My Husband’s “Work Wife” Is Just a SISTER? Let Me Teach Her How Family Trees Work novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I lifted my coffee and stirred it slowly. “You love playing the hero, don’t you?”

He froze.

“You betrayed me, violated your professional ethics, and leaked company secrets, all to save that innocent, helpless little sister of yours.”

“You became her one true hero, and the two of you fell into hell together. A perfect

match, isn’t it?”

His face went chalk-white, and his lips shook uncontrollably. “I…”

I stood

up

and looked down at him. “Marco Aldrich, don’t come looking for me again.”

“We’re done.”

I turned and walked out without looking back

Life after the divorce was calmer than I expected, and busier too.

I sold that house full of bad memories and used the money to expand my studio. Later I moved my mom in with me. We kept each other company, our days steady and peaceful.

In my spare time, Kiley, other alliance buddies, and I organized my Pick-up Behavior Guide into an easy-to-read anti-manipulation handbook and published it online.

I had not expected it to blow up overnight. Countless people who had been hurt by “guys’ girl” and other pick-me bitch found resonance in the comments. My account passed a million followers in a single month.

I started getting invited to lectures and shows, and I went from a little-known studio owner to a recognizable relationship creator and “pick-me” analysis expert.

Work filled every crack in my life, and slowly Marco faded from my mind.

Two more years passed. My career was thriving. My studio had grown into a well-known emotional consulting firm in the industry, and my debut book, The Expertise of Spotting Pick-me, became a nationwide bestseller.

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And then fate gave me its gentlest gift. I met Duncan Cote at a charity event. He was a

detective, tall, upright, and with shallow dimples when he smiled.

He knew everything about my past, yet never pressed me for details. He simply showed

me with his actions that he would always stand on my side.

On an ordinary weekend, he took me back to the place where we had first met.

He pulled out a velvet box. Inside was a simple platinum ring.

He knelt on one knee, his eyes earnest and bright. “Lola, I don’t have much money, and I’m not good with sweet talk. But I promise you this, no matter what happens from now on, I’ll put you first. I won’t let you be wronged.”

“Will you marry me?”

After the darkness and betrayal I had lived through, I had once thought I would never

dare hand my heart to anyone again.

But looking into his eyes, I wanted to try. I wanted to let go of the past and hold on to what was good in front of me.

I nodded hard, my voice catching in my throat. “I will.”

On our wedding day, the sun was bright. I wore a white wedding dress and walked, step by step, toward the man I would spend the rest of my life with.

Among the guests were many of the buddies from the “Light of Justice” alliance, all smiling and cheering for me.

Kiley, as my bridesmaid, leaned in and whispered, “I heard Marco and Jolene made an even bigger mess after that. Their lawsuits dragged on for half a year, and they ended up blacklisted in the industry. No one will hire them.”

I looked at the man waiting for me in the distance. He was watching me with that same gentle look.

I turned back to Kiley, smiled, and said softly, “It’s all in the past.”

It really was. The betrayals, the schemes, the humiliation, all of it had already dissolved

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the moment I met the right person and built a life that was calm and happy.

Call it karma, call it justice, call it the universe keeping score. I no longer cared.

All I wanted was to hold the hand of the person beside me and cherish every bit of

warmth I had now.

I used to think learning how to spot “pick-up girls was armor, a way to hack through the battlefield of relationships and win every fight.

Now I knew better. Real happiness was never something won through little stunts.

It was meeting someone who made you willing to set your guard down, someone who became your steady ground, someone who made you believe that even empty-handed, you could still be treated gently by the world.

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Chapter 9