His Secretary Takes Charge

Chapter 8

During the three days Ethan Carter was overseas, Chloe Brooks lost her mind trying to reach him. When he didn't answer, she started showing up outside my house. Every. Single. Day.

Her persistence was exhausting, and after the third day, I called security to have her removed. But she wasn't done. She just moved her little pity party to the neighborhood gate, hoping to catch me coming or going.

She looked rough, her usually bright eyes were dull, her makeup smudged, hair unwashed. Still, I poured her a cup of Biluochun tea and watched her sit across from me like a ghost of the woman who used to prance around my husband's office.

She stared at me, wide-eyed and desperate. "Has Ethan called you? Why's he ignoring me but still talking to you?"

I shrugged. "You'll have to ask him. Not really my problem."

She scoffed, her voice rising. "Don't think being his wife means anything! Ethan's going to drop you like dead weight sooner or later."

I didn't flinch. She took a sip of tea and leaned in, smirking.

"I'm younger, hotter, and way more fun than you. Honestly, when's the last time Ethan even touched you?"

I gave her a calm nod. "You're probably right. So do me a favor, tell him to hurry up and divorce me. Marry you. I mean, you don't want to stay the side chick forever, do you?"

Her expression froze, eyes bulging like marbles. "Who the hell are you calling the side chick, you old cow?"

I sighed. "Me, obviously."

Humiliated, she stood abruptly, grabbed her cup, and threw the tea in my face.

Without missing a beat, I got up, took the entire pot of tea, and dumped it right over her head.

She shrieked, flailing like a cartoon villain, just as someone shoved her aside.

"Chloe, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ethan's voice cut through the chaos like ice. He stepped into view, face stone-cold with fury.

She turned to him, soaked and sniveling. "Ethan! She poured tea on me, it burns!"

I met his eyes and said flatly, "I didn't. She's lying to pin it on me."

And for once, I lied with a straight face.

To my surprise, Ethan didn't even question it. His anger shifted straight to her.

"Chloe, do you even know your place? Who the hell gave you permission to act like this? Even if my wife had poured tea on you, she's the boss's wife. She has every right to discipline an out-of-line employee."

Chloe froze. The second she realized he wasn't going to take her side, she bolted, hands over her face, sobbing like a child.

Once she was gone, Ethan sat across from me, his expression unreadable.

"Grace, Chloe's just my secretary. None of that was real. You're the only woman I've ever truly cared about."

I didn't respond. My eyes stayed on the divorce papers in front of me, waiting for him to sign.

He ordered two Americanos and kept going. "At first, she asked me to help her build a persona online to promote the new product launch. I agreed, thinking it was just a campaign. Everything was staged, part of the script. None of it was real, I swear."

Right on cue, thunder rolled outside, and the clear blue sky turned stormy.

I wasn't in the mood to argue. But his lies were so clumsy, they almost made me curious.

"Nothing happened, huh? No feelings?"

He blinked. "Of course not."

I tilted my head. "So what counts as 'nothing' to you, Ethan? Sharing your daily routine with her? Dropping everything to rush over the second she calls, even when you're sick? Praising her at work while dragging me through the mud? Letting her leave her swimsuit in your car? Or the kissing photos she posted all over social media?"

His mouth opened, but I cut him off.

"If that's what you call nothing, I guess I'll have to catch you two in bed to make it count."

He looked stunned.

I leaned back, voice cold. "I thought you came here to sign the divorce papers. But all you're doing is making it easier for me to hate you."