His Secret Admirer

CHAPTER 9

Elijah POV

I woke up to a severe headache. Last night I couldn’t bring myself to sleep, so I drank until my body couldn’t handle it anymore. The fact that my wife might be seeing someone behind my back had driven me crazy.

Any woman could be unfaithful, but not my wife, Judith. Ever since I dated Judith, I never looked at another woman. That’s why it was totally absurd when she accused me of sleeping with Rebecca Miller.

To be honest, that woman always threw herself at me, she even offered to be my mistress, but I never showed her any interest. She lacked on one thing. I hate a woman with no class.  

Apparently, her reputation as a lifestyle blogger is very much needed to increase my hotel sales. It might be hard to believe, but she had over ten million followers in her i********: account. I can’t make her hate me, or it will be over. I have to give some credit to Rebbeca for raising my sales in the last few months.

Still, it doesn’t mean that I am selling myself to her. My heart and soul only belong to Judith.

I went out of my hotel room around ten and went straight to my office. The office is not that far from the hotel, so I decided to walk there. I needed some fresh air to think about my next plan.

“Mr. Penn..” The receptionist bowed down at me as I stepped into the office lobby. Most of the people in the office respected me because I was a good leader and a good boss. I gave them a decent salary and a high bonus every year. Most of them had worked for me since I opened the company.

I have made the right decision by going to business school and becoming an entrepreneur instead of being a school principal as my dad’s wish. I could be at this point today all because of Judith. She is the one who encouraged me to chase my dream. She let me stay in her place when my dad cast me out of my house and supported me when things got tough at the early stage.

As the elevator made a ping sound, I snapped out from my own thought. “Mr. Penn…Good evening.” Lara, my secretary, greeted me as I came. She followed from behind me as I walked into my room.

“What’s my schedule for today?” I asked her. As I opened the door, I was surprised to see Judith there. I didn’t expect her to be here. Did she miss me too?

“You had a full-day meeting today, sir,” Lara said. Judith got up from the sofa as she saw me.

“Cancel them all, please,” I told her, my eyes still on Judith. “Duly noted, sir,” Lara said before she excused herself.

“You know you don’t have to do that, don’t you?” she said, her tone was colder than usual. She folded both hands in front of her chest. “You’re here…Of course, I would have to make time for you.” I said, went towards her, and planted a kiss on her forehead.

She moved backward after that and sat back on the chair, as far away from me. Why did she have to act so distant from me? “What’s the matter? Did something happen?” I asked her.

“I came here because I brought something for you.” She said. I furrowed my eyebrows at her in confusion. “And that is?..” I asked her back. She took out an envelope from inside her bag and shoved it in front of me. I took the envelope, and I felt like I was just being stabbed in the chest.

“We’re getting a divorce,” Judith said firmly. “W-what? But why? Why did you do this to me?” I asked her, banging the table with both hands. She was startled for a bit, but then she managed to look unaffected by my sudden outburst.

“I am getting enough of this. I can’t be with you anymore.” She said, avoiding my eyes.

I went to kneel in front of her and took both of her hands. “No, Judith… You can’t leave me. I never cheated on you.” I said, repeating myself like a broken record.

She released her hands from my grip. “The proof was there, Elijah…. And you still dare to deny it? You’re unbelievable!” she spat at me. I cupped her face. “No, I’ve told you before I had no idea how she could have my tie. Please, baby…you have to believe me.” I said, pleading at her.

She shook her head at me. “I’ve given you many chance, Elijah. But you keep on repeating the same mistake.” She said, picking up her handbag.

“I am not going to sign that paper!” I said before she could leave the room. She turned around, giving me a murderous glare. “Why did you have to make this more complicated?” she asked me.

I quickly went towards the door and closed the door back so that Lara wouldn’t hear us.

“I am going to protect this marriage at all cost. I have promised in front of God to love you till the day I die.” I told her with a serious tone. I pulled her into my chest and hugged her.

Her body got tense as she cried, but then she softened a bit the moment I placed my hand on her back, running it up and down slowly to comfort her.

I could feel the baby’s kicking from inside her stomach. “I think the baby also wants you to stay with me,” I told her with a teasing tone. She wiped her tears and couldn’t hide her smile. “I should leave…” she said, switching the topic. She looked less angry now.

I grabbed her elbow as she turned around. “Why don’t you stay here with me for lunch?” I asked her. “No, I am not hungry, and I don’t want to disturb your job,” Judith said, declining my offer.

“That’s impossible…You’re never going to disturb me.” I pinched her nose lightly. I used to do that a lot when we were still at school. Whenever we fought, she would smile when I teased her.

“Come and sit here with me….” I told her, leading her towards my chair. I sat first behind my desk, and then I pulled her to sit on my lap. She shrieked and circled her arms around my neck so that she wouldn’t fall. I put my arms around her waist.

“Elijah, we’re at the office,” she whispered and tried to get up from me, but I held her down, securing her at the place. “Everybody knows you’re my wife. They wouldn’t dare to say anything about you.” I said to her. “What would you like for lunch? Pasta?” I asked her.

“No. Actually…I’ve been craving for some pizza, with a lot of meat and cheese on top.” She admitted, blushing. I let out a small chuckle at her. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could buy you one.” She rolled back her eyes at me. “As if you still had time to have a proper meal with me.” She said sarcastically at me.

I tightened my arms around her. I am guilty. I was a bit busy lately and always came home late. She mostly already fell asleep when I got back. I should admit that we didn’t communicate much lately.

“I’m sorry…I promise you next time I’ll be having each meal with you.” I told her. My hand went to the side of her cheek. “There won’t be next time, remember?” she said.

“What can I do to make you change your mind?” I hummed and ran my nose at the side of her neck, then I trailed soft kisses there. She inhaled a deep breath while encouraging me to continue whatever I was doing. I could tell that she was also enjoying it. If I let this go even further, I might have her as my lunch instead. I didn’t want Lara to caught me having s*x in the office, so I stopped.  

I picked up the phone from the table and asked Lara to order some pizza for us. Not long after, the food came, and Lara brought them in. Judith tried to get up, but I didn’t let her. Lara just put the food down on the table as if she didn’t see anything.

“What would she say about me now?” Judith said, lightly hitting my chest. “She would say what a cute couple we were,” I replied, teasing her again. The pizza smelled amazing as I opened the box.

I picked up a piece and brought it to their mouth. I was surprised she still let me feed her like this.

“This reminds me a lot of our first date, you still remember?” I asked her. She briskly nodded at me. “Yes, we ate the whole thing in ten minutes.” She said, giggling. We talked about that night. The night when I took her out without her consent. But then we were still having a good time together. She didn’t bring up the topic of divorce again after that.

We just ate and talked and laughed. Judith never got up from my lap.

We were almost finished with our lunch when the door suddenly went open.

“Ms. Miller, you can’t come in,” Lara said, but it was too late.

Rebecca had already walked into my office, and she flashed me a smile. “Elijah, darling… OH, I’m sorry I didn’t know your wife is here.” She said with a smirk.