My Husband's Secretary (ENGLISH R-18)

CHAPTER 3

MAXINE

"I know it's too much to ask, my child, as much as it hurts me to see you like this, but we need to follow the doctor's advice. We have to let Hunter remember on his own," Daddy said after we talked to the doctor. We are back inside Hunter's room.

Hunter is still fast asleep. I am afraid that it might take months again before he regains consciousness. I am looking at him lying on the bed, and I would do anything for this man. Even if it means pretending to be someone else and not his wife, I will do it just to keep him safe.

I fervently pray that my husband regains consciousness soon. I would rather see him awake, even if he doesn't recognize me, than see him lying unconscious on the bed.

It seems like the heavens heard my wish because, after a few hours of being unconscious again, Hunter starts moving. Moments later, his eyes slowly opened.

"A-Athena," he says again. It feels like a thousand needles piercing my heart because of the pain. I thought I had prepared myself to endure the pain of seeing my husband asking for another woman, but it's still not easy. The pain hasn't lessened. I can't be angry at Hunter because I know he's not in the right state of mind.

"Son, Athena went home for a while," my mom answered Hunter.

"I want Athena. Mom, call her. I want her to be here with me," Hunter insists.

I slightly turn away to hide the tears that are starting to fall.

"What is she still doing here? And who is she, by the way?" he asks, with a frown.

Mommy and Daddy couldn't answer right away. They didn't know how to respond to Hunter's questions.

"I-- I am your secretary and personal assistant, Mr. Lorenzana. You hired me six years ago," I introduced myself. He looks at me, frowning, seemingly weighing my words. After a moment of trying to remember, he winces, probably because it causes him a headache, but thankfully, it doesn't seem to affect him too much.

"What do you mean? How can you work for me if I can't remember you? And I can't forget what you did to Athena earlier. If you are just a mere secretary, you have no right to hurt my girlfriend," he says, angrily.

"Son, you had an accident, and the doctor said you suffered from selective amnesia. All you remember are things from seven years ago," his father explains.

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier, sir. I was out of line," I apologized to him. I need to toughen myself up. This is the only way that I can still be part of his life without pushing him to remember me as his wife.

He looks like he's trying to remember again, grimacing for a moment, probably because of a headache caused by the effort, but it doesn't seem to affect him much.

"You don't have to push yourself to remember, son. The doctor said your memories will come back once your head fully heals," Mommy adds.

"Yeah, my head kinda hurts whenever I try to remember something," he agrees.

"I think your job here is done. This is a family matter, you may take your leave now," he tells me, noticing that I'm standing silently at the side, observing them.

His parents are surprised by Hunter's behavior.

"Son, she's been your personal assistant for a long time now. It's better for her to stay with you so she can help you better. She knows you more than we do," Mommy explains. I am thankful that they quickly thought of a reason to let me stay with Hunter.

"Whatever, she can stay here as long as she wants, but if she hurts Athena again, I won't forgive her. I don't care if she has been working for me for a long time," he says grumpily.

I can't find my voice to speak. I remained silent while watching my husband's face. I prayed for months for him to wake up and hold him again, but I didn't expect that our reunion would be like this.

"I want to see Athena now. I feel better. I miss her, dad, call her and tell her to come here," he says excitedly to his parents. Daddy goes out to call Athena. I stayed in the room, quietly observing them.

I don't know how Dad got Athena's number, but in just a few hours, she was there.

"Excited much?" she says with a smug look on her face, as if declaring her victory.

The war hasn't started yet, b***h!

I really wanted to slap her face on the pavement because of how annoyed I was, but I restrained myself. I immediately met her near the door, where Hunter couldn't see us.

"Don't do anything stupid. I am still his wife, and you're here with my permission. One wrong move, and I'll have my people drag you out," I threatened her.

She just smirks at me and pulls her arm away to free herself from my grip.

"Hi baby!" Athena cheerfully greets Hunter as she enters the room.

"Thank God, you're here, baby!" Hunter responds with enthusiasm. I returned to my seat in front of Hunter's hospital bed.

Hunter looks at me intently, and I raise my gaze to meet his.

"We need some privacy, ahmm, what's your name again?" he asks.

"Maxine," I replied shortly, still looking into his eyes.

"Oh, okay, Maxine. We need some privacy. Can you just wait outside?" he ordered me. I quickly refused to comply.

"I prefer to stay here, sir. You might need something important," I objected to his request.

"I said get out now," he sternly ordered me. But I refuse to obey; I won't let them have privacy. I don't trust that flirty woman.

"Nope. I will stay here whether you like it or not. Your safety is my number one priority," I persistently oppose him. Hunter shows his frustration at my defiance.

"You know what, you are such a pain in the 4ss for a secretary. How did you last this long in my company? I can't believe that I let a hardheaded employee like you in my company," he says irritably, as I continue to disobey his order to leave.

"She's your what?!" Athena asked in surprise.

"My secretary and my personal assistant," Hunter answers shortly. Athena just lets out a loud laugh at Hunter's response.

"Why, what's wrong?" Hunter asks, unable to understand the reason for her laughter.

I glared at Athena. Laugh all you want. Just wait for my revenge.

"Nothing, babe. I was just laughing at your secretary. Just don't mind her. I miss you so much," I can hear the sarcasm in her voice. She then cheekily kisses Hunter on the lips. I clench my fist to restrain myself from dragging this flirty woman out of the hospital.

I warned you not to cause any trouble. You'll regret it once you step out of this room!

I didn't realize that I had been staring at them the whole time. It's too late when I finally realize that I've been watching them make out. This scene is too much for me; I didn't sign up for this. I thought I could handle it, but I'm not ready to see him kissing someone else.

Dazed, I leave Hunter's room. Despite all the defiance, I eventually gave them the privacy they asked for. I felt like I was floating as I walked away from the room where my husband, Hunter, and Athena were kissing.

This is just the beginning of my ordeal. Can I handle it? I love Hunter so much, and I can't easily let him go, but I can't deny the immense pain of not being part of his remembered life. I don't know how much I can endure, but I'll try, no matter how painful it is. I don't want to regret not doing everything I can.

I'll only give up once I see that everything I'm doing is pointless. For now, I'll release the pain through tears.

**********