His Hidden Lover, I Choose a New Life

Chapter 4

Life in California hadn't changed all that much at first glance.

Harold still doted on me like he always had. He'd wait for me to get off work every evening and drive me home himself.

For a whole month, he barely went to any work dinners, and he didn't head out for a single motorcycle ride either.

But once that seed of doubt had been planted in my chest, there was no yanking it out, not before it took root and grew.

Linda's video account was my own personal Pandora's box, and it pulled me in again and again, making me scroll through all those moments from his past that I'd never been a part of.

One day, Harold was on his motorcycle, one hand on the handlebar, the other clutching his phone, grinning so wide.

I knew exactly what was up. He was in a group chat with all his riding buddies, and they were blowing up the chat nonstop every single day.

He suddenly turned to look at me, his voice careful, almost tentative. "The crew said it'd been ages since we all hung out. We're planning to ride the mountain roads tonight. Nat, would you wanna come with me?"

I glanced at him and answered simply, "Sure."

His smile froze on his face instantly.

Over the past five years, we'd done countless intimate things together, but riding his motorcycle had never been one of them.

His tone was flat, impossible to read. "If I bring you along, I won't be able to go fast. We'll just take a casual cruise, yeah?"

Before he even finished speaking, Linda zoomed past us on her motorcycle, her voice floating back through the air as she went, "Hey, Harold! Come catch me if you can! C'mon, are you even man enough for that?"

Something in Harold snapped like a taut rubber band. He twisted the throttle hard without even thinking, lurching the motorcycle forward so fast my head snapped back.

My face went bone-white right away. I clawed at the hem of his shirt so tight my knuckles turned white, my voice shaking. "Harold, I'm scared."

He didn't even seem to hear me. His eyes were locked on Linda's motorcycle up ahead, and he just pressed the gas harder to catch up.

We took two sharp, squealing turns on the mountain road, and my heart felt like it was about to hammer right out of my ribcage. By the time he finally stopped the motorcycle, I was so dizzy and nauseous I threw up until my throat burned.

Linda handed me a bottle of water, her tone dripping with fake concern. "Whoa, Director Stewart, you're in that bad shape? Maybe next time you should just stay home and rest in bed."

Harold was standing a little ways off chatting with the others. He only glanced over at me once, his expression cold and unconcerned.

On the drive home, he sighed, sounding annoyed. "I told you, you wouldn't fit in with this kind of thing. Why'd you even bother coming?"

I stared down at my lap, my lashes heavy. "I won't come again."

'Never, ever again.'

I threw myself headfirst into my work after that to keep my mind off things. Then one day, a sharp scream cut through the office out of nowhere.

My assistant Helena rushed in, panic written all over her face. "Director Stewart! The contract with the Peyton Group, they never even stamped it!"

I shot up out of my chair so fast my knees knocked the desk. The entire operations team had pulled overtime for two whole weeks to lock down that Peyton Group partnership. The whole office erupted into loud, chaotic chatter.

I pressed my lips tight and asked, "Who handed this contract back to us?"

Helena's voice was small, nervous. "It was Assistant Linda, the one that works for Mr. Scott."

I stormed straight up to the 19th floor, my blood boiling. I slammed the contract down on Linda's desk so hard the papers rattled.

"The operations team worked overtime for half a month on this, and you're telling me now the contract wasn't even stamped? How the hell did you let this slip past your review?"

Everyone in the office turned to stare at us, murmuring quietly to each other.

Harold pushed open his office door and stepped out, looking surprised.

He picked up the contract and spoke in a calm, placating tone. "It's just a tiny mistake. No need to make such a big deal out of it, right?"

I stared at him like he'd grown a second head.

"A tiny mistake? Two weeks of our team's hard work just went down the drain! Mr. Scott, this is your employee's mess we're dealing with!"

His face darkened at that.

Linda cut in suddenly, like she was the one on the right, and said, "I know you've had a problem with me this whole time. Fine, it's my mistake, I'll own it. I'll resign, happy now?"

I scoffed out a bitter, disbelieving laugh at how brazen she was being.

"Of course it's your fault! Do you have any idea how big this partnership is? Can you even afford to pay for the losses you caused?"

Harold's face turned thunderous. He roared, "Enough. Director Stewart, you barge up here out of nowhere and yell at my staff without even stopping to get your facts straight. Don't you think you're being a little out of line?"

My eyes flew wide in shock. Before I could even get a word out to argue, he spoke first.

"Your operations department has that many people, and not a single one of them bothered to double-check the contract? Maybe you should learn to manage your own team first, Director Stewart."

I drew in a sharp breath, my voice tight with suppressed rage. "Harold, you're being so blatantly biased. Do you even have a clue where you stand?"

Harold let out a cold, mocking chuckle. "Of course I do. I might not be the golden child that head office dotes on like you are, but I know one thing for sure... here in Los Angeles, I'm the general manager.

"If you don't have any other business here, Director Stewart, you can leave."

Everyone standing around watched this whole blowout go down, too scared to make even the tiniest peep.

I stared at him like I was seeing him for the very first time, and it felt like every drop of blood in my body had turned to slush.

Suddenly, the elevator let out a soft ding before its doors slid open, and a man in a crisp tailored suit stepped out.

"Well, well. Who's shooting their mouths off like they run the whole building?"

The second I heard that familiar voice, all the strength I'd been clinging to drained out of me in an instant.

Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them.

Charlie walked straight over to us, and Harold's face immediately fell. "President Sullivan."

Charlie didn't even spare him a glance. He just pulled a tissue out and handed it to me gently.

"The entire Sullivan Group could be hers if she wanted it. Firing one random staffer is nothing."

With that, he cast a cold, disgusted look at Linda. "You can pack your stuff and get lost. Our legal team will be in touch about the losses you caused the company."

Only then did he turn his gaze to Harold, his tone sharp as a knife.

"Harold Scott, I trusted you to run the California branch for me, and this is how you treat my little sister?"

All the color drained straight from Harold's face in an instant.