Chapter 2
The cliché wrote itself.
A man could not have the woman he truly loved, so he found a substitute to soothe the emptiness.
After her family’s crisis was settled, William made her his secretary and moved her into this private villa.
Cold, remote William treated her rather well.
Her meals were handled by a professional nutritionist he hired.
Her clothing and daily necessities were all custom-ordered for her.
In short, under his care, she almost seemed to remain the pampered young lady she had once been.
William often stared at her.
The heat in his eyes was undisguised, threaded with the particular possessiveness of a man used to standing above everyone else.
He never hid the way he looked at her.
But he never touched her.
Kimberly’s intuition told her he was waiting for her to offer herself.
With his cold arrogance, he expected the woman he had saved to offer herself without making him ask. He would never lower himself to force the issue.
A debt had to be repaid.
In the end, Kimberly climbed into his bed.
She remembered what he asked.
“Using yourself to pay me back?”
She did not answer. She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
He pushed her away and warned, “I can’t marry you. You still have time to regret this.”
Kimberly still said nothing.
Her lips brushed slowly against the sharp line of his throat, then traveled upward along his Adam’s apple until her teeth caught his lower lip.
That night, she saw for the first time just how wild William could be.
From then on, by day, she was his chief secretary.
By night, she was his bedmate.
Nearly three years passed in the blink of an eye.
She had obediently, perfectly played the substitute for the woman he could not have.
After everything that had happened, after all the despair and pain, Kimberly was almost grateful she had been born with a face that fascinated him.
Otherwise, her mother might have died long ago.
And she herself might have followed her father, stepping off a high building into endless pain.
So she never complained about this relationship. Not once.
With him, she obeyed.
Kimberly also kept two facts carved into herself.
William was her benefactor. He had given her a second life.
And he had said he would never marry her.
She could not fall in love.
Now he was telling her to move out.
Did that mean her debt was finally paid?
Even though she had agreed without clinging to him, even though she had not demanded answers, her heart still felt as if someone had carved out a piece and left the hollow behind.
Kimberly woke to neon glowing outside the windows.
After what William had put her through the night before, she had slept far too heavily.
Remembering his instructions, she got up at once and headed for the bathroom.
She had barely stepped inside when William’s call came through.
Kimberly swiped the screen and answered in a crisp professional tone. “Mr. Carter, what can I do for you?”
His voice was flat.
“Still sleeping?”
“Sorry. I just woke up. I’ll clear out all my personal belongings within an hour.”
William’s fingers tightened around his phone.
After a pause, he said in a low voice, “When you’re done, take the velvet box from the corner cabinet in the study and bring it to Nuit.”
“All right. I’ll come as soon as I can.”
Kimberly washed up, changed quickly, put on light makeup, and chose a silk scarf to cover the marks he had left on her neck.
She looked around the bedroom.
There were very few things that truly belonged to her.
From clothes to daily necessities, everything had been bought by him.
But he had given an order. Her things were not to remain.
Kimberly packed everything from every room.
The house staff came to move the boxes. Downstairs, a moving company was already waiting.
William must have arranged it in advance.
Was he that worried she would refuse to leave?
Kimberly glanced over the movers, then took a pen and sticky note from her bag. In a few quick strokes, she wrote down a new address and the door code, then handed it to one of them.
“Send everything here.”
The man looked at the note and frowned. “Why did it change to Suncrest Apartments? The gentleman on the phone told us Crestwater Estate.”
Kimberly smiled politely. “He changed his mind. Go ahead.”
She was about to leave with them when Maria hurried over.
“You slept all day. You must be starving. Mr. Carter had the kitchen prepare a full meal before he left. Eat something before you go?”
Kimberly looked toward the dining room, then back at Maria.
“No. It’s getting late, and I have something to do. Maria, those dishes I bought for the kitchen before? Throw them out later. Mr. Carter likes plain white with gold trim. He doesn’t like the printed ones.”
Maria’s face crumpled. Her eyes reddened. “Are you really leaving? Did you and Mr. Carter fight?”
Kimberly forced a small smile.
“Mr. Carter will tell you why. Thank you for taking care of me, Maria. I should go.”
She took a few steps, then turned back.
“Throw out the dishes later. If Mr. Carter comes home and sees them, he’ll dock your pay.”
Maria nodded heavily.
“All right... I’ll take care of it. Take care, Ms. Martinez.”
Nuit.
Kimberly stood at the door to the private room and looked through the half-open gap.
Several men and women sat inside.
A young woman was pressed close beside William.
So his one that got away had returned.
Was that why he had ordered her to move out? Because this girl was moving in?
It would be a lie to say it did not hurt.
But in the end, her relationship with William had never been anything more than a caged canary and the man who paid for the cage.
Kimberly breathed in, pushed the door open, and walked in.
She stopped opposite the coffee table, wearing a mild smile as she set the velvet box down.
Respectful, proper, faultless.
“Mr. Carter, this is what you asked me to bring.”
William lifted his eyes. “Mm.”
After a brief hesitation, Kimberly spoke again. “Mr. Carter, since I’ve delivered it, I’ll head back now.”
The young woman beside him immediately stood with an innocent smile.
“You must be Ms. Martinez. I’m Janet Campbell. It’s lovely to meet you. Sorry to make you come all the way here. Let me toast you.”
As she spoke, Janet picked up two glasses and walked over.
Kimberly’s eyes swept over them.
The one Janet offered her was clearly liquor. The one in Janet’s own hand was obviously orange juice.
Toasting her with juice while handing her alcohol.
Kimberly kept her faint smile and declined politely. “I’m sorry. I don’t drink.”
She was allergic to alcohol.
Two years ago, she had accompanied William to a business dinner. It had been the first time she drank. Half a glass later, her skin flushed red and a rash broke out across her body.
That was when she learned she could not touch alcohol.
At that moment, Ruth spoke with a slight smile from the side.
“Ms. Martinez, she stood up to toast you because she wanted to thank you. Rejecting her so bluntly is a little rude, isn’t it?”
Others chimed in at once.
“Exactly. I’ve never heard of a secretary who can’t drink.”
“Right?”
