My Husband Brought His Secretary on Our Anniversary

Before our anniversary trip, my husband, Liam Hayes, ignored my protests and insisted on bringing his female assistant.

His excuse? Work couldn't wait.

The first night, I'd just slipped into some seductive nightwear when his assistant called him for a meeting.

The second night, we were mid-sex when she interrupted, demanding he review proposals.

The third night, after he emerged from her room yet again, I told him I wanted a divorce.

He exploded:

"Avery, are you kidding me? You want to divorce over this?"

I nodded.

"Yes. I'm doing this for your own good. Wouldn't want to get in the way of your precious work, would I?"

"Reasons?"

Liam's eyebrows shot up.

"Avery, you better explain yourself."

I leaned against the window of our hotel room, the azure waters of the Maldives stretching out below.

We were supposed to be celebrating our romantic fifth wedding anniversary here, a trip I'd meticulously planned for over half a year.

But now, that brilliant blue gouged my eyes out, making my stomach churn.

"You'll know the reasons soon enough."

Just then, the doorbell chimed.

Liam turned. His female assistant, Chloe Davies, stood in the doorway.

"Mr. Hayes, the ten o'clock conference call is about to start."

Chloe's voice was deliberately hushed, dripping with a sickeningly sweet, humble politeness.

Her gaze flickered over me, a fleeting smirk playing on her lips.

My face remained calm.

"Liam, we've been on this trip for two days, and you've had over a dozen conference calls with your assistant."

"Day or night, you two spend more time together than you do with me."

"Do you honestly think this marriage is worth saving?"

Liam frowned. "Is there something wrong with that? You know how important this merger is to me!"

"The merger?"

I stepped forward, meeting his gaze directly.

"For our fifth wedding anniversary trip, you packed three suitcases."

"Two of them were filled with documents."

"You didn't pack a single outfit for me, not even your own swim trunks, but you somehow remembered to pack ten dresses for Chloe Davies."

"Care to explain why?"

Liam was speechless.

Chloe seized the moment, a sickeningly sweet, humble smile plastered on her face. "Miss Reed, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault."

"I didn't manage the meeting schedule well and disrupted your plans with Mr. Hayes."

She lowered her head slightly, her bangs falling across her forehead, making her look both innocent and incredibly wronged.

"He's been under so much pressure lately; sometimes he forgets things. Please don't blame him."

I watched her performance, noticing how her fingers brushed against Liam's wrist as she spoke, seemingly by accident, but I knew better.

Liam didn't flinch away.

"Chloe." My voice turned cold. "I'm talking to my husband. You're out of line."

Chloe immediately took a half-step back. "My apologies, Miss Reed, I was wrong."

She looked up at Liam, her eyes wide and shimmering, like a drowned puppy, utterly pathetic.

"Mr. Hayes, I'll go prepare for the meeting. I won't disturb you any further."

"Wait."

Liam grabbed her arm.

He turned back to me, his eyes holding that familiar stubbornness.

"Avery, don't be unreasonable. You know my job is demanding."

I countered, "Demanding enough to be holed up with your assistant until two in the morning?"

Then I pulled out my phone and opened my photo album.

"Demanding enough that she can call you by your first name, while I, your wife, need to schedule an appointment just to have dinner with you?"

Chloe's face shifted, but quickly reverted to her innocent expression.

"Miss Reed, you've misunderstood."

"Yesterday, there were just so many documents, we..."

"Shut up."

I cut her off without ceremony.

Liam's brows furrowed.

"Avery! How can you speak to Chloe like that? Everyone knows she's my most indispensable assistant!"

I scoffed, "If she's so indispensable, then tell me, what significant contributions has she made to the company? How many major deals has she landed?"

Liam was momentarily silent.

Chloe lowered her head, putting on a show of self-reproach.

"Miss Reed is right. I still have many shortcomings and haven't been able to alleviate more of Mr. Hayes's pressure."

Liam, seeing her act, immediately clapped her shoulder, a look of tender concern on his face, then turned to glare at me.

"Avery, that's enough!"

"Chloe has been working almost non-stop on this merger. Can't you see her dedication?"

"What right do you have to question her?"

"Non-stop?" I sneered. "Right, even on our anniversary trip, she's glued to your side day and night. She must be truly exhausted."

Liam's face flushed scarlet. He raised his voice. "Could you just drop the passive-aggressive act? Chloe is my assistant. Her job is to help me. What's wrong with that?"

"Are you seriously asking me to abandon all my work just because you're being unreasonable?"

"I'm being unreasonable?"

I repeated his words, suddenly finding them utterly absurd and laughable.

I pointed at Chloe.

"You two shared a room until dawn last night. As your wife, I was left to sleep alone."

"She brazenly touched your hand right in front of me, and you couldn't even bother to flinch away."

"Ever since she joined the company, no matter what happens, if she opens her mouth, it's always my fault."

"I'm not even allowed to question her!"

"And all of this, in your eyes, is just me being unreasonable?"

Liam was momentarily speechless. Chloe quickly interjected, "Miss Reed, you really misunderstand. I have nothing but respect for Mr. Hayes, no other intentions whatsoever!"

"No other intentions?" I scoffed. "No one in their right mind would believe that!"

Liam exploded. He practically shoved Chloe behind him.

"Avery, that's enough! Chloe is my assistant, and she's my friend. I won't let you insult her like that!"

I stared into his eyes, searching for a hint of guilt or even a flicker of hesitation.

But there was only stubbornness and anger.

I suddenly felt tired, utterly exhausted.

Too weary for more of his pathetic excuses, I simply turned and walked away.

"Avery!" Liam called after me, a trace of panic in his voice. "Where are you going?"

I didn't look back.

That evening, I sat on the terrace, sipping wine. Liam returned.

"Avery." His voice was softer than before, dripping with forced tenderness. "It's a bit chilly out here. Come inside."

I didn't move, just stared at the dark ocean outside the window.

He sighed, walked to my side, and reached out to take the wine glass from my hand.

I subtly shifted, avoiding his touch. His fingers hovered awkwardly in the air for a few seconds.

"Come on, Avery." He spoke softly. "We need to talk calmly, really talk."

Only then did I look up at him.

I put down my glass, stood up, and walked past him towards the room.

"Fine. Let's discuss the divorce settlement."

"Avery!" He rushed after me, grabbing my wrist. "What do you want from me? You know how much I love you. I don't want a divorce!"

I stopped, turning to face him directly.

"It's simple if you don't want a divorce."

"Fire Chloe Davies immediately, and promise you'll never have any contact with her again."

"Can you do that?"

The expression on his face instantly froze. He released my hand and took a half-step back.

His brows were tightly furrowed.

"Just because she's my assistant, you want me to fire someone so indispensable to the company?"

"Indispensable?" I scoffed. "She hasn't closed a single deal on her own since she started six months ago. She only keeps her job because she orbits around you."

"Liam, you're not a fool, and you're not a child. Stop acting naive."

His cheeks flushed crimson with anger. "You're being overly sensitive! Chloe is diligent and responsible. This merger would be impossible without her..."

"Without her, it wouldn't stop you from doing your job just fine."

I cut him off without ceremony.

"But you chose to let her insinuate herself into every corner of our lives."

"Our anniversary? You brought her along."

"Our dinner dates? She's at the next table."

"Now, even when we're talking by our bed, you still defend her."

Liam's chest rose and fell rapidly, a faint tremor running through him with each breath.

"You don't understand." He still tried to explain. "That's just how company work is. I need her assistance."

My voice grew louder. "Liam, I'm not asking for your opinion right now."

"Either she goes, or we're done."

"There's no third option."

His eyes widened, seemingly surprised by my unwavering stance.

Suddenly, the shrill ring of his phone shattered the tense silence.

Liam quickly walked to the bedside table. He glanced at the caller ID, and a visible tension seized him.

I didn't need to guess. It was Chloe.

After answering, his expression quickly morphed from worry into outright panic. "What? You fell? How serious is it?"

"...Okay, I'll be right there."

He hung up, snatched a jacket, not even bothering to change out of his pajamas, and headed for the door.

"Liam." My voice was terrifyingly calm. "If you walk out that door today, we're getting a divorce immediately."

His hand was already on the doorknob. He froze.

Time seemed to stand still. I could hear the pounding of my own heart.

Three seconds, five seconds.

He turned, his eyes holding a look I'd never seen before, utterly alien.

"Avery, don't be like this." His voice was pleading. "Chloe really got hurt. This isn't back home; she's alone with no one to care for her. She's helpless..."

"So?"

I straightened up.

"The hotel has doctors, staff, even ambulances.

"She's not a three-year-old, and you're not her dad."

"Are you saying only you can take care of her?"

Liam: "But she fell because she was working overtime..."

"Choose, Liam." I cut him off. "Now. Immediately."

His lips trembled, and a flicker of emotion I couldn't quite decipher crossed his eyes.

Finally, he took a deep breath, as if making a grim decision.

"I'm sorry. I'll be back as soon as I can."

The night wind swept away my last trace of hesitation.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.

"Mr. Miller, regarding the divorce settlement, let's discuss it in detail when I return to New York tomorrow."

Liam didn't return all night.

At four in the morning, my phone vibrated.

I opened Ins and saw a new post from Chloe.

In the photo, she was sitting on a lounge chair on the hotel terrace, her knee bandaged, holding a champagne flute.

Liam stood behind her, leaning slightly close to her shoulder, a radiant smile on his face.

"So lucky to have your company in a foreign land."

I turned off my phone and booked the earliest flight back to New York.

As I boarded, a video from an unknown number popped up.

In the video, a man and a woman were tangled on a bed, kissing passionately, utterly lost in each other.

Though their faces were somewhat blurred, I instantly recognized the man.

I pressed my lips together and powered off my phone.

When the plane landed, I turned on my phone, and immediately a dozen missed calls and messages flooded in, all from Liam.

I was about to turn it off again when his call came through.

"Avery!" His voice was laced with obvious anger. "Where are you? Why did you suddenly come back?"

"Suddenly?" My tone was calm. "I thought I made myself perfectly clear."

"Just because I went to take care of Chloe last night, you just abandoned me and left?"

His voice suddenly rose, sharp and accusing.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was, alone in that hotel?"

I laughed sardonically.

"I saw you and Chloe were having a grand old time. You even posted on Ins. Did you really have time to worry about me?"

A momentary silence on the other end, then his voice came back, with a hint of guilt.

"She posted?"

"The photo's really well taken, from every angle, and the mood? Flawless," I said coldly.

"Avery, do you have to be so passive-aggressive?"

"Chloe fell and got hurt last night. I just went to help her with her injury!"

"As her boss and her friend, I have an obligation to take care of her."

My patience evaporated. I scoffed, "Liam, don't take me for a fool."

"You're being completely irrational!"

"Chloe and I have nothing going on. You're just overthinking things, always jumping to the most disgusting conclusions!"

"You know exactly what's going on, Liam. Just wait for my divorce settlement."

"Avery!" A trace of panic finally entered his voice. "Are you really going to divorce me over a few trivial matters?"

"Maybe it's a 'small matter' to you, Liam, but for me, it's my absolute breaking point. My non-negotiable."

I could hear his ragged breathing on the other end. He seemed about to say something else.

But I didn't give him the chance. I hung up.

The next day, as if to deliberately provoke me, Liam frequently posted on Ins.

Sometimes it was photos of him and Chloe at a restaurant, sometimes it was him showing off gifts he'd received, with a caption that dripped with ambiguous affection.

"Thanks for the surprise, someone special. All the hard work and stress are worth it."

I swiped past it, my face emotionless, and sent him the divorce agreement with the assets clearly divided.

Liam's call came almost immediately.

"Avery, what the hell is this? You actually think I can't live without you, don't you? You'll regret this!"

I didn't bother to reply. I just hung up and blocked his number.

Seven days later, on a stormy night, I was hanging out at my best friend's place.

A video from an unknown number popped up again.

In the video, Chloe was wearing my silk slip, holding a glass of red wine, looking up at the large wedding photo of Liam and me.

A sneering laugh played on her lips. On the bed, the rumpled sheets were strewn with underwear I'd bought for Liam.

A cold, blinding fury ripped through me.

Liam and I weren't even divorced yet, and she'd brazenly moved into my home, acting like she owned the place.

This was beyond insulting!

Half an hour later, soaked to the bone, I slammed open the front door.

The lights inside were dim. Flickering candlelight cast two long shadows on the wall.

Chloe was raising her red wine glass, clinking it with Liam's. When she saw me, she feigned surprise, rising from her seat.

"Miss Reed, you're back?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my clothes got soaked in the rain. Liam, being so kind, lent me your nightdress so I wouldn't catch a chill."

My gaze swept to Liam.

He sat at the dining table, still impossibly handsome, but his eyes were cold as ice.

As if I were merely an unwelcome intruder at their dinner.

"Why didn't you say you were coming back?"

His tone was indifferent, devoid of any concern.

I clenched my fists, fighting down a tidal wave of fury.

"This is my home. Do I need an invitation to come home?"

Chloe immediately interjected, her voice laced with a calculated hint of vulnerability. "Miss Reed, please don't misunderstand. I was just here to bring Mr. Hayes some files, and then it suddenly started pouring..."

My patience snapped. I cut her off. "Delivering files requires wearing my nightdress? And a candlelit dinner?"

"Get out!"

Chloe took a half-step back, pretending to be terrified, her eyes already welling up.

"I'm so sorry, it's all my fault... I'll just change out of this..."

As she spoke, her fingers deliberately fumbled with the buttons of the nightdress, agonizingly slow. She stole a glance at Liam.

Sure enough, Liam shot to his feet, shielding her.

"Avery, that's enough! Chloe is my guest. What right do you have to treat her like this?"

"Guest?" I scoffed. "Fine. If she doesn't leave, I will."

I turned and walked to the bedroom, haphazardly stuffing a few outfits into my backpack.

Liam started to rise, but Chloe tugged his sleeve, and he reluctantly sat back down.

As I passed the study, I pushed the door open, wanting to retrieve my mother's portrait.

But I stopped dead. The frame lay shattered on the floor, the glass splintered, and a huge footprint was stamped right across her face.

My blood ran cold.

"Who did this?"

My voice was low, suppressing the rage that was about to explode.

Chloe followed me, sidling up, feigning concern. "Miss Reed, I'm so sorry."

"I accidentally knocked the frame over after my shower. I'll buy you a new one."

"Accidentally?"

I slowly turned, staring at her hypocritical face.

"Was it an accident, Chloe, or did you deliberately stomp on it?"

Her expression froze for a moment.

Then she reverted to her pathetic, helpless look.

"I really didn't mean to, please don't be angry..."

Liam rushed over, his brow furrowed. "Avery, Chloe has already apologized. What more do you want?"

"It's just a picture of your mom, Avery. We can print another one tomorrow, frame it."

"She said it was an accident. Do you have to be so aggressive?"

That was it. The fuse lit, and my carefully contained rage exploded.

I lunged, grabbing Chloe by the collar and slamming her against the wall.

"Who the hell do you think you are, touching my mother's memorial picture?!"

A flicker of panic crossed Chloe's eyes.

But quickly, she squeezed out a few tears. "Miss Reed, I really didn't mean to!"

Liam charged forward, pulling at my arm.

"Avery! Are you crazy? Let her go!"

I ignored him, seizing a handful of Chloe's hair and slamming her head against the wall.

A sickening thud echoed, and instantly, a crimson bruise bloomed on her forehead. Blood streamed from her nose, dripping down her chin.

"Avery! Stop it!"

Liam shrieked, desperately trying to pull me away.

Chloe finally dropped her facade, her face twisting into a mask of pure hatred as she glared at me.

Her voice, still sickeningly sweet and innocent-sounding, whispered, "Miss Reed, you doing this... Liam will be so upset..."

"Upset?" I slammed her head against the wall again. "His feelings? I couldn't care less!"

Liam rushed over and wrapped his arms tightly around her, then turned to bellow at me. "Avery, you're completely irrational! We're over!"

"We're getting a divorce tomorrow!"

I delivered a stinging slap across his face.

"Liam, this isn't just about divorce anymore!"

"You can desecrate my feelings, but you will not insult my mother!"

"If I don't finish you two two-timing cheats today, I swear on my life!"