After I Become the CEO, My Heiress Ex Proposed to Me

Chapter 8

Victoria Windsor was the only daughter of the Windsor family.

Back then, she gave up her career in our home country to follow me overseas.

Now that her parents were getting older, I suggested we return to build our lives there.

Her eyes sparkled as she nodded, and the very next day, she handed me a meticulously crafted business proposal.

"Knew you wouldn't want to rely on me," she teased, poking my forehead.

"These resources are all vetted—feel free to use them."

Warmth flooded my chest, and from then on, my days were filled with school runs for our daughter and preparations for the new company.

That peaceful routine shattered one weekend when my college class monitor called.

"Vincent, you have to come to the reunion!" His tone brooked no argument.

"About what happened back then... everyone regrets it."

My grip on the steering wheel tightened.

Midway through the drive, a woman suddenly darted into the road, waving me down.

Her hands were smeared with grease, and behind her sat a luxury car with a flat tire.

"Could I borrow some tools?"

The moment she turned, my breath caught—Sophia Reynolds.

Recognition flashed in her eyes, her lashes trembling, but she forced a smile.

"What a coincidence."

Silently, I retrieved the toolbox.

Her movements were clumsy as she changed the tire, her gaze flickering to me every few seconds.

Sunlight stretched her shadow long, nearly tangling with my feet.

"Done."

As she returned the tools, her fingers suddenly closed around my wrist.

"Vincent, give me five minutes."

Under the shade of a tree, her voice wavered.

"I uncovered the truth. The plagiarism scandal, the knife wounds... all orchestrated by my father and Justin Chambers."

She frantically swiped through her phone gallery.

"Look at the evidence—"

"Does it matter?" I cut her off.

"Even if it was a setup, you were the one who wavered."

Her face drained of color.

"You had the means to investigate back then. Why didn't you?"

I held her gaze.

"Because when Justin showed up, you hesitated."

Sophia staggered back, tears splattering the pavement.

"I admit I lost my head then... but these seven years, I've regretted it every day. Vincent, I've only ever loved you—"

"Too late."

I turned toward the car.

"There's someone I need to protect now."

In the rearview mirror, her crumpled figure on the asphalt grew smaller.

I dialed the class monitor.

"Something came up. I can't make it."

That night, after I confessed the encounter, Victoria narrowed her eyes.

"Sophia Reynolds? The ex who drove you to alcohol poisoning?"

Suddenly, she shoved me onto the sofa, nipping my earlobe.

"Seems I haven't been thorough enough..."

The next morning, I woke with an aching back to sunlight spilling across the bed.

Victoria hummed in the kitchen, an apron tied around her waist.

Spotting me, she flashed a sly grin.

"Honey, sunny-side up or over easy?"

Two months later, financial news broke: Reynolds Group had filed for bankruptcy.

I swiped past the photo of Sophia in handcuffs and tapped Delete.

Another half-year passed when Victoria burst into the study, waving a pregnancy test.

Fumbling to catch her, I felt my pulse roar in my ears.

"Gently!" She smacked my shaking hands away, but her eyes shone like constellations.

"This time, you're staying with me through every contraction."

Outside, magnolias bloomed in the garden where our daughter chased butterflies.

As I kissed my wife, the sweetness on her lips tasted like destiny's gift.