Chapter 1 01

Vanessa's POV

My heart stopped the moment I walked into the CEO's office at Hayes Holdings

Not because of how sexy my beloved husband, Elliot Hayes looked as he sat on his office sofa, flaunting his finely chiseled chest but because—

There was a redhead right on his laps, straddling him and pressing her "heavily-packaged" boobs against his chest.

For a split second, I wanted to believe I was in the middle of some sick nightmare.

I did everything I could do— pinch my arms, rub my face, but the mentally gory scene remained.

A painful breath shuddered down my lungs. God!

Why did this have to happen now?

Just when I thought I could finally gain his attention with the happy news of being two months pregnant.

My bag slid out of my boneless grasp, landing on the floor with a muffled noise.

It wasn't until then that they noticed they had company. Unfortunately, nothing prepared me for their reaction.

Both Elliot and the woman didn't seem flustered at all. They were eerily calm as Elliot eased her off his lap and both of them pinned their gaze on me.

When I saw the woman's face, a shocked gasp tore out of my throat.

"Bernice!" I blurted.

She was the newest trainee staff in Hayes Holdings— the only staff I was close to, and equally, the only staff who knew I was married to Elliot.

"What are you doing here unannounced?" Elliot asked, his tone cold.

My throat went dry as I stared at him as though he had two heads. How could he speak so casually as if I hadn't just witnessed him cheating on me?

"Elliot, I need an explanation here!" I said firmly.

He rose and closed the space between us. "An explanation? How about you explain why you're just coming to work by this time?"

I exhaled incredulously. "Is this a joke? You sent me to Australia for the—"

"Really?" He cut me off. "How long did you think you could fool me for, Vannessa?"

His voice rose an octave.

"Oh now, you're back from having the best fuck of your life in Australia? Did they make you feel good? How did you feel after cheating on me?"

Shock was an understatement for what I felt. I was simply flabbergasted.

If I didn't feel like my heart was being torn apart, I would have laughed. Seriously? The cheater accusing me of cheating.

Anger rose within me. "Cheat on you? Are you partially demented? You forgot that you sent me to Australia to submit the bid due for the Le Dianne contract?"

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me!" He growled, his lips trembling furiously.

"The damn contract was signed yesterday. Why didn't you come back? Where the fuck were you last night?"

I was even more stunned now. Although Elliot never loved me or saw me more than his secretary, he had never used swear words on me throughout all the three years of our marriage.

I swallowed hard. "I was at the hospital. I spent the night there because they found that I'm—"

"Hospital?" He snapped. "Who do you think you're telling that to? A kid?"

He stormed to his desk and brought out a manilla envelope from one of its drawers.

"Were you also at the hospital when you were being fucked out of your brains?" He ground out as he slammed the envelope to the floor, the contents scattering around.

Bewildered, I bent to pick the scattered pictures. I exhaled sharply as I caught sight of my naked body cuddled between two burly men whose faces were blurred.

It was obvious the photo was photoshopped. But what couldn't understand was why Elliot was stopping so low to this level.

What was he trying to achieve here?

Cover the fact that I had actually caught him cheating on me? No! I should be the one getting mad, not the other way round.

Gritting my teeth hard, I faced him."The picture is fake, Elliot. You of all people should know. I went to Australia to secure a partnership with Le Dianee, which I did. I barely had enough time to sleep, let to talk of fooling around with men!"

A dangerous glint flickered in his eyes.

"Damn! Are you going to keep up with this useless charade? While you were away being irresponsible, Bernice secured the contract and brought it yesterday!"

My head reeled. He's got to be kidding me!

I had suffered, stayed up countless nught, written thousands of proposals for this bid, and now, he was telling me that someone else did it.

I flicked my eyes to Bernice.

"You did what?"

A lopsided smirk crept up her face. "Yes, I signed the contract with Le Dianne. Or do you have evidence that you did instead?"

I snorted a laugh "What nonsense are you even spouting?"

Letting out an exasperated breath, I picked my bag and dug into it for the contract document that I had signed with Le Dianne.

However, to my uttermost shock, I couldn't find it.

A shocked gasp escaped my lips and beads of sweat formed on myforehead as I searched and serached again. But it was all no avail.

I heard Bernice's derisive snicker.

"So, did you find it?"

All rationality snapped out of my body as I faced her and saw her lopsided grin . How did she manage to steal the contract from me?

Before I could stop myself, I lunged at her and tore a resounding slap across her face.

She let out a squeal, holding her hurting cheeks as shock flashed across her features. Elliot also looked taken aback.

Without letting her recover, her grabbed her collar. "How could you stoop so low? After how good I was to you?"

Tears welled up in my eyes.

"I took you as a junior sister. For more than eight months, I lectured you on how to get retained as a permanent staff, but all you could do was stab me in the back?"

Almost immediately, a strong hand suddenly clamped around my neck and spun me on my heels.

Elliot! His gaze had gone dark.

"How dare you raise your hands against a staff, and in my office for that matter? Apologize instantly!"

My throat was hurting from his tight grip on my neck. But that was little compared to the pains his words inflicted on my heart.

How could he tell me to apologize when they were the ones who wronged me? He was furious because I hurt Bernice.

Then what about me? He was hurting every fiber of my being— breaking my soul in the hardest way possible.

Who was going to apologize for that?

"You're hurting me, Elliot." My voice was barely above a whisper and I winced, hating how weak and pathetic I sounded.

"I didn't sleep with anyone and I was also the one who signed the contract. This woman is lying to you." I rasped.

"Don't even give me that!" He retorted. "I've always known you took me for a fool. I paid you, fed you! Gave you everything you needed—"

He swallowed hard. "But you had to soil my name in the end! Elliot Hayes's wife having a hot threesome in Australia's biggest hotel!"

His every word drove a sharp dagger through my heart.

I couldn't take it anymore as hot tears streamed down my face and I jerked free form his hold.

"Is it that hard to believe me?" I croaked. "I'm your wife, Elliot. How can you believe someone you barely know over me? You re letting her destroy our marriage with—"

"Our marriage?" He hissed. "Is that what you call this silly arrangement that your family forced me into?"

I squinted my eyes in puzzlement as he continued.

"You think I didn't know you leaked my family's confidential information to your parents? Do you think I would have married you if they hadn't blackmailed my family?"

"But I'm so done with this!" He threw another envelope at me.

"Those are divorce papers! Sign them!"