Ten Years His Secret, Another Man's Bride

I am Nicholas Greene's assistant and also his secret girlfriend of ten years.

At the age of 29, I bring up marriage with him.

He responds coldly, "I can give you love, but I can’t give you marriage. If you are desperate to get married, I can introduce you to another man to deal with your parents."

I accept calmly.

A few months later, he stops me at the door.

His eyes are bloodshot as he questions, "Didn’t I tell you to just pretend? How did you end up actually getting a marriage certificate with him?"

Inside the office building, after the executive meeting ended, I walked toward Nicholas Greene's office, holding a ring I'd prepared in advance.

The door was slightly ajar. What I saw froze me in place.

The new hire, Tiffany Leary, was blushing as she curled up in his arms. In her hand was a red ring box. Inside it lay a diamond ring, at least ten carats, catching the light and reflecting it brightly.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it! But isn't it a bit too big?"

Affection filled Nicholas' eyes as he laughed softly. "Only something like this suits your status."

A blissful smile spread across Tiffany's face. As she shyly turned her head away, she happened to spot me standing at the door. Her eyes flashed with a flicker of delight before she hurried over and grabbed my hand. "Ariana, you're here. Sorry for lying to you before. I'm not an employee here. I'm Nicholas' fiance."

I had personally mentored Tiffany for a month, so we'd grown quite close. The sudden news caught me off guard.

I instinctively looked toward Nicholas. Our eyes met, and he frowned ever so slightly. His gaze was cold, laced with warning.

After ten years in a secret relationship with him, I understood almost immediately. He didn't want Tiffany to know about us.

I took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Really? That's sudden."

Tiffany pulled me into the office, excitedly explaining, "Our engagement was arranged back in college. We only recently started preparing for the wedding. But I just missed him so much, so I came here and picked up a random position."

Her gaze fell on the ring box in my hand. She blinked, puzzled. "Ariana, who's that for?"

My grip tightened around the box. I glanced at Nicholas. He was frowning at me too, but quickly looked away.

Sensing the subtle tension between us, Tiffany's expression changed. "Ariana… Why are you looking at Nicholas?"

A chill spread through my body. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. The office fell dead silent.

As her expression darkened further, the door opened again. The ring box in my hand was snatched away by a well-defined hand. I looked up.

It was Nicholas' uncle, Chandler Greene. He slipped the box casually into his pocket with an indifferent expression and said, "Mine." After that, he shot Nicholas a look of disdain and turned to leave.