My Secret Husband Is My Cold Boss novel Chapter 84

—Babe! Did the stress of being a doctor get to him? Is he all looks and no stamina?!

The room descended into dead silence.

The voice note, now repeated twice, echoed through the living room with a horrific 3D surround-sound effect.

No matter how you spun it, it sounded like a blatant insinuation...

Or pure mockery.

Sampson stood frozen in the entryway, one hand still casually loosening his tie, completely still.

Wendy slammed the phone face down onto the table with a loud smack.

A few feet away, after a long pause, Sampson let out a low chuckle.

"Your friend?"

He stepped closer, his towering height casting a shadow that completely enveloped Wendy.

"Yeah," Wendy nodded, pressing her lips tightly together.

"Jade Sterling, my college roommate. She's an attorney. You haven't met her yet, but we should all get dinner sometime."

For Wendy to proactively suggest getting dinner with someone meant a lot.

Sampson lowered his gaze.

Feeling guilty, Wendy hastily added, "We're really close."

What she meant was that she wasn't the type of person to broadcast her private marital affairs to just anyone, unless they were her absolute best friend.

"Got it."

Sampson gave a noncommittal response, nodding carelessly.

He continued untying his tie as he walked toward the bedroom.

Right before he stepped through the door, he suddenly stopped and turned around.

He looked at her phone, which was still face down on the table, and arched an eyebrow. "So, you weren't planning on clearing my name?"

Wait, what?

Clearing his name?

How was she supposed to do that?

Wendy looked at him in complete shock.

There was an unreadable, teasing glint in the man's eyes.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Sampson raised an eyebrow again. "If I recall correctly, you have my medical physical in your chat history?"

...

So that was what he meant by clearing his name!

Wendy's racing heart finally settled back into her chest.

She nodded slowly. "...Right."

The next day, during the lunch break, Kimberly Watson showed up at the hospital.

Wendy's ears had grown calluses from hearing variations of that exact phrase over the years.

She looked at Kimberly.

Approaching fifty and having lived a life of luxury, Kimberly looked much younger than women her age.

Wendy thought about it, realizing she could hardly remember what Kimberly had looked like when she was a child.

But it was probably more or less the same.

Wendy took a deep breath. "If Willa was immature six years ago, and she's twenty years old now and still immature, doesn't that make it your failure as a mother?"

Why was she expected to forgive someone else's mistakes?

Kimberly understood the implication behind Wendy's words.

Her expression darkened.

Her lips parted, but she hesitated to speak.

Wendy pressed on. "And after all these years, can't you see that we simply despise each other?"

Kimberly tried to wave it off. "It's just minor bickering, don't say things like..."

"No," Wendy scoffed. "It's not that you can't see it. It's that you know I'll tolerate it."

"Because I can endure it, you expect me to endure it forever."

"Because you need me to endure it, you expect me to keep playing a role in your little happy family charade."

"I became an adult a long time ago."