From Wife to Aunt: His Worst Nightmare novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I genuinely planned to leave no stone unturned on Monday if that was what it took to identify the traitor. What I didn’t expect was that the very next day, I received a call from upper management at the company.

“Zara, the investors pulled out because of that news about Isabel. We can’t even pay the salaries now. We’re really sorry, but you don’t need to come in to work anymore.”

I stood still, gripping the phone for a long time in a daze.

Back when I had just graduated from college, I had accepted Steve’s proposal and soon became pregnant. The news agency I had been set to join suddenly rejected my application. I still remembered how Steve had held me tightly, feeling sorry for me.

“Don’t be sad, Zara. I’ll invest in them, okay? Then no one will dare reject you,” he had offered.

I had refused back then. I didn’t want to be a nepotism hire.

So, I went into the chaotic world of entertainment media instead. In three years, I ranked first in work performance and clawed my way up to editor-in-chief, only to be fired because of something that ridiculous.

The man who once would throw money around to secure me my dream job was now the very

man who forced me out of my job.

It was painfully obvious whether one person loved another or not. The difference was extremely stark. The human heart was capable of changing until it became utterly unrecognizable.

I strode out of my room and headed straight for the private chapel.

Steve sat there in quiet meditation. He was kneeling on a custom cushion and praying devoutly

with his rosary beads. I used to love this version of him. He was aloof, restrained, and

untouchable. It was as if he didn’t belong to the mortal world.

Even when his devotion meant I had to live under so many harsh rules, I had never

complained.

I walked straight up to him and snatched the rosary beads from his hands.

“Is this how your faith teaches you to treat your wife? What right do you have to interfere with my job?” I demanded angrily.

Steve frowned faintly at having his chanting interrupted. “Why hold on to an undignified job like that? You don’t need it. If you need money, I’ll give it to you.”

Chapter 8

like that? You don’t need it. If you need money, I’ll give it to you.”

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Undignified job? I thought of all those nights I stayed up writing, and all that running around just to climb the corporate ladder. This was a position I got to by my own effort and merit. Who was he to decide its worth with a single, callous sentence?

I clenched my hands and said, “You’d better investigate who exposed Isabel. I’m not taking

the fall for this.”

Steve lowered his eyes. “Isabel has already chosen not to pursue this matter. You’d better know when to stop.”

I refused to back down. “Is she choosing not to pursue it, or does she not have the guts to pursue it? What now? Is she afraid that someone will discover that it was all a self-directed act? Have you let your carnal lust do your thinking for you lately?”

The frown on Steve’s face deepened with displeasure. “Zara, have you forgotten where you’re standing at right now?”

Just then, the ever-present Isabel appeared again. She brought Steve a freshly brewed cup of

coffee.

Then, she said to me, “Ms. Yaxley, Steve doesn’t want you doing this kind of work because he wants you to live with more dignity. I haven’t been in the entertainment industry that long, but I’ve seen paparazzi chased down and beaten like rats in the street.”

The lofty and condescending way she spoke made it sound as though I existed on an entirely

different level from them.

I shot back, “Haven’t you seen mistresses get dragged by the hair and have their faces smashed in? You can be a homewrecker with so much dignity, whereas I earn money based on my own abilities. What part of that is undignified?”

Her face drained of color instantly. Tears welled up as she began to choke back sobs.

Just then, Dorothy’s anxious voice came from outside. “Mommy? Mommy, where are you? I woke up and couldn’t find you!”

Isabel hurried out. Steve stood up as well, with a flicker of rare anxiety taking hold of his

features.

I watched silently for a moment before going back into my room to open a job-hunting app on my phone. Being his wife was far less interesting than those jobs that Steve deemed to be ” undignified”.

After submitting about 20 or 30 applications, I ordered a takeout of steak, pizza, and pan-

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Chapter B

seared foie gras.

It had been three years. Three years had passed since I had last touched any of these things.

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I had had iron-deficiency anemia since I was young. The doctor had said that aside from medication, a balanced diet was the best treatment. He had advised me to eat lean meat and foods rich in iron.

To comply with Steve’s rules, my anemia had once gotten so severe that I had fainted just from standing up. All Steve had done was have a doctor put me on an IV. He never once broke his commitment to being a vegetarian.

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