Semua Bab She Said the Baby Is Her Secretary's: Bab 1 - Bab 9

The city outline beyond the plane window grew clearer and clearer.Alestin. The city that had held a year of my humble, lovesick devotion and the final, crushing humiliation. A year later, it came into view again.My fingers unconsciously traced the understated yet priceless wedding band on my left ring finger.The cool touch settled my tangled thoughts.Nicole Cooper was my wife. She was a gentle and kind woman who treasured me like something precious. She was stuck in an overseas video conference and couldn't get away, so she'd specifically arranged for someone from the domestic branch to pick me up and make sure I arrived at the gala safely."Sir, we're about to land. Please fasten your seatbelt," the flight attendant said gently.I nodded and took a deep breath.…I pushed my simple luggage through the VIP exit.I instinctively scanned the crowd of people waiting for arrivals, looking for a sign with my middle name, "Kent."Nicole knew I didn't like a big production, so s

The air instantly froze.There were a few seconds of dead silence, then an even louder burst of laughter."You're Kent?" Chad acted like he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world, his voice shooting up with sharp, cutting sarcasm. "Ryan, did you lose your mind? Open your eyes and take a good look!"He jabbed his finger at the sign."Kent is the actual controlling shareholder of the world's largest publicly traded group. Nicole Cooper's husband! Even if you don't know who Kent is, you sure as hell know who Nicole is, right? She's the kind of person who can make the entire Alestin business world shake just by snapping her fingers! We're waiting for Kent! Who the hell do you think you are? What makes you think we'd wait for you?"Tiffany's face darkened too, her expression a mix of displeasure and contempt."Ryan, a year goes by, and you haven't learned a single thing except how to kid yourself? You think you can just pretend to be Kent? Get lost. Don't embarrass yourself here

Kevin walked me to the VIP elevator entrance and respectfully handed me a pure black key card."Kent, Nicole has reserved the penthouse suite for you on the top floor to rest. The gala is in the second-floor ballroom and starts at 7:30. Nicole will come right over as soon as her meeting ends. If you need anything at all, just let the hotel concierge know or give me a call.""Thanks, Kevin. I appreciate it."I took the key card and nodded at him.Nicole's thoughtfulness was everywhere.The elevator went straight to the top floor.The suite was luxurious and comfortable, with a huge floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the dazzling city nightscape.I changed into more comfortable loungewear, washed up quickly, and checked the time. There was still almost an hour until the gala started.Nicole's meeting seemed to still be going on. I didn't want to bother her, so I decided to head down to the second-floor VIP lounge and sit for a while.The second floor was where the main event wa

That cry of shock and fury—"Ryan!"—cut through the chaos and silence like a lightning bolt ripping open the night sky.Everyone was frozen by the commanding voice. Instinctively, they all turned to look.A striking woman in an elegant gown was walking quickly out of another VIP elevator.Her face was like ice that had been frozen for ten thousand years. Her deep eyes swirled with a terrifying storm, locked precisely onto me—curled up on the stairwell landing, battered and broken.It was Nicole.Behind her were Kevin and several other grim-faced executives. Clearly, her meeting had just ended, and she had rushed straight over.The cold, murderous aura radiating from her made the temperature of the entire second-floor lobby drop several degrees.All the noise died instantly. Only heavy breathing and the strangely eerie sound of the violin background music remained."Ryan!" Nicole flew down the stairs, moving with shocking speed. She dropped to her knees beside me. Her hands, tr

The storm descended on the Alestin business world without warning.Tiffany's world had already been turned upside down. Completely destroyed.The shrill ringing of her phone was like a death knell, yanking her out of her brief, terrified daze.Every call brought devastating news."Tiffany! The Grand Mlatt just unilaterally terminated all of our long-term service contracts! They paid the penalties without even blinking!""Tiffany! It's over. The President of Elgera Bank, Roger Ferrero, just called. He said all of our credit lines are frozen, effective immediately. We have three days to repay this quarter's maturing loan principal plus interest!""Tiffany! That 'Sky Bay' project we've been chasing for the better part of a year? The client just informed us... RKS Group underbid us by thirty percent below our cost. We're completely out!""Tiffany! Our stock price hit the limit-down right at the opening bell. Trading has already been halted!"Every word was like a poisoned ice pick,