Billionaire's Secret Wife

Chapter 1 Pregnant and Divorced “Oh, you’re home.” Madeline blinked in surprise at the unexpected sight of her husband standing by the living room window. It was unusual for him to be home so early - it was only past noon and he usually came in well into the evening, sometimes hours after she’d gone to bed. “I didn’t expect you back so early, is - is everything alright?” Jeremy had been staring out at the garden below, his handsome face in profile but as she spoke, he turned around to face her, his expression solemn. “You’re back.” He said quietly, while his gaze swept over her from head to toe in an assessing look, his eyes betraying nothing. Self conscious under that intense scrutiny, Madeline fought the urge to fidget and shift from one foot to the other like a nervous school girl. As always, the sight of him sparked something inside her - a thrill that raced down her spine, setting off little butterflies in her stomach. He’d always had that effect on her, even after all these years - the ability to set her heart racing like a school girl in the face of her first crush. It was ridiculous, especially since he’d never looked at her in a similar manner, but she’d learned to live with it. Had learned to carefully mask her true feelings. “Where’d you go?” Jeremy asked, moving away from the window, leaving her own question still unanswered. But Madeline was used to his casual deflections, the way he would ignore any question that he deemed unnecessary. “Umm…” Now she did shift from foot to foot as she frantically searched her mind for a suitable answer. “Nowhere important, really. Just ran some errands.” He nodded and sat down on an armchair. He was still dressed for work in a three piece suit that was expertly tailored to fit his body to perfection, but the jacket lay discarded on a nearby couch, and he’d rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, exposing tanned muscular forearms that did little to help the butterflies in her stomach. “Come sit, we need to talk.” His tone remained neutral as he spoke, but Madeline knew him well enough to know that whatever they were about to discuss was not good. “Is something the matter?” She asked again, but moved to take a seat on the couch across from him. Her palms suddenly felt clammy and when she tried to wipe them on her jeans, a raspy sound reminded her that she was still holding onto that little sheet of paper. She covered it with her fingers in an effort to conceal it. Jeremy picked up a light brown envelope from the side table and held it out to her, his dark eyes fixed on hers. “Read this.” Hesitantly, Madeline took the official looking envelope, feeling an uneasy twinge low in her gut. “What is this?” “Divorce papers.” He replied, leaning forward, elbows resting on his thighs. “Read through it and let me know if there’s anything you don’t agree with, though I should imagine not, because the terms are based on our initial contract.” “D-divorce?” Madeline’s eyes widened in shock, her mind going blank for a long minute. She could only stare at her husband - the man she had been married to for two years. Dark hair and dark eyes that seemed to pierce through your very soul and dig up every secret you thought hidden, high, perfectly sculpted cheekbones. Everything about Jeremy was perfect and she was the lucky woman who was married to him. Or so she’d thought. “But….” Madeline could feel the edges of panic threaten to overtake her and paused to take deep breaths, her eyes stinging with unshed tears that she was determined to not let fall. “I thought…” she trailed off again and looked down at the little rectangle clutched in her fingers, wondering if she could somehow use it to gain some leverage. If I showed it to him now, would he reconsider? “I know there’s a year left in our agreement,” Jeremy finished her thought, his voice soft but laced with determination. “But certain circumstances have cropped up and I feel it’s best for the both of us if we end things sooner.” Circumstances? She could feel herself starting to tremble and crossed her legs in a vain effort to mask her vulnerability. Don’t break, Maddy…, Don’t fall apart. You can’t let this break you. “What…circumstances?” She asked, proud that her voice did not falter. Good Maddy, you’ve got this. Jeremy’s gaze moved away from hers for a moment, and she noticed the twitch of the muscles in his jaw. When he looked her way again, there was a steely glint in his eyes and his lips were set in a grim line. “Joanna has returned.” Joanna The name echoed in Madeline’s mind with the force of a percussion cymbal, loud and insistent. It had been a while since she’d heard that particular name and she’d foolishly forgotten how much devastation that name could cause for her. Her fingers tightened into fists, nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms and the pain helped ground her, helped her not to crumple in a heap and beg him not to do this, beg him to not shatter her world. She hung her head and took deep breaths, counting from one to ten in her head. “I know this may have come as a shock to you,” Jeremy said, his voice softening once more. She lifted her head and found him watching her with a hawk-like intensity. “But…” “It’s fine.” Madeline cut him off, deciding that she didn’t want to hear what he had to say or listen to him wax lyrical about the woman who held his heart. “I’ll do as you asked and go through the papers later.” He was silent for a moment, still watching her and she forced herself to meet his gaze, keeping her face as impassive as his, chin raised almost in defiance. She would not betray her true feelings. In her left hand, she crumpled the folded paper in her fist. There was no point in sharing the news anymore. It wouldn’t matter. It wouldn’t save her marriage, this farce that she had been living in for the past two years, sharing a house and sharing her body with a man who would never see her as anything other than a means to an end. “Is that all?” She asked coolly. “Not quite.” He leaned forward again. “I need a favor. One last thing I need you to do for me.” One last thing… Pain twinged in her chest and it felt like her ribs were in danger of crushing her already broken heart but she merely raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. “Go ahead.” “Grandfather needs to hear about the divorce from you.” He told her. “You know how he feels about our marriage and he won’t listen to reason if I were the one to inform him.” Of course…I should have guessed that’s what the favor was. Maddy thought. She bit her lower lip and looked away from Jeremy. Charles Whitman was a huge supporter of their marriage. Charles had pushed for them to marry, and personally Madeline had always thought that he’d done it as a way to reward her for saving his life. What better way to pay a debt of life than to marry her into a life of wealth and comfort beyond her wildest dreams?   In fact, he had been the sole champion of their marriage, despite the fact that everyone else in the Whitman family had felt that Madeline was unsuitable for Jeremy. For one thing, she was a lowly orphan, having grown up in an orphanage run by the Whitman family until she had turned eighteen and gone to work for the company. And for another, a lot of them believed that she was nothing but a gold digger and treated her with disdain. And more importantly, the grandson in question had been a reluctant participant. Jeremy had made it clear from the start that he had only acquiesced to the marriage because it was his grandfather’s wish. He’d told Madeline bluntly that he was in love with another woman and his heart would never belong to her. She still remembered the way he’d handed her an envelope much like this two years ago, a prenup that had stated in plain terms that their ‘marriage’ would last for three years only, after which they’d have a quiet divorce and go their separate ways. Back then, it had stung to know the truth, to hear it from the lips of the man she’d loved for ten years. But she’d put on a brave face, she had hidden the pain and bitterness in a corner of her mind and in a bid to appear as unaffected as possible, she’d told Jeremy; “I know. My heart belongs to someone too and I hope that someday I’ll be able to stand by his side. Until then, I promise to be a good wife and when the time comes for us to part ways, I’ll do so without any problems.” Madeline let her eyes flutter shut for a moment as fresh pain lanced through her wounded heart. How foolish and naive she’d been with her head stuck in a cloud of childish fantasies. She had been a fool to ever let herself fall for the idea that in those three years, Jeremy would finally come to see how much she meant to him and fall in love with her. To that end, she’d thrown herself into being the perfect wife, the perfect hostess… The perfect bed partner. On his part, Jeremy had also made every effort to be the perfect husband. He’d showered her with care and respect and as far as she knew, he’d been entirely faithful for the two years they’d been married. Their relationship was a source of envy - the handsome CEO and his rags to riches bride whom he was devoted to. Madeline had spent the past two years hearing people label her as a lucky woman to have landed a man like Jeremy. And little by little, she may just have started to let herself believe the lies. When they lay tangled in each other after a session of steamy s*x, their heartbeats racing in sync, her head pillowed on his chest, bodies glistening with sweat, Madeline had somehow started to convince herself that Jeremy had started to fall in love with her. After all, no man would whisper the sweet words he did in her ear as he moved within her if he didn’t care for his partner. Would they?  Her lips twisted in a bitter smile as she glanced at the envelope. I’ve been a fool. She blinked back a fresh onslaught of tears and forced her numb body to move, to rise from the couch, the envelope clutched in one hand and the pregnancy test crumpled in the other. “Of course. I did say I would be the one to break the news to Charles.” She said with as much dignity as she could muster, her voice cool and betraying none of the humiliation and pain cutting her up inside. “When would you like me to tell him?” “I’d prefer it’d be after the papers have been signed and all the proceedings are complete.” Jeremy replied, standing up as well, a worried look in his eyes. At six foot two, he easily stood a head taller than her, his lean but muscular build giving him a languid effortless grace that turned heads wherever he went. He came towards her, his shoes making no noise on the thick Aubusson rug. Madeline dug her heels into the rug to stop herself from moving away, knowing that if he touched her, her carefully erected walls would crumble, leaving her a pleading, sobbing mess. She held her breath in a desperate effort to not breathe in his scent - a mix of spice and sandalwood that left her weak kneed. “Are you alright, Mads?” He asked softly, genuine concern on his face even though he was in the process of ripping out her heart piece by piece. “You look a bit pale.” Madeline couldn’t help the bitter laugh that slipped out in response. “I’m fine. Just a bit tired from being on my feet all day.” She held out the envelope and shrugged. “This is a bit of a surprise too.” He had the good grace to look guilty. “Yeah, I know it’s out of the blue,” He admitted with a wry shrug. “I understand if you feel overwhelmed and I’m sorry for springing it on you like this. But, Joanna’s return has made me realize that I don’t want to waste any more of our precious time apart from her.” Madeline began to tremble, little shivers that began from the tips of her fingers and traveled down the rest of her body as emotions bubbled dangerously close to the surface and threatened to erupt. I’m not alright!. She wanted to yell, but she focused on her breathing exercises instead, the way she’d learned to do in childhood to avoid saying or doing things she ended up regretting. “It’s fine.” she repeated, after the fourth deep breath. “I admit this whole thing caught me off guard, but honestly, I'm okay.” She took a step away from him and another then spun around to leave. “You’re right though, it’s best to wait until the divorce is finalized.” He still looked troubled but nodded in agreement and to her relief, stepped back, giving her space. The bands of tension eased around her chest and she drew in a shaky breath and put more space between them. “Is there anything else?” She asked, her voice low. “No, that’s all.” She nodded and turned to leave the room, needing to put even more distance between them, to crawl into her bed and curl up under the blankets and finally let loose her tightly reined emotions. “Hey Mads?” Jeremy called out just as she reached the door. She stopped, but didn’t turn around. “Yes?” "When you bring it up to my grandfather, he will surely ask for the reason. You once told me there was someone you had strong feelings for right? Now that I'm setting you free, you can find him and pursue your happiness. Even if Grandpa disagrees, he won't be able to reject it outright." I’ve been such a fool. The thought flashed through her mind and this time, she didn’t stop the tears that rolled down her cheeks. “Yeah…okay.” She made to leave but her legs had other ideas and she stumbled, a cry of dismay was torn from her lips as she fell headlong to the ground.