Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
Prologue
Everyone said I had schemed relentlessly to drive my sister away.
That I shamelessly kept Liam Sterling all to myself for three years.
Everyone cursed me, calling me a slut and a scheming bitch.
Liam knew all of it, but he never bothered to defend me. Not once.
He hated me, humiliated me, and treated me as nothing more than a stand-in for Elena Vance.
And so, I bore the brunt of all the blame and scorn alone for three whole years.
Until a diagnosis of terminal gastric cancer crashed into my life.
And in my womb, I was carrying his child.
Chloe’s POV
Liam Sterling dragged me all the way into the car.
Just half an hour ago, word came that Elena Vance had boarded a flight to the UK.
The moment the news reached the top floor of Sterling Group, Liam threw down the contract he was signing and headed straight for the Secretarial Department. In front of a dozen employees, he dragged me away from my desk.
No one dared to stop him.
Everyone in the company knew just how much Liam pampered Elena.
A single phone call from her, and he would walk out in the middle of a board meeting; if she wanted to see the northern lights, he would charter a private jet just to take her there.
The woman he held in the palm of his hand had just up and left today.
As I was being pulled away, I could already hear people whispering behind my back, saying Elena's departure definitely had something to do with me.
With a heavy slam, the door of the Maybach was shut.
Liam shoved me against the car door, his eyes terrifyingly red.
"Did you think that by driving her away, I'd fall for you?"
My mind went completely blank, but guilt hit me faster than fear.
After all, I had only just found out about Elena leaving.
Last night, Elena stood before me holding my diary and asked, "Chloe, is what's written in here true? Do you love Liam?"
Caught completely off guard, I nodded as if possessed.
If I hadn't admitted it last night, would Elena have stayed?
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."
A dull thud echoed.
His fist grazed past my ear and slammed hard against the car window behind me.
"You didn't mean to? Then what the hell do you call intentional!"
Terrified, I shrank back further, my back pressing tight against the car door.
Liam stared at my pale face without an ounce of pity. Instead, a cold sneer formed on his lips.
"Elena said you love me very much?"
Hearing those words, the blood in my veins turned to ice.
Elena had actually told him that too?
"I did love you, but what I told her was—"
What I had told her was that I used to love Liam, but that was in the past.
If Elena hadn't stumbled upon my diary, I would have kept this secret locked away for the rest of my life.
I would have let it rot in the bottom of my heart, never telling a soul.
Before I could finish, Liam cut me off.
"So you forced her to leave me!"
"I didn't! I really don't know how things turned out this way..."
I shook my head repeatedly, desperate to explain.
"You don't know?"
Liam leaned in close again, pressing down on me with suffocating fury, leaving me nowhere to retreat.
"You don't know how that diary ended up in front of her?"
"You don't know how she managed to see it?"
"Don't tell me it just so happened to fall right outside her bedroom door by pure coincidence!"
I couldn't explain it myself.
The diary had always been kept locked inside my bedroom drawer, and I kept the key on me at all times.
How it ended up outside Elena's door was something I couldn't fathom, no matter how hard I racked my brain.
To anyone looking from the outside, it would seem completely deliberate.
But it really wasn't me.
Liam pinched my chin, forcing my face up.
"You grew up with her! Don't you know what kind of person she is?"
"The moment she found out that you, the older cousin who yielded everything to her since childhood, was in love with me, do you think I don't know what she'd do? You knew better than anyone!"
"These cheap little tricks of yours might fool her, but you can't fool me!"
I had no defense.
Elena was staying with the Vance family, and out of fear that she might feel alienated, I yielded to her for over a decade.
The toys Elena liked, I gave up; the dresses Elena fancied, I let her have.
I had even surrendered my spot for the overseas exchange program.
Everyone in the Vance family took it for granted that because Elena's parents were dead, I had an obligation to yield to her.
In Liam's eyes, because I always gave in to Elena, she would give him up for me.
Yet I had never once thought about competing with Elena for Liam.
I had simply locked my feelings away in a drawer, watching Elena hold Liam's arm while offering them a smiling congratulations.
"Chloe Vance! What does your love for me have to do with me!"
Liam's furious roar echoed inside the car.
"Listen to me carefully! Even if you used underhanded schemes to drive her away, I, Liam Sterling, will never fall in love with you in this lifetime!"
My face drained of all color.
Even though I had long resolved to let him go, hearing Liam say those words out loud still shattered me. The pain in my chest was unbearable.
I hung my head in agonizing defeat.
Liam, however, had no intention of letting me off the hook.
With his burning fury having nowhere to vent, he ruthlessly ripped open my blouse.
"Don't... please don't do this..."
Terrified, I shrank back frantically, but there was nowhere left to run.
At that moment, Liam stared down at me with bloodshot eyes.
Within seconds, he tore my skirt to shreds and pressed his full weight down on me.Chloe’s POV
"Isn't this what you wanted?"
Liam pinned both of my wrists above my head.
"You went so far as to drive her away just for this, didn't you? Fine, I'll give it to you!"
He sealed my lips ruthlessly, without a shred of mercy.
"Mmh..."
"Liam... please don't... someone might see!"
We were in an underground parking garage. Anyone could walk by at any second.
Besides, Liam's car was extremely conspicuous; it was impossible to miss.
Tears streamed down my face as I begged him to calm down, but Liam paid no heed.
My desperate pleas couldn't sway him in the slightest.
Elena's tearful pleas from the middle of the night still echoed in his ears, begging him to treat me well from now on.
Treat me well?
He wanted nothing more than to make me tremble, to make me weep, so the suffocating rage inside him could subside just a fraction.
That day, he took out every ounce of his fury on my body.
—
The piercing whistle of the kettle in the kitchen jolted me awake.
Sitting up from the couch, I realized I had drifted off while waiting.
Why was I dreaming about three years ago again?
I rubbed my throbbing temples, got up, and turned off the stove.
My phone screen was lit up: 1:30 AM.
Liam hadn't come home again tonight.
Whether he was out socializing or spending the night with another woman, he never needed to account for his whereabouts to me.
I stared at his name in my contacts, hesitating repeatedly.
He hated it when I reached out to him on my own initiative, unless it was strictly about work.
I came up with an excuse for myself: I would just say the materials for tomorrow morning's board meeting needed his confirmation.
I dialed his number. It rang twice before connecting.
"Hello, Liam—"
I barely managed half a sentence before the call was abruptly ended.
Only the dial tone remained in the receiver.
I froze in place, holding the phone, the faint smile on my face gradually fading into desolation.
He wouldn't even let me finish a sentence.
If a call wasn't about work, he couldn't be bothered to hear a single word.
I curled up on the couch, all drowsiness gone.
Ever since he took me in the car three years ago, he had kept me trapped by his side.
By day, I was Mr. Sterling's personal secretary; by night, I was merely an outlet for his physical desires.
My features shared a thirty percent resemblance to Elena's.
I knew in my heart that if it weren't for the fact that my face reminded him of Elena, I wouldn't even have the right to stay by his side.
At the end of the day, I was just a surrogate, a shameful mistress kept in the shadows.
Sometimes when he was drunk, he would stare blankly at my face.
I knew who he was really looking at through me.
Whenever that happened, I dared not make a sound, terrified that speaking up would ruin even that fleeting gaze.
Elena had been gone for three years, without a trace.
She had changed her number, deleted her social media accounts, and even with all of Liam's connections and resources, he couldn't track down her whereabouts.
Over these three years, it wasn't as if I had no hopes.
I gave him everything, loved him in silence, hoping I could touch his heart and carve out a sliver of possibility for myself.
If he could just like me a tiny bit, I would be content.
Yet every time that thought surfaced, I couldn't help but feel utterly disgusted with myself.
Elena had left because of me.
My sister had barely walked out the door before I tried to take advantage of the void to covet her man. Was there anything more despicable in this world?
My longing for Liam and my guilt toward Elena intertwined, tormenting me day in and day out.
I lived a life more exhausting than anyone else's.
Over these three years, my reputation within the company had long been completely ruined.
Rumors claimed I had slept my way up the corporate ladder, while Mr. and Mrs. Vance firmly believed I was the one who pushed Elena away.
I accepted every single insult thrown my way; no one would listen to my explanations anyway.
Liam certainly wouldn't.
In his eyes, whatever grievances I suffered were entirely deserved.
Yet only I knew that I was reaching my breaking point.
Liam didn't return all night, and I didn't sleep a wink either.
The next morning, I splashed cold water on my face, applied makeup to conceal the dark circles beneath my eyes, and headed to Sterling Group for work as usual.
In the break room, several colleagues were gathered, gossiping.
"Did you hear? The CEO has a new girlfriend again. Daphne Cole this time."
"That supermodel, Daphne Cole? The photos were trending all over social media last night. They were seen walking out of a hotel together."
"Wasn't he with that celebrity just last month? How did he switch so fast?"
"Daphne Cole is different. She actually has serious fame. Maybe Mr. Sterling is serious this time."
"He changes girlfriends like he changes clothes—models, heiresses, celebrities, all types. Yet he never touches Ms. Vance. Isn't that hilarious?"
"What is Ms. Vance even after? Throwing herself at him for three years without even making it through the door. How pathetic can someone be? Even if she offers herself up for free, he doesn't want her."
"If I were her, I would have resigned ages ago. It's so humiliating!"
"She won't leave. She's just used to being cheap."
Someone hushed the group in a low voice, "Shh, stop talking! She's coming over!"
The conversation came to an abrupt halt.
Straightening my spine, I walked past them carrying my mug, looking completely unbothered.
I had heard every single word, loud and clear.
But what could I do even if I heard it?
Over these three years, there had been countless conversations like this. I had long grown numb.Chloe’s POV
Holding a folder in my arms, I knocked on the door and walked into the CEO's office.
"Mr. Sterling, the materials for tomorrow's board meeting are prepared. I've highlighted the key points in red."
I set the documents on the corner of his desk and flipped his schedule to tomorrow's page, placing it within arm's reach.
Liam didn't look up, continuing to sign the contracts in his hands.
I waited for a moment. Seeing that he had no other orders, I turned to leave.
"Stop."
Liam pulled a Black Card from his drawer and tossed it onto the desk.
"Go to the jewelry boutique and pick out a birthday gift for Daphne. Have it delivered today."
"Don't worry about the price."
Daphne Cole, the supermodel girlfriend he had recently been seen with in the news.
He wanted me to pick out a birthday gift for his girlfriend.
My heart twitched with an agonizing ache.
Over the past three years, I had handled errands like this countless times.
Ordering flowers, booking restaurants, picking out jewelry for his female companions, and even negotiating breakup compensations—I was always the one to handle it.
Countless women had passed through his life, and every single one had been handled by me.
Outsiders claimed that Mr. Sterling trusted Ms. Vance, but only I knew he did it on purpose.
He wanted me to watch with my own eyes as he lavished generosity upon other women, and he wanted me to deliver the gifts with my own hands.
Having done it so many times, I should have been used to it by now.
Yet every single time, I still had to talk myself into it before I could find my voice.
Lowering my gaze, I suppressed the dull ache in my chest and responded in a strictly professional manner.
"Understood."
I reached out for the card on the desk.
"What's the rush?"
Before my fingers could touch it, Liam suddenly grabbed my chin across the desk, forcing me to look up at him.
With his other hand, he snatched the black-rimmed glasses off the bridge of my nose.
Holding the glasses, Liam examined them briefly before tossing them carelessly onto the desk, letting out a cold laugh.
"Who would have thought that our Chief Secretary Vance, who wears such frumpy glasses by day looking like a total spinster, turns into an absolute slut in bed by night?"
The color drained from my face instantly.
That was precisely the reaction Liam wanted.
He simply couldn't stand this calm, unflappable facade of mine.
A woman who had driven her own sister away, acting all aloof and playing the obedient, gentle lamb in front of him every single day.
The better I pretended, the more he wanted to rip it to shreds with his bare hands.
Sure enough, the calm on my face cracked, every trace of color vanishing completely.
"Mr. Sterling is right."
I lowered my head, swallowing the humiliation.
"I will select a suitable gift and ensure it is delivered to Ms. Cole on time."
I reached for the card once more.
Yet the restlessness in Liam's chest didn't subside. He pressed his hand down over the card first, forcing me to meet his gaze.
"Chloe Vance, don't you feel the least bit hurt?"
"I'm celebrating another woman's birthday and sending you to pay the bill. Don't you feel anything at all?"
He stared at me, as if waiting for me to break down.
For three years, I rarely cried in front of him, and I never begged for mercy. I always maintained this submissive, docile demeanor.
He was determined to pry a crack into it.
Did it hurt?
Of course it did.
Yet my pain would only ever be a joke in his eyes.
Seeing that I still had no reaction, Liam's irritation flared even hotter. Suddenly, he scooped me up by the waist and set me onto the desk.
The freshly signed documents scattered all over the floor, but he didn't care in the slightest.
"Mr. Sterling, we're in the office!"
Panicking, I struggled desperately to get down.
Liam held me down firmly, glaring down at me from above.
"What about the office? It's not like it's your first time. Chloe, is there any need to act so innocent?"
Every word that came out of his mouth was colder and more merciless than the last.
"I know exactly what kind of woman you are!"
Those words struck my chest like a sledgehammer.
Right. In his eyes, I had always been this vile.
Everything I did was just an act, and he never believed a single word.
Without pausing, Liam skillfully ripped open my skirt suit.
Right outside the window was New York's bustling commercial district, and the office door wasn't even locked. Someone could knock and walk in at any moment.
Frantically, I grabbed his wrist.
"Liam, please don't do this... I'm begging you..."
Liam clamped a hand around my throat, choking off the rest of my words.
He glared down at me coldly.
"Shut up! Is Liam a name you're allowed to call? Who do you think you are, daring to call me by my first name like Elena does?"
I remembered the phone call from last night.
The moment I had said his name, he had hung up immediately.
I hadn't realized it then, but now I understood. It was because I had slipped up and used his name.
The privilege of addressing him directly belonged solely to Elena Vance.
Elena could call him Liam, and when she threw a playful tantrum, she could use his full name, and he would never get angry.
Whereas I was only worthy of calling him Mr. Sterling.
In that brief moment of distraction, I heard a sharp tearing sound and felt a sudden chill between my thighs.
The thin cotton fabric was tossed carelessly into the trash can.Chloe’s POV
I froze in shock. It was working hours, and I was in his office. How was I supposed to walk out of here later?
Liam gave me no time to process anything before pressing me down forcefully against the desk.
A long while later, Liam finally rose, fully satisfied. He leisurely straightened his clothes, returning to his usual cold, aloof, and dignified demeanor. Not a single trace of disorder could be seen on him.
Meanwhile, my clothes were completely rumpled, and my underwear was sitting in the trash can.
"Get out."
Liam didn't spare another glance at my disheveled state, uttering those two words with icy detachment.
I tugged hard on my hopelessly crumpled skirt suit, my face burning with shame.
I couldn't fathom how I was supposed to face anyone looking like this.
Nor had I ever imagined Liam would humiliate me to this extent.
"Mr. Sterling..."
I managed to speak with great difficulty.
"My... my underwear is gone. Could I borrow your car? I want to go home and change..."
"No."
Liam's refusal was blunt, leaving no room for negotiation.
I bit my lip, my face dead pale as I fought back the tears threatening to spill.
"But I..."
Without my glasses to hide behind, my eyes were wide with panic and brimming with moisture, unshed tears still clinging to my lashes.
When Liam looked up and caught sight of me like this, something in his chest inexplicably twitched.
The very next second, a cold sneer curled his lips.
He had almost fallen for my act again.
If this woman went into acting, an Oscar would definitely belong to her.
Back then, she could play the saintly older sister who wanted nothing; how hard could it be for her to play the victim now?
"Aren't you wearing a skirt?"
Liam leaned back against his chair, taking me in with slow, deliberate eyes.
"Wear it just like that. Work as usual today. You're not going home."
"I'll be checking on you at any time."
The last trace of color drained from my face, and an uncontrollable tremble ran through my body.
He wanted me on pins and needles. He wanted the entire company to make a laughingstock of me.
Liam relished the agony painted across my face, mockery gleaming in his eyes.
Yet in the very next instant, he froze.
I suddenly went quiet.
I didn't make a scene, nor did I plead anymore. Silently, I put my clothes back on, doing my best to smooth out the creases.
Once finished, I kept my head bowed and spoke.
"If you have no other orders, Mr. Sterling, I'll get back to work."
My silence made Liam inexplicably furious.
What he hated most was seeing me like this—quiet, unprotesting, docile.
What he wanted was for me to break.
Only when I broke down and begged him in tears would he feel satisfied.
His eyes swept over the desk, and he grabbed a document, tossing it toward me.
"Take this to the Design Department. Right now."
I reached out to take it, but the moment I saw the document clearly, my face turned utterly ashen.
The cover was crisscrossed with deep creases and bore faint, damp stains.
It was the very file that had been beneath me when he pinned me onto the desk.
Now, he wanted me to deliver it to the Design Department with my own hands.
I stood frozen in place.
A silent scream tore through my mind: I am a human being.
No matter how much he hated me, how much he loathed me, I begged him not to degrade me like this.
I can feel pain, too.
"Didn't you hear me?"
Liam urged impatiently.
I closed my eyes, stretched out a trembling hand, and took the thin folder.
I had no idea how I walked out of that office.
The colleagues I passed in the corridor let their gazes linger over my rumpled skirt before glancing away with knowing looks.
Nor did I know how I made it to the Design Department.
The second I set the document down, the Design Department manager started to speak, but I had already turned and walked away.
Leaving the department behind, I bolted into the elevator as if running for my life, frantically hammering the button for the top floor.
The moment the doors slid open, I stumbled into the rooftop garden.
The overwhelming shame finally burst through its dam.
Clutching the edge of a planter, I bent over and threw up.
My stomach churned violently. Having emptied what little breakfast I had eaten, all that came up was bitter bile.
In the end, not even bile was left—only dry heaves racking my chest.
My legs gave out from the retching. I slid down against the wall and crouched on the concrete, burying my face in my hands.
Tears streamed endlessly through my fingers.
I felt sick. Revolted.
Most of all, I was filled with absolute disgust toward myself.
Treated like this, I was still staying by his side.
Trampled into the dirt, I still hadn't given up on him.
Huddled in the corner, I wept until no sound came out.
The biting wind on the rooftop swept over me, chilling me to the bone, but I didn't move.Chloe's POV
Shivering from the cold, I walked back toward my desk.
Before I could reach my cubicle, I saw Liam asking my colleagues where I was.
I stayed rooted to the spot, watching them without stepping forward.
Liam stood in the doorway of his office, his expression dark and stormy.
The secretarial pool was dead silent; everyone knew who he was asking about.
Chelsea Miller was the first to stand up.
I remembered that she had been with the company for two years and was always butting heads with me.
She had always believed that based on her abilities, the Chief Secretary seat should have been hers long ago.
Yet I held onto it without budging, leaving her harboring a belly full of resentment.
Now that an opportunity had presented itself, how could she let it slip?
"Mr. Sterling, Ms. Vance went to the Design Department after leaving your office this morning, and she hasn't been back since."
She paused, deliberately putting on a sweet smile.
"If you need anything done, just hand it to me. I'll make sure it's handled perfectly."
Liam gave a perfunctory nod, turned back into his office, and slammed the door shut.
The smile froze on Chelsea's face.
Her carefully staged bid for attention had earned her nothing more than a dismissive nod.
Watching from beside her, Leah Quinn let out a sneer.
"Some people just throw themselves out there for nothing. Mr. Sterling didn't even spare you a second glance."
Humiliated and enraged, Chelsea spun around.
"So what if I put myself out there? At least I'm cleaner than some people! Everyone knows how Chloe Vance became Chief Secretary! She's shameless enough to throw herself at him like a whore, but I could never stoop that low!"
"Listen to you."
Leah rolled her eyes.
"You've been hovering around Mr. Sterling for two years just waiting to do the exact same thing. Too bad he hasn't given you the chance."
"Bullshit!"
Chelsea shrieked, her voice rising in fury.
"How could I ever be like her? Not everyone is like that slut, groveling and begging to be used!"
The second the words left her mouth, Leah abruptly clamped shut.
Her gaze drifted over Chelsea's shoulder and locked onto something behind her.
The other secretaries nearby all paled, hastily ducking their heads.
Sensing someone behind her, Chelsea's back stiffened, and she slowly turned around.
They had seen me. I was standing right behind her.
I had just come down from the rooftop. Though I had wiped away my tears, my eyes were still rimmed with red.
Chelsea's heart jumped into her throat.
Talking behind someone's back was completely different from getting caught red-handed to their face.
After all, I was still the Chief Secretary; if I chose to make an issue of it, she wouldn't come out on top.
Yet I showed no reaction at all.
I stood there blankly, like a piece of deadwood devoid of feeling.
After a long moment, I brushed past the two of them as if nothing had happened and walked toward the women's restroom.
The secretarial pool stayed quiet for a few seconds before hushed whispers broke out.
"Did she hear?"
"She must have. She was standing right there!"
"So what if she heard? The whole company already knows anyway. It's hardly news."
"Exactly. Doesn't she know what she is?"
"As long as Mr. Sterling isn't mad, does it matter if she gets upset?"
Someone snickered, only to muffle it quickly.
Her anxiety dispelled, Chelsea curled her lip and sat back down at her desk.
The storm passed just like that.
No one cared whether those words hurt me.
In their eyes, someone like me deserved whatever miserable fate came my way.
At the end of the hallway, my pace quickened.
At first, I walked at a normal pace, but after rounding the corner, it turned into a brisk march. Finally, I broke into a run and bolted into the women's restroom.
I locked the door behind me.
My hands were shaking so hard that it took two tries to slide the latch into place.
Leaning against the door, my strength seemed to drain away all at once. My body slid down along the wood until I was crouched on the floor.
A layer of steam misted over my lenses.
I had heard those words countless times before.
In the break room, in the corridors, in the elevators—the versions changed over and over, but the gist was always the same.
I thought I had grown numb.
Hadn't I just walked past the gossip in the break room this morning without batting an eye?
Yet the humiliation from Liam's office hadn't even faded, the tears I cried on the rooftop were barely dry, and now I had to hear those words again.
I really couldn't take it anymore.
Liam degraded me, my colleagues despised me, and my parents resented me. Not a single person was on my side.
I hugged my knees and buried my face deep between them.
Tears silently soaked into my skirt.
I asked myself in the silence of my heart: Is this the price of loving Liam Sterling?
My dignity, my reputation, even my very self—I had sacrificed it all, only to receive his endless humiliation and hatred in return.
How much longer could I survive days like this?
[Paywall]
Chapters (5)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Watch & Promotions
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