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A War on Every Side
Huling Na-update:
2025-03-14 05:55:46
Kaugnay na kabanata
THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE ANOTHER BOARD TO DECIDE HIS FATE
Giselle's POV I sat at my window side, staring at the light of the city flashing on and off in the distance. The wind blew in from the half open window, filling me with the scent of rain. My mind jumble, thought bumping into each other like waves on the shore.Victor's dinner words lingered in my head. "You are better than this, Giselle. I can provide you with the life you want, the safety you need."For the first time in so long, I thought about it. Gladly, could I begin anew with him?Victor had been my love, my man forever. Until everything went wrong. Until he did.But human beings do change, don't they? Maybe he wasn't that gentleman anymore. Maybe it was my turn to shape my fate, be done once and for all with all the misery Patrick had sent me adrift toward. I was snapped out of my daydream."Enter."Nicholas entered, his face serious. My brother was not a man to be easily ruffled, but something tonight was disturbing his eyes.He closed the door on his way in and breathed hea
Huling Na-update : 2025-03-15THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
Patrick's POVI got up and watched Giselle leave the boardroom, heels clacking on the marble floor, shoulders squared in resolve. The urge to call out to her, to get her to listen, to get her to understand—hit then. She was answering her phone call before I could take a step.She did not even blink in responding, her voice not quite as annoying when she was talking to whoever it was she was on the phone with. Her lips were pursed into a sour smile as she was talking to whoever it was she was calling.Who was she calling on the phone? I gripped my fists.Was she calling Victor? The asshole had been lurking around her for the last few days like a vulture. I clenched my teeth and leaned back further in the chair, rubbing my head.This was not where I wanted it to be headed.I had tried to get Giselle to leave me at arm's length. I had wanted her to be as pained as I was hurting. But for some reason, I was getting angry. A drawn-out breath escaped from my lips.I was still facing the dir
Huling Na-update : 2025-03-15THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE A NIGHT OF SURPRISES
Giselle's POVThe evening wind swept past me as I leaned against the wall of the hallway, phone against my ear. Chandeliers along the Von Howard building cast rays of golden light in warm, high-contrast relief to the rest of what was happening outside. Flashbulb cameras, blinding light, whispered rumors of scandal.For a moment, however, I had one and only one thing I cared about, the sound of victor's voice at the other end of the line " I just wanted to check if you were all okay," he said to me, his smooth voice wrapping around me like the damp heat of a summer's day, thick with a feeling of comfort I hadn't realized I was hungry for." "You were kinda tense this afternoon."I rested my weight on the pillar and breathed deeply. "You can say that. It's been.a day.""That bad?" Victor smiled. "I can take you out again, you know. Unwind you. I promise no drama this time."I laughed, shaking my head. "You promise that, but whenever we go out, something always happens.""Right. But I'l
Huling Na-update : 2025-03-15THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE FLIGHT OF SLEEP
Patrick's POVI'd squeezed it the moment I'd walked in, the sharp sting of premeditated partying. Bags of food were strewn all over in dumped heaps on the middle of the living room floor, nice packages with silk bows draped over them, and a gorgeous wedding dress reclining on the coffee table like it was some trophy to be admired.Becky, Debbie, and my mom smiled hopefully, their cheeks flushing pink with anticipation as they stared at their new find."Look! There he is!" Becky grinned, holding the dress against her body. "Patrick, come see! Isn't he handsome?"I barely even glanced at it. I wasn't feeling this. I couldn't play along. I spun on my heel and went up the stairs, not heeding their voices behind me."Becky! Debbie?" my mother's voice boomed."Where are you running off to?" my mother's voice cried out behind me.Becky, after all, was no girl to turn tail and run from a scrap. "At least tell me what you think of the dress!" she pleaded. But I wouldn't. I said nothing. I coul
Huling Na-update : 2025-03-15THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE A MAN'S TRUE COLOURS
Giselle's POVThe bite of the evening air on my face as I sat on the balcony of my father's mansion, gazing out over the beautifully manicured gardens below. The sky was painted in rich oranges and purples, and for a moment, I let myself indulge in the peace of it all. I needed peace. I needed it.But Victor was there beside me. And that was enough to destroy my good conscience."You know," he breathed, his voice as smooth as ever, "I couldn't help but be blown away by how dashing you're looking tonight." I gave him a glare, a brow crunched. "Dashing?"He laughed. "Strong, confident… irresistible." I managed to wrestle a small laugh out of myself, shaking my head. "You always knew how to charm your way in, Victor."He stepped closer, smile still set on his face. "I mean every word, Giselle. You were always a stunning woman, but now… there's something in you. Something in your eyes. You're more beautiful." I detected a flutter of vanity but suppressed it. I did know Victor.His words n
Huling Na-update : 2025-03-17THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE SHADOWS OF THE PAST
Giselle's POVI was sitting in my father's library, the gentle glow of the fireplace creating rippling shadows that danced upon the polished mahogany desk. The events of the evening remained a jumbled haze in my head—Victor's brazenness, Nicholas's inappropriate appearance, and the crushing weight of Patrick's betrayal hanging about my heart as if an unstated presence.Something else also scared me.A nostalgic feeling. A recollection in the furthest corners of my mind, only to resurrect itself like a specter under the cover of darkness.I navigated around the rim of my brimming, unemptied glass of wine, my thoughts drifting back to something that my father had mentioned moments ago at the party."This trade show isn't just an affair, Giselle. It's a vehicle to exerting your power."Power. Influence. Control. These were the things my dad loved. The things I learned from him.And yet, tonight wasn't the same. Something was different. I had just grabbed my phone when the door slowly sw
Huling Na-update : 2025-03-18THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE THE TRUTH UNRAVELING
Giselle's POVMy father's confession hung like an anvil on my chest. My mother was killed, and I had lied all these years. I stood in the study, the walls throwing dark shadows from the faint light, my heart pounding against my chest. Nicholas was just as stunned as I was , his fist clenched at his sides "How long did you plan on keeping this from us?I wept. My father, a man of steel in all other situations, looked. weary. "As long as needed, Giselle. You and Nicholas were children. There was no need to involve you in this."I laughed, my head bobbing. "No reason? Do you hear yourself? You led us to think our mother was murdered by mistake and the people who killed her got away with it." Nicholas moved a step forward, his voice indignant. "Who are they, Dad? You said she was murdered because she found out something. Who were they?"My father paused. "I don't know exactly. But I have some guesses."My stomach tightened. "Then tell us."My father breathed and walked across the room to
Huling Na-update : 2025-03-18THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE A WEB OF DECEPTION
Patrick's POVFatigue from a day at work clung to me like a second skin as I walked home. My mind was already racing with problems—the loss of my business achievement, the investors closing in on me, and now Von Howard's specter.I'd only removed my tie when Becky confronted me, emotionless face. "We have to talk," she whispered. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. "Can it wait, Becky? I've just gotten back, and.. ""No," she snapped. "It's serious." I was shocked.I watched her, observing how she chewed her nails. Becky never chewed her nails. She strode into the room as if she owned the place, always.Whatever this was, something was amiss. "What is it?" I insisted, folding my arms.She took a deep breath. "Someone called today.""Who?""I don't know," she burst out in a hurry. "The call was blocked. But they told me, if you want to get your firm back, if you want to have Von Howard's leniency restored—then you must marry me. Immediately." There followed an awkward silence
Huling Na-update : 2025-03-19
Pinakabagong kabanata
THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE BY SHADOWS AND TRUTH
(Patrick's POV)The sun dipped low as I stood by the balcony door of the hotel suite, a wind in Miami's air brushing my face with whispers of destiny. I barely slept in the last two nights, and Giselle's silence was becoming too deafening. I checked my phone again, trying hard to call hers. Still busy.Becky had been quiet all morning. Too quiet. And I was too distracted to realize it. I just needed to hear Giselle, see her, know that she was alive."Patrick," my mother had tried to say a little while ago, trying to deflect the subject, "Becky's issue. she needs your help.""She needs my help because she fell trying to get my phone," I had answered, my voice colder than I intended it to be.Becky hadn't spoken to me since. And I hadn't spoken to her. I couldn't pretend, not with everything unraveling inside me.My ringing phone jolted me out of sleep. It was Debbie."Hey, Debbie," I said, already sensing the panic in her voice."Patrick, please. I need you to drive me to the contestan
THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE SHADOWS OF REALITIES
Giselle's POVMy silence and Patrick's lingered behind us once we'd spoken. Not the type that creeps up and skinnies and tickles with anxiety, but instead a dense variety, filled by both parties and left untouched due to neither wishing to add any more bulk into the world. I had plopped on the couch, wrapped my legs tightly into my center, soft light from the lamp in the room casting limp shadow on the ceiling.He hadn't pushed. He hadn't insisted. That alone was reassuring and unnerving. Patrick was the one who always stepped back when I stepped back, and for some reason that always made me feel safer with him. But tonight I had wished he would have insisted—wished he would have pushed me to tell him everything I had kept locked inside.Because the truth was choking me.Victor had called me again.I didn't reply. I couldn't. His final message he ever sent just lingered in my inbox, unread: "You'll never be safe without me."He was right, at least—everything had felt unreal. Because I
THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE FRACTURED REALITIES
Patrick's POVThe pounding waves on the beach was the raw, distant sound of the thunder. I was standing in front of the balcony of the suite, looking out over the ocean. The sky was a darker blue with an orange tint to it as the sun started to set. The peace of what I was seeing was such a contrast to the storm that raged inside of me.I had hoped that time would mend the gap between me and Giselle. But distance and silence could not remove the pain, the disillusion, or the deceptions that had built up between us. I had hoped that if I came here, if I was merely there, I could mend everything.But even then, after I'd made the reconciliation gesture, part of me was like walking on glass.I hadn't spoken to Giselle in reality since we'd talked on the beach. She'd retreated again into her silence, and this wall was there between us. One I wasn't sure I could climb.The ring of my phone reminded me of what was real. It was Grace on the phone."Patrick," her voice grated across the phone.
THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE WHISPERS OF FIRE
Giselle's POVThe ocean breeze swept over my hotel room floor-to-ceiling sheer flowing curtains, stroking my skin with the softness of silk. I was standing at the glass, arms crossed, looking out toward the horizon where the sky was dancing with the waves. Miami was another type of wildness—noisy and restive. But I was weary of twinkly lights and further cacophony of applause.My phone went quiet once more. No calls. No texts. Patrick hadn't called or texted me since that strange message he'd sent two nights before—the one where his voice broke, like he was holding something fragile and already letting it go.I wrapped my robe more securely around me and went to the dresser. My hair smelled of vanilla and gardenias, my skin still warm from the bath I'd indulged in a little while ago. Today was meant to be peaceful, but this ache was in my breast. As if something was waking up, something was moving. and I wasn't prepared."Ma'am," one of my guards knocked on the door, entering. "Miss G
THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE THE WEIGHT OF CROWNS
Giselle's POVI couldn't breathe.Not because my practice corset was too tight—though it was stuck to me like a vice—because the dressing room walls kept closing in with every untexted moment, every unspoken one, every time I blinked and Patrick's face flashed before me in the darkness.He was there for me.I knew the moment he walked into the lobby. My father had eyes and ears everywhere, but even if he hadn't, I would have known. The air around me shifted. My heart shifted. My phone was in off mode when Becky called me, crying, accusingly, bewildered. I did not need the explanations. Not yet. My world had swerved too far from its axis. I had wished for silence to put it on a straight axis once more.But silence was treacherous. It betrayed things into me I did not want to know."Giselle," my assistant Sarah had called at the door. "Five minutes before last rehearsal. Ready?" "Coming," I had replied, rising from the velvet couch and regarding myself in the mirror.The woman in th
THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE BENEATH THE SURFACE
Patrick's POVI couldn't sleep.I reclined on the hotel bed looking up at the ceiling fan, its soft whirring mingling with the hum in my head. I was in Miami but felt more distant from all I ever knew. The soft glow of the bedside lamp cast shadows with dance motions on the wall. My phone was silent, face down on the nightstand.Giselle had yet to call me back.I rolled over on my side, pulling the comforter up over my chest like it could shield me from the shame crawling all over my body. Why wasn't she answering? Why wasn't her number still open? Dozens of questions ran through my mind—had something happened to her? Or was she just. done with me?Becky's face remembered, scowling in anger when she pilfered my phone from off my person earlier. How she crumpled. The terror in the shriek she let out. The crying, the trembling of her hands laid over her belly. And I? I had taken a step back. Like a coward.I groaned and sat up straight, running my hand through my hair. I needed some air
THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE SHADOWS OF THE PAST
I woke up to the soothing whizz of sea waves on the windowpane, sea wind seeping through the almost-closed curtains. My body felt heavy, as if stuck with a sticky of laziness for days. I rolled over and threw my arm over to the bedside table where my phone rested. Missed calls and unread messages streamed before me.Patrick had been phoning me again.I cursed, sitting up and rubbing sleep from my eyes. I'd been staying away from him, not that I wasn't, but because my brain was in turmoil. My heart was a battleground, past and present, duty and desire.A knocking on the door to break me out of my trance."Come in," I roared, throwing the bed back.Nicholas came in, quieter than normal. "You did not call last night. I was frightened."I fabricated a small smile, attempting to bleed some of the tension from the moment. "I was tired. The party wore me out more than I anticipated."He crossed his arms, his eyes pinning me as he nailed me with them. "Or you were avoiding Patrick?"I winced
THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE UNRAVELING SHADOWS
I awoke to the quiet thrum of the air conditioner, cold blankets drawn high around me as if wrapping me in some kind of protection. Body had recovered and caught its breath, but mind was assailed with memories, questions, and theinine whine that somethings still hung over in the distance, threatening to unravel.I yawned, my whole body hurting from the strain of the last two days, and stretched out to grab my phone. No call from Patrick. That was not expected. Half of me had been expecting him to call a hundred times at least, but nothing. Perhaps he finally gave up. Or perhaps something else was preoccupying him.A gentle knock on my door brought me back to reality."Come on in," I said, shoulders propped against the headboard.Nicholas slid open the door and grinned, impossibly so, after all these years we'd spent living in secret. He placed a tray of breakfast on the nightstand and sat at the foot of my bed."How's it going?" he asked, never once looking away from mine."Good," I a
THE CEO'S SECRET WIFE WHISPERS IN THE DARK
Giselle's POVThe city sounds outside my hotel room window hummed like a distant lullaby as I shivered on the chaise lounge, staring at my phone. The screen was white, no call, no message. Patrick had called no one, nor did I call him. Half of me wanted to know where we were, but the other half didn't care.I breathed deeply and placed the phone on my side. Miss World was the following day, and I still had some of those last-minute things to sort out. However, my mind was preoccupied by a maelstrom of endless questions—Patrick, Victor, something somewhere in the background.As I was about to hoist myself up, there was a soft knock on the door of my suite. My throat was parched. Was it security? Had something occurred? I walked on my feet, clutching around me the silk robe that I had wrapped around my naked body, and crept up to the door."Who is it?" I asked."It's Nicholas," my brother's reassuringly familiar voice said over the telephone. I swung open the door at once and flung it w
