The Secret Husband

The biting autumn air of Oakhaven cut through Nora Mercer like an early winter chill as she stood isolated at the bustling bus stop. Shivering against the freezing gusts, she shoved her numb hands into her coat pockets, forced to listen to the vibrant gossip of the young girls standing beside her.

"Have you seen the entertainment headlines?" one of the girls squealed with excitement, waving her phone around. "Chloe’s mysterious sugar daddy has finally been revealed! Look at them coming out of that luxury hotel, holding hands so intimately."

"I knew it!" her friend replied animatedly. "There was no way she could get so many top-tier resources immediately after debuting without some wealthy backer. This confirms it. And did you see the statement Chloe’s studio put out? It was so ambiguous. They basically said, 'May lovers all over the world live happily ever after.'"

Seeking a distraction from the piercing cold, Nora pulled out her own phone, only to be immediately confronted by those exact entertainment headlines plastered across every major news site. She tapped the screen, and a high-definition photo loaded. It captured a perfectly framed image of a man she recognized with soul-crushing certainty.

Tears instantly blurred her vision and dropped onto the glass screen, smudging the image. Her chest tightened painfully. The man in the headline was Dante Carlisle—the very man she had secretly married three years ago.

"The bus is here! Let's hurry up and push in, or there won't be any seats left!"

Before Nora could wipe her face, she was aggressively squeezed against the cold glass window by a throng of indifferent strangers boarding the bus. Her body felt stiff and entirely numb. As the bus jolted forward, massive digital billboards displaying Chloe's glowing endorsements flashed by outside in a mocking rhythm. It created a harsh, humiliating contrast to Nora's own exhausted and ridiculous reflection in the window. Under the bright spotlight, Chloe was dazzling and loved. To Dante, Nora was nothing but a carefully hidden secret, tucked away where no one could ever see her.

The crushing crowd inside the bus made it hard to breathe, forcing Nora to shove her way out a stop early. As her foot hit the uneven pavement, she twisted her ankle harshly. Her face immediately drained of color as excruciating pain shot up her leg. She gasped, leaning heavily against a streetlamp.

At that exact moment, a sleek black Maybach glided past her without slowing down a fraction of an inch. She recognized the license plate instantly; it was Dante. The painful realization washed over her like ice water. In broad daylight, he would rather leave his injured wife stranded on the side of the road than risk arousing any public suspicion about their relationship.

Trudging all the way back to their shared home at Pine House, Nora dragged her injured leg through the front door. She finally took off her shoes to examine her severely swollen and bruised ankle. Just as she bent down, a sudden, piercing, and agonizing pain violently tore through her stomach, leaving her gasping for air.

Clutching her abdomen, she stumbled into the living room and found Dante sitting calmly on the couch. He had already changed into casual clothes, his demeanor perfectly composed.

"Where did you go last night?" he coldly interrogated her, his sharp gaze locking onto her pale face.

Nora swallowed hard, desperately trying to mask her physical agony. She kept her voice as steady as possible. "I stayed at my friend Maya's house." At that moment, her only desire was to retreat to the safety of her room and collapse in bed.

Sipping his coffee with a stony, unreadable expression, Dante casually brought up the headlines that had broken her heart earlier. "Chloe just debuted in the entertainment industry, so she needs the media exposure. It's just business. Do not take it seriously."

Nora's fingers stiffened at her sides as she looked back at him. "You don't need to explain."

This terse response triggered Dante's displeasure. His handsome features hardened into a deep frown as he coldly reminded her of her place. "Are you angry? I have already told you that no matter what I do outside, nothing will threaten your status as my wife."

In his eyes, her only purpose was to remain obedient. She was the true, legitimate eldest daughter of the Carlisle family. He had only married her so that he, as the adopted son raised by Edward Carlisle, could secure full inheritance rights to the Carlisle Corporation. She was nothing more than a stepping stone.

Cold sweat thoroughly soaked Nora's hair as she finally retreated to her bedroom, but the agonizing pangs in her stomach only escalated into a torturous crescendo. She thought she could just endure it, but this felt different. Unable to bear the sheer physical trauma tearing her insides apart, Nora stumbled out of the room and collapsed heavily onto the hard hallway floor with a loud thud.

Hearing the noise, Dante emerged from the bathroom. He saw her curled up on the ground.

"Dante..." Nora's voice trembled weakly. "My stomach... please, take me to the hospital..."

But before she could finish her desperate plea, Dante's phone abruptly rang, shattering the silence. He answered it, and his assistant's frantic voice carried through the receiver.

"Mr. Carlisle, Chloe has gotten into a car accident!"

Dante shot to his feet instantly. Genuine, unmasked panic flashed vividly in his dark eyes—an intense fear Nora had never seen him show for her.

He looked down at his collapsed wife and dismissively told her that it was merely a stomachache, ordering her to go to the hospital by herself because a work emergency had just come up.

As he grabbed his coat to rush out the door, a paralyzing numbness spread through Nora's shivering body. She was not deaf; she had clearly heard the name Chloe Sutton on the phone. The celebrity had a car accident, and Dante chose her.