Chapter 2

"I've said it already. I'm at the hospital and in labor! I have to settle the bill! This isn't even Ryan's card. I'm using my personal accounts! Return my funds this instant, or I'm filing a police report for theft!"

The line went silent for several seconds, then Georgia hung up on me.

A moment later, a text message came through.

"Ms. Langley, didn't Mr. Newman give you all your money anyway? You can’t just throw your weight around because you’re Mrs. Newman and expect to scare me. I’ve already frozen every account under your name, and I’ve made it clear that nobody is allowed to lend you money either. Once you apologize to me and promise you’ll stop wasting Mr. Newman’s hard-earned money, I’ll consider restoring your accounts."

The moment I finished reading the message, my blood pressure spiked so hard my vision went black.

In the final seconds before I passed out, I placed a desperate call to our legal department. I gave them three direct orders: terminate Georgia on the spot, strip Ryan of his presidency, and demand he report to the hospital immediately.

It was obvious that a mere secretary wouldn't exhibit such blatant disrespect toward the boss's wife without powerful protection.

Still, I struggled to accept that the man who had loved me so profoundly could turn his back on me for a woman who had been at the company for only a month.

My family owned a fortune worth billions, yet in my generation, I was the only heir. Rather than marrying into another powerful family and splitting my assets with outsiders, I chose a different path.

I wanted a husband who would marry into my family instead, someone grounded and capable of helping me oversee the empire I was destined to lead.

So I hid my identity and entered my own company as an ordinary employee. That was where I met Ryan Newman. Brilliant, poor, stubbornly hardworking, and impossibly gentle, he had just graduated from a prestigious university.

I noticed him almost immediately.

He arrived before everyone else every morning and left long after the office lights had gone dark. While other employees complained about overtime, Ryan would quietly stay behind to recheck an entire floor’s worth of financial reports by himself.

A few times, when I worked late into the night, he’d timidly offer me coffee. Then he’d take my laptop from my hands and say softly, "It’s dangerous going home this late. I’ll take over the rest of the work. Please head home."

Back then, every word from him made my heart race.

However, the moment I truly fell in love with him came later. A female colleague had misappropriated my project and presented it as her own. When confronted, she brazenly accused me of plagiarism.

The department's general manager immediately took her side, ordering my summary dismissal and threatening legal action for allegedly leaking confidential data.

At the time, although Ryan was on the verge of a major promotion, he didn't hesitate. He slammed his hand against the conference table and stood directly in front of me.

"Alexandria Langley would never do something like that. I can vouch for her personally! If this company insists on firing an innocent employee without even seeking the truth, then I no longer wish to be a part of it!"

He tore off his ID badge, seized my hand, and led me out of the building.

That was the exact moment I decided he was the man I wanted for the rest of my life.

Making the first move, I wrapped my arms around him and confessed, "Ryan, I like you. Do you like me too? Will you marry me?"

After we got married, I stepped away from the company so that I could focus on having our future heir. Ryan and my legal team took over management of the business together. To his credit, he ran Sterling & Co. Holdings exceptionally well.

Then, a month and a half ago, he suddenly told me he wanted to recruit a group of underprivileged graduates from his alma mater.