Chapter 3 Calvin's Secret Wife

I watched Calvin leave and followed his car all the way to the neighboring residential complex. A few moments later, Calvin and Elizabeth walked out together, laughing.

In that split second, the world seemed to spin around me.

Just as I was about to collapse, a pair of hands gently caught me.

"Melissa? What are you doing here?"

I forced myself to look up and realized that it was my former boss from five years ago.

"What happened to you? I haven't seen you in years," she said.

I managed a faint smile as I replied, "It's been a long time, Jessica."

Jessica looked at me with pity in her eyes. "You have no idea how much I missed having you around. After you left, it took me years to find another marketing director as capable as you. If Calvin hadn't insisted that you go work for him, I never would've let you go."

At that moment, my head snapped up. "Wasn't I laid off because our department was being restructured?"

Jessica laughed and replied, "How could that be possible? Marketing was one of our most important departments! Since you didn't end up working for him anyway, why don't you come back?"

I opened my mouth but couldn't find the words to respond.

She patted me on the shoulder. "Come on, don't look so miserable. Why don't you come to a business banquet with me tonight? I heard Calvin and his secret wife will be there too. Will that be okay? If there's some kind of conflict between the two of you, and you'd rather not see him…"

I shook my head and replied, "I'll be fine, Jessica. I'd like to meet Calvin's secret wife too."

It had been years since I last attended a business banquet, and the first thing I saw when I arrived was Elizabeth walking in with her arm linked through Calvin's.

Every time Calvin introduced Elizabeth to someone, he would introduce her as his wife and asked everyone to look out for her.

All these years, Calvin had never once acknowledged me publicly. Even when guests came to our home, he introduced me as the housekeeper.

I had fought with him over it countless times, and every time, he told me that it was not yet the right time to make our relationship public.

Only now did I realize that Calvin had been saving the title of Mrs. Kenneth for Elizabeth all along.

Just as I was about to turn and leave, I heard Calvin being invited onto the stage to tell everyone the story of how he and his wife had fallen in love.

Calvin took the microphone and said, "Elizabeth and I met ten years ago. For the past ten years, she has always been by my side. We've been through so much together, and I'm still grateful that she never left me even when I was at my lowest. I never want her to be someone who is forced to depend on me to grow. I want her to be someone who can stand beside me."

The moment I heard those words, I spun around.

At the same time, I saw Elizabeth burst into tears before rushing into Calvin's arms.

They looked perfect together.

Back then, when Calvin had failed to inherit Kenneth Group, Elizabeth had looked down on him for being unsuccessful and thrown herself into another man's arms. I was the one who had exhausted every resource I had to help Calvin defeat his father's illegitimate son and take control of the company.

Yet now, she had somehow become the one who had stood beside him through his darkest days, while I had become nothing more than someone he claimed to have kept trapped at home.

I couldn't hear what Calvin said after that, as his voice faded into nothing more than a distant blur.

It wasn't until he made his way around the room to toast the guests and finally reached our table that I forced myself to gather what little composure I had left.

The instant Calvin saw me, his expression changed. He grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the reception hall. Then, the first words out of his mouth were, "Why can't you be more sensible?"