Chapter 1

When I returned to work after the New Year, I wasn't greeted with a reward for closing a multi-million dollar overseas deal on New Year's Eve.

Instead, I found my desk taken over and a beat-up cardboard box waiting for me.

I let out a bitter laugh.

Just as I was about to storm into the office to confront my boss, the employee who had taken my seat stopped me.

"Bella, congrats! You get to kick back at home just because you're pregnant, while the rest of us are stuck grinding away," the employee mocked.

I was amused.

Used me up and tossed me aside, and now they're rubbing salt in the wound right in front of me.

They had no clue how much an eight-year veteran like me knew about this place.

As for me, Bella Thurman, I'd never believed that dignity could put food on the table.

If there was one thing I was good at, it was never letting a grudge go. One messed with me, I always paid them back.

*****

I kept my cool, pushed down my frustration, and dialed the boss, Keith Marcus.

To everyone else, I was just another workhorse with decent numbers. But the truth was, I'd been Keith's hidden wife for eight years.

Seriously, who gets fired by their own company right after the New Year?

Just as I pulled up Keith's number, before I could even hit call, Holly Maxwell smacked my phone right out of my hand.

It hit the floor and rolled a couple of times.

The colleague next to me cringed, lowered their voice, and whispered, "Bella, that's the boss's girlfriend. You don't want to mess with her."

"Just take the severance and go. Don't risk losing even that."

It was obvious that during the seven days I was overseas, Holly had not only taken my place but had also been throwing her weight around at the company, making a lot of people afraid of her.

"Girlfriend?" I looked up at Holly. I'd never heard a bigger joke like this in my life.

Seeing me frown, Holly thought I was jealous, and her smile grew even wider.

"Bella, don't blame me for kicking out a veteran. It's just that Keith feels bad for me. Your old job meant constantly tagging along with him, always on the go.

"He was afraid I'd start overthinking things, so he fired you and handed your spot to me."

Her over-the-top happiness made everyone jealous.

Everyone kept saying Keith was the perfect gentleman, romantic, sweet, and made Holly feel like she was the only one in the world.

"He's got a wife. At best, you're just the side chick. How do you even have the nerve to call yourself his girlfriend?" I shot back.

It was common knowledge.

Our boss had a hidden wife. She never showed her face at work, but they'd been married for eight years and were still madly in love.

I was actually the hidden wife everyone's been gossiping about.

Yeah, we had a spat over the New Year, but couples always fight and make up. No matter how cocky Keith got, he'd never go this far.

"The day Keith confessed to me, he told everyone in the office he was never secretly married. He only said that to avoid drama," Holly bragged.

I froze. The diamond ring on my ring finger felt strangely hot.

If he was never secretly married, what's the name engraved inside this plain ring on my finger supposed to mean?

And what about all those nights when he'd hold me tight, crying his heart out, saying I must not love him because I wouldn't let the world know about us?

Holly strutted around, full of herself. "You're just another cog in the machine. You could never beat me. I'm the boss's darling."

Her words made me sick to my stomach.

After eight years together, I still couldn't believe Keith would go this far off the rails.

I didn't waste my breath arguing with her. I turned away, crouched down to pick up my phone. All I wanted was a reasonable explanation from Keith.

Eight years of grinding away for this company, even working overseas on New Year's Eve, and what did I get for it? I came home only to find out I'd been fired?

But as soon as my fingers touched the phone, Holly swooped in and stomped on it. "Are you deaf or just stupid? If you leave now, you'll get your severance. Stick around, and you'll end up with nothing, got it?"

Her black high heels scraped right across my freshly done manicure.

I ignored the phone, shot to my feet, and gave her a backhanded slap.

The slap echoed through the office, making everyone gasp in shock.

Holly clutched her face, letting out a blood-curdling scream. "You bitch! I'm Keith's girlfriend. How dare you hit me? I'll make sure you can't survive in Arlen!"

Our company was the top dog in this up-and-coming industry. If Keith wanted to ruin someone, he absolutely had the power to do it.

But most of that power came from me. He wouldn't dare, not in a million years, to pull something like that on me.

Holly lunged at me, trying to hit me back.

I spun around and landed a backhand slap right on her other cheek.

Now both sides of her face matched.

She actually started bawling.

"You bitch! I'm going to get you thrown in jail." Holly went nuts, frantically whipping out her phone to call Keith.

Honestly, I wanted Keith to show up, too. Maybe this was all some stupid mix-up.

The call connected almost instantly.

"Keith, honey, hurry up. I'm almost driven crazy by that elderly hag's bullying," Holly whined, her voice dripping with fake tears.