In the Shadow of the CEO

Vera Hofmann wasnt sure if all men who cheat kept two phones. While Robert was in the shower, a selfie from his mistress arrived.

The girl was young, with a delicate face, dressed in expensive clothes that didnt suit her age, making her seem awkward.

"Thank you for the birthday gift, Mr. Stewart."

Vera stared at the message until her eyes watered. Shed always known there was someone else in Roberts life, but the reality of this young girl surprised her, causing a pang of heartache and a shock at her husbands taste.

She thought, Im sorry for seeing Roberts secret.

The sound of the bathroom door opening pulled her back to reality.

Moments later, Robert emerged, his white bathrobe clinging to his defined abs and chest, exuding a raw sexuality.

"How long do you plan to stare?"

He took the phone from Veras hand and glanced at her before getting dressed.

There was no embarrassment in his expression; Vera knew his confidence stemmed from his financial control over her, despite her once being a renowned violinist in the country before their marriage.

Vera didnt dwell on the photo. She couldnt afford to.

Noticing he was about to leave, she quickly spoke up: "Robert, I want to talk to you."

The man leisurely fastened his belt, looking at his wife, perhaps reminded of her recent submissiveness in bed, and snickered, "Already wanting more?"

But this intimacy was nothing more than mockery.

He never truly valued her as a wife, marrying her out of necessity after an accident.

Robert checked the Patek Philippe watch on the bedside table and put it on his wrist, his tone indifferent: "I have five minutes, my driver is waiting downstairs."

Vera guessed where he was going, her eyes darkening: "Robert, I want to work outside the home."

Work outside the home?

Robert fastened his watch strap and looked at her. After a while, he took out a checkbook from his pocket, wrote a number, tore it off, and handed it to her: "Isnt being a full-time housewife enough? Work isnt for you."

With that, he was about to leave.

Vera chased after him, lowering her pride: "Im not afraid of hard work! I want to work... I can play the violin..."

The man had no patience to listen further.

In his mind, Vera was like a delicate vine, dependent on others, used to being taken care of, unsuitable for public life and unable to endure hardship.

Robert checked his watch: "Times up!"

He left without looking back, and Vera couldnt keep him, only managing to ask as he grasped the doorknob: "My fathers birthday is on Saturday, will you have time?"

Robert paused: "Well see!"

The door gently closed, and soon the sound of a car starting downstairs faded into the distance.

A few minutes later, the housekeeper came upstairs.

Knowing the master and mistress had a lukewarm relationship, she acted as a messenger: "Sir has gone to Hamilton City for a few days, something important has come up. Also, the company just delivered a batch of sirs clothes, madam, shall I send them to be dry cleaned or would you prefer to wash and iron them yourself?"

Vera knelt on the sofa.

After a while, she responded, her voice soft: "Hand wash them."

Because Robert disliked the smell of dry cleaning solvents, all his clothes, including suits and overcoats, were almost always hand-washed and ironed by Vera.

Apart from this, Robert had high standards in other areas as well.

He didnt like eating out, and he didnt like any disorder in the bedroom. Vera learned cooking, organizing, flower arranging... She gradually became the perfect full-time wife.

Her life was almost all about Robert.

But Robert still didnt love her.

Vera looked down at the check.

Last year, her familys business collapsed, her brother was accused and in custody, her father suffered a sudden illness costing over a hundred thousand a month, and every time she went home, Claire complained about how little she got from Robert.

"Hes the CEO of Stewart Medical Group, worth billions... Vera, you and he are husband and wife, isnt his yours?"

Vera scoffed.

How could Roberts be hers?

Robert didnt love her, was usually indifferent to her; their marriage was sex without love, and he even forbade her from bearing his child, reminding her to take medication every time they were intimate.

Yes, she had to take her medication.

Vera found the bottle, poured out a pill, and swallowed it woodenly.

After swallowing the pill, she gently opened a small drawer, inside was a thick journal, filled with 18-year-old Veras love for Robert—

Six years, she had loved him for six long years!

Vera suddenly closed her eyes.

...

Vera didnt wait for Robert to return; on Friday night, a significant event occurred at the Hofmann residence.

News came that the eldest son of the Hofmann family—Thomas Hofmann, might face a decade in prison for the Hofmann Groups financial case.

A decade was enough to destroy a person.

That night, Veras father suffered from acute cerebral hemorrhage and was hospitalized, in a critical condition requiring immediate surgery.

Standing in the hospital corridor, Vera kept calling Robert, but no one answered. Just as she was about to give up, Robert sent her a WeChat message.

As always, concise.

"Im still in Hamilton City, if you need anything, contact Secretary Qin."

Vera called again, and this time Robert answered. She hurriedly said, "Robert, my father..."

Robert interrupted her.

His tone carried a hint of impatience: "Do you need money? Ive told you many times, if its urgent, contact Secretary Qin... Vera, are you listening?"

...

Vera looked up at the electronic screen, her expression dazed, as the news played.

"Stewart Medical Group CEO, to make a fair lady smile, books the entire Disneyland to set off fireworks."

Under the dazzling fireworks,

The young girl sat in a wheelchair, smiling innocently and cute, and her husband, Robert, stood behind the wheelchair... He held a phone in his hand, talking to her.

Vera blinked gently.

After a long while, her voice carried a hint of brokenness: "Robert, where are you?"

There was a pause on the other end, seemingly unhappy with her check, but he still perfunctorily said, "Still busy, if its nothing, I hang up. You contact Secretary Qin."

He didnt notice her crying tone, but the gaze he cast down at others... was very gentle, very gentle.

Veras eyes blurred—

So, Robert could be so gentle.

From behind, came the voice of her stepmother, Claire: "Did you get in touch with Robert? Vera, you must ask Robert for help with this..."

Claires words stopped because she too saw the scene on the electronic screen.

After a while, Claire found her voice again: "He went to Hamilton City again? Vera, I dont believe it. When Robert was in a coma, did this girl named Emily White play the violin and wake him up? Even if thats true, is there such a way to repay?"

"He cant even remember your birthday!"

...

The more Claire talked, the angrier she got, and thinking about the Hofmann familys situation, she couldnt help but shed tears: "But Vera... you have to be clear-headed, dont make trouble with Robert at this time."

Vera clenched her palm, her nails digging into her flesh, but she felt no pain.

Make trouble with Robert?

She wouldnt, not because she, as Mrs. Stewart, was sensible, but because she didnt have the right.

The title of a wife not loved was just a figurehead!

She gazed at the fireworks and said softly, "So many fireworks must cost a lot