Filed to story: The CEO’s Wife Is a Secret Boss Novel (Allison & Jeremy) Free Online
Jeremy’s gaze hardened. “Dominic was behind this, right?”
“Awesome. Mr. Walsh, you seem to solve cases through guessing,” mocked Axel with a grin.
“The angle of the footage clearly proved it was a camera in the meeting room. After I sent Winston to the hospital, I immediately made Mr. Benton delete the footage. I believe someone had made a move before us by copying the footage.” His voice dripped with ice.
Jeremy continued, “Lyse told me after the video leak that she had forced all the company board members to sign an NDA, except for Dominic. She planned to trick him into exposing his true colors, but she didn’t expect him to publicize the footage. He’s risking it all.”
“Hah! Dominic is flirting with death.” Axel curled his fists and cracked his fingers so loudly that Jeremy could hear it from the other end. “I managed to track it back to him by locating the IP address from which the user posted the video.
“Looks like it’s time to get rid of our family member. Dominic is about to find out the consequences of hurting Winston.”
Jeremy frowned. “No, we can’t.”
“Jeremy Walsh, how dare you dictate what I can or cannot do? I’m your brother-in-law!” Axel raised his voice unhappily.
“Your dad is still sick. Besides, his condition is worse than what you could imagine.”
Axel went silent upon hearing that.
“He has received a severe blow after the video of his relapse was leaked, followed by Jonah and Julien’s scandal. I fear your confrontation with Dominic might be the last straw for him.
“After some time around Winston, I could tell that he cares deeply for his family. Even after seeing Dominic for what he is, he dared not inflict harsh punishment on his little brother for the sake of their childhood memories,” Jeremy patiently explained to Axel.
He added, “I know you’re seeking revenge; I share the same sentiments. However, Winston’s health is our utmost priority at the moment.”
Axel snapped, “Ugh, don’t waste my time. Get to the point!”
“Leave Dominic Taylor to Lyse and me. Do not make a move against him.” A glint flashed across Jeremy’s eyes. “We know what makes him tick. The best revenge is to make him lose the most important thing to him.”
“Haha! Jeremy Walsh, you’re a real jerk, aren’t you?”
Looking exasperated, Jeremy suggested, “You could have described me with many other adjectives¡ª for example, smart or wise.”
“They mean the same. You get it.” Axel’s voice dropped to a sinister tone. “I can leave Dominic to you, but I will personally get rid of the culprit who messed with Jonah.”
Jeremy grinned. “Sure.”
After ending the call with Axel, Jeremy received another notification on his phone. It was a text from Landon. Upon tapping it, he was greeted by a shocked face emoji. Landon wrote, “Bro, is the scandal true? Is Jonah dating Dr. Lovelace?”
“Don’t waste your time if you’re here to gossip.”
“No, no… I’m quite inexperienced and naive. This is the first time something of this sort happened. I’m curious how you’d address Dr. Lovelace after you married Lyse. It would be so weird to call him your sister-in-law!”
Jeremy held back the urge to roll his eyes as he tapped out of the chat.
Alyssa, seated in another room, repeatedly scrolled through the malicious comments online. Heartbroken and tearing up, she nearly crushed the phone screen. Silas and Liam kept her company, not knowing what to do except to exchange looks because they’d never come across such a situation.
“Lyse, don’t fret about it. Jonah and Julien aren’t in the entertainment industry. The scandal will die down after a while,” Silas comforted Alyssa.
He sighed, feeling sorry for Jonah.
“Sure, the gossip will eventually die down, but Jonah and Julien will be scarred forever.” Alyssa closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm herself. “Jonah is the president of KS Group. We might own the company, but Jonah’s reputation and public image have taken a huge hit.
“This is what the mastermind wishes to see¡ªto tarnish Jonah’s reputation so that he couldn’t face the public.
“Julien isn’t a public figure, but the Lovelace family is difficult. Now that they’ve heard about the scandal, I’m afraid Julien can’t go back to them.”
The thought of it upset her to no end. After hanging out with Julien for a while and going through ups and downs together, she had already considered him family.
Upon learning that Julien had suffered beatings by the Lovelace family, Alyssa felt an overwhelming urge to retaliate on his behalf. She nearly stormed to their residence.
Just like Jonah, she did not wish to see Julien suffer.
Liam immediately knelt beside her upon seeing the tears in her eyes. Holding her hand tenderly, he peered into her eyes. “Lyse, don’t worry. If the Lovelaces are ignorant enough to abandon a fine young man like Julien, we’ll take him in.”
“Liam…” Alyssa softly called out to him as tears welled up again.
Liam chuckled. “I always wondered who Jonah would end up with, given how perfect and arrogant he was. Now, I realize that Julien is his perfect match.”
Alyssa fell into a daze, recalling how Jonah and Julien always stayed by each other’s side¡ªhow Julian had always tried to fulfill all of Jonah’s requests to the best of his ability and the way they lovingly looked at each other like they’d found the universe in the others’ eyes.
There were signs all along.
“Liam was right. We should celebrate Jonah finding himself a partner.” Silas grinned cheerfully after shedding the gloom from before. “Hehe! One of the Taylor sons finally started dating. Jonah is a role model to us all.”
Liam replied, “Silas, you should follow suit, then. You’re not any younger.”
“Damn it! Look, we were born a few minutes apart. You should look in the mirror. You hang out with guys all day, with no women in sight. I’m worried you might end up forever alone.”
Hearing that, Liam joked in an unbothered fashion, “Whatever. If I can’t find a lady, I’ll pick a goodlooking man from the guys around me.”
That prompted Alyssa and Silas to glare at him. “No. You’d better not!”
At that moment, they heard a dull knock on the door. Silas answered the door and looked flustered. “J- Julien?”
Alyssa shot up from the couch when she learned that Julien had arrived.
“Silas, is Lyse in the room?” Julien managed to squeeze a few words from his parched lips. “I… I would like a quick chat with her in private.”
Silas and Liam exited the room and closed the door behind them to offer Alyssa and Julien some privacy.
“Julien…” Alyssa called out to him softly.
Suddenly, she found herself at a loss for words. It did not seem like an appropriate time to comfort him or discuss his relationship with Jonah.
After what felt like a long silence, Julien hung his head low as a tear rolled down his cheek. “Lyse, I’m sorry.”
Shaking her head furiously, she gently comforted him, “Julien, this is not your fault. You don’t owe anyone an apology. There’s nothing wrong in loving Jonah.”
“It’s my fault.” Julien mumbled with his head kept low like a criminal. His confident self was nowhere to be seen. “Aunt Mandy was right. I ruined Jonah’s life. Things would have been different if I had listened to her.
“Lyse, I am at fault. I’m being selfish. I would rather be the one to pay the price. I’m willing to sacrifice anything as long as Jonah isn’t hurt. I would like everything to go back to how it was, but I think it’s too late.”
A wave of pain rolled through her. She had a lump in her throat. Putting aside Jonah’s suffering, Julien seemed to be utterly destroyed.
Julien continued, “Just now, I got in touch with a senior I’m on good terms with. He’s a renowned neurologist who pays attention to details and is known for his good character.
“Please get his help to treat Mr. Winston. He’s as good as I am.”
Alyssa’s eyes wavered in shock. She croaked, “Julien, what about you? What are you going to do?”
“I’m going home to Mosgravia.” He flashed her a bitter smile. “I will likely never return after this trip back to Mosgravia.”
“That won’t do! How is Jonah going to cope if you leave?” She worriedly grabbed his arm. “You love Jonah very much. You should know him well. Do you remember his reaction when the scandal first broke?
“He assumed all the responsibility because he didn’t want you scolded and harassed. He’d risk his reputation to protect you.”
He slowly raised his eyes to meet her gaze. An agonizing pain raged within him.
“Don’t you get it? Jonah has decided to give up on everything just to be with you.” She grasped his arm so hard that his coat sleeve wrinkled. “What does your relationship mean if you dump him? What about the sacrifices he’d made?
“You risked being beaten by family and disowned just to return to Jonah’s side. Is this the outcome you want after all that determination you showed? Are you happy that it has come to this?”
“Of course I’m not!” Finally, Julien broke down and cried. “But Lyse, what good does it do? Society will not accept us. Your dad and your entire family will not approve of us.
“I’m willing to give everything up for Jonah, but I don’t want him to lose everything for me. He needs to be the happiest man in the world, or I’d rather have never met him.”
“There’s only one way to make Jonah happy.” She stared at him intensely and said, “And that is you staying by his side and never giving up on him.”
Never giving up on Jonah…
Julien trembled violently at the notion.
He slowly doubled over and went on his knees limply. He pressed against the cold floor, the veins bulging on the back of his hand. “I told Jonah that I couldn’t care less about my title. I am happy with just being his secret lover. I don’t care for titles or social status, as long as I get to stay with him.”
“So, I guess things are different now that your relationship has been exposed.” Crouching before him, she tilted her head to look him in the face. She smiled. “Well, now that everyone knows about your relationship, you are no longer a secret lover. Shall I call you my. sister-in-law? How does that sound?”