A Mix-up Made Me His Enemy's Woman novel Chapter 1

"My uncle has a girlfriend, Beth!"

Bethany Porter woke up to the sharp scent of disinfectant lingering in the air.

She had just undergone an appendectomy. Before being wheeled into surgery, she had sent a message to her boyfriend, Noah Vazquez. Yet, she still hadn't received a reply.

Just then, she received a call from her best friend, Holly Vazquez.

Bethany's fingers tightened around her phone, the color draining slightly from her knuckles. Guilt seeped into her voice as she asked, "You've heard?"

"Huh? Were you aware of it as well?" Holly paused before realization dawned on her. "How could I forget? You're my uncle's secretary. Of course you'd know!

"Still, I didn't see this coming. He's been single for many years. Turns out, he was waiting for her all along."

Her? Bethany's breath hitched.

"But I seriously can't stand Ella," Holly grumbled. "She's so dramatic and fake, and she always talks in that high-pitched voice. I have no idea what my uncle sees in her."

Bethany was worried that her secret would be exposed, but when she heard that, she realized that the girlfriend Holly was talking about wasn't her. The wound in her lower abdomen throbbed painfully. Biting her lip, she asked through her pain, "Are you sure you didn't get it wrong, Hols?"

Before Noah went abroad, he had slept with Bethany in his arms every night. So how could he have fallen so easily for someone else?

Holly clicked her tongue. "I didn't get it wrong. Here, let me video call you."

The call ended without warning, abruptly switching to video. "The one in the pink ski suit is Ella, Beth. The one in black is my uncle.

"Look at how lovey-dovey they are. My uncle is warming her hands and eating her face right in front of me. I'm going to throw up!"

The camera was far away, but Bethany recognized Noah at a glance.

Noah had promised her that he would make their relationship public when she turned 25. Her birthday was only five days away. Instead of receiving the acknowledgement she was promised, she witnessed Noah with the woman he truly loved at her most vulnerable moment.

Right then, a nurse walked in and took a look at the chart in her hand. "It's time to change your dressing."

"Huh. Beth, are you in the hospital?" Holly asked.

Bethany swallowed the lump in her throat. "No. I'm visiting someone. I have to go, Hols. Let's talk later."

"Oh, alright. I'll text you!"

Bethany's phone buzzed. Instinctively, she tightened her grip and unlocked the screen, only to see another message from Holly. "I thought my uncle was into men, Beth. Who knew he'd fall for such a cutesy, clingy woman? I swear, she kind of looks like you."

Bethany had heard that sentence countless times before. She and Ella Reid weren't related by blood. After her father, Jack Porter, passed away, her mother married into the Reid family, and Ella became her stepsister.

Bethany closed her eyes for a moment, exited the chat, and noticed a notification pop up from Instagram.

It was a post from Ella. "Teehee, my personal trainer!" Attached was the picture that she and Noah had just taken together.

Bethany had been in a clandestine relationship with Noah for three years. No matter how much she begged, he had never agreed to post a single photo of them. It hit her then that he was fine being seen, just not with her.

Noah wasn't looking at the camera when the picture was taken. Instead, he gazed down at Ella with unmistakable tenderness, her reflection filling his eyes.

Within seconds, a new comment appeared below the post.

NV: "My princess."

Bethany's nails dug into her palm as she tapped on the familiar profile, as if she were punishing herself. It was his Instagram, as she had expected.

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