The CEO's Wife Was the Mistress

Leaving the county office felt like walking through a dream. My daughter's new birth certificate rested in my bag, carrying my surname instead of Adrian's.

My phone rang.

Adrian.

I stared at his name before answering.

"Sweetheart, I'm tied up with meetings today, so I'll be home late," he said warmly. "Give our little princess a kiss for me. Don't wait up, okay? I miss both of you already."

His voice was gentle and affectionate, exactly as it had always been.

How could someone lie so effortlessly?

Adrian had always seemed like the perfect husband. He called whenever he worked late, constantly updated me during business trips, and never came home without pulling me into his arms first.

Now every memory felt tainted.

I remembered a charity banquet years ago when a socialite publicly mocked my background. The next morning, news spread that her family's company had collapsed after losing its investors.

When I asked Adrian about it, he had smiled.

"My wife isn't someone people can humiliate without consequences."

At the time, I thought it was love.

I remembered casually mentioning a limited-edition handbag I had admired online. The very next day, Adrian canceled his meetings, flew overseas, and returned carrying that exact bag.

"If this makes you smile, then the trip was worth it," he had said, kissing my forehead.

I used to think I was the luckiest woman alive.

Now I wondered whether every grand gesture had simply been his way of easing his guilt.

I sat behind the steering wheel, unable to insert the key because my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

While he was taking another woman and their son home from school, he had been telling me that he missed me.

How many times had he left their house only to come home and hold me?

People had warned me about men like Adrian.

"Power changes them," they said. "The richer they become, the more women they'll have."

I always laughed.

Adrian had given me no reason to doubt him.

Which made this betrayal impossible to understand.

Especially because the other woman was Vanessa.

Years ago, she had worked for the Sterling family as a nanny. I still remembered her entering Adrian's study in a revealing dress while carrying coffee.

The mug smashed against the wall.

Adrian's expression turned cold.

"Save those pathetic tricks for someone else. You're fired."

Then he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close.

"You'll never have to worry," he said. "You're the only woman I'll ever love."

Vanessa had fallen to her knees, crying and begging for another chance.

Adrian never looked at her.

"My wife is all I need."

She left that same day.

So when she reappeared months later as his executive assistant, I questioned him.

He had cupped my face and sighed.

"After losing her job, her relatives tried forcing her to marry an old widower. She's threatening to end her life. Keeping her close is the safest option. I'm only doing this so she can't hurt you."

I believed him.

I believed every word.

But their son was six years old.

That meant Adrian hadn't merely kept Vanessa close.

He had been living another life for six years.

I wiped away my tears.

I needed proof.

I hired a private investigator.

Half an hour later, my phone chimed.

A live location and a video arrived.

Adrian wasn't at the office.

The footage showed him leaving a kindergarten after what appeared to be a parent-teacher conference. His fingers were intertwined with Vanessa's while a little boy skipped happily beside them.

Then Adrian lifted the child into his arms.

He was smiling.

Not politely.

Not out of obligation.

The smile was warm, relaxed, and full of affection.

For some reason, it hurt more than the marriage record.

I followed them from a distance.

Eventually, they entered an upscale villa community.

Adrian parked in front of a house and opened the trunk.

Inside was a large box filled with toys.

The little boy squealed and ran into the yard.

Vanessa laughed.

"You spoil him too much."

Adrian chuckled.

"He's my son. If I don't spoil him, who will?"

Pride filled his voice.

Then he reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before leaning down and kissing her.

It wasn't a casual kiss.

It was slow and intimate.

When they separated, Vanessa rested her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you for getting James into the city's best private school," she said softly. "When I found out I was pregnant, I never intended to tell you. I didn't want to complicate things between you and Vivian."

Adrian smiled.

"Don't say that again."

His voice was impossibly gentle.

"She'll never find out the truth."

He paused.

"And even if she does... what can she possibly do?"

My fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

Then he looked into Vanessa's eyes.

"You are my legal wife. You and our son deserve the best. Taking care of both of you is my responsibility."

Legal wife.

The words echoed in my mind.

If Vanessa was his wife...

Then who was I?

The woman he introduced proudly at banquets?

The wife whose hand he never let go of in public?

For seven years, I believed I was the love of Adrian Sterling's life.

Standing outside that villa, I finally realized that I had never been his wife at all.

I had simply been the woman he chose to deceive.