I ran into my husband’s first love at a job fair. She was clutching a resume with a five-year gap, a ghost from a life she’d left behind. She looked lost, wilting under the sharp questions of our company’s HR rep. And I was the hiring director for the day. I asked her a few standard questions. Her eyes darted past me, searching for Alex, who was sitting by my side. He gave her a placid, reassuring smile. “Just answer the questions. Our hiring director is very professional.” But the moment we left the event floor, he turned on me. “What was that? Why all the questions? Were you trying to prove something?” 1. I honestly didn’t see it coming. The second the words left his mouth, he seemed to realize his mistake. He shot me a cautious look, then added awkwardly, “I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I don’t think we need to make things harder for a woman who’s been a stay-at-home mom for five years.” If he hadn’t added that last part, I might have let it go. An old flame shows up, things get a little weird—for people our age, it should have been a non-event. But that little addendum, that clumsy justification, left a sour taste in my mouth. Because I replayed the entire conversation in my head, and I couldn’t find a single moment where I’d been out of line. My questions had been perfectly ordinary. “Could you explain the five-year gap on your resume?” “Why are you looking for a position outside of your academic field?” “What interests you about our company specifically?” Her answers had been halting, evasive, each pause a small window into a life of quiet hardship. I looked at him, my expression flat. “So you think I was giving her a hard time? Did a single one of my questions fall outside the scope of my job?” “No,” he mumbled, his anger deflating into something else. “I overreacted. I’m sorry. It’s not a big deal. It just feels like… like one of life’s little ironies, you know? It’s just a lot to take in.” An irony. Yeah, you could call it that. No one ever thought the kid from the wrong side of the tracks, Alex Zhou, would become a successful entrepreneur. Just like no one ever thought the golden girl of our high school, Leah, would end up a cautionary tale. And absolutely no one, least of all me, ever thought Alex would end up marrying me—the girl who couldn't stand her. 2. It should have been a cliché story. But when you’re the one living in it, the plot twists still feel breathtaking. Alex and I grew up together. I had a silent, hopeless crush on him for years. But he fell for Leah Xiang, the daughter my father’s new trophy wife brought with her into our home. Leah had her mother’s eyes—the kind that could charm a snake or a man with equal ease. Those years were a blur of misery. I lost my father’s affection and any hope of Alex’s, all in one fell swoop. Eventually, my father and her mother divorced. Alex and Leah broke up. And Alex and I lost touch completely. Years later, a headhunter set up a meeting. The role was at a promising startup. The founder, they said, was a man named Alex Zhou. We met again. This time, it was different. We worked together, side-by-side, building something from nothing. A new kind of affection grew, something steadier and more real than a teenage crush. One day, we decided to spend the rest of our lives together. It was the fastest, and surest, decision I’d ever made. Our marriage had been smooth sailing, a constant affirmation that I’d made the right choice. Until now. The silence in the car was thick and uncomfortable. He kept glancing at me, but I refused to speak. I hadn’t created this awkwardness; I wasn’t going to be the one to fix it. Alex knows me too well. He tried again. “Nina, I’m really sorry,” he said, his voice soft. “It was a stupid thing to say. Can you forgive me? I promise I’ll never speak to you like that again.” It was an easy promise to make. Alex probably didn’t realize then how many times he would break it, again and again, until I finally had nothing left to give. But in that moment, I let it go. I’ve never been one to hold a grudge. It’s probably one of the things he’s always liked about me—how comfortable I am to be around. 3. A few days later, I was in my office, sorting through the final candidates for the open position. Somehow, Leah’s resume was in the pile. I was sure I had filtered it out in the initial screening. It was still the same unimpressive document, practically useless. Her degree and her scant work experience were completely irrelevant to any of the roles we were hiring for. I called in my assistant, Sarah. “Did anyone come into my office today?” She looked confused. “I didn’t see anyone, Nina. Is something wrong? Is something missing?” I shook my head, holding up Leah’s resume. “Something was added. You did the initial screening, right?” “Yes.” “I remember we discarded this one. Leah Xiang. Why is it back on my desk?” Sarah’s brow furrowed. “Oh, that one. Mr. Zhou brought it by. He said to make sure she gets an interview.” My silence was a question she felt compelled to answer. “He said he wouldn’t interfere with the final decision, but that we had to at least give her a chance in the process.” I didn’t say anything. Sarah mumbled, more to herself than to me, “He said that, but we can’t actually just go through the motions, can we? The thing is, her resume doesn’t fit any of the department openings. I have no idea where to even place her for an interview.” A cool, thin smile touched my lips. “Then do exactly what Alex said. We follow the normal process. Send her resume to all the department heads. If someone picks her, she gets an interview. If not…” Sarah’s eyes lit up. “If no one chooses her, the resume just goes back into the general pool. It’s all by the book, and no one has to make a difficult decision.” She gave me a thumbs-up. “That’s why you’re the boss.” That night, Alex was restless. He kept pacing, starting sentences he didn’t finish. Finally, he couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I put Leah’s resume back in the pile. Did you see it?” “I did,” I said, my voice even. “Can I ask why? You know she isn’t qualified for any of our openings. You’re interfering with my work, Alex.” 4. He hesitated, gathering his thoughts. “Look, I wasn’t going to. But she’s in a really bad place, Nina. I thought we could find some small, unimportant role for her. Something to help her get by.” My laugh was short and sharp. “I had no idea you were such a philanthropist. When did you two get back in touch? Before the job fair, or after?” “After,” he said immediately. “I swear. We haven’t spoken in years. Running into her that day was a complete shock to us both.” “We?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Who’s we?” He corrected himself. “I mean, it was a shock for me. And for you. For us to see her there. It was just a coincidence.” He took a breath. “She came by the office to see you a couple of times, but you were out. I ran into her one of those times.” “She came to see me?” I asked, skeptical. “I never got a message. Sarah never scheduled a meeting. Are you sure she was there to see me? Or was she just waiting for the right person to show up?” Alex was quick to defend her. “She’s not like that, Nina. She’s not a schemer. She wouldn’t do something so roundabout.” “And if she really wanted to see me,” he added, a little too quickly, “she could have just made an appointment. Why go to all that trouble?” “So what is it you want to talk about tonight, Alex? Let’s just get to the point.” He seemed to have rehearsed this part. The words tumbled out. “Put her in the finance department. She told me she’s studying for her accounting certification. She can start as a cashier.” I almost laughed out loud. “And that’s what you call an ‘unimportant role’?” My sarcasm must have stung. His tone hardened. “So what are you saying? That I don’t have the right to hire a single person in my own company?” 5. I just stood there, staring at him. He looked like my husband, but a stranger was looking out of his eyes. He didn’t flinch, didn’t look away. Finally, I gave him the answer he was waiting for. “You win.” Relief washed over his face. He smiled, pulling me into a hug and whispering into my hair. “Look, your dad called me about it, too. Said she was your stepsister once, after all. If I didn’t do something, it would look cold.” The mention of my father sent a familiar chill down my spine. You always trip over the same stone. It was true for my father. Maybe it was true for Alex, too. “Why didn’t you just lead with that? That my father asked you to?” He chuckled, stroking my hair. “I was trying not to. I know how you two get. You’d just end up in another fight, and let’s be honest, he’s sent a lot of business our way over the years. You can afford to hold a grudge. I can’t.” He pulled back to look me in the eye, his expression serious. “Now that you’ve agreed, don’t start anything with him. Let’s just let this go. I promise you, she’ll stay in that entry-level job and that’s it. No promotions. This is our company, Nina. I would never let anyone threaten that.” His words were firm, absolute. They reminded me of the promises my father made at my mother’s bedside as she was dying. He’d sworn to God he would never remarry. That he would spend the rest of his life taking care of me, his only daughter. When men make vows, they always believe they mean them. My father’s vow lasted less than four years. Two years after my mother’s death, his business started to take off. There were always women around, but he kept his promise not to marry. Until Leah’s mother appeared. He practically stumbled over himself to welcome her into his life, to share everything he had with her. She moved in on the fourth anniversary of my mother’s death. So, what about Alex? How long would his promise last? Could I really trust him? 6. For a long time after that, Alex was the perfect husband. He was even more attentive than usual, as if trying to soothe a guilty conscience I hadn’t accused him of having. We fell into a rhythm that felt like a second honeymoon, and he seemed happier, more vibrant than he had in years. To avoid any appearance of impropriety, Alex stopped visiting the finance department entirely. Any issues were handled through his assistant. But the human mind is a strange thing. The more he went out of his way to avoid her, the more I felt a creeping sense of unease beneath all the renewed affection. A man who has truly let go of the past doesn't need to work so hard to prove it. One afternoon, I had a proposal that needed his signature. It was almost the end of the day, so I went up to his office to catch him before he left. He wasn’t there. His assistant stammered, saying he was “out on an errand.” “An errand?” I asked, puzzled. “Why didn’t you go with him? Did he drive himself? He didn’t say anything to me.” We usually commuted together, sharing a car. If one of us had a change of plans, we always let the other know. But my phone was silent. The assistant suddenly looked more confident. “He’s generally back before closing. Why don’t you wait for him in your office?” As I walked down the stairs, her words echoed in my head. Generally? That meant this wasn’t the first time. Our company didn’t have many external matters that required the CEO’s personal attention. And he had certainly never mentioned any of them to me. I glanced at my watch, and an idea sparked. I walked straight to the parking garage. It was 5:10 PM, twenty minutes before most of the offices in our building let out. The garage was full, but still. One car stood out. It was a large SUV. A common model, but the color was a custom order. It had been my birthday gift to him. Its headlights were on, illuminating the two people sitting very close inside. They were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn’t even notice me as I walked past the passenger-side window. The car’s soundproofing was good, but I could hear snippets of their voices, fragmented and low. Urgent. And intimate. 7. I didn’t really need to hear what they were saying. Or maybe I just didn’t care anymore. But when he reached out and pulled her into a hug, I felt it. Heartbreak, it turns out, actually makes a sound. It’s like the shattering of glass on a tile floor. A sharp, clear crack, and by the time you look down to find the source, the pieces are already scattered and unrecognizable. But I am not the kind of woman who curls up and disappears. If I was going to be in pain, I wasn't going to suffer alone. I walked to the driver’s side and tapped my knuckles sharply on the window. I had the satisfaction of watching two figures spring apart as if electrocuted.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "384446", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel