Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Husband Brought Another Woman, I Chose His Best Friend : Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

"Hey, girl. Are you okay?" Ralph asked as he slid into the chair across from me, glancing once over his shoulder before settling. I had my lunch spread out in front of me, the little plastic container of noodles still steaming, and I speared a piece of chicken with my fork before I answered. "What's the problem?" I said as I popped the bite into my mouth. "Life is good." Ralph studied me for a long moment, the kind of look that made it clear he wasn't buying a single word of it. "Nina," Ralph said as he leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. "You don't have to do that with me." "Do what?" I said, keeping my eyes on my food as I stabbed at another piece of chicken like it had personally offended me. "Pretend everything's fine," Ralph said as he tilted his head, watching me chew. "I know about the restraining order. I know about the rumours. That's a lot for one morning." "I'm handling it," I said as I shrugged one shoulder, reaching for my water. "Restraining o

"Is this everyone?" Liam asked as he glanced around the small conference room, counting heads."These are the people I trust the most," I said as I shut the door behind me. "Amy and Ralph. Both of them have worked with me long enough to know when something's off.""Good," Liam said as he set a thin folder down on the table and took the seat at the head of it. "Then let's get into it."Amy slid into the chair across from me, pulling out a notepad, while Ralph leaned back with his arms crossed, watching Liam carefully."What exactly are we dealing with?" Ralph asked as he tapped his pen against the table."Camilla," Liam said as he opened the folder and turned it so everyone could see the first page. "She's been feeding information to a rival company. Pricing models, vendor contracts, internal projections. We confirmed it yesterday in a meeting that went about as badly as it could have gone.""Confirmed how?" Amy asked as she looked up from her notepad."The rival executive knew things

Liam's office door was already half open when I knocked, my knuckles barely grazing the wood before he looked up."You're still here," Liam said as he set down the pen he'd been holding, leaning back in his chair."So are you," I said as I stepped inside, my bag still slung over my shoulder. "I thought you'd have gone home hours ago.""I don't sleep much when something's unfinished," Liam said as he rubbed a hand over his eyes, the exhaustion plain on his face. "Apparently, neither do you.""I came to drop off the contract comparisons," I said as I set a folder on the edge of his desk, careful to keep my hands steady. "I wanted you to see the numbers before tomorrow.""You could have emailed them," Liam said as he reached for the folder anyway, flipping it open."I could have," I said as I crossed my arms, watching him scan the pages. "But I wanted to see your face when you looked at them.""That bad?" Liam asked as he glanced up at me, one eyebrow raised."Worse," I said as I sat dow

My phone buzzed against the kitchen counter just as I was pulling a mug down from the cabinet, Elena's name lighting up the screen along with a tiny photo of her squinting into the Italian sun."There she is," I said as I swiped to answer, propping the phone against the fruit bowl so I could see her face."Nina," Elena said as she leaned closer to the camera, her hair windblown and her cheeks flushed pink from the sun. "I miss you so much it's actually embarrassing.""You're on your honeymoon," I said as I laughed, pouring water into the kettle behind me. "You're not allowed to miss anyone but Marco right now.""Tell that to my heart," Elena said as she turned the phone slightly, and Marco's face appeared over her shoulder, grinning."Nina," Marco said as he waved at the camera, his accent thick and warm even through the speaker. "Your sister has been talking about you nonstop. I think she misses you more than she misses her own bed.""That's not true," Elena said as she swatted at hi

The string quartet had shifted into something slower, and waiters were circulating with trays of dessert when I spotted the opening Liam had been waiting for all night. Drew had taken the small stage near the donor wall, a microphone in hand, ready to make some kind of toast about his company's "commitment to innovation.""Watch this," Liam said as he set down his glass, a glint of something dangerous in his eyes."Liam, what are you doing?" I said as I grabbed his sleeve, though I already knew there was no stopping him once that look settled on his face."Trusting you to keep up," Liam said as he winked and started toward the stage, weaving easily through the crowd.Drew was mid-sentence, something about disruption and the future of the industry, when Liam stepped up beside the small riser, applauding lightly as if he'd simply been moved to join in."Forgive the interruption," Liam said as he raised his voice just enough to carry, his smile easy and warm for the room. "I just wanted