He Favored Her So I Took My Patent To His Rival Chapter 01

He Favored Her So I Took My Patent To His Rival Chapter 01

The moment I saw the presiding judge was Silas Blackwood, I knew I had already lost this billion-dollar patent case.

Seated at the defense table was the woman who had been the secret longing in his heart for the past ten years.

Sure enough, Silas dismissed all my claims in court, citing “insufficient evidence.”

When the court adjourned, that woman walked over to me with a smile.

“How pitiful. You can’t win against me in court, and you’ll never win his heart either. Back then, my mother had yours thrown out with nothing, and today, I’ll make sure you’re completely ruined in this industry.”

I looked up at Silas, who was adjusting his judge’s robe on the bench, and a wave of disgust washed over me.

Right there, in front of every media camera in the room, I tore up my appeal.

I was dropping the case.

I took my latest core technology and signed it directly with Silas’s biggest rival.

***

The sound of the gavel crashing down hit my heart like a weight, sending a sharp ache through my entire body.

“After deliberation by the collegiate bench, the chain of evidence submitted by the plaintiff, Oaklynn Thorne, is insufficient to support the claims. The court hereby rules to dismiss all of the plaintiff’s requests.”

Silas’s voice was as cold and steady as ever, devoid of any emotion. Just like the man himself.

My lawyer slammed his hand on the table right then. “Your Honor, the plaintiff has submitted thirty-seven original-source tracing reports for the preliminary manuscripts!”

Silas lifted his gaze, his eyes brushing past my lawyer’s face like he was swatting away a speck of dust. “The forensic lab’s qualifications are in question. The court declines to admit the evidence.”

Just like that, with one remark, half a year of gathering evidence was rendered utterly worthless.

I looked up, my gaze cutting through the cold courtroom to land on his handsome, unfeeling face.

We’d been married for three years, sharing the same bed for more than a thousand nights. Yet right now, he looked at me with more indifference than he would a stranger.

But I remembered that winter two years ago. He’d worked late into the night and come home to find me asleep on the couch. He’d bent down to carry me to bed, pressed a kiss to my forehead, and whispered, “Silly girl, you didn’t have to wait up.”

Back then, there had been light in his eyes.

That light had probably started fading the moment Leah Willman came back to the country.

At the defense table, a smug smile tugged at Leah’s lips, the provocation in her eyes almost spilling over.

She was Silas’s childhood sweetheart, the woman he’d cherished for ten years.

And I? I was just the convenient wife he’d married after weighing the pros and cons.

“Court adjourned.”

With that, Silas turned and walked toward the back of the courtroom.

As he passed me, his steps faltered for a split second, like he’d habitually wanted to say something.

But in the end, nothing came. He just walked straight off without looking back.

Reporters swarmed forward, flashes bursting in front of my eyes, stinging them.

“Ms. Thorne, do you have any comments on the verdict?”

“Will you file an appeal?”

Before I could even open my mouth, a delicate, graceful figure pushed her way to the front and planted herself right in front of me.

Leah gave me a radiant, triumphant smile. “How pitiful. You can’t win against me in court, and you’ll never win his heart either.

She leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “Back then, my mother had yours thrown out with nothing, and today, I’ll make sure you’re completely ruined in this industry.”

The blood in my veins seemed to freeze solid.

Through the crowd, I watched Silas calmly, unhurriedly straightening the judge’s robe that symbolized fairness and justice.

His movements were elegant and refined, as if the farce of a trial that had just taken place was nothing more than brushing a speck of dust off his sleeve.

Ten years of devotion, three years of marriage.

For him, I had willingly given up my status as a top-tier inheritor of intangible cultural heritage. I set aside my craft, stepped into the kitchen, and became the quiet, unassuming woman behind his success.

In return, he and his precious Leah had joined forces to grind my dignity into the dirt.

A wave of overwhelming nausea surged through me.

I pushed away the microphones in front of me and took the already prepared appeal from my lawyer’s hand.

Under the shocked stares of every reporter, I said not a word as I tore it into pieces, page by page.

Shreds of paper fell like snow, burying my ridiculous love and my last shred of hope.

“I’m dropping the case.”

With that, I turned and walked resolutely toward the gallery.

Seated quietly there was Adriel Reynolds, known as the “Devil of the Legal World,” and Silas’s long-time archrival.

I pulled another document from my bag. Inside was my latest, most foundational core technology authorization.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I walked over and handed it directly to him. “Mr. Reynolds, I’m authorizing this technology to you.”

Just then, Silas stepped out from the back of the courtroom. The moment he saw what was happening, his brow furrowed deeply.

He probably thought I was just throwing a tantrum. In his usual arrogant tone, he warned me publicly, “Oaklynn, this is a courtroom, not a place for your childish outbursts. Watch your behavior.”

I stared at him, the pain and love in my eyes fading away, leaving only unmasked disgust.