Unveiling Secrets

Chapter 3: Unveiling Secrets

The next day, around noon, Jessica woke up to find the man on the bed still awake. Despite feeling sore and weak, she carefully got up, retrieved her clothes from the bathroom, and dressed herself. Before leaving, she gazed at his perfect face and discreetly left a bank card and a note with the password on the bedside table. Then she departed from the hotel, not wanting him to witness her departure out of fear that he might request another encounter.

While on her way, she hailed a taxi and called her best friend, Stephanie. There was something bothering her, and she felt it was the right time to share it with her friend. Since it was a Saturday and she had the day off, Jessica went directly to a restaurant and ordered a meal, waiting for Stephanie to arrive. Wanting privacy, she insisted on a private place and was willing to pay double for it.

As Stephanie entered the private room, she noticed Jessica smoking a cigarette. Surprised, she exclaimed, "Oh my god! My baby, what's got you so worked up? You're smoking?"

Stephanie, dressed luxuriously, sat down beside Lin Yuyan. Jessica took a puff of smoke and calmly replied, "I'm preparing for a divorce." She continued inhaling the smoke, waiting for her best friend's reaction.

Nonchalantly, Stephanie asked, "Did Diego Maurice cheat on you? I've mentioned before that if a man doesn't come home often, there's probably another woman involved. Do you believe it now?"

Not receiving a reply, Stephanie cautiously patted Jessica's shoulder and continued, "I speak from experience, and I can understand what you're going through."

Jessica turned to Stephanie and inquired, "Stephanie, why haven't you divorced him? You don't love Heather anymore, do you?" She wanted to know if her friend still believed there was a chance for a man to change after an affair and pleas for forgiveness.

Stephanie casually retrieved her own cigarettes from her bag, lit one with a lighter, and narrowed her eyes slightly. She responded, "Heh... I don't love Heather anymore, but I'm going to take his money and make his life miserable. I'll make sure those bastards never set foot in the Heather family's house again!" She exclaimed, trying to hide her internal pain.

Jessica's black eyes showed a hint of sorrow at her friend's reply. Why waste your time trying to ruin another person when you could move on and focus on yourself?

Jessica extinguished her cigarette in the ashtray and spoke solemnly, "Stephanie, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time..."

Stephanie grew nervous and asked, "What is it? Why are you so serious all of a sudden?" shocked at her sudden change.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Jessica revealed, "Actually, Heather pursued me when we were in college, but I rejected him."

Stephanie smiled indifferently, saying, "I know about that. He told me on our wedding day. But don't worry, I didn't know you back then, so it doesn't matter to me," she replied casually, not understanding where Jessica was leading.

"That's not what I want to talk about," Jessica hesitated to speak.

Stephanie's face turned pale, but she mustered the courage to say, "Jessica, please don't hurt me. Please don't tell me you had an affair with Heather. Betraying both my mother and me would be unbearable. I consider you my sister so does my mom consider you her daughter"

Shaking her head, Jessica sighed and confessed, "Three months ago, during a business trip to New York for a designer seminar, we had a dinner where everyone had drinks. You know I can't handle alcohol well. When I returned to the hotel, I could barely stand... That's when I met Heather in the elevator. He had come to New York for business, and he insisted on escorting me to my room. The situation became wrong, and I was so scared that I wanted to call you. But in panic, I pressed the wrong button and ended up recording the audio."

Jessica took out her phone and played the recording for Stephanie.

Stephanie's face turned pale, but she remained silent, choosing to listen to the recording. Wondering what painful secret it would revealed.

Heather: "Jessica, it's fate that brought us together tonight! Be mine..."

Jessica: "Heather, you're shameless! Let me go!"

Heather: "You're so beautiful..."

Jessica: "If you don't let go, I'll call the police!"

Heather: "Give in to me..."

Jessica: "Get out! If you don't leave, I'll tell Stephanie about this!"

Heather: "Jessy, why pretend to be innocent! It's so damn boring!"

Finally, the audio ended with a heavy door slam.

In that moment, Jessica felt extremely anxious, staring nervously at Stephanie.

"He tried but didn't succeed. I had escaped but couldn't tell you since I was afraid he might lie to you we had an affair"

She said finally,thinking on how Stephanie would react to it.

She had kept this secret for three months, but now that she was getting a divorce, she didn't want to hide it any longer. She wanted to come out clean and didn't want a situation where it would be dragged to the court. She wanted her best friend on her side to support and needed to tell her everything.

During the five minutes of silence, Stephanie smoked two cigarettes without interruption, while Jessica quietly stood by, not uttering a word. She feared that their friendship would be jeopardized because of this recording.

When Stephanie stubbed out the cigarette, she made up her mind, saying, "Alright, I'll support you this time! I don't want to share the same birth year, month, and day, but I want to leave in the same year, month, and day! Heather, that bastard, has crossed the line this time! I and my mother has had enough of his lies! Once I hand over the divorce papers to the court, I'll move out of the Heather family. We'll live together from now on. What do you think of this proposal?"

Stephanie's words brought tears to Jessica's eyes, and she hugged her tightly, saying, "Stephanie, I was so scared just now. I was afraid you wouldn't want me and might also leave me!"

Returning the embrace, Stephanie gently stroked her back and reassured her, "Silly, it's Heather the shameless bastard that I'm angry at! I won't blame you for his crimes. We're sisters not related by blood but connected by hearts. Through thick and thin,we wouldn't stand by each other. Let's get divorced together..."

"Stephanie, I'm going back tonight to catch him in the act. Wait for my good news! I'll divorce Diego as soon as possible!",she said and years gathered in her eyes.

"Okay, don't cry. Diego is a despicable jerk. Let him go far away! You know, we are both rich so we can support each other financially. Once you move out, you can choose any of my three properties. I can live anywhere. From now on, we'll be an alliance against these two scumbag men." Stephanie displayed a queen-like demeanor.

With tears in her eyes, Jessica lets go of Stephanie and wiped her tears away with a tissue from the table. She said, "I have nowhere to go now. Can I stay at your place? I have to wait until tonight to catch him in the act...",she said tearfully.

Stephanie chuckled, "Are you kidding? My home is your home from now on. I won't return to my old house tonight. Let's go to my duplex apartment. We'll have a good meal in the evening, stay up all night chatting, and curse those two despicable men to death!"

"Alright, let's do it!",she also chuckled.

With Stephanie by her side, Jessica felt warmth in her heart. Divorce wasn't as scary,when clinging to a man who didn't love you anymore was the saddest thing.

...

In the afternoon, at the most bustling financial district of California City, stood the tallest building in the sky with a prominent logo at its top: GT. Which stood for Gerald Times that some wondered what was the inspiration behind the name.

GT Investment Group, the largest business empire in America.

In the CEO's office on the top floor, a man sat holding a document in his hand. He kept looking at it carefully while taking a cup of coffee.

Name: Jessica Otiego

Age: 25 years old

Marital status: Married.

Employer: Tonga Design Studio.

...

She's actually married? He thought,a married virgin was rear to find and according to the information she had been married for two years.

Dexter Will puts down the documents and stared pensively at the floating clouds outside the window. As thought about Jessica flooded his mind.

There was a hint of coldness in his black eyes.

"Donald, you may leave."

The Chief Secretary, Donald, maintained a stoic expression and replied, "Yes, Mr. Will. I'll take my leave."

As Donald opened the door to the CEO's office, he noticed a tall and handsome man walking in.

"Thank you.",the gentleman nodded pleased someone had opened the door for him.

Donald nodded, "You're welcome, Mr. Cooper."

The door to the CEO's office closed gently.

Charlie Cooper, with peach-blossom eyes full of curiosity, sat casually on the leather sofa, toying with a Lamborghini car key, and jokingly asked, "I heard someone snatched an order at my Clubhouse last night? The new receptionist was crying over the five million she lost..."

Dexter put the information about Jessica into the drawer without giving Charlie any attention and continued with his work. Ignoring his presence.

Without receiving a response, Charlie feeling ignored, stood up and walked over to the desk.

"You're such a workaholic pervert! Don't you take a break on Saturdays... Come on, spill the beans. What happened last night? Did that woman really give you five million?" Charlie's teardrop mole beneath his left eye exuded charm and tenderness. He had a handsome face with soft features and an extraordinary temperament. He wasn't getting impatient and wanted to know more.

Dexter raised his eyes and glanced at him, saying, "Yes, that's correct." and continued in his work

"Damn it! Who is she? Which wealthy family's daughter?" Charlie asked eagerly, wanting to know more. Maybe he could get her to be his best customer.

"I have no idea."

"You don't know? You're clueless about who she is, yet you still slept with her?", shocked at his revelation.

"In a sense.",he said coldly.

Dexter was a man of few words, and Charlie grew increasingly anxious, "Damn it, this isn't like you! Dexter, you carefully select only a few virgins each year to satisfy your physical needs. They're usually meticulously chosen. What went wrong this time? Tell me!"

Facing Charlie Cooper's barrage of questions, Dexter leaned back casually in his chair and spoke with a cold tone, "I went to Nightlight last night looking for you, but you weren't there. Coincidentally, there was a virgin customer who wanted a top-class experience, so I took her with me. That's the end of the story. Can Mr. Cooper leave now?"

"Oh my god... You're abnormal! Extremely abnormal! Do you have a picture of her? Let me see what she looks like. You must know that the receptionist chick came to me first. I hate dealing with ugly women... Now that I think about it, if she caught your attention, she must be pretty good-looking but I let her slip away due to my pride."

"No photos. You may go now."

"...", slightly angry at his reply.

Disappointed by Diego's lack of interest, Charlie realized he couldn't get any more information and left, saying, "This is useless trying to talk to you. Next time if such person comes don't still my order.! I'm going to play cards with Drake tonight. Will you come?"

"Maybe."

Dexter reconsidered, leaving the invitation open-ended. He wasn't used to social gatherings and often marvelled on how he became friends with Charlie Cooper. Their friendships was filled with many holes and could easily break but somehow there was a strong glue that held them together. Although they were good business partners but often times became stingy.

In all they had their good and bad times and most times they talked less to each other. He had no explanation for Charlie and simply saw an opportunity to make five million and took it. That was a difference between the two,it took time for Charlie Cooper to see an opportunity while for Dexter opportunity comes walking by and he never miss a chance to welcome it.

.