The CEO who loved me first

Chapter 3

Millie hadn’t slept a single minute.

She had spent the night curled up on the sofa, her body stiff from the awkward position, her heart raw from hours of silent sobbing. The paper bag of groceries she had dropped on the counter last night still sat there, wilted lettuce peeking out from its torn corner. The house smelled faintly of garlic and detergent, but underneath it lingered something heavier—Paige’s perfume, cloying and sweet, as if it had soaked into the very walls.

Every time she closed her eyes, the image returned. Paige, her friend, sitting on that bed. Josh’s hands on her. His lips on her toes. The laughter. The betrayal. The sound of Paige’s breathless voice saying she wanted him to make love to her. And worst of all, Josh’s laugh. That laugh… sharp and careless. As if humiliating Millie had been the sweetest part of it all.

By the time the sky outside began to lighten into pale gray, her throat ached from crying. Her hair clung to her damp cheeks, and her eyes burned with the grit of sleeplessness. She hugged herself on the sofa, numb, shivering even though the blanket was wrapped around her shoulders.

The creak of the bedroom door sliced through the silence.

Josh emerged, already dressed in his tailored shirt and slacks, his tie knotted too perfectly for a man who had supposedly just crawled out of bed. He adjusted his cufflinks like nothing was wrong, like last night hadn’t happened. His eyes landed on her, slouched on the sofa, and his mouth curled with disdain.

“You didn’t make breakfast?” he asked flatly, as if her swollen eyes and blotchy cheeks were invisible. “What the hell, Millie? You know I don’t have time to stop anywhere before work.”

Something inside her snapped.

She shoved the blanket aside, standing to face him. Her voice cracked at first, but the anger behind it made it sharp as glass.

“You are gross, Josh. You think I’ll cook for you ever again after what you did?”

His jaw clenched. Instead of guilt, a flash of fury lit up his features.

“What I did?” He barked a bitter laugh. “You’re unbelievable. You’re the one who came sneaking back into the house like some pathetic spy. You were supposed to be at the damn center! You invaded my privacy. If you saw something you didn’t like, that’s on you.”

Millie stared at him, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Privacy?” Her voice rose, shaking with rage and heartbreak. “There is no privacy between a husband and wife, you pig!”

That did it. His eyes blazed. He strode across the living room in two long steps, his hand shooting out to grab her collar. The fabric of her sweater bunched against her throat as he slammed her back against the wall, the impact rattling a framed picture off its nail.

His face hovered inches from hers, his breath hot with anger and last night’s whiskey. He yanked her hair back, forcing her chin upward, his voice booming.

“Don’t you ever disrespect me again, Millie! Do you hear me? I can do whatever the hell I want. You? You’re nothing but a nagging wife who ruins everything. You want to know why I went to Paige? Because she’s not afraid to be what I need. She’s better in bed. She also doesn’t mess with my business the way you always do!”

Hatred surged through her like fire racing through dry wood. Millie’s hand shot up on instinct, cracking across his cheek with a sound that echoed through the living room.

Josh froze, stunned, his face snapping to the side. A slow, dangerous smile spread across his lips as he turned back to her. Without warning, his hand whipped across her cheek, the sting burning instantly, forcing tears to spring to her eyes.

“You stupid b***h,” he growled, drawing back his fist, ready to strike again.

Her heart lurched. Fear slammed into her so hard she thought she might faint. But before his fist could connect, she screamed, her voice trembling and raw, the truth tearing out of her throat.

“Don’t hit me—I’m pregnant!”

The words hung in the air between them, heavier than the broken glass at their feet.

And for the first time in hours, Josh stopped moving.

The silence that followed was unbearable. Millie’s chest heaved, her body trembling, her eyes stinging with tears that refused to stop. She pressed her hand over her stomach instinctively, as if shielding the tiny life she had only just begun to suspect was there.

Josh’s eyes widened. His lips parted, but no words came out. Millie’s heart leapt wildly in her chest, a fragile, desperate hope flickering inside her. Maybe now… maybe now he would finally look at her differently. Maybe the man she had once fallen in love with, the man she had given up everything for, would show himself again.

But the hope lasted only seconds.

Josh’s expression twisted into fury. He let out a roar and spun away from her, slamming his fist into the wall so hard the drywall cracked. The sound reverberated through the living room, and Millie jumped at the violence, tears streaming down her face.

“Goddamn it!” he shouted, shaking out his hand. “Now I’m trapped with you forever!”

The words pierced deeper than the betrayal, deeper than the slap. Millie’s knees nearly gave out. She pressed herself against the wall, sobbing uncontrollably, every breath scraping her throat raw. She had thought—she had hoped—that the news of a child might soften him, might bring some flicker of love back to his eyes. But all she saw was resentment, as if her pregnancy were a curse.

Her voice broke as she asked, “Do you… do you even love me anymore? Because it sounds like you just don’t want anything to do with me.”

Josh turned back to her, his face unreadable now, calm in the most chilling way. His shirt cuffs were perfectly aligned again, his tie straight, as if the violence of the last few minutes had never happened.

“All I know,” he said coldly, “is that you’re making my life harder.”

The words dropped like ice between them.

Millie’s sobs slowed, the tears still sliding down her face but her heart turning numb. She dragged the back of her sleeve across her cheeks, drying them with jerky, stubborn motions. When she finally spoke, her voice was flat, hollow, stripped of every ounce of warmth she had ever given him.

“Then I’ll leave you,” she whispered. “I can go somewhere where I’m wanted.”

Josh’s response was a sharp laugh, cruel and mocking. He stepped closer, towering over her with that same twisted smile he always wore when he knew he had her cornered.

“Oh, please,” he sneered. “Where would you go, Millie? Your parents? They don’t want to see you anymore. You left them for me, remember? You turned your back on everyone who cared about you. You have no one but me in this life.”

His words cut her deeper than any slap could. Because, God help her, he was right. She had sacrificed everything for him. Her family. Her friends. Her pride. She had given up her world to follow him here, to this lonely place where she had nothing and no one but him. And now he stood there, reminding her how completely he believed he owned her.

Josh leaned in suddenly, his hand gripping her jaw, forcing her face up to his. His lips crashed against hers in a kiss that was not tender, not loving, but a cruel reminder of his control. She could taste bitterness, rage, possession.

When he pulled back, his eyes glittered with menace.

“Make sure you have dinner ready when I get back from work,” he hissed, his mouth brushing cruelly against hers, “because otherwise, I’ll make you pay… pregnant or not.”

He released her as if she were nothing more than a rag doll and strode to the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Millie slid down the wall, her hand still trembling against her stomach, the echo of his words wrapping around her like chains.