All Chapters of His Greatest Pretense: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"If you want to leave, fine. However, first, you have to delete every client's contact information and every coworker's number. Those are company assets, and you have no right to take them with you."Just as I was about to walk out, Wendy Baker, my husband's young girlfriend, stepped in front of me and blocked my way. Having managed the company for years, I knew perfectly well there was no such policy. She was targeting me on purpose.I turned to look at my husband, Jeff Cooper. "Is that what you want too?"Jeff stared at me for a moment, his expression distant, as if he were trying to place who I was. Then, he gave an icy nod.If I really deleted those contacts, there would be no going back.He was convinced I would not dare leave, which was why he was acting tough right now.Honestly, it was not hard to see why he thought that. We had been married for seven years and never had children. The company had become our child instead. In many ways, I cared about it even more than he d

Those days, I could not be bothered to try to figure out what was going on inside Jeff's head. I just wanted the divorce finalized as quickly as possible.I raised an eyebrow and deliberately pushed his buttons."So, you're refusing to divorce me because you still can't let me go?"Immediately, Wendy grabbed Jeff's sleeve and pouted. "Jeff, aren't I your favorite wife? How could you marry someone else?"With both of us pressuring him from opposite sides, Jeff had no choice but to agree. The three of us then headed to the courthouse. Just as we reached the entrance, Jeff suddenly rubbed his temples and swayed slightly, pretending that the familiar surroundings had triggered a memory.Then, he reached out and took my hand.He murmured, "This place feels so familiar… I remember now. On New Year's Eve, you and I stood in line here together to get our marriage license."He knew exactly what he was doing. That had been one of the happiest days of my life. He thought that if he brought u

[I left the corsage in the car, but I found it. I'll bring it to you right now.]I had barely finished sending the message when a familiar voice reached my ears."Thank you all for coming to celebrate Wendy's and my wedding..."I turned around. There, standing near the entrance, were Jeff and Wendy greeting guests. Wendy was dressed in a white wedding gown, and a giant wedding portrait of the two of them stood on display outside the banquet hall.Wendy spotted me first. Without hesitation, she grabbed Jeff's chin and kissed the corner of his lips. The surrounding guests erupted into happy cheers.Jeff laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his embrace. Then, he looked up.The moment our eyes met, he froze. A second later, he abruptly straightened up and deliberately put some distance between himself and Wendy. Wendy pursed her lips, clearly unhappy that his attention had shifted to me. She must have thought I had come to stop the wedding.Seeing so many pe

Only today did I finally learn the truth. All of it had been Wendy's fault. Jeff had known the entire time. Not only had he covered for her, but he had also pinned the blame on me and forced me to clean up her mess.Even after doing all that, Jeff still had not noticed that I had changed. After scolding Wendy a little longer, he sighed helplessly. "Forget it. Everyone knows what your skill level is. I wasn't expecting much from you anyway."Then, he turned toward me, his eyes softening. "Elaine, you're the capable one. I'm sure you can fix this. No matter how difficult the project is or how demanding the client gets, you've always been able to handle it."I was wrong before. Wendy really isn't as capable as you. My wonderful wife is still the best."I was about to refuse when Wendy immediately became jealous. "Jeff, I'm not as bad as you're making me sound!"For once, Jeff did not indulge her. Instead, he snapped sharply, "Enough. Look around. This whole disaster happened because

By the time the wedding was over and I finally had a chance to check my phone, I discovered that news of the company's failed project had already spread throughout the industry.Jeff no longer had the luxury of sitting back and letting other people handle things. On one side, he had to calm the furious client. On the other, he had to deal with angry shareholders demanding answers.For the first time in years, he was the one running around nonstop. During that time, Jeff sent me several messages asking for help. I rejected every single one.Eventually, he lost his temper.[Elaine, I'm giving you a chance to save the company. You should be grateful instead of acting like this.]I immediately blocked his number and blocked him on all other platforms too. After that, I never paid attention to him again.Meanwhile, the situation continued to spiral out of control. The story spread beyond industry circles and into the public eye. For several days in a row, Jeff's company dominated the