I Learned To Be A Mistress, Not A Wife

Chapter 2

"I forgot. Gideon has someone new now."

She lowered her head, her voice trembling.

"I always took care of him when he came home after business dinners. It's been my habit for years, Bridget. Please don't read too much into it."

She was the goddaughter Gideon's mother had taken in.

According to the standard wealthy-family script, a "goddaughter" like her was the future lady of the house.

Cultured, beautiful, and kind, she'd been raised to become the Whitaker family's daughter-in-law.

Then a nobody like me swept in from nowhere and stole her place.

I wasn't surprised in the least that she'd barged into our room in the middle of the night.

Her technique, though, was subpar.

When I was 5, my father's sixth mistress had stormed into Mom's penthouse wearing nothing beneath her coat. Sobbing, she'd claimed to have dreamed that my father had a heart attack and insisted on performing CPR on him herself.

Now look at this woman—fully dressed and carrying soup.

What did that make her? A deliverywoman.

I immediately let Gideon go, shrank into the corner of the sofa, and filled my eyes with tears.

"So you've been taking care of Gideon all these years... I must have arrived at the wrong time and stolen your job."

Her expression stiffened. "You've misunderstood. Gideon and I are only like siblings."

"I understand." My tears flowed as though someone had opened a faucet. "You only barged into his room in the middle of the night to bring him soup. Why don't you stay, and I'll leave?"

"Bridget Nolan!" A vein pulsed at Gideon's temple.

My shoulders trembled, and tears rolled down my cheeks. "Don't be angry, Mr. Whitaker. I'll step aside, all right?"

"Who asked you to step aside?" she blurted.

I looked up through my tears. "Then why did you come here so late?"

Her mouth opened, but not a single word came out.

Gideon's face turned cold. "Heidi, leave. From now on, don't come in here without my permission."

Heidi ran out with tears in her eyes.

I was about to wipe my face when I caught Gideon watching me from the corner of my eye.

I quickly squeezed out two more tears.

"Stop it."

"Okay."

The tears stopped instantly.

The look he gave me was complicated.

In the end, Gideon didn't touch me that night. He said he had work to do and went to the study.

Clutching the keys and black card, I tossed and turned all night.

I hadn't won the man, but I'd already been handed the job.

That wasn't too big a problem.

Mom always said if you didn't know how to do something, watch and learn from the person who did it best.

As for Heidi trying to steal my man...

What a coincidence.

That happened to be my specialty.

The next day, Gideon did take me to register our marriage.

My hands were still shaking when the marriage license was issued.

"Mr. Whitaker, are you sure you don't want a prenuptial agreement first?"

"No."

"Why not?"

He slipped the license into his pocket and glanced at me.

"Because I don't intend to get divorced."

I was speechless.

No. Every sentence this man spoke made my brain crash.

Mom had never taught me how to handle this.

When we returned to the Whitaker family residence, Heidi was already waiting in the living room.

The moment she saw me, she sighed.

"That's certainly a... festive dress, Bridget."

She glanced over my slate-blue dress, then smiled and helpfully "explained" for me.

"Please don't take offense, Mrs. Whitaker. Bridget's family is in business, so it's natural that she likes bright clothes. Our family simply prefers a more understated style."

Sure enough, Mrs. Whitaker's face fell.

"Now that you've married into the Whitaker family, you need to improve your taste."

I looked down at myself.

This was already the most respectable thing I owned. I'd only cut off the tag last night.

Mom taught me that if a woman dressed like a dishrag, why would any man spend money on her?

As for Heidi's little trick, I'd seen it when I was 8.

First, kick someone while she was down. Then play the good person and offer her a graceful way out.

My eyes reddened, and I lowered my head.

"You're right, Mom. I only wanted to wear something cheerful as a newlywed and make you happy. I never meant to embarrass the Whitaker family."

I wiped the corner of my eye, then looked at Heidi with carefully feigned envy.

"Ms. Fletcher has much better taste. She isn't married into the family, yet she's more like a Whitaker than I am."

Mrs. Whitaker's expression stiffened.