All Chapters of THE CEO’S DIRTY SECRET: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

STELLA“Mrs. Hawthorne… Mrs. Hawthorne,” I called, but she just kept walking toward the door, her mind in an entirely different place.What was going on with her? I rushed on my heels toward her, and when I caught up, I stumbled, almost falling flat on my face.“Stella…”“Hi, Mrs. Hawthorne,” I smiled, breathing heavily. Who knew running in heels was so hard? Jesus Christ.“What’s the matter, sweetheart? Are you alright?”“Yeah… yeah, I am. Are you?”She raised a brow. “Stella, are you questioning my sanity?”“No! Not at all, ma’am. It’s just that I’ve been calling you. You looked so lost in thought I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”She gave a soft smile, the kind that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately,” she said, brushing her dark hair behind her ears. “But I appreciate you checking in.”I smiled, trying to ease the tension between us.“How are you holding up, Stella?” she asked, genuine worry on her face. “I saw the news about Freya and

JAMESI paced back and forth, restless.Brad sat comfortably on a chair, one foot in front of the other, a glass of liquor in one hand and an unbothered smirk on his face.“James, you need to calm down.”“I’m trying... why the hell are you not even worried? You’re practically on a kill list.”“James, don’t worry about me. We’ve handled way worse. I can take care of myself.”“We haven’t handled anything like the Triad before,” I said, my heart racing.“I cleared my debt. I have nothing to do with them anymore.”Brad’s smile faded. His expression grew more serious, his brows furrowing as he leaned forward and dropped the glass on the small wooden table.“You don’t just clear a debt with the Triad, James. They don’t forget and they sure as hell don’t forgive. You, of all people, should know that by now.”I stopped pacing and faced him, the weight of his words sinking in.“We never should’ve gotten involved with them in the first place. This was all our fathers' fault, and we got dragged

NICHOLAS I held a glass in one hand and my phone in the other. The headline read: "Stella, girlfriend to real estate billionaire James Hawthorne, found fooling around with rival real estate tycoon Nicholas Ford."I smiled.Of course they would twist it to their taste. The media loved scandals, and I loved feeding it to them—especially when it was all to my advantage.I took a slow sip of the champagne, letting the bubbles tickle my throat as I stared at the image splashed across every tabloid site. It was blurry, taken from a distance, but the silhouettes were unmistakable. Stella. Me. That smug little moment of hers captured like art.It was so beautiful how blogs could turn a coffee date into something so big and elaborate it would leave you speechless.I tapped the picture, zooming in on my face. She looked so beautiful and innocent. She had no idea what was going on. She had no idea she was part of something bigger.I, on the other hand, looked like I owned the world. And why sho

STELLA"Are you sure about this?" he asked again before getting into the car. "You know we can just stay home and eat pizza, right?"I replied with a smile, "I'm sure, and we have to prove to the entire press that we are united, and no amount of bullshit they throw our way is going to faze us."He gave me a smile before we both got into the car. I looked out the window—New York was so beautiful at night.The lights shimmered through the dark and my heart couldn't stop racing out of fear from what had happened. Facing the press and all the lights made my stomach twist."You okay?" I heard his voice and turned to look at him. He looked effortlessly handsome in the black suit he had on.I forced a smile, even with my heart pounding against my chest."You look really beautiful," he said in a low voice. I smiled, my face turning red. I didn’t want him to have such an effect on me, but he did."This auction is about what exactly?" I asked, trying to change the topic. Rich people always had

STELLAWhat the hell...I looked around and the entire hall was filled with more people twisting in their seats, craning their necks to see what had happened. James looked mad—really mad.Not the annoyed because the waiter took too long kind of mad. This was different. This was the kind of rage that sat in his eyes like a storm, silent but promising destruction.His jaw was tight, his fists clenched on either side of him. I could almost hear his teeth grinding.“Stay here,” he said sharply.“Wait—James, what’s going on?!” I grabbed his arm, but he pulled away without even looking at me.The crowd was chaotic, security guards spilling into the room, but it didn’t feel random. There was… order to the chaos, like someone wanted it this way.James’s eyes scanned the exits, then the shadows, like he already knew where to look. His gaze cut through people, through walls, like he was trying to see the impossible.And then… his eyes stopped. Across the hall. On him.Nicholas.He was seated ca