All Chapters of HIS SECRETARY'S SECRET : Chapter 101 - Chapter 109

109 Chapters

The Confession

Bella PovI sat in my therapist's office three days after the trial ended and I still couldn't stop thinking about what I heard. Forty times. The office. The hotels. The lies. Every detail played on repeat in my head."How are you doing with everything from the trial" Dr Martinez asked. She was a older woman with kind eyes who I started seeing after the separation."I'm not okay" I said. "I can't stop hearing Karen's voice describing everything. I can't stop picturing Damian in his office with her. I can't stop counting to forty and imagining each time he chose her over me.""That's a normal response to trauma" Dr Martinez said. "Hearing those details was traumatic. Your mind is trying to process information you never wanted to know.""I wish I never went to that trial" I said. "I wish I didn't know any of it. Before I could imagine it was just a few times. A mistake. But forty times isn't a mistake. That's a relationship. That's him choosing her over and over while lying to me over a

Ryan

Damian PovI was sitting in my studio apartment eating ramen for the third night in a row when my phone rang. The number wasn't saved but I recognized the area code. My hometown. I answered cautiously."Damian" a voice said. "It's Ryan. Your brother."I hadn't talked to Ryan in over two years. Not since our father's funeral when he made it clear he thought I was a screw up who wasted every opportunity our parents gave me. We never got along growing up. Ryan was the good son. The one who got good grades and married his college sweetheart and built a successful tech company. I was the one who partied too much and barely graduated and ended up in scandal after scandal."Ryan" I said. I put down my ramen. "What do you want.""I heard about everything" Ryan said. "The divorce. The lawsuits. Losing your job. I wanted to reach out.""Why" I asked. "To remind me what a failure I am. I already know.""No" Ryan said. He sighed. "Look I know we're not close. But you're still my brother. And I'm

The Date

Bella PovMy mother had been nagging me for weeks to start dating again. "You're twenty six years old" she said over breakfast one morning. "You can't spend the rest of your life alone because of one bad marriage.""I'm not ready" I said. I fed Nathan his oatmeal while my mom lectured me. "I'm still processing everything that happened.""You've been processing for months" my mom said. "At some point you need to move on. Meet new people. Give someone else a chance.""I have a three year old son and I live with my mother" I said. "I'm not exactly a catch right now.""You're beautiful and smart and any man would be lucky to have you" my mom said. "In fact I know the perfect person. My friend Carol's son Andrew. He's a doctor. Very successful. Never been married. No kids.""Mom no" I said. "I don't want you setting me up on blind dates.""Just one date" my mom pleaded. "If you hate it you never have to see him again. But you need to at least try Bella. You can't let Damian ruin your chanc

Nathan's Breakdown

Damian PovThe call from Nathan's preschool came on a Tuesday afternoon while I was at work. The director Mrs Patterson asked if I could come in immediately. She said Nathan had an incident and we needed to discuss his behavior. My stomach dropped. I told Ryan I had a family emergency and drove to the preschool.Mrs Patterson met me in her office with a grim look on her face. "Mr Roberts thank you for coming. We need to talk about Nathan's behavior. It's been getting progressively worse over the past few weeks.""What kind of behavior" I asked. Nathan was only three. How bad could it be."Aggression mainly" Mrs Patterson said. She pulled out a folder with incident reports. "Last week he hit another child during circle time. Yesterday he pushed a little girl off the slide. This morning he threw blocks at his teacher when she asked him to clean up.""That doesn't sound like Nathan" I said. "He's usually gentle. Shy even.""Children often act out when they're experiencing stress or traum

Entertainment

Bella PovThe defamation trial verdict came back three weeks after it ended. Karen was found guilty of making false claims about Damian promising to marry her. She was ordered to pay two hundred thousand dollars in damages split between Damian and me. I got sixty thousand. Damian got the rest. Plus she had to pay both of our legal fees.Marcus called to tell me the news. "This is a big win" he said. "Karen will have to pay or face further legal consequences. You can finally put this behind you."But the win felt hollow. Two days after the verdict Karen filed for bankruptcy. All her assets were less than five thousand dollars. The court couldn't make her pay money she didn't have. The judgment meant nothing. I wouldn't see a single dollar of the sixty thousand she owed me.Worse than that, Karen disappeared. Her apartment was empty when authorities went to serve the bankruptcy papers. Her phone was disconnected. Her social media accounts were deleted. She vanished completely. Nobody kn

Mother's Betrayal

Damian PovI was at work reviewing inventory reports when my phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number. "You should know what your mother is doing to you. Check the attached screenshots." The message included three images. I opened them and felt my blood run cold.The screenshots were text messages between my mother Gloria and Bella. Messages where my mother encouraged Bella to cut me out of Nathan's life. Messages where she said Nathan would be better off without me. Messages where she told Bella to find a good man and let him be Nathan's real father.One message from my mother said "Damian is poison. He destroys everything he touches. Nathan deserves better than a father like that. You should move somewhere far away and start fresh. Let Nathan grow up thinking his father is dead. It would be kinder than the truth."I read the messages three times trying to process what I was seeing. My own mother was actively working to erase me from my son's life. She was telling Bella to cut

Andrew Returns

Bella PovAndrew texted me three days after our first date. "I had a great time with you. Would love to see you again. Dinner this Friday?" I stared at the message for ten minutes before responding. Part of me wanted to say no. To tell him I wasn't ready. To protect him from getting involved with someone still in love with her ex husband.But my mother's voice was in my head. "You need to move on. You can't stay stuck on Damian forever. Andrew is a good man." So I texted back yes.The second date was nicer than the first. Andrew took me to a French restaurant and told me about his work saving lives in the cardiac unit. He asked thoughtful questions about Nathan and my modeling career. He listened when I talked. He laughed at my jokes. He was perfect in every way that mattered on paper.After dinner he walked me to my door again. "I really like you Bella" he said. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I know you're going through a lot. I want you to know I'm patient. I'm not going

Seeing Her Move On

Damian PovIt was my week with Nathan and I was picking him up from Bella's mom's house. I pulled up to see a car I didn't recognize in the driveway. A nice sedan. Expensive looking. I walked to the front door and rang the bell.Bella answered with Nathan beside her. Behind her I saw a man. Tall with dark hair and a friendly smile. He had his hand on Bella's back in a casual familiar way that made my stomach drop."Damian" Bella said. "This is Andrew. Andrew this is Damian, Nathan's father."Andrew extended his hand and I shook it numbly. His grip was firm and confident. He looked successful and stable and everything I wasn't. He looked like the kind of man mothers wanted for their daughters."Nice to meet you" Andrew said. "I've heard a lot about you.""I'm sure you have" I said. I tried to keep my voice neutral. "Nathan ready to go.""Almost" Bella said. "Let me grab his bag."She disappeared into the house leaving me standing in the doorway with Andrew and Nathan. Nathan was holdin

The Proposal

Bella PovAndrew and I had been dating for three months when he showed up at my mom's house with flowers and a nervous smile. We were supposed to go to dinner but he asked if we could talk first. My stomach dropped. I knew what was coming."Bella I've been thinking a lot about us" Andrew said. We sat on the porch where we always talked. "About our future. About what I want.""Andrew" I started. I needed to stop this before it went too far."Please let me finish" he said. He took my hand. "I know it's only been three months. I know that's fast. But I'm thirty two years old. I've dated enough to know when something is right. And you're right Bella. You and Nathan. You're what I've been looking for my whole life."He pulled a small box from his pocket and my heart stopped. This was happening. He was actually proposing. After three months of me being distant and comparing him to Damian and barely being present in the relationship. He was proposing anyway."I love you" Andrew said. He open

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