Chapter 0001

Charlotte’s POV

“Which entrance, ma’am?”

I let out a deep sigh, Monday mornings always felt like punishment.

For six years, I woke before dawn, dressed to conceal both my feelings and thoughts as I walked through the gates of Watson Holdings, not just as the company’s elite secretary, but as Mrs. Watson. A title that looks good on paper, but in reality, it’s a cruel joke. 

I'm the wife he married, but never loved. A silent figure in his kingdom, tolerated more than treasured.

“Ma’am” the driver called again, snapping me out of my reverie.

“Take the east staff entrance.”

A flicker of confusion crossed his face. “But… aren’t you…Mrs. Watson? I was told…”

“The east entrance,” I repeated, my tone firm this time.

“Alright, Ma’am.”

I glanced out the window, staring at the familiar building. 

It’s been six years. Six years of waiting, hoping, begging…six years of being his wife on paper, but not in his heart. I stayed long after I should have left, not because I was weak,  but because I believed that love could soften even the coldest of hearts. I believed that he would  love me back.

“Good morning! Mrs. Watson,” someone said as soon as I got out of the car.

“Morning, Mrs Watson.”

“Good morning, Ma’am.”

I gave them a small smile as I walked inside. If only they knew the truth behind our marriage. 

Andrew Preston, the head of the production team walked towards me. His usual easygoing smile was strained at the edges, his eyes were everywhere else except on mine, like he didn’t want to look at me.

“Andrew, are you okay? You don’t look so well.” I commented, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Yes, uhm…” he cleared his throat. “I wanted to tell you that there’s been a change in this morning’s schedule,” he said, glancing at the file he was holding. “The design review meeting, well, Mr. Watson wants you to handle it.”

I halted in my tracks. “What?”

“He said…”

“He never misses design reviews,” I said slowly.

“I know. He just... he said you’d take it today.”

I furrowed my brows. Drake had never let me handle the design review, why now?

“Is he in his office?” I said, just as Andrew turned to leave.

“Uhm…yes,” I caught the hesitation in his voice. “But he's… busy. He has a guest.”

“At eight a.m.?” I narrowed my eyes on him.  Who is this guest?”

He shrugged and I noticed the way his eyes dropped, before he glanced towards  the elevator. He definitely knows more than he’s letting on.

“Andrew,” I kept my voice calm. “Who is this guest?” For some reasons, even as I asked, I feared the answer.

He shook his head, but I could tell from his eyes that he was lying. “I don’t know. The portfolio is ready in the conference room.”

“Do not l….”

I turned upon hearing the click of heels against the marble floor.

She came into view and my breath hitched in my throat. “

Aria.

“Well, well. If it isn’t my darling sister-in-law,” she had a smile on her face, one that didn’t reach her eyes.

She was wearing a black dress that stopped just before her knee. I recognized it as the Michelle Kim’s limited edition dress and there was only one in the entire world.

I let out a sigh. Aria Watson was as venomous as the designer dresses and gold jewelries she always wore.

“Are you working or are you just pretending to be?”

“Aria,” I said with fake excitement in my voice, I was tired of being quiet. “What brings you to the office? Or did Fashion Week end early this year?”

She was quiet, her eyes widening and then she threw her head back and laughed. “I see that you’ve grown some balls, bitch,” she walked closer to me, pointing her well manicured fingers towards me. “I will  let this slide, not because I want to, but out of respect for my poor brother who has had no choice but to settle for….” She gave me an unpleasant once over. “Something pathetic like you.”

I clenched my fist tightly. I knew that people were watching, I could feel several pairs of eyes on me. 

The hallway hushes. Staff scatter, pretending not to watch.

I gripped my bag tightly , trying to hold back the rising burn behind my eyes. She’s baiting me, and she knows that she’s winning.

Her voice slices through the air. “Tell me, Charlotte. Why haven’t you left my brother yet? Six years and not even a child…nothing at all…Still clinging to your little secretary-to-wife fairy tale?”

I don’t flinch. Not visibly.

She took another step closer, her lips curling into a mischievous smile. “You staged that night at the hotel. Claimed fate. But let’s be real. You forced this marriage. You needed him….needed his money!”

I bite back the words in my throat. What’s the point? She’s always believed the worst of me. She never saw how hard I worked to build his empire, how deeply I loved her brother.

If only I had listened to my parents when they warned me against marrying Drake. Blinded by love, I refused to see the truth; I wasn’t just his wife, I was his stepping stone. I handled major deals, covered his mistakes, and even turned down a promotion for his sake, all while believing that I mattered to him.

 

But love had made me a fool. Now, five years after losing my parents in a fatal accident, their warnings echoed louder than ever.

 

I straightened my shoulders. “I have a meeting.”

“Oh, do you?” Aria blocks my path again. “Surprised Drake still lets you handle anything. But then again, old habits die hard.”

My breath hitched in her throat.

“What are you talking about?”

Her smile widened, and her eyes gleamed with mischief.

“Speaking of old habits,” she leans in closer and whispered, “did you know that Mia’s back?”

My chest tightens. It felt like the world had come to a standstill. 

Mia.

No.

“That’s impossible,” I shook my head rapidly, trying to get rid of the image of her in my head. The way she had been with Drake….i could never be like that with him…she was the only one who occupied his heart and even when she left his life, she never left his heart.

Mia was Drake’s ex and first love. She was the woman I was never allowed to talk about. She broke his heart and I thought I could fix that, get him to fall in love with me…and Drake did….or so I thought.

“Oh, but it’s not,” Aria sings. “He picked her up from the airport last night. They even had breakfast together. He didn’t tell you?” Her tone was laced with mockery. She was laughing at me to my face.

My lungs forget how to work. Drake had skipped breakfast, but I thought it was because he had something urgent to do at the office…but now, I know better.

“You’re lying,” I said, my voice barely audible. Drake and I hadn’t sat down for a meal together in years.

“What did you say?” 

"If you'll excuse me." I forced the words past numb lips, sidestepping Aria. “I have a meeting to get to.”

“Charlotte!” She called and I clenched my fist to my side as I halted in my tracks.

“I saw Drake yesterday. He’s never looked that happy in years. You need to admit that you’re the problem, Charlotte.”

I didn’t  remember walking away from her. I didn’t  even feel my feet moving. But somehow, I found myself at the elevator, jabbing the button like it owes me an answer.

The other employees were watching me, but  no one could dare stop me .

The elevator’s door finally opens and I step inside, alone, drowning in silence. Each floor I passed felt heavier. My hands were trembling.

I reached the top floor, his office floor and I walked past the desk I still sit at.  ‘Mrs Watson’, yet I was never allowed inside his room…inside his world. I was always introduced as the Secretary, not the wife.

I stopped at the double doors of his office. I didn’t know why I wanted to see him, but I suddenly had the urge to talk to him, perhaps, to find out how he felt about Mia being back.

My fingers hovered on the door. I should knock. I always knock.

But then, I pushed the door open, not caring about knocking anymore.

And there they were.

Drake. And Mia.

Their eyes were wrapped around each other’s and their lips ... .his tongue was shoved deep into her mouth.

They didn’t see me. Their eyes were closed, probably due to the intensity of their kiss.

I stood rooted to the spot and clenched my fist tightly, blinking back the tears that were threatening to drop. 

Not now, Charlotte, not now, not here. 

I wanted to leave, I wanted to peel my eyes away from the scene in front of me that was now permanently etched onto my brain, but I could not.

“Hey! You’re Charlotte, right? The Secretary?” 

I didn’t know when Mia turned around, having pulled away from him. She had a smile on her face, one that seemed genuine. 

“I’m Mia Drakenett. Drake’s future wife,” she extended her perfectly manicured hands to me, the smile permanently etched on her face. She was still leaning on Drake’s chest.

The words swirled around my brain. Perhaps, I hadn’t heard her right.

“What?”

“Ohhh,” she chuckled. “Me and Drake didn’t plan to announce it this way, but we’re going to get married soon,” she winked. “Let’s keep it a secret from the others for now.”

I swallowed the thick lump in my throat. Drake still had his hand around her waist, he wasn’t saying anything, No denial. No apology. No correction. Nothing! 

Just silence as his free hand rested on a file I had worked on the day before.

“What do you need?” Mia continued. “Drake and I have a lot to catch up on.”

I exhaled deeply. “I’m his wife.”