CEO Handed a Single Dad a Wedding Invitation—Then Whispered, “You’re the Groom”
Chapter 6
The night before the wedding, I barely slept.
Security surrounded the house.
Victoria moved Lily to the Sterling estate.
She stayed with us.
Not as a CEO.
Not as a bride.
As someone who was terrified she might lose control of the situation.
At 2:00 a.m., I found her standing on the balcony.
“You’re awake.”
“So are you.”
She looked at the city.
“I keep thinking about my father.”
“What about him?”
“He knew all of this was coming.”
“Maybe he tried to stop it.”
“Maybe.”
She turned toward me.
“Do you ever wish you had never met me?”
I thought for a moment.
“Yes.”
She looked hurt.
I continued.
“Sometimes.”
She nodded.
“That makes sense.”
“Because everything was easier before you.”
She looked away.
“But it was also emptier.”
She looked back.
I smiled.
“I don’t regret meeting you.”
She took a breath.
“Neither do I.”
There was a long silence.
Then she said,
“My father had one more secret.”
“What?”
“He didn’t trust Richard.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“He didn’t trust anyone in the family.”
“What does that mean?”
“He left me a separate instruction.”
She handed me a letter.
I read it.
Victoria,
If you choose to marry, do not marry for the company. Marry someone who would choose you if the company disappeared.
I looked at her.
“That sounds impossible.”
She smiled sadly.
“That’s what I thought.”
“What did you choose?”
She looked directly at me.
“You.”
I couldn’t speak.
“Before the wedding,” she continued, “I need to ask you one thing.”
“What?”
“If tomorrow you decide you don’t want this, I won’t blame you.”
“Victoria…”
“I mean it.”
She touched my hand.
“I won’t use the contract.”
I squeezed her fingers.
“I know.”
“I want you to choose.”
“I already did.”
Her eyes filled.
She leaned toward me.
This time, there was no phone.
No interruption.
No reason not to.
We kissed.
It was slow.
Careful.
Real.
When we pulled apart, she whispered,
“This wasn’t in the agreement.”
“No.”
“Is that a problem?”
I smiled.
“Probably.”
She laughed softly.
Then she rested her forehead against mine.
“For the first time in my life, I don’t feel like I’m negotiating.”
“What do you feel?”
“Safe.”
I held her.
Then alarms sounded downstairs.
Security had detected movement near the west gate.
We rushed down.
A man was running toward the road.
Police caught him.
He carried a small device.
It contained footage of the Sterling estate.
The camera feeds.
The security schedules.
Everything.
Whoever had hired him had been watching Victoria.
We checked the device.
One file was labeled:
WEDDING DAY
Inside was a detailed plan.
The ceremony.
The reception.
The guest list.
And a note.
After the vows, isolate the groom.
My heart dropped.
“What does that mean?”
Victoria stared at the screen.
“I don’t know.”
Then the security officer found another file.
A photo of Lily.
Taken outside the estate that morning.
The message beneath it was only five words.
Don’t make us take her.
Victoria’s face went white.
I took her hand.
“No.”
She looked at me.
“Don’t let them change your mind.”
“They won’t.”
“You don’t have to protect the company.”
“I know.”
“You don’t have to protect me.”
“I know.”
“But?”
I looked at her.
“I will protect my family.”
She squeezed my hand.
Tomorrow, I would marry her.
And whoever wanted to stop us would have to come through all of us.
