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Chapter 54: A Stranger’s Shelter
publish date:
2025-07-06 00:46:20
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Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 250: Starlight Faces Bankruptcy
David Brooks looks up from his desk. The smile he gives me is the one I've known my entire life. Forced. Careful. The smile of a man who has been caught in something he doesn't want to explain and is trying to buy time with warmth. "Allie," he says. "Why did you come back?" I walk in without preamble. "I ran into Vivian at Liam's office. She borrowed five million from him. What's going on?" David's face changes. A flush moves up his neck. "That girl," he says. His voice is tight. "I told her not to bother Liam. This is our family's business." "Then tell me what the business is." He sighs. The specific, heavy sigh of a man who has been holding something alone and is too tired to keep holding it. "I invested in several projects over the past two years. All of them failed. Bad timing, bad markets, bad judgment. Take your pick." He pauses. "Starlight is short on funding. The contracts for our top-tier
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 249: I Borrowed This Money. It Has Nothing to Do with You.
The shame arrives before the anger. I'm sitting on my husband's lap in his office, and the shame arrives, specific and sharp, the feeling of being the kind of person who needs her husband to hand her sister a check because her father couldn't bring himself to ask for help directly. "I'll pay you back," I say. "If Dad's company really is in trouble, I'll treat the five million as a loan. I'll find a way to repay you." Liam looks at me like I've said something absurd. "Do you have to be this formal with me? It's five million." "There's a difference between formality and principle. You didn't give that money to Vivian because you believe in her. You gave it to her because she's my sister and you didn't want to say no in front of me. That's not the same thing." He's quiet for a moment. "Let's set this aside for now," I say. "Tonight, I'll go to Dad's house. I'll ask him directly. If the company really is struggling, we
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 248: Shamelessly Asking for Money
I can't take it anymore. "Vivian, what are you doing here?" The words come out harder than I intended. Not that I care. I step fully into the office and get my first clear look. Vivian is clutching something in her hand. A piece of paper. I can't make out the amount from here, but I know what it is. Liam wouldn't hand her anything else. "Give it to me," I say. Vivian shoves the check into her purse with the quick, defensive motion of someone protecting something they know they shouldn't have. Her face arranges itself into the expression her mother taught her. The wounded look. The misunderstood daughter. The woman who is only trying to help and is being punished for her kindness. "It's a gift from my brother-in-law," she says. Her voice is sweet. Too sweet. The specific, saccharine sweetness that means she's performing. "Allie, it's been so long since you visited home. Don't you know Dad's company is in trouble? Liam is fam
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 247: Vivian Comes to Find Liam
The hallway exhales. Someone behind me gasps. Not dramatically. Just a small, involuntary release of breath from a person who has just heard something they didn't expect. The crowd is doing the math. I can see it happening behind their eyes. Mia Stone: international film star, three consecutive Silver Hugo wins, two Film Queen titles, ten years at the top of the industry without a single misstep. Allie Brooks: debut actress, one television role, nominally famous for being married to Liam Hart and nominally infamous for everything that's happened since. The math doesn't work. Everyone in this hallway knows it. George knows it. Amy knows it. The photographers with their phones know it. Even Mia knows it, because the expression she's wearing right now is the expression of someone watching a insect walk onto a road and knowing what's about to happen. "Are you sure?" Mia asks. Her voice is almost gentle. The gentleness of certainty. The
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 246: Whoever Loses, Leaves the Industry
"All right," I say. "I'll do the endorsement." George raises an eyebrow. "That was fast. What changed your mind?" I lean back in the chair and give him the honest answer. "People can be foolish about a lot of things," I say. "But money isn't one of them." George laughs. The real kind, not the boardroom kind. "Liam has enough money to buy the whole city. Why do you care about this?" "His money is his. The money I earn is mine. Those are two different things." George studies me for a moment. Something moves behind his eyes, the specific expression of a man who is reassessing someone and finding the reassessment interesting. "If there's nothing else, I have a shoot," I say. I stand. From the moment I walked into his office to the moment I left, George didn't mention the conflict with Mia. Not the hospital. Not the media campaign. Not the fact that his sister and I have been at war for months.
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 245: Nomination Viewing
Prism Tower at 8:30 AM.I have a full schedule. Magazine cover shoot at ten. A phone interview at eleven. A fitting for an event next week that I keep forgetting exists.Amy is at her desk when I walk in, and her face tells me everything I need to know before she opens her mouth."Have you seen the news?" she says. "You're on the headlines again.""I've been on the headlines every day for two weeks. What's different about today?"Amy stands up. Her hands are clasped in front of her, the specific posture of someone delivering bad news they've been rehearsing since they woke up."This time it's different. The hospital incident is everywhere. The fan confrontation. Cherry Scoop's article. You should talk to George about crisis PR. Also, Mia Stone is his sister. If he mediates, this could blow over quickly."I sit down at the makeup station."I was the one being chased through the streets," I s
Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 63: Ghosts of a Proposal
Allie Brooks’ thoughts were racing as something clicked in her mind. A flash of memory surfaced, vivid and startling.She turned abruptly to George Smith, seated next to her in the car. “The person we’re picking up... it’s not Julian Ford, is it?” she asked, a hint of apprehension in her voice.Geo
Last Updated : 2026-03-26Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 58: Stolen Heat
Allison Brooks didn’t think it would be easy to bring herself to utter the words, even though they’d been burning inside her for days.“Let’s get a divorce,” she finally said, her voice steady despite the whirlwind in her chest.The moment those words left her lips, the air in the car shifted. It w
Last Updated : 2026-03-25Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 48: The Unexpected Offer
No wonder Allie felt a strange sense of familiarity when she first saw the name on the business card.Although Time Entertainment didn’t have the long-standing legacy of Starlight Entertainment, it had gained immense influence in the industry over the past few years. In a short span, Time Entertain
Last Updated : 2026-03-24Secrets of a Hidden Marriage Chapter 51: The Depths of Truth
Allie Brooks was completely stunned.The revelation struck her like a lightning bolt, leaving her mind blank for a moment before clarity seeped in, cutting deeper than she could have imagined.She had never fully understood why someone like Liam Hart would agree to marry her. They were strangers be
Last Updated : 2026-03-24
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