“Alright then. I’ll be your mentor–in business and in life. Don’t worry, all my resources are yours.” Edward’s gaze was gentle, like he was watching to see how this little fledgling would grow strong.
“Deal. As for the prenup, two years is plenty of time to sort that out. Right now, I’m not even thinking about it. I knew I had to build myself up first–only then could I enjoy love with no strings attached."
“Victoria, I really misjudged you. Here I was thinking you’d just settle for being my perfect Mrs. Jennings,” Edward said, giving me a dramatic, wounded look.
“Oh, by the way, Jane Leigh messaged me a couple days ago. She said you go for women like me—same kind of vibe as your mom. Makes me wonder if she still has a thing for you,” I said out of nowhere.
Edward’s brows drew together, his tone serious. “If I told you she doesn’t really want me to truly love anyone, would you believe it?”
“Why?” I asked, surprised.
“No real reason. After a divorce, people just hope their ex doesn’t end up better off than them. That’s just how people are,” Edward said with a helpless sigh.
“Oh. Makes sense,” I replied.
Now that Nora was all better and back in class, Edward and I decided it was time to head back to the country.
High above the clouds, Edward pressed me into the corner of the bed. In that moment, it felt like our souls and bodies finally clicked, perfectly in tune with each other.
When we touched down in Shaville, I made up my mind–this city was going to be the base for my future career.
Walking out of the airport, Edward went over all the ideas I’d brought up and even introduced me to all the up-and-coming industries and the next big things he knew about. But I decided to stick with what I was already familiar with. As for finance, tech, new energy, or things like Bitcoin–I wasn’t ready to mess with any of that just yet.
Edward didn’t bat an eye at the three industries I picked, and he didn’t try to talk me out of it either.
Over the next five days in Shaville, I registered my own company. I took a 55% stake, with Edward investing the other 45%. Now that I was officially the boss, I jumped right into recruiting my dream team.
With Edward backing me up, we handpicked a few stellar managers in just a week. Each one had a killer resume and an uncanny instinct for the business.
Once the three managers joined, I sweetened the deal with equity and profit-sharing. That lit a fire under them, and they threw themselves into the work.
I made time to head back to Hachester to catch up with Yvonne over dinner. I didn’t mention anything about starting my own company. Jared kept asking about my plans for the future, and he warned me not to become a full-time housewife again–he said that path would get me nowhere and just wear me down.
Back in Shaville, Edward had been by my side for a whole month. Unless he had urgent business back in the United Kingdom, he was always here, working alongside me and getting involved in every part of the company.
By day, I learned the ropes of management from him; by night, we got intimately acquainted with each other - let’s just say we were living life with zero shame or reservations.
Edward was pretty insatiable when it came to bedroom stuff, and every time he left me satisfied, my mind would wander back to that night I showed up at Jared’s door in my pajamas.
Whenever those memories hit, I’d end up chasing that old sense of emptiness with Edward. He always managed to fill it, and honestly, I felt like someone with a dark side, secretly trying to patch up the holes left by my past.
Edward had no clue about my little game, but he was hooked too, totally lost in it with me.
By August, just two months in, our company had already invested in dozens of projects, and our team had grown to nearly a hundred people.
Voyage Inc. was officially established, with me at the helm as both director and general manager.