My Husband Dared Me to Take a Lover of My Own to Match His Mistress—He Never Imagined I’d Walk Out and Come Back as the Majority Shareholder Who Owned His Company

PART 4: THE TAKEOVER

Preston took the divorce agreement to his corporate lawyers. The deal was essentially 80% finalized.

When I finally had a moment to check my phone, I saw I had been hit with another barrage of texts.

Where are you? Are you at the office? Are you busy? What was so urgent you had to leave so early? Why didn’t you wake me? I wanted to have breakfast with you. Are you trying to dodge responsibility?!

[Crying Kitten Meme.jpg]

I snapped a picture of the smashed ‘Cuckold’ mug on my floor and sent it. I woke up early to give a gift.

The Crown Prince replied: Epic.

Preston’s company was suffering a severe capital deficit. One of his senior executives had embezzled a massive amount of funds. Once this leaked, his company would be on the brink of bankruptcy. Legacy businesses might have strong foundations, but they couldn’t survive nepotism. That executive was related to Preston, so he didn’t dare turn him in. He could only secretly try to plug the financial hole.

I was afraid if I pushed Preston too hard, he would get desperate and drag me down with him.

During the mandatory 30-day cooling-off period for the divorce, I stayed in the house and went to work normally. The only difference was that Preston, trying to spite me, moved Audrey into the house.

The two of them acted sickly sweet in front of me every day. Occasionally, my eyes would drift to Audrey’s lower stomach. It had been over a month, and she still wasn’t showing. Every time she caught me looking, she avoided my gaze. I knew she still hadn’t worked up the courage to tell Preston she was pregnant.

The day the cooling-off period ended was beautiful and sunny. I rode in Preston’s car to the courthouse.

During the agonizingly long wait at a red light, the silence in the car was suffocating. Preston suddenly spoke, stripping away his usual antagonism and sarcasm.

“Victoria. If I hadn’t looked for anyone else from the very beginning, could we have made it?”

Honestly, Preston and I did have a period that could be called “perfect”—maybe for three months, or even less. I didn’t remember clearly. After the first woman, there was an endless parade of mistresses.

The first time I caught him, after he sobered up, he just smiled at me, as gentle as ever. “Victoria, I hope you don’t say things that ruin my mood.”

I looked at him, smiled, and suppressed the wavering in my heart. I didn’t ask who the woman was, nor did I ask why he did it. I just said, “Don’t drink too much; it’s bad for your health.”

Maybe people only start to feel nostalgic when they’re about to lose something. It wasn’t true regret. If given the choice again, he would do exactly the same thing.

I didn’t answer his question.

The moment I held the red-stamped divorce decree in my hand, my heart completely relaxed.

As we walked out the doors, Preston’s footsteps faltered.

“Victoria…”

“Yes?” I asked, looking back.

Preston froze. I smiled at him. “You’re right. If you hadn’t looked for anyone else, if it had just been the two of us, we definitely would have grown old together. Maybe we would have had a brilliant daughter who would inherit our companies. We would have been relaxed, wealthy retirees traveling the world. Maybe at the end of our lives, when we were both old and gray, we would have looked at each other peacefully and promised to find each other in the next life.”

I took a step forward, my eyes curving into a smile. I reached out and touched Preston’s tie, adjusting it for him just like I did when we were newlyweds.

Preston’s expression wavered deeply. “Victoria…”

“But you couldn’t do it.”

I stepped back, dodging the hand he raised to touch me, staring at him coldly. “You couldn’t do it, Preston. I know you too well. You are rotten, selfish, arrogant, promiscuous, and irresponsible, yet you always act so righteous and dignified. That’s why I had to divorce you.”

I gave a faint smile. “Have fun. Now that we’re divorced, you’ll finally see the truly vicious, cold-blooded face of your ex-wife.”

Preston took a step forward, reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind my ear, his voice dark and venomous. “Victoria, people like you will never, ever possess anyone’s true heart.”

An ex-lover bowing his head to whisper the most toxic curse in the most intimate tone.

But who cared? Losing love was like a fish losing a bicycle—it didn’t affect me in the slightest.

Just then, an obnoxious car horn blared from the street. I turned around. The Crown Prince was sitting in a custom sports car, looking incredibly annoyed.

I took a step back, waved at Preston, and offered my most sincere farewell. “Goodbye forever.”

When I got into the car, Nathaniel leaned over to buckle my seatbelt like a machine. The young man’s neck was tense, and he adamantly refused to look at me.

I opened my mouth and lightly bit his cheek.

The Crown Prince jumped, nearly hitting his head on the roof, his ears burning red. “Are you coaxing me?”

I laughed. “Are you jealous?”

The Crown Prince’s voice reeked of vinegar. “You’re divorced and you’re still tying his tie for him.”

I kissed his cheek. “Relax. I’ve been over him for eight lifetimes.”

Nathaniel looked up at me with eager expectation, looking exactly like a puppy who was secretly throwing a tantrum but was incredibly clingy to its owner.

I pulled out my phone and called Preston’s biggest corporate rival. I had promised Preston I wouldn’t tell the media, but whether someone else tipped them off was entirely out of my control.

The news about Preston’s company exploded. Rumors of his impending bankruptcy spread everywhere. Preston was drowning in crises, but he stubbornly refused to admit defeat.

Until one afternoon, Mr. Brooks knocked on my office door, his face glowing. “Ms. Sterling, they’ve started issuing new shares.”

The fish had taken the bait.

People you don’t want to see again usually don’t say goodbye.

At the first shareholder meeting after Preston’s company barely survived the public backlash, the boardroom was impeccably clean and bright. Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, you could see the rushing crowds below. I admired the view for a moment, then sighed. “The world really is just a giant rat race.”

The Crown Prince, who insisted on wearing a face mask and a baseball cap to follow me, muttered, “I’ll go buy you a coffee later.”

Footsteps echoed outside the door as the shareholders entered one by one. When the final set of footsteps echoed down the hall, it sounded so familiar. Just like years ago, before we were married, whenever he heard I had come to visit his office, he would walk with that exact hurried pace.

The secretary outside whispered, “Mr. Hayes, the person sitting at the head of the table is the new majority shareholder, the one who orchestrated the buyout.”

The leather executive chair swiveled, making a soft noise against the thick carpet. I turned around, placed both hands on the mahogany table, and calmly looked at the utterly stunned Preston.

“Long time no see, Preston. Didn’t expect us to reunite this quickly, did you?”

Preston’s face looked like it was about to shatter. When we shook hands, he gripped with ninety percent of his strength. I didn’t hold back either; my fresh acrylic manicure did the vicious work for me.

The meeting did not go smoothly, largely because I dedicated all my energy to finding every single flaw in Preston’s operations. And I couldn’t be blamed—his company was riddled with holes. Several times, Preston nearly lost his composure under my relentless questioning. The darker his face got, the better my mood became.

When the meeting ended, the shareholders filed out. Someone tried to approach me for a chat, but Preston intercepted them. His tall frame blocked my path.

Preston looked down, his eyes dark, his face so black it looked like ink. “Victoria, you are despicable and shameless.”

I stopped the Crown Prince from lunging forward behind me, and calmly brushed a nonexistent speck of dust off Preston’s shoulder.

“Preston,” I tutted reprovingly. “You’re wrong about that. How can business be called despicable and shameless?”

I smiled at him, my eyes ice-cold. “If you couldn’t protect your company, don’t blame others. The business world is ruthless, surrounded by wolves. Who knows which one will bite you from behind when they see a piece of fat meat?”

“I told you, I’m a businesswoman.”

Leaving Preston’s corporate building, the moment I got into the car, I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure at the main entrance.

My hand was lifted by someone. The Crown Prince took off his cap, his bangs slightly messy. He lowered his head, holding a sanitizing wipe, and meticulously cleaned my fingers one by one.

Outside the car window, a beauty crying like a rain-soaked blossom was being blocked by security at the entrance. Audrey looked much more haggard, but even so, she possessed a fragile beauty, like she was about to shatter.

“Please, let me in! I just want to say a few words to Mr. Hayes, I won’t take long!”

Her beautiful face was streaked with tears, but the guards were unmoved. “Miss, without authorization, we can’t let you in.”

Audrey looked like she was about to drop to her knees when the automatic doors slid open. Preston walked out, looking utterly gloomy.

Audrey froze for a second, then lunged toward him. “Preston! Why won’t you see me? Did I do something wrong?”

The guards quickly restrained her. Preston stood in place, his gaze sweeping over her face, impossibly cold. “I don’t want to see her at the entrance of my company again.”

“Preston, please don’t be like this! I’m pregnant with your child!”

Preston’s expression didn’t change at all. “If you’re pregnant, abort it. Of course, if you want to be a single mother, that’s up to you.”

Audrey looked as if the last ounce of her strength had been drained. She stopped struggling and stared blankly as Preston got into his car and drove away, leaving her standing there alone, looking completely devastated.

I watched the end of the drama, then rolled up my window. “Let’s go.”

When the car stopped in front of my own corporate building, I reached to unbuckle my seatbelt but was stopped by a hand. Someone leaned over and pressed a gentle but resolute kiss against my lips. The hand holding mine enveloped it completely.

A warm ring slid onto my ring finger.

When we parted, the Crown Prince’s ears were as pink as jade. I spread my fingers to admire the matching couple’s ring declaring ownership.

The Crown Prince blushed, looking like a kid protecting a piece of candy. “You can’t just make me follow you around without giving me a title, right?”

I tilted my head, admiring his flawless face, and smiled. “Aren’t you afraid? Aren’t you afraid I’ll just go find someone else?”

“Your Highness, businesspeople value profit and think little of partings.” Nathaniel looked straight into my eyes, not avoiding them at all. My small reflection was mirrored in his pupils. He let out a soft laugh and calmly asked back, “Would you do that?”

“Hard to say. My morals are very flexible. They adapt to the situation.”

“Then what should I do?” The Crown Prince lowered his voice. “Seems troubling. Good thing I have a lot, a lot of money.”

“You really are too cute.” I couldn’t help but laugh, my eyes crinkling. I held the young man’s hand. On his slender, elegant finger, a matching ring sparkled brilliantly.

I leaned down and kissed the ring. “I suppose I have no choice but to offer myself to you.”

EPILOGUE: NATHANIEL’S SECRET

When Nathaniel was in the eighth grade, his friends dragged him to the stadium to watch the high school track and field meet.

The final of the women’s 800-meter dash was fiercely competitive. A crowd cheered wildly around the finish line. Amidst the deafening roar, one name stood out vibrantly: Victoria.

Nathaniel asked his friend, “Who is Victoria?”

His friend pointed to the girl leading the pack. “That’s her.”

“You don’t know her? She’s always in the top three of her grade, she’s in the student council, she’s gorgeous, and she has a great personality.”

The girl in the lead was getting closer to the finish line. Nathaniel looked up, and under the sunlight, he met eyes filled with a radiant smile. Her ponytail swayed with her stride, and her face was flushed red from the heat. A honey peach. The image of the fruit unconsciously popped into Nathaniel’s head.

The girl sprinted across the finish line, unable to brake in time, and crashed straight into the person in front of her. Nathaniel reflexively reached out his arms. A strong force knocked him backward, but thankfully, the precious 800-meter champion landed safely in his arms.

The soft, warm sensation against his chest was even more acute than the scrape on his elbow. In that moment of soaring body temperature, the only thought in Nathaniel’s mind was the scent of camellias.

Nathaniel rarely dreamed, so when he woke up in bed, he was almost terrified into a cold sweat. The content of the dream wasn’t scary; in fact, it could be considered romantic. The soaring thoughts of a teenage boy touching the boundaries of puberty for the first time.

In the dream, that girl held his hand as they walked through the park. In the second before he woke up, the girl laughed, nestled into his chest, and looked up to press a soft kiss against his dimple. The sunlight filtering through the leaves illuminated her face—it was Victoria’s face.

The consequence of a body entering puberty before the mind was that the moment he regained consciousness, he saw the “flagpole” standing tall to greet him. Nathaniel covered his face with his hands, cursing himself for being filthy.

Despicable. For the first time, the proud, wealthy young master absolutely despised himself.

On his twenty-first birthday, Nathaniel was tricked by his awful friends into going to a club. Seeing the room full of beautiful girls, he realized he’d been set up. He finally managed to use the excuse of going to the bathroom to escape.

In the hallway, he was blocked by a girl confessing her love. Over twenty years of impeccable upbringing forced him to suppress his annoyance and politely decline.

He was holding his phone, listening to the person on the other end babble, when his waist was suddenly embraced from behind. The scent of camellias bloomed, stimulating every one of the young man’s senses. The voice that fell by his ear carried a hint of the weariness of time, yet was as familiar as an old friend he had just spoken to yesterday.

His heart pounded so hard it felt like two bodybuilders were beating drums inside his chest.

The person behind him, breathing a scent as sweet as orchids, whispered, “Don’t worry, Mr. Vance. I’m not like those other girls. I’m a married woman.”

The little deer that had been dormant in his heart for years nearly killed itself headbutting his ribcage.

The Crown Prince was inexperienced, but he was young, passionate, possessed endless stamina, and had an intense possessiveness.

In the dark room with no lights on, there was only the tangled, heavy breathing of the two of them. His face was suddenly lifted by someone.

Victoria looked at him, her hair spread across the pristine white sheets. The moonlight from the window fell into her eyes, where physiological tears dampened her eyelashes.

Victoria looked at him, her eyes brimming with a smile. “Are you a dog?”

Nathaniel unconsciously remembered a nursery rhyme from his childhood: ‘The little puppy paints plum blossoms.’

A remarkably soft chuckle escaped the young man’s throat. He lowered his head and kissed the space between her eyebrows, bringing a tingling itch.

The scent of camellias filled his senses.

She asked teasingly, and Nathaniel answered incredibly seriously.

“I could be.”