My Boss, My Secret Husband

I Married My boss In Secret

"Monica, I asked you to deliver documents to the boss, but why is your lipstick gone?" The team leader yelled at me, "Have you been having a snack again?

If you don't want to do this job, quit!"

Just as I was stammering and didn't know how to defend myself, the boss suddenly appeared in the doorway. He looked at the team leader indifferently and said calmly, "I ate the snacks. Do you have a problem with that?"

1 I had a crush on Tristan for a very long time.

From high school to college, I followed in his footsteps and traveled across most of Hesnionia. Although my shoes were worn out, our relationship never progressed. So I decided to return to my hometown.

But fate played a trick on me. Tristan became the boss of our company.

I had thought that my chance had come, but then I found out that he had a four-year-old child.

"The new boss is really handsome!" "With a boss like that, I'm willing to work overtime every day. " "Sadly, I heard that he is divorced and has a child".

Tristan's arrival made the girls in the office very excited, and they gossiped about him in private.

Every time I heard this kind of gossip, my heart was in pain.

In those years, he went through marriage, divorce, and the birth of a child. He lived a very fulfilled life.

And I secretly loved him for many years.

This time, I finally decided to let go.

2 Over the weekend, my family arranged for me to go on a blind date.

But when I saw him sitting across from me, I couldn't believe my eyes.

He looked at me and asked me straight out, "Do you want to marry me?"

I was shocked.

"Why me?" I asked in disbelief.

Was I more attractive than those Internet celebrities waiting for him downstairs every day?

"You give off an approachable vibe, the kind of person many people would like to spend time with," he replied so matter-of-factly.

After hearing his praise for me, I was speechless for a moment. I just felt a little disappointed.

"$200,000 dollars."

He said with a pause, his tone firm. "I will give you $200,000 dollars a year. We can sign a prenuptial agreement, and after we get married, I won't interfere with your freedom."

I froze. "What makes you think that giving me $200,000 dollars......"

Before I could finish, the sound of an PayPal payment notification rang in my ears.

I felt insulted.

In theory, I should have returned the money and given him a slap in the face.

But the reality was harsh. I was already 27 years old, and I understood the difficulties of life.

If I had to choose between him and his money, I'd rather choose his money.

Besides, I really need the money right now.

So I gritted my teeth and said quietly, "OK."

3 He and I got married right away.

The marriage ceremony and the issuance of our marriage certificate took less than an hour.

As soon as we had become legal spouses, he gave me a prenuptial agreement to sign.

The content of the agreement took me by surprise. All I had to do was to pick up his child from kindergarten every day and to play the role of a competent stepmother.

However, there was one important condition.

"You will not be allowed to disclose our relationship to the outside world, especially not at work."

It dawned on me that all he wanted was a nanny to take care of his child for him.

A nanny's salary of $200,000 dollars per year was a bit low, to be honest. But when I thought about the opportunity to live with this handsome man, I reluctantly accepted the offer.

But on the first day of our marriage, he had to fly out of town to work.

"I have a villa in the Eastern Suburbs and one in the Western Hills," he told me indifferently from the back seat of his car.

"You can choose which one you want to live in."

"Are you giving me a villa?" I asked in surprise.

After all, I'd never seen a real villa before.

I couldn't help but wonder if the fees for the property management were high.

I was worried I would not be able to afford the property fees.

He turned his head and gave me a look, "It's just for you to live in."

"Oh, I see," I quickly replied in an attempt to ease my embarrassment.

It was just for me to live in.

"Western Hills. I like to stand in front of the floor to ceiling windows and take in the beautiful sunset."

He looked at me. But he didn't say anything.

Did he not want to give me this villa? So I whispered, "Then... then the villa in the eastern suburbs is fine."

The driver couldn't help but interject, "Western Hills is the name of a place, not where the sun sets. You can see the sunset from a villa in the eastern suburbs."

I felt so embarrassed that I wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

I didn't want to talk anymore.

"Western Hills. It's closer to the company."

He handed me a set of keys

"When will you be back?"

I tried to change the subject and talk about something else so I would not feel so awkward.

After I said that, I regretted it. After all, our marriage was only for convenience, and we would have no interference with each other's freedom.

He calmly replied, "In a week."

Seeing that I was silent, he sighed lightly, "You don't have to wait for me."

"Oh, I understand," I replied again. But his eyes seemed to be asking me a question, "Do you really understand?" He added, "Just go about your own business and don't waste your time on me."

I was taken aback by what he said. A rage rose in my heart.

I really didn't think he had to say that.

"What makes him think that divorced men like him are still popular?" I angrily thought.

4 I felt a little uneasy because this was the first time I went to the kindergarten to pick up the child.

"Mathew, your mom is here," the teacher who knew I was Monica looked at me carefully.

A small boy with an Ultraman school bag stood in front of me at that moment. "She's not my mother," he said in a calm tone as he looked at me.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

I tried to take his hand, but he gently shook it off.

"He's probably not used to me picking him up," I said. I forced a smile to ease the awkwardness.

"Well, I understand. Look, Mathew looks so much like you. How could you not be his mother?"

The teacher comforted me with a smile on her face.

He looked like me?

I couldn't help but feel a sudden shock.

"Kyson, you are a liar! Mathew has a mother. Why did you say he didn't?" A little girl said to a little chubby boy and pointed at us while pulling him along.

The little fat boy looked at me curiously, then lowered his head, blushing and whispered, "My mother told me that she is his stepmother." I stood still for a moment and looked down at Mathew. His little face was all taut, and he continued to walk with his head bowed.

We got into the car. "Mathew, are you feeling too hot? Should I turn down the air conditioning a little?" I asked him patiently.

"I hate you," he replied bluntly, leaving me speechless.

All right, then.

After the car stopped, Mathew went to the supermarket and bought a lot of toys and snacks, so much that no other child could keep up with him for a whole semester.

The driver told me that this was what he did all the time.

I sighed and thought to myself, "he is not my biological child and none of this is any of my business."

As night fell, Tristan was not at home. I called him to tell him that I had picked up the child.

"Why was he angry?" He suddenly asked after hearing my report. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's because the teacher said he looks like me, and he doesn't think I'm good-looking?" I guessed.

Every time I looked in the rear view mirror, I could see Mathew looking at me, or rather, he was staring at me.

"You're good-looking," Tristan said after a moment of silence on the other end of the line, "Don't take it personally."

I was good looking?

My heart rippled at his words.

5 My first attempt to pick up Mathew from kindergarten ended in failure.

The next attempts were no better.

However, I remained optimistic, and no matter what Mathew said, I kept smiling and responding to him. After all, my goal was simply to get him home safely

There was no need to argue with a child.

On the weekend, my co-worker Tatiana and I were out shopping.

I took the opportunity to buy my mother some loose-fitting T-shirts so she could change when she was in the hospital.

A black Bentley was parked in the mall's underground garage, opposite the elevator entrance.

The black Bentley caught my attention because it resembled Tristan's car.

The next moment I was surprised to find him in the car! I also saw through the half-open window that a girl was inside.

This scene made me feel a mix of emotions in my heart.

Tatiana noticed it too, and she touched my arm and whispered, "Boss!" We both couldn't help but peek.

"What else do you want?"

Inside the car, Tristan's voice was slightly dry and cold. His eyebrows furrowed.

The girl said, "I don't want bags or necklaces, I just want you." She wrapped her arms tightly around Tristan's neck.

Just as we were impressed by the passionate and unrestrained nature of the young girl, Tristan replied coldly, "I'm sorry."

"Why? Don't you like me at all?" The girl asked him angrily.

He bluntly said, "I don't like girls who don't listen to me."

He then pushed her away and gestured for her to get out.

"I can be obedient." The girl anxiously said. She even tried to hug and kiss him.

All of a sudden Tristan looked up and saw me.

I witnessed all of this. But I was unable to hide in time and was caught red-handed. At that moment I was so embarrassed that even my breathing stopped.

He stared at me for a few seconds, his expression complex and hard to read.

Then he looked away and said coldly to the girl, "Delete my contact information. Don't humiliate yourself." His face suddenly grew dark.

No girl could stand that. The girl was seen to get off the car with her handbag in her hands and left in tears.

Tatiana and I hurriedly pushed the elevator button to close the door. As the elevator door closed, I saw him still sitting in the car, looking at me from afar.

I couldn't read the emotions in his eyes. It seemed as if he had an urge to explain, but also as if he didn't care about it.

I rather believed the latter.

"Monica, the girl who was just sitting in the boss's car seems to be a famous Internet celebrity on the TikTok. She has an incredible 10 million followers. I really like her."

Tatiana excitedly showed me the Internet celebrity on TikTok. "She is quite pretty," I had a look at her screen and had to admit that Tristan really had good taste.

"I used to admire her so much. But I never expected her to be so humble in front of our boss. It's really disappointing."

I chuckled.

"These days, it's really good to be rich."

"So is our future boss's wife going to be this Internet celebrity?

Will she come to the company every day looking for our boss?"

"Maybe, it's really possible." I stammered.

Every time this happened, I recited the prenuptial agreement in my head.

Tatiana dragged me to the second floor and said as she went, "These days, Internet celebrities all want to marry rich men. I never thought our boss, so rich, handsome and charismatic, would like an Internet celebrity." She continued, "In fact, this Internet celebrity will be very lucky to marry our boss, even if she will become a stepmother."

-

"Yeah, you're right." I could only nod in agreement.

She then asked me, "Are you still single? Let my mother introduce you to a good man." She paused for a moment and then added, "Ordinary people like us can't hope to marry a man like our boss. We'll be lucky if we can find a man with a steady job and a good temperament."

"You're right."

As soon as I finished talking, my phone rang.

The caller ID said, "Become Rich Overnight"

It was Tristan.

"Who is calling?"

Tatiana saw the caller ID and asked me with a smile.

I told her, "It's my cousin," and then signaled for her to answer the phone. "What time will you be home?" His voice was still so deep and pleasant, and my heart beat faster.

"Five o'clock."

I heard him click his lighter on the other end of the phone. Then he asked me, "Can you take a cab home by yourself?

I have to drop someone off."

Even though it was a question, it sounded like he had already made up his mind.

"Well, go ahead." I could have just said yes, but for some reason I had to add that sentence.

After I said it, I felt like a jealous woman and was surprised by my own jealousy.

He paused again as if to explain, "I'm having a party tonight on Seaside Road."

I said, "I see."

What kind of party was it? It was just a date with this Internet celebrity or that Internet celebrity.

I felt sad and disappointed.

Then I thought, "Tristan and I are just in a marriage of convenience, so why should I be jealous?"

"Okay."

He then hung up without saying anything.

Immediately after that, there was a "ding" sound. $20,000 dollars had been transferred to my PayPal account.

I looked at the number and thought about it for a while.

Only then did I understand what he meant by saying he liked someone who was obedient.

Being obedient meant turning a blind eye and letting him see other women, and not crying or making a scene, but just accepting the money and being his nominal wife.

If I had known that being obedient could make him so generous, I would have pretended to be obedient all the time.

6 A few days later, I took a leave of absence and went to the shanty town in North District.

I walked into a dilapidated red brick building and saw several empty beer bottles on the floor as soon as I entered.

"You're drinking again?" I was feeling pretty blocked up inside, and when I saw her like this, I could only let out a sigh.

"You've got some nerve. Mind your own business." My mother casually threw a beer bottle at me, which hit my forehead, causing pain.

Enduring the pain, I picked up the beer bottle and pulled her up from the bed.

"Have you had enough? let's go to the hospital."

Every May my mother started drinking and I knew she missed my sister again.

"I don't go to the hospital. I can't afford the medical bills."

My mother pushed me away. She went to the bathroom to wash her face.

I called a taxi, forced her into the car and took her to the hospital.

When she saw the bill, she tried to throw it away and leave.

"I have money." I showed her my phone, which clearly showed how much money was left in my bank account.

"Did you sell yourself?" She looked at it and her face changed immediately.

I marveled at her loud voice, and everyone in the ward looked at me strangely.

I took a deep breath and said, "Couldn't I have earned it?" She looked at me in disbelief. "It is too expensive to see a doctor. I'm still healthy, I won't die that easily."

I felt extremely embarrassed.

But I knew why she was like that.

It was because she was poor and couldn't afford to see a doctor.

She also wanted to have a good life, but life never let her have what she wanted.

"Tell me all about it after your surgery." I ignored her and completed the hospital admission procedures myself.

After her examination, the operation was scheduled for 8 pm.

Once everything was settled, she stopped fussing.

"You are already 27, find a good man and get married. I'm tired of taking care of you."

she said suddenly before entering the operating room.

Her tone was especially heavy, and it sounded like she was saying goodbye forever.

"Don't even think about it!" I was so angry.

"Why are you being so disobedient?" my mother was angry.

"If you're angry, wait until after the operation to argue with me," I replied.

As I sat outside the operating room, my heart was in turmoil.

-

It was my grandmother who arranged a blind date for me with Tristan. She said that Tristan was the grandson of my grandfather's army buddy.

But what she didn't know was that Tristan's family owned a company and was super rich. He probably agreed to the blind date out of courtesy.

I didn't want to tell my mother about my sudden marriage to him. I knew exactly what she would do.

I remembered what my mother had said before the operation: "You have an elder sister, Florrie, in the United States. If I'm not around anymore, go see her.

I've had her photos and address on my Whatsapp."

When I saw my sister's photos for the first time, I was really surprised.

She was pretty. She was wearing Gucci and carrying a Chanel bag in the photo. I thought my dad whom I had never met was super rich.

My grandmother had told me that after my parents got divorced, my sister went with my dad and I went with my mom.

My mother was especially selfish. She worried that I was an ungrateful ingrate, and was always afraid that when I grow up, I would leave her and go to my father.

From a very young age, she kept telling me that I was raised by her alone, without a father.

"Why do other people have fathers and I don't?" Your father is dead.

Monica, if you don't want to live with me, just leave!" I gave in every time I saw her shaking with rage.

"He's dead, so what's the point of arguing with a dead man?" I comforted her.

7 She had heart bypass surgery, which took much longer than I expected.

I was waiting outside the operating room and it felt like an eternity.

After about an hour, a doctor told me to go inside. The doctor told me that after the catheter was inserted, it was found that two arteries in her heart were 90% blocked, and he asked me to choose which surgical plan to go with.

The doctor said, "Both of these plans have their benefits, but the price difference is quite substantial. Are you the only family member here?"

I said, "Yes." I didn't really understand what the doctor was saying. I just saw my mother lying on the operating table, and I felt so bad that I told the doctor, "Use the most expensive surgical materials."

Without thinking much, I signed to agree to the surgical plan.

When I signed, my hands were so sweaty that I could hardly write my name.

After I signed, I walked out feeling unsteady, as if I were walking on cotton.

It was the first time I had made such a big decision.

I always thought I was pretty independent and didn't need to rely on others.

But when I signed the consent form today, I realized how scary loneliness was. It felt like it was swallowing my will, and I felt so helpless.

"What if she really dies?" I didn't dare think any further.

My mother actually had a pretty bad temper.

She smoked, drank, played card games, and did everything.

Whenever she got angry, she beat me, yelled at me, and told me to go away.

But where should I go?

Although she often didn't act like a mother, she still put on slippers and carried me to the clinic in the middle of the night when I was sick with a high fever. The doctor at the clinic said he was off and would not see any more patients. But she could just stand in the doorway and beg the doctor until he agreed to see me.

When I was bullied at school, she would go and find the father of that kid and confront him.

As long as she was there, no one had the guts to bully me at school, even though I didn't have a father.

She had a hard time herself, but she raised me anyway.

So I would never leave her.

I would stay with her forever.

I just sat there, lost in thought. After a while, I realized that I was crying, and tears were running down my hands.

I quickly stood up and went to the bathroom to wash my face.

As I went around a corner, I saw two people passing by.

8 "You were only dating for a couple of days. You dumped that girl again and blacklisted her. You're so heartless."

A doctor said with a smile, wearing the white coat.

"Humph!" The man in the suit snorted and said nothing.

"Everyone is guessing who your next Internet celebrity girlfriend will be. You change girlfriends so fast. What are you really looking for, Mr. Harris?"

"I'm tired of it." The man said indifferently.

I trembled when I heard that familiar voice.

Tristan! I froze, unable to move.

Why was he in the hospital?

I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, but they were walking fast and I couldn't hide, so I was in a dilemma. "You are tired of it." The doctor was surprised.

"Are you going to turn over a new leaf, Mr. Harris?"

Tristan didn't answer, just smiled and continued, "My family has arranged a blind date for me."

"A blind date?"

The doctor was even more excited, "You're actually going on a blind date?"

Before I could hear what Tristan was saying, he was standing in front of me.

I stood there looking up at him, and I caught him looking back at me. Suddenly I felt a little overwhelmed.

The doctor also realized that something was wrong between us, so he stopped and asked.

"You two know each other?"

"Hello, boss," I said, taking the lead.

"Oh, she's your employee."

Tristan didn't answer the doctor. He just looked at me and then at the operating room at the end of the corridor behind me. "Why are you here?" "Someone I know is having an operation," I subconsciously didn't want to tell him that the person having the operation was my mother.

He looked at the door to the "Intervention Room" behind me and frowned slightly, "Are you alone?"

"Yes." Then I remembered that I had to go to the bathroom and I had to hurry. I had to go back outside the operating room and wait.

"I'll go over there. I'll go first. "Okay." I ran to the bathroom.

Behind me, I heard the doctor talking to him again, as if meeting me was just a trivial incident.

"We're going to the alumni party tonight. You have to help me. I can't drink and I have to work tomorrow."

After that, I couldn't hear them talking.

When I came out of the bathroom, there was no one in the hallway, so I hurried back outside the operating room to wait.

Thinking back to their conversation, I still felt a little down.

Even his classmates knew he was a playboy. So my marriage to him was really just a piece of paper.

What could I hope for?

After waiting a while, my mother was wheeled out of the operating room.

Her surgery went well, and my mood finally improved.

In the evening, I bought her congee and fed her. She didn't scold me much because of the pain.

After she fell asleep, I hired a nursing worker to take care of her. I still had to go to work, so I couldn't stay at the hospital all the time.

When I pay the hospital bill, I thought of Tristan again.

Thanks to him, I was able to pay for my mother's medical expenses.

I smiled bitterly.

9 I was about to take the elevator down when my phone rang.

It was Tristan calling. "Have you left yet?"

I didn't understand why he was asking. Was he still in the hospital? "Well, I'm just leaving the hospital."

"Go to the second basement."

The second basement?

I didn't think much of it and took the elevator down.

As soon as I got out of the elevator, I saw his black Bentley parked there.

He rolled down the window and told me to get in.

I opened the back door with a stiff back.

"Get in the front."

He simply said the words, but his tone carried an unmistakable air of authority.

"Okay." I had to sit in the passenger seat with my heart pounding.

In fact, we usually both drove his car to work together.

He sat in the passenger seat, I sat in the back, and I got out early when we got close to the company.

But today he was driving and I was in the passenger seat, which was a first.

He turned his head and looked at me, and when he saw that I had fastened my seat belt, he drove toward the villa.

I asked him, "Aren't you going to a party?"

I thought he should be at the party by now.

But he asked me in return, "Do you like eavesdropping so much?" I quickly explained, "It wasn't intentional."

He didn't say anything, just looked at me.

I looked up and saw his long, thin fingers tapping on the wheel, his face expressionless.

"The party is pretty boring." he said casually, as if explaining it to me.

"Oh." I didn't know what to say.

He asked me, "How was your friend's surgery?"

"The surgery went well." I said.

"I am quite familiar with the hospital directors, would you like me to help?"

He asked me.

I quickly refused him, "No, thank you."

I didn't want him to know it was my mother, and I didn't want my mother to know about the stupid things I was doing.

He looked at me and didn't say anything.

I hardly spoke to him at the company.

He was always out or came back home after I was asleep.

I slept in the guest room, and the two of us barely spoke all day.

Suddenly he asked again, "Monica, didn't you go to school here before?"

I replied, "Yes, South Sea High School."

Actually, I told him that on purpose. Because he also graduated from South Sea High School.

He looked at me, raised his eyebrows and said, "Then we are alumni. That's quite a coincidence,"

I quietly replied, "It is indeed quite a coincidence." but I was a little disappointed.

Little did he know that it was just for him that I had gone to South Sea High School.

As it turned out, he had already gone to university when I received my acceptance letter.

"Have we met at school before?" he asked. My heart skipped a beat.

Did he...did he remember me?

When he saw that I didn't say anything, he gave me a look and smiled, "I don't think so. I was only at South Sea High School for one year, my senior year."

I didn't say anything. But I knew in my heart that he had already forgotten me.

He had only been there for one year. And he had only seen me once in the school.

But I saw him every day at school.

At the gate of the school, there would always be a group of girls surrounding him and asking him for Whatsapp.

In the playground, there was also a group of girls who gave him water.

I wanted to go up and talk to him, but I was afraid.

When I thought about it, I smiled bitterly and said, "Maybe you're right."

He didn't say anything to me and kept on driving.

I kept my mouth shut for a while, but finally I couldn't stand it anymore and asked, "Boss, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" he asked.

"Did you marry me because I'm easy going?"

He paused for a moment, stared at me for a long time, and suddenly laughed, "You really believe what I said?" What kind of answer was that!

My heart started to beat again when I saw his smile. Those little flames of unrequited love that had been hidden away in my heart began to flare up once more.

10 The next day, I really couldn't hold back any longer and I wanted to ask him face to face what he meant by what he had said the night before. What I didn't expect was that he was away on business again.

So I had to go to work with dark circles under my eyes.

My Team Leader gave me a pile of documents and told me to get them done before I left to work.

I sat in front of the computer and typed while I sorted them. I was so busy that I didn't even have time to eat lunch.

As soon as it was time for me to leave work, I left the office right away to go pick up Mathew from the kindergarten. I was so hungry that I bought a loaf of bread on the street and wolfed it down.

I hurried as fast as I could, but I was still ten minutes late. To make up for it, I went to the toy store on the way to the kindergarten and bought a lot of toys for Mathew.

Mathew stood at the entrance of the kindergarten with a sulky face. I quickly picked him up and put him in the car, and I tried to cheer him up with the toys.

At that moment, Tristan called. "Did you pick up Mathew?" he asked me on the phone.

"Yes. " I said. "I'll be home in two days," he seemed to be hiding something, "do you like bags?" he asked me.

Bags?

I didn't react for a moment.

I was about to say no to him. A toy hit me in the face and my eyes hurt so much I couldn't open them.

I covered my eyes and gasped in pain. After a few seconds, I tried to stay calm and said to him, "Let's talk about this later. Mathew is angry."

Then I finished talking to him.

"What are you doing?"

My eyes were hurting so much that I was getting a bit angry as well.

"If it weren't for you, my mother would be back!" Mathew's round eyes stared back at me, and his face was red with anger.

I thought about it.

I had a feeling that his sudden anger was because of his father's phone call to me.

Normally, I was able to put up with everything that he did as long as he was obedient and listens to me. After all, I was his stepmother.

But today I felt that this was not acceptable and I had to say something to him.

So I whispered to him, trying to gain his understanding "Mathew, this is an adult matter, you're just a kid, so don't get involved, okay?" I didn't know where his real mother was and if she would come back.

But Tristan and I had already gotten our marriage certificate, and he had made me his son's stepmother. It was obvious that he didn't want to be reunited with his ex-wife again.

He then said, "I understand everything, don't lie to me like a kid. You are the bad one, you are the one who stole my father!"

I was left speechless by what he had said.

How did I steal his father?

"Even if your father and I don't get married, your mother will never come back," I said to him in a straightforward manner.

He glared at me, his lips quivering with anger.

Tears welled up in his eyes in an instant.

Seeing him cry made my heart ache.

He was still a child, and I shouldn't have made him so sad.

I reached out to hug him. He pushed me away hard and pulled something out of his school bag. "I have a mother and she is my mother. She will come back for me!" He insisted that I look at it to prove that he was right.

-

I felt sorry for him.

but when I looked closely at the photo, my mind went blank and I couldn't think of anything.

The person in it was my own sister Florrie.

11 My mouth was open, but I couldn't speak.

It sent a shiver down my spine.

"Is that your mother?" I couldn't believe it, so I asked him to verify it.

"Yes, my mother is much better looking than you." he said proudly, holding up the photo.

As soon as I heard that, I didn't have any argument with him.

My mind was in a state of confusion. I wondered how he became my sister's child.

And was Tristan's ex-wife really my sister? What was going on?

My head was full of question marks, searching for answers.

But my mind was empty, as if I had lost my soul.

When we got home, Mathew finally stopped being upset and the nanny took him to take a bath. I lay on my bed and was still not able to come back to my senses.

I remembered lots of things.

I recalled that my grandmother had told me that my sister went to the United States with my father.

The picture made me remembered that the last thing on my mother's mind was my sister, whom I had never met, before she was wheeled into the operating room.

I revived a scene in my mind. Tristan had proposed to me on our first blind date

I recalled that the kindergarten teachers had said that Mathew looked like me.

Now I understood.

It was not that Mathew looked like me, it was that I looked like my sister.

I began to wonder that every time Tristan suddenly became gentle and talked to me, did he think I was my sister?

I also wondered whenever my mother got drunk and started crying, she cried that she missed me. Did she think I was my sister too?

What about me?

I wondered why I was born.

Did I come into this world by chance? Or was I just a temporary substitute for my sister, like a shadow?

I now felt that this world was unbelievably weird.

At night, Tristan sent me a Whatsapp message, and I still had a lot of questions in my mind.

"Did Mathew go to sleep?" he asked me. "Yes." I replied. "What happened between you and Mathew today?" he continued to ask.

"Nothing, Mathew was just a little upset for a while." I replied to him.

"Oh, I see."

Every night he found me to chat with. But all he ever asked was about his child.

I was like a robot he hired to report to him.

I thought that would be the end for the night, but then he sent another message.

"I'm going to a designer handbag show tomorrow. Send me pictures of the bags you like."

I read the message, froze for a second, and then couldn't help but burst out laughing.

See? This was the relationship I had with him, an employer-employee relationship.

As long as I was obedient, he would be generous and pay me a lot of money.

If I behaved well, he was even going to buy me a bag to reward me.

I was just one of his many girlfriends, and I was the most worthless one.

For the first time, I coldly replied, "I don't have a favorite designer bag, and I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep first."

I've been secretly loving him for so long, and I've had enough. I had nothing now. And I even become a stepmother to his child with my own sister.

My life had been so miserable. Why did I have to be nice to him when he didn't even care about me at all?

I was so mad that I wanted the world to end, I was finished! I wiped away my tears. While I was in the shower, I continued to cry.

When I was tired of crying, I went to bed and slept.

12 The next day I went to work as usual, and after work I had pick up Mathew.

I spent the next few days in a daze, until finally I had to go to the hospital to pick up my mother after she had been discharged from the hospital.

As soon as she left the hospital, she got a call asking her to play mahjong.

"Why are you looking at me like that? The doctor didn't say I couldn't play mahjong. "My mother asked me. I kept my mouth shut and just looked at her without saying a word.

"You don't let me smoke, you don't let me drink, and now you don't even let me play mahjong. Are you trying to kill me? "

Seeing that she had the energy to curse again, I was quite pleased.

I took out my phone and transferred her $10,000d dollars and asked her calmly, "If you had divorced my father and chosen my sister, would you have ended up like this?"

-

She was completely taken aback and her eyes were wide open as she stared at me. It took her a while to shout, "Why are you so heartless like this? you want to run away with your rich father too, don't you? Go ahead and leave if you don't like your mother. Don't come back!" I looked at her, angry and jumping up and down, and almost couldn't stop myself from laughing.

Even now, she thought that whatever I did, I did it for money.

I felt sorry for her, this stupid woman. As long as she thought that I was going to leave her, she was going to be so anxious and scared.

I didn't say anything, just helped her get her medicine and took her back to where she lived.

I didn't want to pick up the kid and I didn't want to go home.

But I didn't have the money to dissolve the marriage contract.

I had to tough it out.

A few days later I suddenly snapped out of it.

I got a new haircut, big waves and chestnut hair.

I wasn't satisfied until I looked completely different from my sister in the photo.

During a company meeting, Tristan came again.

"What's wrong with Mr. Harris lately? Why does he keep coming to our team's meetings?

He doesn't even bother attending other teams' meetings."

The team leader was sweating nervously and said.

A colleague joked, "He must have his eye on the new intern in our team."

"Nonsense," The intern blushed with embarrassment and repeatedly denied it.

Then the colleague said, "Well, who is he interested in? Who else is single?" "Monica is still single." Then someone mentioned me.

There I was only watching the fun, but the fun was searching for me, which was really unexpected.

"Monica?"

The team leader shook his head, "No way, Mr. Harris doesn't like her type."

I was speechless and said in a bit angry voice, "I don't like his type either."

As soon as I finished speaking, the room suddenly fell silent. Not a sound was heard.

Then a tall man passed by with no hurry and sat down in the front. The tall man was Tristan.

13 At that time, I felt a little bit upset because I thought that he had heard what I had said. But then I thought about it and I got a little excited.

What did it matter what he thought? I didn't care about it at all.

Today, it was my colleague who was reporting on the work.

My pretty colleague spoke with great enthusiasm, but Tristan kept looking at me.

I was wondering why his eyes were on me.

I kept my head down and ignored him.

When my beautiful colleague finished speaking, the meeting room went silent again, and we waited for Tristan to speak.

Somehow he said, "What happened to your face?"

I looked up and saw everyone watching me.

I then remembered that I still had a bandage on my face.

I casually said, "I accidentally cut myself when I was trimming my eyebrows."

After saying that, I felt the atmosphere became more awkward.

Everyone stared at us with wide eyes. The pretty colleague was standing there. She felt so embarrassed.

"Okay," he replied acted as if nothing had happened. He looked away and said, "I have no problem."

The team leader finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.

After the meeting, my colleagues all came to ask me why Tristan had asked me about my face.

I feigned ignorance and said, "I don't know. How should I know?"

In fact, I had no idea what his intention was, and I had a feeling that he did it on purpose in front of my co-workers.

The team leader came over and handed me a document, "Take this to Mr. Harris for his signature.

I've been afraid to see him lately. He comes to meetings every day, and it gives me a heart attack."

"I'm not going, I'm off work." I refused him directly.

"You're not going?"

The team leader said, "Do you want to be fired?"

Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do. I had to say, "I will go."

So I took the document to his office.

Everything seemed normal as he looked at the document with his head down.

After he signed the document, he suddenly said, "Your hair color is quite nice."

I was surprised and asked him, "Do you like it?" He was probably confused by my question and it took him a few seconds to say, "It's okay."

"Great, I'll change the color some other time."

He was stunned.

I took the opportunity to pick up the document and leave.

14 In the evening, I picked up Mathew from kindergarten and took him home. His teacher had given him some handicraft homework.

I crouched down by the coffee table to help him with his homework while he watched cartoons.

Although we used to fight a lot. But now that I had figured some things out, we stopped fighting.

I picked him up every day, but he didn't talk to me and I didn't talk to him.

If he wanted to buy a toy, I bought it with his father's credit card and brought it home.

If he wanted to watch a cartoon, I would help him with his homework.

Now we had found a balance between us.

Halfway through, Tristan came back.

He changed his shoes, went upstairs to put on his pajamas, and came over.

As soon as I saw him coming, I told him directly, "You help him with his homework, I'm going to take a shower," and then I left.

He looked at me without saying anything.

When I came out of the shower, I found him leaning against the door, staring right at me.

My heart skipped a beat. I was about to close the door.

"I'm going to sleep, I've done all my work for the day," I told him directly.

But I was still in my towel, and it was only when I looked into his hot, burning eyes that I realized.

He didn't say anything. He just took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, tilted his head and lit it.

At this moment, he was quite different from the person he normally was in the workplace. He now looked like a playboy, not very serious, and filled with aggressiveness.

"Just tell me," he said as he stood still and looked me straight in the eye, as if he wanted to look into my heart. Then he asked slowly, "What is wrong with you? Why are you angry?" "I'm not angry." "Did Mathew upset you?" "No."

"Did your team leader give you a lot of work?" "No."

"Then what's wrong? Are you short of money?" He took a drag on his cigarette and looked like he was losing his patience.

Money? "I've always been short of money."

I made a decision that I did not like him anymore. He thought I was being unreasonable.

Even if I really was being unreasonable, he was of the opinion that it had nothing to do with him.

I still felt a bit sad.

He sighed and his voice softened slightly, "I've been a little busy lately. If you want anything, just let me know."

"I don't want anything more," I told him in a direct manner.

I forced myself to smile.

"It's only for a year, and when the time is up, we'll get a divorce," I added.

I added. "Is this how you like to be treated?"

He was clearly losing patience. "Whatever." he said.

Then he turned around and walked back into his bedroom.

I closed the door and lay down on the bed. My heart was still a little sore.

He had no interest in me at all, that was the truth.

It was like a clown show for him, no matter how unreasonable I acted. He didn't take it to heart and felt nothing.

15 My life went on as it always had. I understood that one could not live on love alone.

People can't live on love alone.

One afternoon, I went to pick up Mathew from the kindergarten.

As soon as I arrived, the teacher came running up to me. She told me that Mathew had hit someone.

I was frozen when I heard this.

"Look, my son was beaten up by your kid. There are two big bruises on the top of his head. You must apologize to us!"

Then there was a mother with bright red nails and super high heels. She came over angrily and said.

Mathew stood there with his fists clenched. His face was taut with anger, and he didn't say a word. Standing next to him was a little fat boy, the same boy who had called me a stepmother the last time I saw him, Kyson.

I crouched down and asked Mathew, "What's going on?"

He still said nothing.

The little fat boy, Kyson, cried even louder: "Mommy, it hurts."

Mathew glared at him and said, "Serves you right!"

I started to headache as soon as I heard that.

"You're being impolite, you've done something wrong, but you've still got the face to reprimand my kid, did your parents teach you nothing?"

Kyson's mother said as she was about to slap Mathew.

I suddenly became nervous and quickly looked at Mathew. His face was red with anger. The tears welled up in her eyes, but he held them back.

"How can you talk to a child like this?" I stood in front of Mathew.

"What do you want?

Your kids are beating people up, and you still think he is right?"

Kyson's mother looked at me as if she was going to slap me.

"Let's talk about this calmly, don't argue in front of the kids," the teacher quickly came to reason with us.

I held back my anger and said, "All right, I'll ask Mathew what happened first. Could you please have a look at the security camera." I asked the teacher.

I took Mathew aside.

I crouched down and saw that he was standing straight and not saying a word.

I sighed and took his hand and said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here for you. If you didn't hit anyone, Kyson's mother can't hurt you no matter how much she insists.

If you did, I'll take the responsibility. If you want to tell me, just let me know." I knew that he wouldn't tell the truth now, so I didn't push him.

If he really did beat Kyson, even if I had to bow down and apologize in front of Kyson's mother, I would be willing to do so.

I was about to stand up when he whispered, "I don't have a mother anymore."

I froze and looked at him blankly.

"I don't have a mother anymore," he said again, tears streaming down his face.

What he said shocked me so much that I didn't know what to say.

After a second, I barely managed to control my emotions and took his hand. I said, "Why do you think that? Your mom just doesn't have time to come see you right now."

"She's dead." He wiped away his tears, and tried not to cry, but the tears kept flowing.

She died?

My heart sank and I suddenly thought of something that happened when I was a child.

At that time, every time I asked my mother where my father was, she said he was dead.

My mother had a bad temper, and whenever I asked her, she would hit me.

So I never dared to ask again and could only cry secretly in bed.

When I thought about it, I couldn't help but feel a lump in my throat, and I hugged him.

I asked him, "Who told you this?" But as soon as I spoke, I noticed that my voice was a little hoarse.

"Kyson." As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't hold back and burst into tears on my shoulder.

I hugged him and felt his body tremble with grief.

No matter how stubborn he was, he was still just a child.

"He lied to you," I said, trying to comfort him.

Then it occurred to me, "Does he always say that, and is that why you hit him?" He was too upset to speak.

I suddenly felt very angry.

I picked him up and walked over to the little fat boy.

"Did you say his mother was dead?" I asked, glaring at him.

The little fat boy was so frightened that he threw himself into his mother's arms and cried.

His mother came over and shoved me and said, "Why are you so mean to my son?"

I was holding Mathew when she suddenly pushed me. I almost fell because I couldn't stand firmly.

After I got back on my feet, I shouted at her, ""Is your son just polite and educated? He went around saying that Mathew's mother had died. If Mathew's mother is dead, who am I?

You gave birth to your son and didn't raise him properly. And you want us to apologize? No way!

You're lucky we won't sue you for emotional distress!" When Kyson's mother heard this, her face turned ugly and she shouted, "What are you talking about?"

She came up to me and tried to slap me in the face.

I quickly handed Mathew to the teacher.

Before her slap landed on my face, I grabbed her hand.

She got even angrier and grabbed my hair with her other hand, and we started to fight.

The teachers couldn't get us to stop, so they finally had to take us to the office.

After half an hour, in the office, Tristan sat across from me, his eyes fixed on me as if he could see right through me.

The teacher told him about the fight, and he just kept staring at me, which made me feel really uncomfortable.

I thought, "Why is he looking at me?"

I kept my head up, thinking I was definitely not going to apologize.

Never in this life!

After hearing the teacher's words, Tristan spoke calmly, "My lawyer will be in charge of supervising the evidence as well as the on-site forensics. If compensation is needed, we'll double it. But if it's someone who bullied Mathew and my family at school, then I'm sorry, I will fight their lawsuit to the end, I will never compromise."

Later, we watched the surveillance video and found that Kyson had pushed Mathew first. Mathew didn't fight back. Kyson fell down because he couldn't stand firmly.

When Kyson's mother saw the surveillance video, her face changed. She quickly smiled and said. "It is just a joke between the kids, and there is no need for a lawsuit. The teacher also agrees with me, right?"

In the end, with the teacher's mediation, Kyson and his mother apologized to us.

16 When we returned home, I still felt uncomfortable, so I went back to my room in a sulk.

Suddenly, I heard someone knocking.

I rushed over and opened the door. When I opened the door, I saw Tristan standing there. I quickly closed the door.

I felt so ashamed of myself right now.

My hair was a mess and my shirt was crumpled. My neck and face were covered with scratches from Kyson's mother's red fingernails.

"Open the door," he whispered from outside.

"It's late, I'm going to sleep." He had seen me looking particularly miserable in the office this afternoon, but I still didn't want to see him because I really looked awful right now.

He should have been disappointed in me.

"You were so brave in the fight, but now you don't even dare to open the door."

He sighed and said, "Open the door and let me see your injuries."

I had no choice but to open the door. I quickly turned around, bowed my head, and walked toward the bed.

He walked over to my bed, pulled up a chair and sat down. He put the medical kit on the floor and stared at me.

"Raise your head," he said in a deep voice.

I didn't move.

Suddenly, he lifted my chin with his long fingers and I was forced to look up at him. My heart was pounding.

"Why did you fight with her? You knew you couldn't beat her?" he asked, gazing at me.

"I didn't lose, and she was hurt too," I replied defiantly.

If she hadn't had her nails done, I would have definitely been able to beat her.

He stared at me and suddenly laughed despite his serious expression.

I thought he was laughing at me.

I was so angry that I squeezed my fingers. I wanted to see what he would do.

But he just opened the first aid kit and used a cotton swab to disinfect and apply medicine to my wound.

He gently wiped my wounds with a cotton swab. He was so close I could feel his breath. I felt a little uncomfortable, and I couldn't help but lean back, trying to get away from him.

"Are you in pain?" He stopped what he was doing and asked me.

"No." "Then sit still." After saying that, he reached out and pulled me toward him.

I was so scared that I didn't dare breathe or move.

I felt like I was under some kind of spell. He made me do whatever he wanted. "Are there any other injuries?" he asked me after he finished treating the wounds on my hands and face.

"Here," I said, pulling the clothes over my shoulders.

He froze for a moment, his eyes not quite focused.

I reacted quickly, pulling my clothes back into place, my face flushed.

I was actually wearing a camisole underneath, so it didn't really show much, just a little bit of my back. It was a little inappropriate. "I'd better do it myself," I said, blushing.

"Turn around," he said in a low voice, sounding like there was no room for discussion.

"This is inappropriate," I said.

"We're already married," he replied. His hand touched my back and I felt a chill. "Don't be shy," he reassured me.

I kept thinking to myself, I'm not shy, I'm not shy at all, really!

He gently rubbed some medicine on my back, then suddenly stopped talking and stopped moving his hand.

I was about to ask him what was wrong when I suddenly remembered that I had a tattoo on my back.

Oh dear, this was bad.

He asked, "What's the tattoo on your back?" "It's, um, a flower," I said, my heart almost stopping.

"It looks like a locust tree flower. Why did you want to get that tattooed?" After he asked, I felt like I couldn't breathe because I didn't know what to say.

"I, I just used to like locust tree flowers," I stammered. In fact, I had always secretly loved him when I was young.

He said, "It's quite pretty."

After a while, I felt his cold fingers circle the edge of the tattoo on my back, and I got goose bumps.

He pulled his hand away, continued to apply the medicine, and then pulled my shirt back up.

Suddenly, I didn't know what he was thinking, he pinched my finger with his hand.

"You have very delicate fingers." He stared at my ring finger.

I was so scared that I quickly pulled my hand away.

"Ah, it's okay. I'm tired, I'm going to sleep." I was afraid he would do something again.

He looked at me and smiled, "You can fight and you have tattoos. It seems I underestimated you."

I wondered what he meant. Had he realized that I was not the goody-two-shoes he thought I was and regretted marrying me?

He said, "I'll see you again tomorrow night."

I was shocked to hear that. Why did he want to come back tomorrow night?

What did he mean?

He didn't explain and left with his medical box.

17 The next day at work, I couldn't stop thinking about him, and I lost interest in my work.

I kept thinking about what he said and did last night, and my resolve wavered again.

Secret love was really a very annoying thing. I clearly told myself to say goodbye to him and never like him again. But as soon as he treat me better and said something that I misunderstood, I started daydreaming again.

I thought of the tattoo of locust tree flowers on my back, and I thought of that boy.

It was when I was in elementary school. One day after school, I went to a mahjong parlor to look for my mother.

I waited for her and she refused to leave even though it was late, so I took the key and went home by myself.

Unexpectedly, one of my mother's friends who often played mahjong with her followed me to an alley and tried to take advantage of me.

I was so scared that I bit his hand and ran away.

When I got to the end of the alley, I saw a group of students passing by, so I yelled for help.

Only one person stopped, and when I ran up to him and threw myself into his arms, he didn't push me away.

"Help me, I've met a bad person," I cried, begging him to help me.

He protected me and gently said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

When the man saw that I had help, he immediately fled.

He took me back to the shantytown.

"Are you home alone? Where are your parents?" He looked at the empty house and frowned.

"My mom hasn't come back from playing mahjong yet," I said, and my body started to shiver.

He didn't say anything, just patted me on the shoulder and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll wait for your mother to come back outside before I leave."

He pointed to the locust tree by the door.

So I saw him standing under the locust tree for hours with his cell phone in his hand.

Every time I woke up from a dream and looked out the window, he was still there.

The moonlight was shining on his face, and the shadow under the tree was long and wide.

That long shadow was like a ray of light in my dark life.

My mother didn't return until dawn that night.

When I woke up, there was no one under the tree.

I picked up his student ID card at home and learned that his name was Tristan and that he went to South Sea High School.

From then on, I knew I wanted to go to South Sea High School, and I wanted to go to the school where he was studying.

I lived in a shanty town and never played with those naughty kids. I spent all my time studying and finally got into South Sea High School. But when I saw the list of outstanding graduates, I found that he had gone to Ocean University.

So I studied like crazy and finally got into Ocean University.

But guess what? He took the postgraduate entrance exams and ended up studying in the United States.

I didn't think he would ever meet me in this life.

I hid his school ID card in my diary.

I never imagined that he would end up marrying my sister and having children with her.

He had no idea that I was secretly watching him from the corner, secretly in love with him, unable to express my feelings openly.

Every time I thought about it, my heart ached so much that I felt like I couldn't catch my breath.

But when I thought about what Mathew said yesterday about his mother being dead, I also felt a bit panicked.

If my mother knew about this, how sad would she be?

I thought about it for a long time, and when I finally finished my work, I decided to ask him for an answer.