Revenge on My Ungrateful Ex，The True Billionaire Heir Returns

When the office raffle was drawn, I won the grand prize: an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation to Provence. Before I could even touch the voucher, Natalie, my CEO girlfriend, demanded I hand it over to Julian, her first love. "Julian just joined the company," she said smoothly. "I'll go to Provence with him this time." Right in front of my face, she passed the golden ticket to Julian. Then, without missing a beat, she stripped me of the cutting-edge pharmaceutical project I had built from scratch and handed that to him, too. "You need to give newcomers more room to grow, Ethan. Julian’s talent is on par with yours—he just lacks a bit of experience!" She looked at me, her tone dripping with fake generosity. "If you behave yourself, I might let you stay on as his assistant." I was so furious that I actually laughed out loud. Without hesitation, I stepped aside and offered him the Director’s chair. "Since Manager Foster is such a genius, he clearly doesn't need my help!" "I can't wait to see him run this company into the ground." The moment I offered to hand the entire pharma project over to Julian, Natalie frowned, irritation flashing in her eyes. "Ethan, what's with the attitude?" "I only said he needed some practical experience! You're making a mountain out of a molehill!" I stared at Natalie, a cold, mocking smirk pulling at the corner of my mouth. "Oh? So you want me to keep the project after all?" Hearing me call her bluff, Natalie’s face hardened. She had always intended for me to step down for Julian; her earlier words were just polite corporate talk to save face. Seeing me push back, she dropped the mask completely. "Ethan, with that half-assed attitude, how could I ever trust you with this project?" "Frankly, you need to go home, take a suspension, and do some serious soul-searching!" At that, the team around us couldn't hold back anymore. "Ethan's been leading this project day and night. Without him, the whole pipeline grinds to a halt!" "Exactly! The company can't function without Director Vance!" Whispers broke out across the room. Julian’s expression shifted, and he quickly forced an awkward, self-effacing smile. "Natalie, forget it. Maybe I can't handle this after all. Everyone's right—the company can replace anyone, except Ethan." Natalie’s expression, which had slightly softened, instantly turned venomous at Julian’s last sentence. She threw me a look of pure disgust, then turned to Julian, her voice softening into a gentle purr. "That's nonsense. Julian, your abilities aren't inferior to Ethan's in any way. You just never had the chance to shine." "This project is yours now. I know you'll do a far better job than certain people ever could!" Having secured her promise, Julian’s lips curled into a subtle, triumphant smirk. He shot me a blatantly provocative glance. "Natalie, I won't let you down," he said, taking her hand into his own with open affection. "For our future." A blush crept up Natalie’s cheeks, but she didn't pull her hand away. There they stood, treating me—her boyfriend of seven years—like invisible trash. The sheer audacity of it nearly made me burst out laughing. Without saying another word, I packed my things and quit on the spot. As I walked out of the office, a close colleague caught up with me, trying to talk sense into me. "Look, Ethan, you're a co-founder, but Julian is the CEO's boyfriend. They're basically family. In this business, sometimes you just have to swallow your pride." "Boyfriend?" The word left a bitter taste in my mouth. Natalie and I had been together for seven years. I had bled for her, built her empire from the dirt up, yet she had always adamantly refused to go public with our relationship. Her excuse? "An office romance looks unprofessional and hurts company credibility." I had loved her blindly, so I never questioned it. Until Julian showed up. Ever since her college sweetheart joined the firm, they arrived together, left together, and acted completely inseparable. I had confronted Natalie. I had fought with her. But all I ever got was the silent treatment and a patronizing lecture: "You're being paranoid! If anything was going to happen between Julian and me, it would've happened years ago. Would you even stand a chance?" Tied down by seven years of devotion, I swallowed every drop of humiliation. Until today. Julian had publicly declared their relationship in front of the entire office, and Natalie hadn't uttered a single word of denial. Finally, the blindfold was ripped off. To her, I was never a partner—just a convenient, disposable tool. I shook my head and smiled faintly at my colleague. "I'm done swallowing my pride. Since she believes Julian is so much better than me, let him have my seat. Let's see what he actually delivers."My colleague sighed, his face etched with worry. "Everyone knows the guy is an empty suit. The next phase requires pitching to Lumina Global, the titan of the industry. Good luck getting him to even secure a meeting." The rest of the team chimed in with their own grumbles. Even regular employees could see right through Julian's incompetence. Yet Natalie acted like a woman possessed, shoveling every resource at his feet, even using me as a stepping stone to boost his career. Too bad an idiot wrapped in gold is still an idiot. I couldn't wait to watch his spectacular failure. When that day came, Natalie better not come crying to me! After packing my desk, a small crowd of coworkers walked me all the way to the lobby. Hearing the commotion, Natalie stepped out of her office. Seeing the scene, she called out sharply. "Ethan, can you stop throwing a tantrum? It's just stepping back from one project. Did you really have to escalate this into quitting?" "Go apologize to Julian. Do that, and I'll pretend this resignation never happened. I'll even let you stay as his second-in-command." Her tone was righteous, as if she were bestowing divine mercy upon me. She honestly thought I was the same desperate lapdog as before—that the moment she offered a sliver of an olive branch, I would shamelessly come running back. Little did she know, my heart was already dead. Her words didn't cause a single ripple inside me. "Thank you for the offer, CEO Brooks. But with someone as exceptionally talented as Manager Foster, I'm sure he won't need any help from me." "You...!" It was the first time I had ever talked back to her like this. Natalie’s face contorted in anger, and she spat coldly, "Let's see where you can go without this company! Don't you dare regret this!" I ignored her completely, turned on my heel, and walked out. Before I even reached the parking lot, a sleek black Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up smoothly beside me. The tinted window rolled down, revealing the familiar, weathered face of Uncle Bruce. "Young Master Ethan," he said gently. "Seven years of rebellion against your father is enough. Time to come home." "Mr. Vance has been waiting for you. He said the moment you step foot back in the estate, Lumina Global is yours to run." Once I was seated in the back, Uncle Bruce couldn't stop offering heartfelt advice. When he learned that I had officially broken up with Natalie and was finally returning home, a massive grin broke out across his face. "Good riddance! I knew from day one that woman had nothing but dollar signs in her eyes!" "She only smiled at you because of how much labor she could squeeze out of you. Thank heavens you never told her your real identity, Young Master, or she would have clung to you like a parasite forever!" I gazed silently out the window at the passing city skyline. Seven years ago, when I first started dating Natalie, my parents had fiercely opposed it. After countless brutal arguments, my father finally compromised: he promised not to sabotage Natalie's career or force us apart. The catch? I wasn't allowed to reveal that I was the sole heir to the Vance family fortune, nor could I tap into a single cent of the family's connections or wealth. Blinded by love, I agreed without hesitation. Even when I moved out of a sprawling country estate into a cramped, run-down studio apartment, I never complained. I bled alongside her for seven years, building her startup from a tiny garage into an industry contender. She wanted the glamorous title of a self-made female tech mogul, so I handed her the CEO title and gave up the limelight without a second thought. I genuinely believed our bond was unbreakable. How pathetic that seven years of sacrifice couldn't hold a candle to her college ex.When she handed everything I had built over to Julian, and when she kicked me out the door, she hadn't hesitated for a single second. When I stepped through the front doors of the Vance family manor, my father’s hair was already streaked with white. He didn't lecture me. He simply walked over and squeezed my shoulder. Remembering how cold and distant I had been to my parents all these years for Natalie's sake, a wave of crushing guilt washed over me. After taking over the executive dossiers for Lumina Global from my father, a sudden realization hit me. I had left my late mother’s heirloom back at the penthouse I shared with Natalie. Before my mother passed away, she gave me an antique necklace, telling me to pass it on to my future wife. When I was cut off from the family, that necklace was the only piece of my past I took with me. I had kept it safe, intending to present it to Natalie one day. In fact, I had planned to propose to her the moment this pharmaceutical trial succeeded. Now, it all felt like a sick, one-sided joke. I drove back to our shared apartment. But the moment I unlocked the door, I froze. Julian was standing in the hallway, wearing nothing but a bath towel wrapped loosely around his waist. "What are you doing here?" Julian sneered, crossing his arms and sizing me up with smug condescension, as if my presence in my own home was an outrage. This place had been bought with our joint savings. My name was on the deed. Why the hell wouldn't I be here? I didn't dignify him with an answer. I brushed straight past him toward the study to retrieve the necklace. Seeing me ignore him entirely, Julian blocked the doorway, his voice dripping with venom. "Look at you, pretending to be all proud and mighty! What's the matter? Regretting your little walkout already? Crawling back to beg Natalie to take you back?" "Ethan? Why are you back?" Footsteps sounded behind me. Natalie walked out in a silk bathrobe, her brow furrowed in annoyance. "I came to collect what belongs to me," I replied flatly. Panic flickered across Natalie’s face, and she rushed into the study after me. "The research project was handed over to Julian, and every file belongs to the company now! You're a former employee—taking proprietary research is corporate espionage, do you understand that?" I opened a desk drawer, pulled out a small velvet box, and opened it to confirm the necklace was inside before turning to her. "Save your breath. I don't give a damn about your research files. I'm here for my mother’s heirloom." Seeing the vintage piece in my hand, a flicker of awkwardness crossed Natalie’s face. Julian leaned against the doorframe and snorted. "Is "that" the junk you told me Ethan wanted to propose with? Couldn't even afford a diamond ring? You can buy a dozen of those cheap trinkets at a flea market for twenty bucks." Natalie’s expression tightened with faint disgust. Clearly, she looked down on the piece just as much as he did. It made sense to people like them. The necklace wasn't flashy—it was an antique my great-grandfather had bought for my great-grandmother when he was still an impoverished apprentice. Its sentimental value far outweighed its market price. Natalie, of course, had no clue. When I offered it to her years ago, she had taken one dismissive look and waved it away. Looking back, I was grateful. If she hadn't snubbed it back then, getting it back now would have been a nightmare. Seeing that I genuinely had no interest in the company files, Natalie’s tone softened slightly. "Ethan... you really should consider coming back. The Director position belongs to Julian now, but you could still be his lead assistant." "Julian’s progress on the trial has been incredible these past few days. He's just as capable as you. You really need to drop that arrogant ego of yours." I let out a dry, humorless chuckle. Julian’s progress was smooth because he was coasting entirely on the groundwork and clinical data I had spent years compiling. The real question was: what would happen once my data ran out? Would he still be standing tall with that smug smirk on his face?"Sounds like you picked a winner. Congratulations," I said. My indifferent tone seemed to sting Natalie’s fragile pride. Her temper flared up instantly. "You really think this company can't survive without you? Let me tell you, Julian has already secured an exclusive pitch with Lumina Global! Could you have pulled that off?" I blinked, momentarily surprised. Then it dawned on me. A few days ago, my personal assistant at Lumina had briefly mentioned an outreach email from an indie biotech firm. Because of my personal interest in pharmaceutical R&D, I had relaxed the initial screening requirements, which inadvertently gave Julian’s submission a pass. It wasn't surprising. The project proposal was built entirely on my previous work, making it look pristine on paper. I looked at Natalie, choosing not to mention that I was now the sole owner and Chairman of Lumina Global. "Is that so? Good luck to him." Originally, I assumed that with my foundational research in place, Julian couldn't mess things up too badly, even with his incompetence. So when my corporate assistant informed me a few days later that Julian had initiated a "cost-cutting overhaul"—firing several core scientists and causing the laboratory trials to grind to a dead halt—I couldn't help but curse under my breath. Give a moron a masterclass on a silver platter, and he'll still find a way to choke on it. Not even a week later, my phone buzzed. It was Natalie. "Ethan, are you still sulking? Are you really refusing to come back? Look, I know you feel Julian’s promotion was unfair, but I had to put the company first! Julian comes from a prominent medical family, and his background gives our brand prestige." "About what happened the other day... I've been meaning to explain. I gave Julian some extra attention, and he got the wrong idea, which is why he blurted out that he was my boyfriend in front of everyone. If I had contradicted him publicly, it would have humiliated him, right?" Listening to her pathetic attempts at damage control, I almost laughed out loud. Did she honestly think I had no idea about the clinical disaster unfolding at her company? Now that the ship was sinking, she suddenly remembered her faithful workhorse. She wanted me to come back and plug the leaks. Did she take me for a complete idiot? "So you and Julian aren't dating?" I asked calmly. "Then who was the half-naked guy parading around our apartment the other day?" The line went silent for a beat before Natalie replied, defensive and annoyed. "Rent in this city is insane, and we had a spare guest room, so I let him crash there for a bit! Ethan, could you show a little basic empathy for once?" There it was again. She always had an excuse, and somehow, I was always the one to blame. Too bad for her, I was done buying her garbage. "So you're saying you two are just landlord and tenant? Purely platonic? Then how do you explain the used condom sitting in the bathroom trash can that afternoon?" Dead silence fell over the line. A moment later, Natalie’s voice shattered into shrill, vicious rage. "Ethan Vance! We were already broken up by then! Who I sleep with is none of your damn business!" "I offered you a job because I didn't want you starving on the streets! I took pity on our past, and you have the nerve to throw it in my face?!" I let out a frigid laugh. "Instead of pitying me, you might want to check in on your own sinking ship. Word on the street is that Julian’s clinical trial isn't going so well." "You didn't crawl back to me just to clean up his mess, did you?" With her cover blown, Natalie dropped all pretense. "Ethan, you honestly think this company will collapse without you?" "I'll have you know I've already pulled strings to lock in an investment deal with Lumina Global! They are the biggest player in the country!" "Once their capital rolls in, we're going to reach heights you can't even dream of! When that happens, don't you dare come begging for your job back!" She clearly still had delusional faith in Julian. I smiled thinly. "We'll see who ends up begging." I hung up and buried myself straight back into work. Managing an empire like Lumina Global was demanding, and my schedule was so packed that my personal life didn't even cross my mind. It wasn't until the end-of-the-month gala hosted by my family's conglomerate that I saw Natalie again. She spotted me across the ballroom. Beside her stood Julian, wearing an ill-fitting designer tuxedo, his face looking visibly strained and haggard. "How the hell did you sneak in here?" Julian looked me up and down, his sneer returning. "This gala is out of your league, Vance. If you're here to beg Natalie for your old desk back, go wait by the valet outside." Natalie didn't speak immediately. Her eyes lingered on my custom Patek Philippe watch and the sapphire cufflinks adorning my French cuffs—pieces worth hundreds of thousands. A flicker of suspicion crossed her eyes. "An invitation to Lumina’s private gala isn't easy to come by," she said slowly. "You certainly have your ways." I didn't waste a breath on them. I turned toward the private VIP lounge upstairs. Julian, however, stepped forward to block my path. "Trying to run? I knew it—you crashed this event, didn't you!"