The Lies Behind Her Marriage novel Chapter 206

Noelle’s Past.

It had been minutes now since Noelle and Serena sat down at the cafe. Serena had nearly finished her coffee, but Noelle’s cup remained untouched.

“Your drink is getting cold,” Serena reminded.

Only then did Noelle take a sip of her coffee.

The silence between them stretched for another minute before Noelle spoke. “I guess there is no helping it. I might as well tell you.”

Noelle took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She said, “I’m married.”

“Please don’t tell me you are married to Brian,” Serena said, grimacing.

“I’m married to Brian Kingsley,” Noelle confirmed.

Serena blinked. Again, she made a face and asked, “What? Then why? Why aren’t you using Kingsley as your last name, and why is Brian more publicly known to have a relationship with Gwen Porter?”

Almost every socialite in town knew that Gwen was dating Brian Kingsley. Serena did not attend a lot of social gatherings, but the neighbors talked about it.

Twice or thrice, maybe, Serena had spotted Gwen and Brian in public together, and they were always intimately close.

In fact…

Serena searched on her phone. When she found Gwen’s social media, it was flooded with pictures of her and Brian.

What in the world was going on?

Showing Gwen’s social media account, Serena asked, “Noelle, explain this then.”

“It’s a long story,” Noelle said, looking pale.

“I want to listen,” Serena said. She reached for her hand and held it. “Noelle, I think you are a good person, a talented one at that. I want to hear you out and maybe help you.”

Noelle looked around and said, “Okay, but please, don’t tell anyone.”

“Not even Silas?” Serena asked.

Noelle hesitated, but eventually said, “I think some people—those who knew me in high school, like Silas—know. But many others don’t.”

Serena, “...”

“Brian and I were neighbors. Our families were close. Growing up together, it was natural that I became drawn to him,” Noelle said. “I fell in love with him in high school. I followed him around like a fool… until…”

A pause.

Noelle shook her head. She took another sip of her coffee and said, “Honestly, I had given up back then. I was going to let go of Brian. But—”

She stared blankly at the coffee and revealed, “One evening, while we were attending this AI conference at the hotel, I got really drunk. I think everyone did. One thing led to another, and Brian and I ended up sleeping together.”

“I ended up getting pregnant,” Noelle revealed. “And Benson is the result of that night—our son. He is six years old now. I almost did not finish my master’s degree because of my pregnancy.”

“I got hitched, slipped into a secret married life, and raised a child, all while working my ass off at Brian's company.” Noelle’s chest heaved. “That had been my life for a very long time.”

Serena did the math. Noelle was a year younger than her, but from what she understood, Noelle had been in the same class as Silas in school. In other words, she had been advanced by a year.

“So, you were like what? Twenty-two when you got pregnant?” Serena asked.

“Barely,” Noelle confirmed. “Twenty-one, but I was turning twenty-two.”

“God, you were still so young,” Serena said.

“Yeah,” Noelle confirmed. “Young and stupid, and with my parents gone, Brian’s family had a big influence on my decisions at that time.”

Referring to her in-laws, Noelle shared, “They did not want Gwen as their daughter-in-law, so they pressured us to get married. Brian took responsibility. We became husband and wife.”

She laughed bitterly. Tears welled in her eyes as she admitted, “So you see. Silas was right. I made stupid decisions in my life.”