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My CEO Husband Gave My seat to His Secretary

NovelShort Completed

Billionaire Revenge HotRejected

Chapters (6)

第1章

As the Delgado family's daughter-in-law, I wasn't allowed to eat at the family table before I got pregnant. The Delgado family has a long history, and this is a rule that has been passed down for nearly a century. So my husband Landon Delgado always told me to endure it and not make things difficult for him in front of the family elders and their traditions. So at every family dinner, after I'd cooked the entire spread, all I could do was take my bowl to the back kitchen and eat alone. That was until this Thanksgiving, when I announced my pregnancy and thought I would finally be allowed to join them at the table. Instead, Landon let his newly hired young assistant take the seat beside him, the seat that had been left empty for five years. His younger brother immediately spoke up. "Landon, this is a family dinner. Those seats aren't assigned randomly." "Besides, that's Rose's seat. Letting someone who isn't part of the family" But Landon frowned. "I'm the head of the Delgado family. I decide the rules. No one else gets to question me." Then he turned and saw me still wearing my apron, standing off to the side. Landon lowered his voice, coaxing. "Rose, the girl's got no family left. Spending the holiday alone must be hard enough. Don't make her feel bad." "There's no seat left at the table anyway. You've eaten in the back kitchen for five years already. One more time won't make a difference." Watching him go to such lengths to shield his little assistant. I suddenly found it laughable, everything I'd endured, the baby I had finally conceived through IVF after years of hardship. So the seat I couldn't earn in five years, he could hand to an outsider with a single word. Then this Mrs. Delgado, I won't be her anymore. …… Bartholomew Delgado, the younger brother, rules and traditions that made no sense to him He stood up and looked at the girl beside Landon. "Miss Joyce, is it? The seat beside my brother is only for my sister-in-law. Even if it stays empty, it's not meant for anyone else. It isn't right." "As it happens, I've got somewhere to be, so I'll head out. You can sit here, in mine." At that, Mrs. Delgado shot him a glare. "Don't act up. You only come home once every few years. Tonight's dinner is to welcome you back. What kind of thing is it, walking out?" Everyone knew Bartholomew was giving Anna Joyce a way out. But she acted as if she didn't get it, her eyes immediately filling with tears. "I'm sorry. It's my fault, I shouldn't have told Mr. Delgado I missed my parents. He felt sorry for me, that's why he brought me here to feel the warmth of a family." "I'm the one causing everyone trouble. I should just go…" She looked like she was the one being wronged. Landon pressed a hand to her shoulder, soothing her in a gentle voice. "Sit here and don't worry. With me here, no one would dare make you feel unwelcome." He ignored Bartholomew and turned to me. "Rose, Anna gets nervous around strangers. Keeping her beside me makes it easier for me to take care of her." "It's just a seat. Don't fuss over something so small, all right?" I quietly clenched my apron. I thought back to my first family dinner after the wedding, when, because I hadn't given the Delgado family an heir yet, I was only allowed to eat in the back kitchen. Landon had coaxed me in exactly that same tone. "Rose, I've only just become head of the family. I can't be the one to break the rules and hand people something to hold against me." "Don't put me in a hard spot, all right?" So that seat, whether I sat in it or not, was always wrong. Bartholomew let out a mocking laugh. "Showing up uninvited at a Delgado family dinner and taking the seat reserved for your wife That's what you call being shy around strangers?" "Rose, come on, let's go eat somewhere else. Perfect timing, Vivian's been missing you, she wants to video call." Before I could even untie my apron, Landon blocked my way, a warning in his eyes. "Bartholomew, I know you've got yourself a girlfriend from overseas, but don't go letting her influence rub off on your sister-in-law" "You can leave, but Rose, as Mrs. Delgado, walking out on the guests would be disrespectful. And my family and my wife are not your responsibility." The two of them were brothers, sons of the same father but different mothers. Landon's birth mother had died years ago, and the current Mrs. Delgado was his father's second wife.

第2章

Even without any conflict involving another woman, Landon had never been able to stand his younger brother. I just never imagined that one day the person defending me wouldn't be my own husband. It would be the brother-in-law I'd once secretly thought was too rebellious. Under Mrs. Delgado's warning glance, Bartholomew held himself back from embarrassing him in front of everyone He only left them with one cold, cutting remark. "So the Delgado family's rules are nothing more than humiliating the woman who married into the family. How ridiculous" After he left, Landon pinched the bridge of his nose, irritated. But the family dinner had to go on. "Rose, go prepare a couple more dishes. Anna likes garlic butter shrimp and lobster thermidor. A family dinner should have something everyone likes." A few things people enjoy. That was something he'd never once said to me. Because I had never been allowed to sit at that table. There had never been a reason for him to care what I liked. I looked at him. "I've told you my pregnancy nausea has been severe. I can't stand the smell of seafood. Let Uncle Mark handle it." Uncle Mark was the cook who usually handled the meals at the old estate. Because I was only two months pregnant, even the notoriously picky Delgado elders had, for once, been understanding. No one had requested seafood dishes. Landon knew that perfectly well, yet he made the request anyway. Anna spoke up in a hurt voice. "Mr. Delgado, it's fine. I'll just eat something simple. Don't wear your wife out." She looked like she was forcing herself to endure an unfair situation. Landon frowned. "If you can't stand the smell, wear a mask. It won't take that long." "Anna hardly ever comes by. Don't make it look like the Delgados mistreat their guests. That would be improper." That was the third time tonight he'd used the rules and his sense of propriety to corner me. But his rules only seemed to apply when it suited him. With the whole crowd of relatives and elders watching, I still nodded. "Fine." Preparing those two dishes took nearly forty minutes. I retched more than a dozen times. My appetite was long gone. I leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching Anna sit in the seat I'd waited five years for. Landon carefully peeled the shrimp for her, then waited for it to cool before handing it to her. He didn't spare me a single glance. Something in my chest went cold all at once. I took out my phone and sent a message to my attending physician. "Hello, I'd like to schedule an abortion for tomorrow." After the family dinner ended and all the elders and relatives had been seen off, I headed toward the car out of habit. But Landon blocked the car door. "Rose, I have an online meeting in three minutes. I can't leave yet, and Anna needs to stay and help me with it" "Staying up late isn't good for a pregnant woman. Just take a cab home yourself first." I froze for a moment. "But the mansion is halfway up the mountain. Walking down takes an hour, and it's already ten at night. The road down the mountain is completely dark..." The words had barely left my mouth when Anna poked her head out from inside the doorway, her voice carrying an obvious hint. "Mr. Delgado, all set? The old madam is looking for you." Landon nodded and gave me a helpless look. "Rose, this isn't your first time back at the old estate. You know that road like the back of your hand. Besides, there are streetlights." "Sitting around being lazy isn't good for a pregnant woman anyway. Just think of it as a walk. It's good for the baby's development." I pressed my lips together. I wanted to remind him that the streetlights had broken the last time we came back, and still hadn't been fixed. I also wanted to say that, in order to honor his so-called Delgado rule that the lady of the house had to prepare the family dinner herself to prove her sincerity, I'd already been on my feet for five hours. Because Landon's sperm viability was low, to protect his pride, I'd always told outsiders it was my own body that was the problem. My belly was covered in needle marks. The IVF treatment had finally worked after everything I'd been through.. The doctor had warned me to get plenty of rest and avoid unnecessary movement. But Landon didn't give me the chance to speak, because Anna sneezed. He immediately rushed over, draped his coat around her shoulders, and asked with concern.

第3章

"It's getting colder tonight. Go back inside, don't catch a chill." Anna glanced at my thin blouse, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. The door of the old estate closed right in front of me. I pulled my collar tighter and turned to make my way down the mountain. I'd only gone a few yards when a car rolled up behind me. Bartholomew was in the driver's seat, waving me over. "Get in. I'll take you home." He told me Vivian had heard about tonight and was worried about me, so she had asked him to stay and make sure I was okay. After I got in, I noticed an open jewelry box sitting on the center console. Inside was a jade bracelet of the finest quality. The Delgado family owned two bracelets like this. They were meant for the wives of Landon and Bartholomew, passed down as family heirlooms. Bartholomew caught my surprised look and smiled. "Vivian and I already signed the marriage license, so I asked my mother for this one. I got scolded for it, of course, but it was worth it." "But isn't it a Delgado family rule that the daughter-in-law has to be pregnant before she can…" Bartholomew twisted his lip in disdain. "It's exactly because I can't stand those outdated traditions that I chose to build my life overseas." "Anything that belongs to her, I'll make sure she gets, no strings attached. Because no one gets to tell the woman I love how she should live." "And if she wants to smash it or toss it out, that's her freedom. That's what respect means." His phone buzzed. A younger cousin on his father's side had sent him a video. I was close enough to read the message at a glance. [Bart, I left my phone at the old estate and came back for it—look what I just found!] On the screen, Mrs. Delgado was handing the other jade bracelet to Landon. "Rose left in a hurry, and since she's pregnant, this one should go to her too. Take it back to her, would you?" But Landon turned right around and slipped it onto Anna's wrist instead, a faint smile on his lips. "No rush. She'll gain weight during pregnancy. It might not even fit her." "Anna has such delicate wrists and fair skin. The bracelet suits her. Let her keep it for now." Anna leaned into him, her cheeks flushing pink, and murmured, "Thank you, Mr. Delgado. You're so good to me." All at once the air inside the car suddenly felt suffocating. Otherwise, why would my chest feel so tight and heavy? So that was the real reason he'd sent me away early. Bartholomew glanced at my face, switched off the phone, and rolled down the window. "Rose, the year I first brought Vivian home to meet the family, the elders all sneered that she had no manners, that she wasn't obedient enough. You were the only one who looked out for her." "She's never forgotten how kind you were. Neither have I." "So she wanted me to tell you: the rules were made by other people, but you have every right not to let them control you. Because your life is your own." He looked over at me. "We want to open a Chinese restaurant and hospitality business, and we still need a food and beverage manager to take charge of the menu." "You're such a good cook, Rose. Why don't you join us?" "You can join as a partner with your expertise. No Delgado family money involved." The moment I got home, a message from Anna popped up. "Rose, Mr. Delgado saw me home safe. He even gave me all sorts of gifts." "Thank you for the dishes tonight. I really enjoyed myself ~" She'd put the word 'dishes' in quotes, like she was talking about a person. Below it she'd attached photos of the gifts. I didn't answer the taunting little message. My head was full of what Bartholomew had said. When Landon came home and saw me still sitting on the couch, his brows drew together at once. "You're not asleep? Then why didn't you answer Anna? She thinks you're angry with her. She's been anxious about it this whole time." "Same thing at the family dinner earlier. Not so much as a smile, and you encouraged Bartholomew to target Anna."

第4章

"Rose, I know you're upset tonight. If you feel hurt, you can tell me. But you shouldn't take it out on an innocent guest. That's not how a Delgado should behave." All I could feel was the irony of his words. Hadn't I told him? Had he ever listened? Even when Bartholomew defended me, Landon somehow made it sound like I'd put him up to it.I lifted my eyes, my voice level. "When you gave her my seat and put the bracelet meant for your wife on her wrist, she looked pretty comfortable, didn't she?" Landon froze for a beat, and something rare flickered across his face. Guilt. Then his guilt gave way to anger. "Rose, are you seriously questioning me now?" "Anna is my assistant. She has to go with me to all kinds of events. People might look down on her for being young, so she needs something impressive enough to make people take her seriously." "You don't even work. You spend your days at home cooking and taking care of the house. When would you even have a reason to wear something like that?" "Besides, once you're further along and less steady on your feet, what if you accidentally knock the bracelet off and break it? What's the harm in letting her wear it for a few days?" Oh. So that was how he saw me. I'd once worked as a chef at a five-star hotel. Maybe it wasn't glamorous, but it was a career I loved. I'd once worked as a chef at a five-star hotel. It wasn't glamorous, but it was a career I loved. Landon was the one who'd said it would be embarrassing for the Delgado family's wife to work as a chef. His wife didn't need to work for a living. He'd begged me to stay home and be a homemaker, taking care of everything so he could focus on his work. I thought of how Bartholomew had stood up for the woman he loved back in the car. Compared with that, I suddenly felt like a fool. Landon seemed to realize he'd been too harsh. He sighed, his expression tired. "Forget it. I won't argue with you. You're pregnant, getting worked up isn't good for you." He set a small jewelry box in front of me. "You've had a long day. I picked this out for you." "I still have work to do. I'll sleep in the study tonight. Get some rest tonight. Tomorrow I'll go with you to your prenatal checkup." I looked at the pair of dainty diamond studs. Funny. I'd seen them before, in a photo Anna had deliberately sent me to show them off. A few days earlier, Landon had spent millions at an auction to buy jewelry to match her bracelet. He'd bought a pair of jade earrings and a matching pendant. These earrings had been sitting in a corner of that pile of gifts, still bearing a tag that read "auction freebie." How thoughtful of him to remove the tag before giving them to me. So very dignified. As I passed the study, I heard Landon on the phone. The door wasn't shut all the way, and his gentle voice drifted out. "Anna, don't read too much into it. She's not angry with you. I already talked to her. As my wife, she should know how to treat our guests." "Why did I fall for her back then? She used to be lively and stubborn, a lot like you. She was a little clumsy, but she took her work seriously and always gave it her all. Even when she got chewed out, she never gave up. She was fun to be around." "But now...she's obedient, sensible, and everything a proper wife is supposed to be. She's a good and boring wife." Standing outside the door, I gave a quiet, humorless laugh. He was the one who'd trapped me under all those rules until I'd become nothing more than a mindless machine running his household. And then he blamed me for being dull. Landon was still speaking. "Don't be unhappy. What can I do to cheer you up? All right, I'll sing you to sleep." Listening to that familiar melody, a sharp ache pierced my chest. Back when Landon and I were dating, he'd stay on the phone with me all night whenever I couldn't sleep, singing until I drifted off. But ever since he became head of the Delgado family, he'd never done it again. Not even once. Last week, my morning sickness was so bad that I could barely sleep. I wanted him to stay on the phone and sing to me, just like he used to.

第5章

But he frowned and shot me an impatient glance. "Rose, I'm the head of the Delgado family now. I have to conduct myself properly. I can't have people thinking I'm careless." "If you can't sleep, count sheep." I didn't bother listening to the rest. Back in the bedroom, I sent Bartholomew a message. "I agree to the partnership." "Also, I remember you took some law courses. Please draft the divorce papers for me. Thank you.." The perfect wife, the sensible Mrs. Delgado—whatever you want to call it. From now on, someone else can play that part. After everything that had happened the night before, Landon kept his word and went with me to the hospital the next morning. The next morning, Landon kept his word and went with me to the hospital. In her office, Dr. Lawrence tried to talk me out of it. "You went through so much. The IVF finally worked. Are you sure you want to have an abortion?" "Why don't you talk it over with your husband again? He is the child's father, after all." I thought about it, then pushed open the door and stepped out—but Landon was nowhere in sight. A message from him popped up on my phone. "Anna just called. She's not doing well. I'm going to check on her. I'll be back soon." So his promise wasn't even worth five minutes. I turned and went back into the office. "There's nothing to talk over. Just get this done." Dr. Lawrence sighed and scheduled the procedure. Halfway through the procedure, a nurse suddenly cried out. "Doc, she's hemorrhaging! But she's Rh-negative, and none of the blood banks in the city has enough compatible blood.." "It would take at least three hours to get blood from another state. We're running out of time!" The doctor told her to hurry outside and ask if anyone had a matching blood type and was willing to donate. Everyone knew the chances were slim. I managed to speak. "I know someone with the same blood type. Give me my phone." Back when we first discovered we shared a blood type, Landon had smiled and said, "Rose, don't you think this means we were meant to be together?" The phone rang a long time before it was answered. Before I could get a word out, Landon spoke. "Rose, today is the anniversary of Anna's mother's death. She's heartbroken." "I can't leave her alone. I need to stay with her. You head home once your checkup's done." I paused. "Landon, I hemorrhaged during the procedure. The hospital blood bank doesn't have enough compatible blood. I need you to come back right now for a transfusion." The moment I finished, Anna's wounded voice came through the phone. "Why would a prenatal checkup require surgery? Is your wife jealous again? Is she making this up?" "Mr. Delgado, you should just come back. It's not the first time she's disliked me. Don't let me come between you two." I was about to deny it, but Landon cut me off impatiently. "Rose, I know your hormones are all over the place right now, but you need to learn to control your emotions. Stop picking fights with a young girl. It's really childish." The call cut off abruptly. The operating room went dead silent. Whatever hope I'd had left in Landon died with it. As my consciousness was slipping away, the young nurse from before rushed back in, looking relieved. "Dr. Lawrence, a man with the same blood type. He says he's a family member—" It was my brother-in-law, Bartholomew. Sometimes, life really is full of strange coincidences. Two people in the same family, both with Rh-negative blood. Bartholomew said Vivian hadn't had much of an appetite lately and had lost a lot of weight. She'd laughed it off over the phone, joking that she was losing weight for free, but he'd worried anyway and gone to an experienced doctor he knew to get some medicine to help settle her stomach. He happened to overhear the nurse asking around for a blood type, and only then realized it was me. Remembering Landon's coldness just now, I tugged at the corner of my mouth, but nothing came out. Bartholomew knew what procedure I'd had, but he didn't ask anything more.

第6章

All he said was, "The divorce papers are ready. Once you've recovered, we'll leave the country together." The surgery was over, but I still had to stay for another twenty-four hours of observation. He helped me sit down on a chair in the hallway and went to handle the admission paperwork. But the moment Bartholomew walked away, Landon appeared with Anna, two police officers with two police officers behind him. "So there was a hemorrhage after all? I knew you were lying earlier!" He stalked toward me, barely containing his rage. "No wonder Anna said this isn't the first time you've had it out for her. If I hadn't kept pressing, I'd never have known how vicious you are!" "I've already told you, she's allergic to peanuts, and last night you deliberately cooked with peanut oil?!" As he spoke, Landon pushed up Anna's sleeve and pointed at the rash there. "She put up with the pain just to save you embarrassment. She waited until she got home to take any medicine, and the rash still hasn't gone away." "Do you even understand? A severe allergy can kill someone!" I said flatly. "None of the oil or ingredients used at yesterday's dinner contained peanuts. If you don't believe me, go check the security footage at the old estate." At that, panic flickered in Anna's eyes, and her eyes immediately reddened. "So you're saying I lied to frame you?" "Even if you don't like me, there's no need to smear my name. I'm not that kind of person." Landon tenderly wiped away her tears, then turned to me. "Anna is sweet and kind. She would never stoop to those dirty little tricks." "Apologize to her, now!" I didn't budge. "I didn't do anything. Why should I apologize?" Landon let out an incredulous laugh and pointed at me. "Fine, fine, fine. You deliberately fed someone food they're allergic to, and you still won't own up to it. Is this how Mrs. Delgado is supposed to behave?!" "Alright. If you won't apologize, then spend a few days in jail and think about what you've done." He turned to the two officers. "As Anna's employer, it's my duty to protect my staff." "Rose may be my wife, but I won't shield her. She's suspected of intentionally harming Anna. Please take her into custody." The two officers exchanged a glance, then said to me: "Mrs. Delgado, please come with us. We need you to help with the investigation." Just then, Dr. Lawrence rushed over. She planted herself in front of me. "No!" "Rose just underwent an abortion, and she hemorrhaged badly during the procedure. She's not out of danger yet. She absolutely cannot leave!"