? It was clearly a reward. She was the only one who refused to admit she was playing favorites and stubbornly continued convincing herself otherwise. I glanced at the car keys in my hand. Somehow, my heart didn't hurt quite as much anymore. Originally, Wrenley had said she wanted to use this supercar as the lead car in our wedding procession. But the moment Martin had casually complimented how cool it looked, she'd given it to him without a second thought. She'd disregarded my objections before swiftly accusing me of being petty and selfish. After I returned with the cake, her expression, which had remained sour all evening, finally softened a little. Before I could bring up breaking up, the butler, Terry Grant, summoned her away. Martin, however, looked at me with undisguised contempt. "What's with that crappy urn you've been carrying around all this time? Don't tell me it's for your sick mother? Are you planning to use that pathetic thing to play the victim and get some attention? "Bowen, even I can see through your lousy acting. Do you think you can fool Wrenley? Beat it and dream on!" His words were followed by a burst of laughter from everyone around us. Several of my coworkers were standing beside him. They immediately joined in. "Exactly! With your pathetic circumstances, how dare you compete with Mr. Chapman for Ms. Quale's attention? If I were you, I'd be so ashamed I'd want to crawl into a hole." "Get that damn thing out of here! It's an eyesore! Take it away. Otherwise, don't blame us for smashing it to pieces!" Listening to these familiar faces hurl such cruel words at me, I couldn't help but feel absolutely disappointed. Back when I was still the team leader, these people had followed me around every day, insisting we were all one big family. But the moment I was stripped of my position, they were the first to distance themselves from me. They'd switched sides almost right away and started sucking up to Martin instead. Chapter 5 Now, they were following Martin around, swaggering in front of me and acting like they owned the place. "What's the matter? Why aren't you moving? Do you expect us to do it for you, former team leader?" Martin looked at me mockingly, deliberately emphasizing the last three words. I clenched my fists. That locker had originally been reserved exclusively for me, but with just one word from Martin, it had been turned into a shared locker. Meanwhile, he had an entire locker to himself, one that was several times larger than mine. Before I could say anything, Martin raised his hand. The few coworkers who had switched sides picked up the urn and threw it to the ground. It hit the floor with a heavy thud before rolling twice toward the wall. Just then, Wrenley suddenly walked over with a darkening expression. "What are you all standing around for? Don't you have work to do?" Instantly, all the onlookers scattered. Seeing Wrenley's displeased expression, Martin quickly shifted the blame onto me. He complained, "I only came over after hearing an argument. I didn't expect to find him trying to put some broken urn he'd brought from God knows where into the shared locker. I heard from the others that it's an urn for someone's ashes. It's no wonder the others had a problem with him putting it in there." Hearing this, Wrenley glanced at the urn. A slight hint of hesitation flashed across her eyes. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke. "You really shouldn't keep something like that in the shared locker. Just put it in the corner for now. Make sure it's kept far away." As she spoke, she grimaced slightly in disgust. She then leaned over and whispered something to Martin. He shot me a smug look before walking away. Once Wrenley was sure Martin was gone, she took out her phone and transferred 200 dollars to me. She then said, "Use this money to buy Jasmine some supplements. I'll go visit her at the hospital in a couple of days. Even if you're preparing for her funeral, you shouldn't settle for such a cheap urn. I've been paying you such a generous salary. Where have you been spending all your money?" Where had I been spending it? More than half of the five thousand dollars she'd given me had gone toward buying her all kinds of gifts. Another portion had been deducted through baseless fines all because of Martin. By the time I got my pay, there was barely anything left. And now, she had the nerve to ask where it had all gone. The sheer absurdity of it was laughable! If it hadn't been for Mom's wish to see me get married and my desire to build a happy life with Wrenley, I would never have endured so much humiliation or watched her take Martin's side time and time again. Now that Mom was gone, it was time to end this little game she'd been playing under the guise of love. With that in mind, I looked straight into her eyes and said, "Wrenley, let's break up." Just then, a deafening boom suddenly erupted outside. Fireworks exploded across the sky, forming the words, "Happy Birthday!" My expression darkened. Ignoring Wrenley's shocked reaction, I continued, "This relationship should have ended a long time ago. You don't need to keep making excuses to deceive me anymore. You're free to treat Martin however you want, openly and without hiding it." Once Wrenley recovered from her shock, she snapped, "What kind of tantrum are you throwing now? Is this because I didn't go see Jasmine? She was fine at the hospital anyway. Besides, you were there taking care of her, weren't you?" "Haven't I told you countless times? This is all part of my plan! I've been doing everything for your sake since the beginning. I haven't had a single selfish motive. Why can't you understand that? Not only do you refuse to understand me, but you're even breaking up with me to threaten me! "How could you even have the heart to do that?" Have the heart? She was the one who had no heart! My conscience was absolutely clear. The pendant Mom had given her might not have been worth much, but it had held Mom's heartfelt affection for her. Yet, Wrenley had casually given it away to Martin. She hadn't cared about the sentiment behind it at all. Thinking of this, I replied coldly, "If you truly are doing all this for my sake, then let's break up. Starting today, we're done. We'll go our separate ways." The moment I finished speaking, Wrenley lifted her hand and slapped me twice across the face. Her eyes reddened as she began to speak in an icy voice. Chapter 6 Wrenley fumed, "Fine! If you don't trust me, then let's break up! You'd better not regret this in the future!" Just then, Terry rushed in, looking frantic. "Ms. Quale, something terrible happened! Mr. Chapman accidentally injured his hand while setting off fireworks. You need to hurry..." Before Terry could finish, Wrenley had already disappeared through the doorway. How could she still have the nerve to claim she had no selfish motives? I placed my resignation letter inside the locker. Then, I picked up the badly cracked urn from the floor and walked out. The moment I reached the courtyard, I noticed several ambulances parked at the entrance. I froze in surprise. One of the bodyguards watching the scene sighed and said, "Ms. Quale really spoils Mr. Chapman. It was just a minor scrape, but she still pulled strings to get all these medical personnel here." "I've been working here for years, and this is the first time I've ever seen anything like this." "Tell me about it. Wouldn't surprise me if he ends up being the boss' husband someday..." Just as I reached the entrance, someone suddenly crashed into me from behind. The urn in my arms flew out of my hands. Wrenley rushed past me in a panic and accidentally stepped right on the urn. In her hurry, she crushed it beneath her foot. She frowned as she looked at the urn that was now shattered into pieces. The ashes were scattered across her shoe. A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes. Before she could voice her confusion, Martin let out an exaggerated cry of pain beside her. Baring his teeth like he was hurting, he exclaimed, "Wrenley, this is just another one of his pathetic tricks to get attention. That urn is obviously fake. Don't fall for it. If it were truly meant for his mother, why would he use such a cheap, shoddy container for the ashes?" After hearing that, Wrenley's words of concern turned into a reprimand. "Get rid of this eyesore on the ground right now! Don't let it dirty my floors! Instead of wasting your time messing around with this junk, you should be spending more time at the hospital with Jasmine!" With that, she hurriedly helped Martin into the car. The entire group drove away in a grand procession. As I looked at Mom's scattered ashes on the ground, my nose began to sting. I was just about to gather them when enormous raindrops suddenly pelted onto my face. Within seconds, a heavy rain came pouring down. The ashes were instantly soaked, and much of them began washing away with the rainwater. I dropped to my knees and desperately tried to gather the scattered ashes with both hands. To my dismay, the rain only grew heavier. I struggled frantically to salvage what I could, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't gather them faster than the rain washed them away. In the end, I managed to recover only a small portion. After picking up the shattered pieces of the urn, I left the Quale residence with a broken heart. With that, I boarded the bus back to my hometown. ... Meanwhile, Wrenley watched the rain growing heavier outside the window as she spent the entire night at the hospital keeping Martin company. Only after the attending physician assured her that his injuries weren't serious did she finally breathe a sigh of relief. She then took Martin out to celebrate by booking an entire restaurant for the occasion. It was only after that that she reluctantly returned home. The moment she stepped inside, a maid who was cleaning the house handed her the resignation letter I'd left behind. She read it in confusion, and her expression immediately darkened. She hadn't expected me to actually go through with it. At that moment, a sudden heaviness settled in her chest. Martin leaned over and spotted the resignation letter. He looked delighted when he saw it, but he quickly adjusted his features and put on an apologetic expression. He lamented, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so competitive and taken his position as team leader, he wouldn't have resigned. If I'd known things would turn out this way, I never should have..." Before Martin could finish, Wrenley interrupted him and comforted him. "This has nothing to do with you. You're exceptional. Bowen is just selfish and petty. He's unable to accept that someone else might be better than him. Don't say such things ever again, okay?" As soon as she finished speaking, Terry hurried in, flustered and out of breath. "Something terrible has happened, Ms. Quale! We just received word that Mr. Yaeger's mother has passed away! Also, Mr. Yaeger has already left. He took a bus out of town!"