All Chapters of Secret Love, Public Betrayal: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

I made up an excuse to take my leave. My old professor, Elaine Harding, took my hand and smiled as she reminded me to arrive earlier tomorrow."Ruby has waited years for this happy occasion, and Henry has finally made up his mind. You and Ruby are best friends, so you should be there for her tomorrow."My fingers went numb, but I nodded. It wasn't until the door closed behind me that I lowered my head and looked at my phone. The screen was still showing the message Henry Upton had sent me that morning."Darling, once the awards ceremony is over tomorrow, I'll make our relationship public."I stared at it for a long time. Out of nowhere, my eyes suddenly began to ache. So when he said he was going public with his relationship, he hadn't meant his relationship with me.As I headed downstairs, messages from Henry started popping up one after the other."Why did you suddenly leave?"It's not what you think."I'll come home tonight and explain everything."I didn't respond to any o

Chapter 2

For five long years, I was the one who stayed by Henry's side through the most challenging years in the lab. I had always thought we were a team.However, I was wrong. I was just the dirty little secret, unfit to be seen in public.Keeping my voice low, I asked him, "So who are you going to be with tonight?"Henry's lips parted, but before he could answer, his phone rang. There was no way I'd misread the name on his screen.It was a call from Ruby McCain, and he answered it instantly. "What's the matter?"I didn't know what was said on the other end, but Henry's expression changed. He turned and grabbed his coat at once."Something happened with Ruby. I need to go see her." When he reached the door, he turned his head to look at me. "Don't overthink this. We'll talk when I get back."This had happened so many times before. When I had a fever, Henry said he had a meeting and told me to take the medicine myself first.When I waited for him in the lab until late at night, he said

Chapter 3

For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then I heard Henry say, "We'll do it together."At that very moment, the last hint of hesitation in my heart disappeared without a trace. I bent down and picked up the offer letter from the floor. A glass shard cut my fingertip, and beads of blood slowly seeped out, yet I couldn't feel any pain.I simply smoothed out the letter, walked over to the table, picked up the pen, and signed it right in front of them. Honestly, I was surprisingly calm while doing it.However, Henry's expression changed drastically."Natasha!"I looked at him. "From this point onward, I'm not waiting for you anymore."Henry didn't move. It looked like he had more to say. Meanwhile, Ruby snatched my phone before I knew what was happening. By the time I realized what she'd done, she'd already seen the email draft on my screen.Her eyes flickered, and she showed my phone to Henry. "See this for yourself."It was a scheduled email. I had written it earlier. I h

Chapter 4

Right away, I realized what was happening. It wasn't really an adjustment to the media segment. Everyone was just afraid I'd ruin the event if I went up on stage for the interview as well.All I could do was stand below the stage and watch as Henry and Ruby walked up side by side. The spotlight fell on them, and every camera followed them.As for me, I was relegated to the back of the crowd like some unwanted presence.Soon, the host asked with a smile, "I hear there's another surprise in store today. Mr. Upton, are you planning to more important do something even more special on such a special occasion?"The crowd started cheering. Some people applauded, while the others shouted, "Pop the question!"Once again, it became crystal clear to me that he had never intended to make my relationship with him public.I turned to leave, but a staff member stopped me. He smiled, handed me a cue card, and said, "We've reserved a seat up front for his family and friends. Please hurry over. Yo

Chapter 5

The host froze, and whispers began spreading through the audience.Henry's face slowly went pale. He quickly walked off the stage and reached out to grab me. "Just come with me first."However, I stood my ground. "I'm staying right here to get my answer."Henry lowered his voice and said with unmistakable urgency, "Don't make a scene! Just come with me for now. I'll make it up to you later. You can have anything you want."Make it up to me, huh?The moment I heard those words, I lost all interest in asking any further. After everything, in his eyes, all I wanted was just some kind of compensation.I threw his hand off and took the microphone from the host."My apologies, but I'll need to take up a few minutes of everyone's time." My voice echoed through the speakers, and the venue fell into pin-drop silence. "I'm not here to cause a scene. I just want to get some facts straight."I turned on the backstage control system. The massive screen above the stage lit up, but instead of

Chapter 6

The videos from the awards ceremony went viral that very night. The entire research community was eagerly lapping up the gossip.Henry and Ruby had spent all these years artfully crafting their image of being the perfect research duo, only for it to be shattered completely just like that.When I returned to the apartment, the first thing I did was pack my things. Half of the closet was filled with my clothes. My toothbrush was still sitting beside Henry's in the bathroom.On the refrigerator door was the note I had written a few days ago. "The milk is expiring soon. Remember to finish it."After glancing at it, I yanked it off and crumpled it into a ball before tossing it into the trash. Then I started clearing everything out. I packed what I could take and discarded what I no longer needed. I didn't even keep the two mugs we had bought together.While emptying the bookshelf, I came across an old lab notebook. There were many sticky notes tucked inside—all messages I'd written to

Chapter 7

"This wasn't something that couldn't have been resolved peaceably. You're the one who insisted on choosing the most extreme approach," Henry snapped at me.Hearing that, I laughed. Even now, he still thought I was the one who had caused this entire mess and ruined things for everyone.However, I didn't bother arguing with him. I simply took the documents I had prepared in advance from my bag and handed them to him. There was my resignation letter, my withdrawal from the project, and the confirmation letter I'd received for my new position with the International Research Institute."Go ahead and see for yourself. From this day onward, you, Ruby, your project—and as a matter of fact, your lives—have nothing to do with me."Once Henry saw the confirmation letter, his expression changed drastically. "You're really leaving?"He stuck his arm out to stop me. But just then, the doors to the operating room suddenly opened. A nurse came out and shouted, "Who's Elaine Harding's next of kin?

Chapter 8

Life abroad wasn't all sunshine and roses. I had a new environment, a new research scope, and a new team to get used to.In the beginning, I was so busy that it felt like I was running for my life. All my time went to attending meetings during the day and dealing with the research data at night. I spent my weekends in the lab too.There were days when I wouldn't get back to my place until 2:00 am. I wouldn't even bother turning on the lights. I would slump down against the door and sit there for a while before I found the strength to get up and take a shower.Still, precisely because I was so busy, I no longer had the time to dwell on the past. No one here knew me. No one knew about what happened at the awards ceremony. No one knew I'd been stuck in a secret relationship for five years.All they knew was that I was Natasha Jameson, a fellow researcher. All they cared about was whether my research work could pass review, whether the projects I led were good enough, and whether my wo

Chapter 9

Henry froze. "How could this mean nothing to you?"Staring at him, I asked, "Do you think it'd make me feel better if you brought these things to me now?"His lips parted, but no words came out, so I said the words I knew were on the tip of his tongue."Are you going to tell me that you didn't mean for any of this to happen? That you were caught between the project, public opinion, and Professor Harding, so that's why you kept making one wrong choice after another?"Henry's face went pale, and just like before, dealing with him felt endlessly exhausting."Henry, Ruby was never the one who truly caused my despair. It was always you," I said. "I'm not that surprised that she plotted against me. I can accept that she tried to take things from me and ruin my opportunities because she was jealous of me."But I can't say the same about you."With my eyes fixed on him, I pointed out, "I gave you my trust. I stood by you for the five most challenging years of your career. I was the one

Chapter 10

When Henry and I arrived at the hospital, Ruby was still in surgery. She'd gotten into an accident while driving to find Henry. Her car had slammed into a guardrail, and by the time she was brought to the hospital, she had already lost a great deal of blood.Outside the operating room, Ruby's mother, Mrs. McCain, sat on a bench, looking rather dazed.When she saw me, she froze for a moment. Her lips quivered for a while, but in the end, all she did was hand me a voice recorder, saying, "Ruby left this for you."I took it and pressed the play button.This time, Ruby had dropped the act completely. In the recording, she admitted that she had been jealous of me for years.She was jealous of the favor and regard Professor Harding showed me and the admiration in other people's voices when they talked about me. She was also jealous of the way Henry looked at me, as though no one else in the world was like me.As a result, she'd slowly resorted to her schemes and ploys to take away ever

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