Harem Tycoon System

Chapter 2: The Spinning Wheel of Life

Lucas Greystone slammed his foot on the gas pedal, the roar of his sports car engine cutting through the silence of the night. Heavy rain blurred his windshield, turning the streetlights into streaks of light in his bloodshot, drunken eyes. Fresh blood trickled from his temple, mixing with sweat and raindrops seeping through the cracked car window.

His face was a mess after a fight at a nightclub. The brawl had started when one of his gambling opponents accused him of cheating. Drunk out of his mind, Lucas threw the first punch. The result? He got beaten to a pulp and lost the money he was supposed to use to pay off his debt.

"Damn it!" he growled, slamming his fist against the steering wheel in frustration. His left hand trembled as he tried to keep the car steady, while his right hand fumbled for the half-empty bottle of liquor on the passenger seat.

But his mind wasn’t on the road. Instead, it was flooded with images of his wife, Caroline, and his soon-to-be five-year-old daughter, Emma. Not happy memories—only painful ones. Caroline screaming as he slammed his fist on the dinner table, Emma crying behind the couch, the sound of the door slamming as Caroline finally walked out on him.

*

Lucas had once been the promising heir to Greystone Corporation, a company built by his grandfather and passed down to his father. But the family’s luck seemed to run out with the second generation. When Lucas took over, the company started crumbling. Bad business decisions, a reckless lifestyle, and a gambling addiction drove it to bankruptcy in just five years.

From a young billionaire everyone respected, Lucas became a loser drowning in debt. His grand mansion was sold, his luxury cars were auctioned off, and the so-called friends who always surrounded him disappeared one by one.

The only ones left were Caroline and Emma. But Lucas destroyed that, too. He got drunk almost every night, took out his frustration on Caroline, and lashed out whenever Emma tried to come near him.

"I hate what you’ve become, Lucas!" Caroline’s voice echoed in his head. "If you don’t change, I’m leaving. And this time, I’m never coming back!"

But Lucas never changed. He sank deeper into his vices, ignoring Caroline’s warnings until, one day, she actually left, taking Emma with her.

*

That night, Lucas had just lost big at the gambling table. He walked out of the club with a bruised face, a body covered in cuts, and a head full of rage. He knew the debt collectors wouldn’t give him much time.

"Damn it! Life really sucks," he muttered, downing the last drops of his liquor.

His car sped through the pouring rain. In the distance, the red light at an intersection flickered, but Lucas didn’t care. He kept his foot on the gas, convinced that nothing worse could happen to him that night.

He was wrong.

Out of nowhere, a young man darted onto the road, drenched from head to toe. Lucas gasped, hands shaking as he yanked the steering wheel to avoid him.

Too late.

A sickening thud echoed as the man’s body was thrown into the air before crashing onto the asphalt. Lucas lost control of the car, skidding straight into a lamppost.

The car came to a jarring halt, its front end completely wrecked. Lucas was pinned behind the wheel, his chest and legs trapped, gasping for air. Blood streamed down his forehead, his vision blurring.

In that critical moment, his life flashed before his eyes, playing like an old film reel.

He saw himself in the past, standing tall in the grand hall of Greystone Corporation, giving his first speech as CEO. People admired him. He felt invincible.

But that image quickly morphed into another—stacks of legal documents piling up on his desk, phones ringing endlessly from creditors, and divorce papers signed by Caroline.

Caroline’s face appeared in his mind, followed by Emma’s terrified eyes. He remembered how his daughter cried every time he yelled at Caroline and how he once shoved Caroline so hard she fell to the floor.

"Daddy, stop!" Emma’s voice pierced through his thoughts, shattering his heart.

Lucas wept inside. He knew he was a terrible husband and a worse father. He had ruined everything with his own hands. He had no one to blame but himself.

If only he had a second chance...

His breaths grew shallow, his blood pooling around him. With the last bit of strength he had, he whispered a desperate prayer.

"If I get another chance to live... I want to fix everything," his voice was hoarse. "I want to apologize to Caroline... to Emma... I want to be a better father, a better husband..."

The rain kept pouring, drumming against the shattered windshield, as the flickering streetlights bore silent witness to that tragic night.

Lucas’s body grew weaker, his vision dimming. The last thing he saw was Caroline and Emma—two people he loved the most but had hurt the deepest.

With his final breath, he wished his prayer would be heard. That he would be given a second chance to make things right.

Lucas clung to the last sliver of consciousness as he lay trapped in the wreckage. His vision was failing, but through the pain, he heard his phone buzzing on the dashboard.

With trembling fingers, he reached for it before it slipped away. The cracked screen showed a name that made his heart clench—Emma.

A new message popped up, short but powerful.

"Daddy, I’ve been waiting at home. I want to blow out my birthday candles with you. Mommy said you’d come. Please hurry home, Daddy!"

Lucas stared at the message, his eyes welling up. His body shook, not just from the pain but from the overwhelming regret crushing him.

Emma. His little girl. She should’ve been laughing on her birthday, not waiting in hope for a father who always let her down.

Tears mixed with the blood on his face. "Emma... I’m so sorry," he whispered, his voice barely audible.

Time seemed to slow. That message was a slap in the face, reminding him of everything he had destroyed—including the chance to be the father Emma deserved.

But that night, fate had already made its choice. Lucas, with his daughter’s message in hand, slowly slipped into unconsciousness, lost in the darkness of regret and prayers left unanswered.