Chapter 4

Chapter Ninety-Six

Since the night Bella publicly revealed her pregnancy, Max had seemingly undergone a complete transformation. He no longer used the excuse of being busy with work to leave the house every evening as he used to.

If Bella hadn’t known the true nature of her despicable and deceitful husband, she might have actually believed he cared for her. His appearance as a caring and model husband left Bella astonished.

Bella suspected that something must have happened between Max and Pearl after that dinner, or else a woman like Pearl would never let Max off so easily.

"You haven't been busy with work every night like you used to lately. Things at your company must be going well?" Bella said casually, though she was probing into the relationship between Max and Pearl.

Max heard her but didn't grasp her meaning, thinking only that his wife was showing concern for him. "That's right, I haven't been as busy lately. It's perfect timing, with you being pregnant, so I can stay home to take care of you. Have you told your father yet?"

Since it was a fake pregnancy, Bella, of course, hadn’t told her father. She planned to tell him everything only after everything was over. Bella pondered for a moment, unsure if Max had any ulterior motives or was simply inquiring out of concern.

"I haven't wanted to say anything yet. I want to surprise him. Just imagine how he'll react when he finds out he has a grandchild! He'll definitely hand over all his assets to me. Actually, whether I'm pregnant or not, my father will pass everything to me, including his company, since I'm his only daughter," Bella said innocently.

Seeing Max's eyes light up like headlights made Bella smirk inwardly. She knew exactly what he was thinking and what he wanted since his original purpose in marrying her was for her father's company and wealth.

Max was elated, feeling as if he was on the cusp of achieving ultimate success. His eyes involuntarily drifted to Bella's stomach, the smile in his eyes growing even deeper.

Bella continued to play the role of the obedient and dutiful wife but refused to follow her husband's demand that she quit her job and stay home.

“If you keep working, you'll be exhausted. Just quit your job and stay home!” Max said irritably, unable to understand why Bella was so devoted to a low-paying office job.

He could give her ten times more money just to indulge in shopping.

“I don't feel tired. Don’t worry, I won’t let myself get exhausted,” Bella said, not wanting to continue the conversation with Max on this topic.

To an outsider, it might seem that Max was a perfect husband, attentive and loving towards his wife. But Bella alone knew that the man she called her husband was really after her father's company and assets.

Max couldn't directly confront her father, so he had been secretly trying to gain control of the company behind her father's back. Moreover, Bella was her father's only child, so Max wanted her to stay home to keep her from learning anything about the company, making it easier for him to control everything.

In truth, Max wanted Bella to be a mere puppet, oblivious to everything, because from the beginning, he only saw her as a pawn in his game.

Bella had kept the secret about being the wife of Director Cooper, as she was very private about her personal life and didn’t share much on social media, so her colleagues were mostly unaware that she was married.

Lauriel lightly tapped the table, drawing the attention of several colleagues, including Bella. Every time Lauriel did that, it meant she knew something particularly interesting within the company that few others knew about.

“Have you all heard? It seems our director is considering firing Secretary Pearl. She hasn’t been coming to work these past few days, and I’ve heard that she didn’t notify the director before taking time off.”

Another female colleague asked curiously, “She’s quitting? That’s impossible! Are you sure, Lau? The director and Pearl have always had a very ambiguous relationship, and everyone in the company knows they’re like lovers. There’s no way the director would want to fire her.”

Other colleagues agreed, finding it plausible given Pearl’s notoriously erratic behavior, whether in work or conversations with other employees. So, hearing that Secretary Pearl had been absent for several days didn’t surprise anyone much. What did surprise them was whether Director Cooper had done something, and if their ambiguous relationship had indeed come to an end.

Lauriel shook her head, “I also heard that Director Cooper is actually married and has been for several years.”

Hearing this part, Bella, who was sitting nearby, was startled. She thought Lauriel had figured out that she was Max's wife, but with Lauriel's next sentence, Bella breathed a sigh of relief.

"I don't know who his wife is, but it's definitely not Pearl. Pearl is just Mr. Cooper's mistress," Lauriel said boldly and smugly.

The colleagues who overheard were surprised, as they had been working at the company for a long time, but none of them knew that Mr. Cooper was married. Max never gave the impression that he was a married man; at work, he didn't wear a wedding ring, and he and Pearl often appeared together.

Despite this, no one thought that Pearl was Mr. Cooper's wife because they assumed that someone of his status and position would surely marry a lady of noble background, not a small, arrogant secretary.

Although they didn’t know who the director's wife was, they guessed that Director Cooper had probably lost interest in Secretary Pearl and was ready to fire her at any moment.

Most of the employees who had interacted with Secretary Pearl disliked her due to her arrogant and bossy attitude. If they weren’t afraid of her being the director's secretary and favored by him, they certainly wouldn’t have tolerated her behavior.

Bella sat next to them, listening without saying anything, outwardly pretending not to know, but inwardly feeling very satisfied.

As things stood, Pearl hadn’t come to work, but Max didn’t care. He thought she was just sulking and would come back in a few days. He had no intention of firing her or putting pressure on her; he just wanted her to obediently remain his mistress, like before.

At dinner, Bella appeared worried, "I'm really concerned, Max. I heard from some colleagues that Pearl hasn't come to the company for almost a week. Is something wrong with her? Since that dinner, I've noticed she’s been acting strangely."

Max, of course, knew about this, but he didn’t care much. He waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry about her. If she wasn't your friend, I would have fired her long ago."

Bella feigned concern and said, "I'll go to her house. I want to see how she's doing."

When Max heard that his wife intended to visit Pearl, he panicked and quickly slammed his hand down to stop her. "No, there's no need for you to worry about her. Don't do anything unnecessary."

Seeing Max's strong reaction, Bella raised an eyebrow. She knew he was deliberately preventing her from meeting or interacting with Pearl. Anytime she mentioned wanting to meet or talk to Pearl, Max would react defensively, telling her not to worry about Pearl anymore.

But this time, she was determined to meet Pearl because she had something to say to her "best friend".

"This is not unnecessary, Max. I don't understand why, but I feel like you're trying to stop me from seeing Pearl. Did something happen between you and Pearl that you’re hiding from me?" Bella crossed her arms and raised her voice.

Bella had always presented herself as soft and gentle in front of Max, so he thought that simply raising his voice would easily make her comply. But this time, Max could see that Bella was serious, with suspicion evident in her eyes, making him nervous and uneasy.

He was very afraid that Bella would find out about his relationship with Pearl, so he didn’t want his wife to have any contact with her. In his mind, Max kept cursing Pearl as a woman who only caused trouble.

"What are you talking about, Bella? How could there be anything between Pearl and me that I would hide from you? Don't let your imagination run wild. Fine, if you insist on seeing her, then I'll go with you," Max tried to stay calm.

Although Max said he would go with Bella, he deliberately delayed the time, making her increasingly annoyed. Her patience had its limits, so she said, "Fine, if that's the case, I'll go by myself. The more you try to stop me, the more it proves that there’s something you're hiding about Pearl. Tell me, what are you hiding?"

Faced with his wife's serious suspicion, Max had no choice but to take her to see Pearl, silently praying that Pearl wouldn’t say anything she shouldn’t to Bella.

Standing in front of Pearl's house, it was completely dark inside, with no sign of light. Bella thought Pearl wasn't home, but after the third ring of the doorbell, accompanied by Max’s calls, Pearl came running to the door and threw herself into Max's arms, leaving both Bella and Max stunned.

"Max, you finally came to see me!" Pearl looked up at Max, her appearance haggard and pale, though it couldn’t hide her natural beauty.

Max was shocked and embarrassed, quickly glancing at his wife before hurriedly pushing Pearl away from him. "Pearl, are you crazy? Let go of me!"