All Chapters of Not His First Choice: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

I pulled up to the horse ranch right at three.After I parked, I spotted them—one guy, one girl, riding close like they owned the place.Troy Gardiner had his shirt hanging open, every button undone. Pants half unfastened too. Classy.Even from here, the marks on his chest were obvious. Fresh. Messy. Not subtle.Finger marks. The kind you don't get by accident.Yeah. Anyone with eyes could figure out what they'd just been doing.I snapped a photo and sent it to Troy.He checked his phone and jerked his head up. The second he saw me, his brows slammed together.He swung off the horse—and Ellie Yarwood, his assistant, slipped right into his arms like she'd rehearsed it.She leaned in, whispering in his ear.Just like that, his face softened. He smiled. Actually smiled. Said something back to her.And when he walked over to me, that smile was still there.I watched them—wrapped up in each other like the rest of the world didn't exist.That's when it hit me.I'd made it all u

Chapter 2

The air went cold.Ellie dropped her gaze. "I'm sorry, Ms. Beaumont. This is my fault."Troy, don't argue because of me. It's not worth it."She knew I was mad out of jealousy—and flipped it into a status play.Smart.Her eyes went red on cue. I almost laughed. "Ellie, you like riding, right? I'll give you a horse. Ride whenever you want."Her head snapped up, eyes wide.My voice went cold. "Know your place. You're just an assistant. If it's not yours, don't touch it."Troy finally clocked that I was actually mad and rushed over. "Belinda, I'm sorry. Today's our anniversary—and your birthday."He leaned in close. "I didn't get you a gift this year. So I thought... I'd give you me."He shifted, just enough to show the bow at his neck.I'd known Troy for ten years. Been with him for eight.Every time he forgot my birthday, he pulled the same move to get me to forgive him.Eight years—seven times.I really thought this year would be different. Our last year before marriage.

Chapter 3

After Troy left, I looked around the house I'd lived in for five years.I bought this place for him after the company went public.I wanted a real home with him—not just another house.Ten years ago, I fell for Troy at first sight.I chased him for two years before he finally said yes.After graduation, I chose him. Cut ties with my family. Turned down my dad's offer to take over the business.I never went back.I left everything—my old life, my friends—and stayed here with him.He said Ellie had no one here.Did I?Eight years later, what did I get?His lies. And the distance growing between us.Because of the fallout with my dad, I couldn't touch any family business.So I jumped into entertainment—something I knew nothing about.Back then, we had each other's backs. Every day was about keeping the company alive.That was when we were closest.Later, the company went public.And just like that, everything changed.He met more people. Got more ambitious. Started looki

Chapter 4

Troy shoved me aside, panic all over his face.He dropped next to Ellie. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"Belinda, if you're mad, take it out on me. Why drag someone else into it?"The shove caught me off guard—I went down hard onto shattered glass."I didn't push her."He shot me a look. "Then she just fell on her own?"I pushed myself up, careful of the shards. Blood from my palm dripped onto the white carpet, spreading fast.Troy froze for a second, like he might say something—"Troy, my leg hurts so much."He instantly panicked, already dialing. "I'll get you to the hospital right away."Belinda, I'll deal with you when I get back."When the paramedics carried Ellie out, he didn't even give them a minute to bandage me."Troy, Ms. Beaumont is hurt too—"He let out a cold laugh. "It's just a scratch. She won't die. She brought it on herself. If she hadn't pushed you, none of this would've happened."I closed my eyes.When I opened them again, the hesitation was gone

Chapter 5

Third-Person POVIn a hospital room, Troy sat by Ellie's bed.He'd been here for days, but today felt wrong. Like something he'd always had a grip on just slipped away.Ellie sounded the same as ever. "Troy, after I'm discharged, can I stay at your place? I'll take the guest room like last time. I won't upset Ms. Beaumont."Troy's patience was gone. He frowned. "Don't you have your own place?""I just want to apologize to Ms. Beaumont.""No need. That's between me and her. I'll handle it."The moment the words left his mouth, it clicked.Before, whenever he lost his temper, Belinda always caved first. But it'd been a week—and she hadn't called once.That wasn't normal.He grabbed his phone and pulled her out of his blocked list.That's when he saw it—the breakup text she'd sent that day.He froze, then tried to video call her. Failed. Again. And again.Troy shot to his feet and walked out, dialing the company."Where's Belinda? Put her on."Silence.His patience snapped

Chapter 6

Belinda's POVTroy caught up at the VIP terminal entrance.The second he saw me, he exhaled hard, grabbed my hand, and tried to pull me back."Belinda, thank God I found you. Come home with me. Yeah, I messed up, but you don't have to make it this big, right?"I shook him off, pulled out a tissue, and wiped where he touched me.His face dropped. "What's that supposed to mean?"I tossed the tissue. "Dirty.""The tissue—or me?"He caught himself, shoved the edge out of his voice. "I know you're mad I didn't take you to the hospital. But you hurt her first. If I didn't calm Ellie down and she called the cops, then what? Everything I did was for you."He let out a breath. "Fine. Maybe you don't get it. But transferring your shares and leaving? What's next—marrying someone else just to get back at me?"I shook my head. "You're overthinking it. I'm not getting married to provoke you."He let out a smug laugh and leaned in, like he used to. "Knew it. You still love me."I stepped

Chapter 7

The second the plane touched down in Northgate, my ride was already waiting.I didn't even make it home. Frank, our driver, took a hard turn and pulled up outside a private club."Frank, why aren't we going home?"He just smiled and handed me a dress. "Your dad set you up. He's waiting inside."I glanced at myself—wrinkled clothes, travel mess, the whole disaster. "Now? Seriously?"Could I at least get one night? A shower?Frank saw right through me and flagged down a staff member.Shower. Change. Pull it together.Half an hour later, he showed up right on time to walk me upstairs.I shot him a helpless look.No surprise—once military, always precise.Inside, it was just my parents.Mom took one look at me and smacked Dad. "She's exhausted. You couldn't wait a couple days?"Dad barely looked at me. "My daughter doesn't get to be tired. Wrecking yourself over a man? What a disgrace."I dropped beside Mom and hugged her, then glanced at him. "If I'm already such a disgrace,

Chapter 8

The next two weeks flew by in wedding prep.Then I caught Troy on the news—and yeah, he still wasn't over it.It was supposed to be some big entrepreneur interview, but only the first half aired.Troy looked straight into the camera. Said he missed me."Belinda Beaumont, you're the only person I've ever loved. I screwed up. I know I made you mad, but can you give me another chance? I looked into everything—the whole misunderstanding. I'll fire whoever caused it. Just... come back."His eyes were red. Even with all that studio makeup, you could see how wrecked he was."In the two weeks since you left, I haven't slept once. It's only now—without you—that I realized I have insomnia."Lex leaned over my shoulder and let out a low laugh. "How does he say something that shameless with a straight face?"I glanced up at him, confused.He scoffed. "It was his fault. But say it like that, and suddenly you're the one who left over nothing. Makes you look careless." His tone dropped. "Not

Chapter 9

The next time I heard about Troy was the day I got engaged.Marco called. "Ms. Beaumont, something happened to Mr. Gardiner.""He's not my problem anymore. Handle it. If you can't, call the cops." I was already about to hang up."It's not that, Ms. Beaumont. This involves you."My grip tightened on the phone. "We haven't had anything to do with each other for a long time.""This morning, during a meeting, Mr. Gardiner and Ms. Yarwood started arguing over company stuff. Somehow, it turned to you. Then it got physical, and..." He sighed. "I'll send the video."The file was huge. Took almost a full minute to load.Troy wanted to buy back all the shares—take full control.He was planning a reset. Tighten things up. Cut the projects Ellie had been running.Of course she snapped. "Last year alone, I pulled in two, three million in contracts. Why should my department get cut? Don't use the company to settle your personal crap."Troy's face went cold. He hated hearing about me. "Don'

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