After My Boyfriend Fell In Love With His Secretary

"What are you playing at? Just because I didn't answer your call in time, you say this about my mom? Lily, when did you become so vicious?"

Vicious?

If I were truly vicious, I'd have walked away by now!

Not stayed here taking his crap!

"John, I'm not joking. Maggie..."

"Enough! Lily, stop your tantrum! I know my mom's health better than anyone. Don't curse her!"

As he finished speaking, a voice from beside him tried to calm him down.

"John, girls have tempers. Just try to soothe her..."

Emma's gentle and composed voice came through.

Her rationality and detachment made me look like a raving lunatic.

Because of her words, John grew even more impatient, sneering coldly, "Let her throw her fit. I won't soothe her this time. She's getting more and more out of hand!"

My palms were slick with sweat, and I clenched my fists instinctively.

What does he mean by soothing me?

Every argument, it was always me who backed down first.

How did I become the unreasonable one in his narrative?

I was too angry to speak, but seeing his uncle approach, I forced myself to stay calm. "If you don't believe me, fine. But you should believe your uncle..."

With that, I called his uncle over.

His uncle took the phone but said, "Weren't you just talking to John? What's going on?"

I took the phone in confusion.

I realized that John had hung up right after his last sentence.

I laughed bitterly, feeling a weight on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

Maggie had always treated me well, but I hadn't married John yet.

Technically, I wasn't even qualified to handle her funeral arrangements.

I couldn't arrange for her burial, so I contacted someone to take her body to the funeral home.

John's uncle tried calling him again.

But as expected, there was no answer.

He looked at me, sighed heavily, and said, "You're a good kid. She was lucky to have you with her at the end. We can't do anything about this. It's up to you to deal with John now."

After he said this, he waved and left.

I was exhausted after seeing off all their relatives.

I bought a ticket and headed back to the city.

John's hometown was only four hours away from the city.

But I felt like a lifetime had passed.

By the time I got home, I was so tired that I didn't even have the energy to drink water.

I washed up and collapsed into bed, sleeping deeply until the next evening.

When I woke up again, it was already the evening of the next day.

The funeral home sent me another message.

Maggie's body could only stay there for three days; I needed to handle the final arrangements quickly.

Staring at their reminder, I sighed deeply.

Looking around at my familiar room, I felt an overwhelming emptiness.

I couldn't understand.

How did John and I end up like this?

We met through a blind date and decided to be together after only three meetings.

We had been together for three years now.

In those years, he gave me endless security.

Every day he went between home and work.

And he never smoked or drank.

He said secondhand smoke was harmful to others.

He couldn't bear to see me hurt.

He always prioritized me.

Many people praised my good fortune.

Even Maggie said he had changed a lot after meeting me.

So, I took his behavior as a sign of love.

But then Emma Summers appeared.

Her presence made me doubt everything.

Whenever something happened, she contacted him first.

And he was always there for her.

He even brought her to gatherings with his friends.

For this, I once expressed my displeasure.

He said, "She's my secretary now. I pay her. It's her job to handle things for me."

At the time, I didn't see anything wrong with his words.

Many bosses bring their secretaries everywhere after all.

But now, thinking back, it felt especially ironic.

Since when did his secretary become more important than his own mother?

I was filled with suppressed anger.

Getting out of bed, I planned to make dinner.

Just then, John came home.

Seeing me, he looked surprised, then his expression turned to displeasure.

"Did you come back alone?"

I ignored him and walked towards the kitchen.

He followed me. "Lily, what are you doing? You left my mom alone back there?"

"Am I your maid?"

I turned around and said to him coldly, "That's your mom, not mine. Why should I handle everything for your family?"

He was stunned, clearly not expecting me to speak like that.

His handsome face turned angry, and his deep eyes looked into me. "We are about to get married. What do you mean by this?"

"I mean, I don't want to take care of anyone in your family anymore.

"I'm not marrying you."

My tone was calm, devoid of the initial breakdown.

Now, I felt completely serene.

After all, she wasn't my mother.

Why should I be so angry?

If he, her own son, didn't care, why should I exhaust myself emotionally?

Besides, her death had nothing to do with me.

"Why are you making a fuss for no reason? The invitations are sent out, and now you tell me you're not getting married?"

I sneered and asked, "Who were you with yesterday?"

He paused, his anger giving way to a moment of guilt, then he said confidently, "It was nearly 100 degrees yesterday. Without air conditioning, people could die from the heat. So I let her stay at our place to cool off."

"You knew it was nearly 100 degrees? Did you know your hometown had power outages recently? And that's our marital home! I haven't even been there! And you brought another woman?"

As I laid out the facts, I realized how unfamiliar the man before me had become.

I suddenly wondered, John, known for his love for his mother, how would he react if he knew his mother died because of him?