Filed to story: The CEO’s Wife Is a Secret Boss Novel (Allison & Jeremy) Free Online
“You-” Amber glared at him in embarrassment. Her eyes were dewy and sparkling.
Axel tilted his head with a roguish smile. He tapped his lips to remind her.
Suddenly, he frowned and spun around. A group of smiling kids had gathered by the backdoor of the classroom to watch the drama unfold. Their cute heads peeked out of the door, one on top of another, which was rather hilarious to see.
They would have made a fuss if they could speak.
“You rascal!” Amber’s face reddened. She shoved him away before fleeing and herding the kids back into the classroom.
Her scolding sounded flirtatious to Axel. His smile deepened when he relished her remark.
Amber returned to the podium after soothing the children. When she looked up, she found Axel shamelessly sitting in a chair by an unoccupied table in the last row. He folded his arms and rested them on the table, blinking obediently like he, too, was a student.
She flustered under his watch. It wasn’t until she took a few deep breaths that she collected herself and completed the lecture.
After class, the kids happily filed out of the classroom, each holding a gift from Amber. Axel was the only one remaining in his seat. Resting his cheek in his palm, he beamed at her.
Amber went up to him, holding her breath and pressing her lips.
Before she could go off at him, he extended an arm and unfurled his palms. Then, he said pleadingly, “Ms. Altman, where’s my gift?”
“I don’t have one for you,” she replied, her lashes fluttering.
“Oh? Ms. Altman, that’s unfair.” He looked so disappointed.
Once again, her heart raced. Biting her lower lip, she finally retrieved a bunny keychain from her shirt pocket. “Count yourself lucky. This is the last one.”
His eyes shifted between the bunny keychain and Amber-she resembled the bunny.
Amber bashfully withdrew her hand when he did not accept the keychain immediately. She mumbled, “Right. I’m sure you have enjoyed your fair share of good stuff. You wouldn’t want something like a bunny keychain…”
All of a sudden, he grabbed her hand and held it tightly. She sweated from her fingertips, and her ears turned red. She watched as he slowly pried the bunny keychain out of her grasp.
He remarked, “Don’t be silly. Of course I love it because you left one for me.” He held the bunny keychain to his chest and stroked it like a treasure. “Thank you, Ms. Altman!”
“I have work to do later. I have no time to fool around with you. Go home.” With that, she lowered her gaze and attempted to leave.
Smiling, he called out to her, “Ms. Altman, you’re good at sign language. Mind teaching me? Teach me just one sentence.”
After calming her breath, she turned around to meet his starry eyes. Her expression grew serious.
Axel watched as she pointed at her chest. Next, she raised her left thumb, curled her right fingers, and stroked the back of her left thumb. Finally, she pointed a finger at him.
The simple gesture nonetheless fascinated him. To him, it was the loveliest language in the world despite the lack of sound.
She placed her arms by her side. “I’m done teaching you.”
“Really? That was short.”
“Well, it’s not like you could remember advanced words. Take it one step at a time.”
Surprised, he inquired, “And what did that mean?”
“I’m not telling you.” Then, she hurried toward the teacher’s office.
“Hey, was that a curse word?” When his voice trailed off, she was nowhere to be seen.
He stood there alone for a moment before carefully caressing the bunny keychain with a look of delight.
Though Amber tried to kick Axel out, he shamelessly stuck around. However, he merely observed her from a distance without disrupting her work.
He watched as she joined the cooks to prepare food. Despite her petite frame, she stirred the food in the industrial cooking pots with ease. She harvested, washed, and cut the vegetables expertly, as if it were second nature.
With his arms folded across his chest, Axel became engrossed in her actions. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and a few strands of hair clung to her cheek. Despite her disheveled appearance while working, he found her beauty captivating.
Every time they crossed paths, she carried herself like a flawless masterpiece, catching the attention of the opposite sex. However, Axel found her prettier in her current state-more vibrant and real.
As Amber’s “friend”, Axel was invited to lunch with the other kids when food was served. Amber stood in a line with two other teachers to serve food.
“Thank you, Ms. Altman!” The kids chirped with wide smiles. She warmly greeted them as she busied herself serving food.
After a while, her hand suddenly froze midair as she looked up in surprise. Axel stood up straight, holding a tray. He looked into her eyes with passion. Smiling, he said, “Ms. Altman, I have a huge appetite. More food for me, please.”
Amber’s heart raced wildly. She bit her lower lip shyly, feeling helpless. Meanwhile, the two teachers grinned knowingly at her blushed face.
“Please leave after you’re done with lunch.” Lowering her head, she whispered in a voice that was only audible between the two of them.
Still, she served him a generous portion as he had requested.
“Oh, that’s a lot of food. Might take me a while to finish. Let’s see.” Leaning in with a twinkle in his eyes, he teased, “I don’t always get to see you. I won’t leave until I’ve had my fill.”
Once again, he dropped another flirtatious line without warning. Whenever her heart fluttered, she would instantly force herself to stay grounded. She cautioned herself not to long for what could never be hers and not to fall deeper for him, knowing they had no future together. Besides, she wasn’t worthy of him.
She was merely an orphan raised by Jameson and later defiled by various men. Her face, despite its beauty, was the reason behind her low self-esteem.
She refused to believe that Axel would catch feelings for a worthless plaything that bore a resemblance to his sister.
…
The kids were either in class or taking naps in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Amber sat on a stool in the laundry room to handwash the children’s clothes with lukewarm water. “Why don’t you use the washing machine? This must be tiring,” Axel suggested.
Amber looked up at him before going back to work. She explained, “Kids’ clothes are very dirty. You can’t just toss them into the washing machine. Some clean freaks would prefer to handwash these clothes. “The orphans don’t have a family to take care of them, but the teachers are busy with too many children. So, I thought I could lend a hand. You will never get this because you grew up sheltered.”
“Tsk. How could you assume that? I handwashed my sister’s shirts and pants when she was a kid!” He grabbed a stool and sat from across her. Removing and tossing aside his windbreaker, he rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt to reveal his muscular forearms with bulging veins.
“Did you handwash her clothes? I thought you had plenty of servants at home…” Amber widened her eyes in shock.
“Of course, I looked after my own sister. I wouldn’t have anyone else take care of her!” Axel wore a proud look before skilfully joining her in washing the clothes.
He might be a spy, but he looked like a good househusband when doing chores.
Amber remarked flatly, “That sounded so pervy.”
Axel’s expression collapsed. He argued, “I was a brother who doted on his sister! You just don’t get it!”
He took care of Alyssa for another reason. Before their mother passed away, she called the four siblings to her bed and reminded the brothers to take care of Alyssa to the best of their ability.
He recalled Jennifer comforting them, “Don’t cry. Please don’t think that Mommy is not around anymore. Mommy will be in the sky, looking after you and protecting you.”
He teared up at the thoughts-a lump formed in his throat.
“That was really sweet.” Amber stared at her reflection on the water, which resembled Alyssa. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight, and she hurriedly hid the reflection with clothes. She added, “Ms. Alyssa certainly grew up in happiness.”
Despite taking on Alyssa’s face, Amber knew her fate was the opposite of Alyssa’s. Alyssa was the daughter of a wealthy family who was raised in love and great care, unlike herself¡ªa lookalike and a puppet. How could Jameson even think of using her as a replacement for Alyssa? What a delusional maniac!
“What about you, Ms. Altman? Where are your relatives?” Axel pretended to drop a casual question while washing the clothes. “Hasn’t your family asked about your life over the years you worked for Jameson Schmidt?”
“I was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage. I don’t have parents. Jameson was the one who named me,” she revealed in an emotionless tone.
Axel put on a pensive expression. “Guess that explains why you volunteer here. Is it to reminisce about your childhood?”
“There’s nothing to reminisce.” She chuckled dismissively. “Why would I think back on how I was beaten, yelled at, and starved for three days in a row?”
Her words made his heart stop in shock. He shot a deep look at her.
“Not all orphanages in the world are safe havens for kids. Some are hell on earth.” Her hands were red from washing the clothes by now. She remarked in a soft voice, “In some way, I have Jameson Schmidt to thank. Without his help, I would have died of starvation on the streets on that cold night. I only survived until this day because he took me in.”
What she did not reveal was the hell that Jameson put her through. Rather than salvation, she met a fate more brutal and despairing than the beatings, scoldings, and starvings that she had experienced. Axel tried his best to look nonchalant as he wrung the clothes dry. “You’re considered mentally tough for women. If I were you, I might never step foot in an orphanage after all the childhood trauma.” “Well, I wanted to help because I was in the same shoes. I suffered in an orphanage, and I didn’t want the kids here to go through the same thing. It makes me happy to see their smiles.” She beamed and spoke from the bottom of her heart.
Axel pressed his lips. He was extremely moved by her noble intentions, knowing that she wasn’t just helping the orphans but also making up for her traumatic childhood.
“Ms. Altman, come here for a minute.” A teacher showed up at the door of the laundry room to look for Amber.
“Coming.” Amber quickly rose from the stool and wiped her hands dry on her jacket. Then, she left in a hurry.
At that moment, Axel heard a soft patter of an item falling onto the ground. A silver object sparkled on the ground under the afternoon sunlight.
