Chapter 2~ A mistress

In the morning, Larisa got up and went to the company on time although she didn't sleep all night.

"Have you seen the news? Ivy Williams has returned!" Tatiana Jenkins, one of the employees at the Kingsley group, remarked.

She was talking to her friend while they waited to get into the elevator. Behind them, Larisa kept quiet as they continued to talk about her as though she was invisible.

“You mean that jewelry designer?" The other colleague, Judy Brooks, asked.

"Yeah, she's not just an ordinary jewelry designer, she's also the only girlfriend our boss has ever admitted to dating in public. I heard she's his first love."

"Wow, but isn't it rumored that our boss and Larisa have some-?"

“Of course, not! She was just a mistress!” 

“Haha! What a failure. She thought sleeping her way to the top would make the boss fall in love with her. Now that the woman that he loves has returned, I’m sure she’s not only going to lose her position as the mistress, she’s also going to lose her job.”

Larisa clenched her hands into fists. She gritted her teeth but didn’t say anything. After all, her marriage was a secret only known to Ryan and his family. 

She was Ryan’s personal assistant but no one knew that the two had been married for three years.

Everyone just assumed she was Ryan’s mistress because of how close they were. However, Ryan never corrected them and Larisa had no right to correct them either. Ryan made her promise to keep their marriage a secret.

The doors to the elevator opened and they all entered the elevator. Tatiana and Judy shared a look before continuing their conversation. 

“If I were her, I would resign on my own. It’s clear the boss has someone he loves. It’s so degrading to cling to him like a desperate chick,” Tatiana said, her words full of mockery. 

“Hey… chill. She can hear you,” Judy whispered loudly and laughed. 

It seemed they were having fun at Larisa’s predicament. They had been among the many women who were jealous of her closeness with Ryan Kingsley. Now that his real woman had returned, they found an opportunity to ridicule Larisa. 

“I’m just saying the truth. She’s a mistress who’s about to be abandoned now that the future Mrs Kingsley has returned to the city,” Tatiana stated. 

Larisa clenched her hands into fists at those words. 

Mistress?

She was the rightful wife! And yet, she couldn’t even say that loud.

Larisa pursed her lips, her heart aching. Ryan had not returned home the previous night. He didn’t even have the decency to call her to let her know of his plans. 

She concluded that he had spent the night with his ex-girlfriend. Just thinking about it made her feel like a cat was clawing at her heart. 

Her colleagues mocking words echoed in her ears and her throat ran dry. She was the legal wife but she couldn’t even speak out to defend her position. Could she even defend her position?

How can she defend something that wasn’t hers to begin with?

It didn’t take long for Larisa to arrive at the CEO’s office. However, she wasn’t in the mood to work that day. So, she went to the office to ask Ryan for leave to go home. 

Sure enough, when she knocked and entered his office, she found him seated in his swivel chair wearing different clothes from the ones he wore the previous night. 

“You’re late,” Ryan said in a cold deep voice. 

“Yes… I slept late. I’ve come to ask for a one-day leave,” Larisa requested, trying hard to hold back her tears. 

He didn’t even look bothered that he slept out. 

“Why? Are you sick?” Ryan asked nonchalantly, his gray eyes studying Larisa’s frame.

“I’m not feeling well,” Larisa replied, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. 

The thing is… she wanted to ask him where he had spent the night but she didn’t want to know that he had spent it with another woman. 

Thinking about it and hearing it from the horse’s mouth were two different things. 

“Ok,” Ryan replied and when Larisa didn’t move, he arched an eyebrow and asked, “Anything else?” 

Larisa shook her head. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Ryan didn’t even attempt to explain where he had spent the night. He was acting like what he had done was normal. 

With a broken heart, she left the company and went to the parking lot. However, she bumped into someone in the company’s underground parking lot. 

It was none other than Ivy Williams— the woman of Ryan Kingsley’s dreams. 

 In that wheelchair, she looked very vulnerable, giving the people around her the urge to want to protect her. She was moving her smart wheelchair and stopped in front of Larisa, blocking her way. 

“So, you’re Larisa, Ryan’s wife? I’m Ivy. Nice to meet you,” Ivy said.

Larisa turned pale, she didn't expect to meet Ivy so soon.

“Thank you for taking care of Ryan in the past three years,” Ivy added with a smile on her face. 

Larisa internally scoffed! She made it sound like she was just a caretaker! Was she indirectly asking her to back off now that the owner had returned? 

“You don’t need to thank me for doing my duty as his wife,” Larisa replied through gritted teeth. 

She felt sorry for the woman since she was in a wheelchair but she felt like her statement was a mockery of the real situation of her relationship with Ryan. 

Ivy smiled gently. She replied, “Of course. See you around.”

She began to wheel herself away when her phone slipped from her lap and dropped to the ground. Looking at Larisa, she asked, “Can you help me pick up my phone? I can’t reach it as you can see.”

Larisa nodded and approached Ivy. However, just when she crouched down to pick up the phone, Ivy suddenly fell on the ground and screamed. 

“What happened-”

“Ouch! That hurt!” Ivy cried as blood trickled down her face, making Larisa’s eyes widen in horror.  

“What the-”

“IVY!” A deep voice resonated in the area. 

Larisa’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that familiar voice. It belonged to her husband and she had never heard him sound so worried before. 

He rushed towards them and held Ivy in his arms. When he saw the blood dripping from her forehead, his eyebrows furrowed in anger. He glared at Larisa coldly, giving her the chills. 

Wait did he think she did it?

Larisa’s eyes widened in shock when she realised what was happening. She was being framed!

“Ryan! I swear, I didn’t push her-”

“Get lost!” Ryan yelled and pushed Larisa who landed on her ass. 

 He carried Ivy bridal style, his eyes filled with worry. He looked at her and whispered gently, “Don’t worry, I’ll take you to the hospital.”