I was Lucas Sterling’s secretary for seven years. And his secret lover for nine. Until one morning, when I was twenty-nine, I woke up in his bed. He casually ordered: "Keep your schedule clear in April. I'm getting married." I froze. My eyes instantly stung with tears. He laughed, a dry, amused sound. "You didn't think I was marrying you, did you?" I asked him, "Then... what am I?" He pulled me into his arms, soothing me like a child. "You know what the Sterling family is like. If you married in, you'd just suffer." "It's freer for you to be kept on the side. It protects you." "Babe, it's just a business merger. It won't affect us." "You're still the one I love most." In that moment, I suddenly stopped loving him. 1 At 7:00 AM sharp, the alarm went off. I kept my eyes closed and pushed against the warm chest behind me. "Wake up, Lucas..." The arm around my waist tightened, pulling me back into his embrace. The heat of his body pressed insistently against mine. My body still ached from last night's frenzy. I rasped, "We're going to be late..." "I don't care..." He lowered his head, kissing my neck, his voice husky with sleep. "I'll be quick..." We were always compatible in bed. His stamina was terrifying. An hour later. My legs were trembling as I tied his tie. He reached out, smoothing my messy hair, his tone lazy and satisfied. "Still mad?" I glared at him, a flush still lingering on my cheeks. "My perfect attendance record is ruined, Mr. Sterling." His fingers traced the red marks on my collarbone, his voice teasing. "I'll pay you double. Okay?" I slapped his hand away. "We are seriously late!" He was over thirty; where did he get this energy? I straightened my expression and recited his schedule for the day. "Signing ceremony at ten. Lunch with CEO Lee at noon. Executive meeting at two. Construction partnership talk with Mr. Chen at four. Industry gala dinner at six-thirty." "Mm." He nodded, fastening his watch. He was back to his usual cold, ascetic self. He glanced at his wrist. "Oh, right." As if remembering something trivial, he ordered: "Keep your schedule clear in April. I'm getting married." My hand jerked violently. The half-formed Windsor knot unraveled instantly. I didn't react for a second. He just said... married... Was he... proposing? My eyes went red, tears welling up uncontrollably. After nearly a decade of running this marathon of love, this day had finally come. "Wait?" His voice drifted down from above, sounding awkward. He looked at me, frowned, and then chuckled. "You didn't think I was marrying you, did you?" It felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head. I froze. The messy sheets, the lingering scent of sex—it all suddenly felt blindingly offensive. He paused, then explained: "It's Paige." Paige Rockefeller. The eldest daughter of the Rockefeller family. A spoiled heiress, raised in luxury, a perfect match for his status. Silence stretched for a long time. I stared at him blankly, my lips trembling as I finally managed to speak. "Then... what about me?" He turned his head slightly, avoiding my gaze. "You know the Old Man's health isn't great. And my cousin Liam is making moves. The company needs to go public." "Merging with the Rockefellers is the best strategic choice." He paused, then looked back at me, his eyes softening with reassurance. "Nina, I'm doing this for our future too." Our future. How nice that sounded. "By the way, Paige has a bit of a temper. Just yield to her a bit in the future. Don't take it personally." He patted my head. "Of course, I won't let you suffer, either." I looked out the window. The festive New Year decorations mixed with the sunlight, piercing my eyes until they burned. I looked straight at him, my heart clenching so tight I couldn't breathe. "So, you never thought about marrying me, did you?" A flash of impatience crossed his face. "Nina, is that piece of paper really that important to you?" "You know what my family is like. If you married in, they'd eat you alive." "Keeping you on the side gives you freedom. It's for your protection." I smiled bitterly. So this was his "thoughtfulness." His parents had always looked down on me, the scholarship girl from a small town. No matter how successful I became, in their eyes, I was just a gold digger climbing the ladder. I closed my eyes, tears streaming down my face. "Lucas, what am I to you after all these years?" "Your mistress? Or a pet canary in a gilded cage?" He sighed helplessly, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye. "What are you thinking? Have you ever seen anyone keep a mistress for ten years?" He reached out and pulled me into his arms. "Babe, it's just a business marriage. I promise I won't touch her." "You're still the one I love most." "All these years, my heart has been yours. Have I ever strayed?" "Look at the people in our circle—who else is as loyal as I am?" He wasn't wrong. People in his circle enjoyed top-tier resources. Open marriages, a revolving door of mistresses—it was the norm. But Lucas was different. Everyone knew the CEO was bewitched by his little secretary, cherishing her for nine years. 2 I first met Lucas when I was a senior in high school. He had just taken over the family business and came to our school for a charity event. I was the student representative presenting flowers to him. Suddenly, my father stormed onto the campus. He grabbed me and demanded I drop out. The crops were ready for harvest; I was needed at home. After the harvest, once I turned eighteen, he planned to marry me off for a dowry. At the age when self-esteem is most fragile, I was slapped twice in front of the entire school. Just as despair was suffocating me, a cold, clear voice descended like salvation. "How much? I'll pay it." I looked up, dazed. Lucas was in his early twenties then, sharp-featured and possessing a calmness far beyond his years. The dowry was $8,000. He paid $16,000 to buy out my relationship with my father. Like a god descending, he pulled me out of the mud. I didn't know then that $16,000 wouldn't even buy a single screw in the watch he wore on his wrist. His casual act of kindness changed a rural girl's entire life. Since then, his assistant wired money to my account every year for tuition. And I never saw him again. In the long years that followed, I silently sketched his image in my heart. Until I was 20. I had saved enough money to pay him back. I didn't have his contact info, so I sat in the lobby of Sterling Corp, hoping for luck. It was the dead of winter. After waiting three hours, I finally saw his car slowly approach. "Mr. Sterling!" I stood up and ran forward. He glanced sideways at me and frowned. The next second, the window rolled up, cutting him off from me. He didn't remember me. In my panic, I rushed forward, and my fingers got caught in the closing window. Pain shot through my hand. "Mr. Sterling, I'm Nina Song. You sponsored me three years ago." The window rolled down slowly. He turned, his gaze landing on me. I handed him the envelope full of cash, my fingers trembling from the pain. "I don't need your sponsorship anymore. This is the money I owe you." "I'll pay back the $16,000 from back then slowly." I bowed to him. "Thank you for your kindness. You saved me. Good things will happen to you." "Oh, it's you." He looked me over, his eyes stopping on my red, swollen fingers. "Get in. Let's go to the hospital." "No need, Mr. Sterling, I... I'm fine." I clenched my fingers in embarrassment and stepped back instinctively. Back then, my nose was red from the cold, my clothes cost less than twenty bucks total. I radiated awkwardness and poverty. I clashed violently with the luxury of his car. Eventually, his driver got out and opened the door for me. I sat stiffly in the seat. It was warm inside, a different world from the freezing cold outside. I looked at my pilling sweater and worn boots, shrinking into myself. The warm air blew on my face, mixing with shame until I blushed to my ears. He broke the silence. "You saved this much in two years of college?" I nodded, face burning as I explained. "Yes, I get scholarships every year. And this year I went south to buy clothes wholesale to sell at the campus night market. I made a bit of profit." He raised an eyebrow, a flash of appreciation in his eyes. "You have a good head for business, kid." He paused, then asked: "Interested in interning at Sterling Corp this winter break?" I couldn't believe my ears. I nodded frantically. "Really? I'd love to! Thank you, Mr. Sterling!" Sterling Corp was a titan in the industry, a dream destination for top graduates. 3 That winter, I became a lowly intern in the Secretary's Office. I fetched coffee and ran errands for Lucas. He was surrounded by elites. Compared to them, I was an ugly duckling who had wandered into a flock of swans. Lucas had incredibly high standards. By day, I ran until my feet blistered, daring not to slack off for a second. By night, after colleagues left, I stayed to learn. One evening, I was still at my computer long after everyone had gone. Outside, the city lights had come on without me noticing. "Why haven't you clocked out?" A deep voice sounded behind me. I spun around in panic. He stood tall, the city skyline glittering behind him like a halo. "What are you reading?" He leaned in slightly, his eyes scanning the terms on my screen: "Private Equity," "Options," "Leverage Effect." I explained nervously: "I heard you talking to clients today and didn't understand a lot of it, so I wanted to teach myself..." He nodded slightly, a faint smile touching his lips. "It's good to be studious." He turned and pulled a few books from his shelf. "Read these instead." Then he tapped my desk. "It's late. Go home. I don't have a hobby of exploiting employees." We went downstairs together, only to run into a male classmate who had been pursuing me. I had rejected him clearly many times, but he was relentless. He had even tracked me to my workplace. "Nina! I waited so long for you. Dinner?" I was mortified. After getting rid of him, I apologized to Lucas repeatedly. "Mr. Sterling, he won't come back. I promise it won't affect my work." I was terrified of leaving a bad impression. He raised an eyebrow, curious. "Suitor?" "Sort of..." I muttered awkwardly. He tilted his head slightly, looking at me. "Do you know the best way to reject someone?" I looked at him blankly and shook my head. The corners of his mouth curved up in a half-smile. "Tell them you have a boyfriend." "But I don't..." I replied instinctively. "What kind of boyfriend do you like?" he asked. "I don't know..." My fingers twisted together nervously. He lowered his head, looking straight into my eyes. "Is someone a few years older okay?" I avoided his gaze in a panic. His eyes burned into me as he asked: "Is someone like me okay?" Handsome, rich, successful. For a naive girl just stepping into the world, every trait was a critical hit. And maybe, I had already fallen the moment I looked up at him at eighteen. I didn't understand why he would be interested in someone as broke and boring as me. Maybe it was a whim, a taste of something fresh. I never expected that I would walk by his side from age 20 through nearly a decade of my youth. Only to end up loving in vain. Perhaps I should have foreseen this the moment I walked toward him. 4 "Miss Song, I hope you understand your position." That was something he said to me once during a fight. At work, we were boss and subordinate. If I made a mistake and he scolded me until I cried, I had to take it. After work, he would hold me and say, "You can't talk back to your boss, but you can talk back to your boyfriend." That was the "position" he spoke of. Back then, I craved his warmth, drowning in this contradictory, complex relationship. Now, his fiancée said the exact same words to me. "Miss Song, I hope you understand your position." When Paige appeared at the company, she caused quite a stir. Previously, to avoid gossip, Lucas never officially acknowledged our relationship. But the subconscious gestures, the looks exchanged—everyone knew. Ironically, I was the last person to know Lucas was getting married. "I thought Nina would finally get her happy ending. Turns out the boss marries whoever he wants." "Nine years with the same woman? Even if she's a goddess, he's probably bored." "No comparison. Nina's pretty, but standing next to her, the class difference is obvious." "Yeah, she's old money. That Birkin she's holding? Only five in the world." VP Lee, who had always hated me, whispered loudly with some employees. The volume was perfectly calibrated for me to hear. Paige sat on the sofa in the CEO's office, exquisite from head to toe. A Chanel suit that would look matronly on anyone else looked tailored and chic on her. She oozed old money. She looked me up and down, then let out a light laugh. "I've known Lucas for years. He's like this. He'll eat the same dish forever." "It doesn't mean the dish is good. He's just used to it and too lazy to switch." She tilted her chin up, looking down at me. "Speaking of which, eating too much fast food is bad for your health." "Don't you agree, Miss Song?" I stood there, nails digging into my palms, lips trembling, unable to say a word. "Lucas has only had you these past years. His private life is clean enough. If you know your place, I won't give you trouble." "But—" She paused, her gaze locking onto my face, shaking her head with a frown. "You're almost thirty, right? I've never seen a mistress this old." "How many more years do you think you have with Lucas? When your youth fades, will he still be interested?" "The world isn't short of young faces. What makes you think you can keep him as a mistress for life?" She narrowed her eyes, enjoying my humiliation. "Secretary by day, mistress by night. You really are a multi-tasker, Miss Song." I fought back the stinging in my nose, my voice shaking. "Miss Rockefeller, Lucas and I... it's not the kind of relationship you described." For nine years, aside from work, he hadn't hidden our relationship. He took me to meet his friends. They called me "sister-in-law." We lived together, like a normal couple building a life. Paige scoffed. "Miss Song, you've lived the good life for so long you've forgotten where you came from." "A charity case who climbed into her sponsor's bed using her looks. A social climber." "We all know how much effort that took." "You followed a man for nine years. Did he ever promise you anything?" She stepped closer, the mockery in her eyes intensifying. "You think because you went to a few parties and got called 'sister-in-law,' you're actually Mrs. Sterling?" "Wake up. The Sterlings won't let a village girl in the front door." "He's marrying me because we match. It's a union of family interests. What do you have?" "Men aren't stupid. Would he throw away his empire for you?" She stared at my red-rimmed eyes with disgust. "Don't go crying to Lucas. Sterling Corp needs the Rockefellers right now. It's his honor that I chose him." "Men are all the same. I picked Lucas because he's handsome and cleaner than the rest." She paused, issuing a cold warning. "I don't care about the past. From now on, whenever you're in front of me, tuck your tail between your legs."
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