Filed to story: The CEO’s Wife Is a Secret Boss Novel (Allison & Jeremy) Free Online
He approached the object that Amber had dropped-a locket. He slowly crouched to pick it up. Squinting under the sunlight, he carefully checked it out.
With a click, he opened the locket and found a photo of a stranger¡ªa young girl. The sight of her youthful and lovely face tugged at his heartstrings.
Amber returned to the laundry room after helping the teacher.
Upon her return, she was forced up against the wall by Axel, who pressed his body against her and stared into her eyes.
Her heart was beating uncontrollably. Drawn into his bright and sharp gaze, she found herself falling helplessly for him.
She longed for a ray of light to shine through the cracks and illuminate her dark life. His eyes turned out to be the source of light she had been searching high and low for. “Ms. Altman, did you leave something behind just now?” he teased her in a low chuckle that ended with a seductive lilt.
“What…” Her voice trailed off. She grabbed the edge of the wall firmly as her heart pounded like a drum.
Grinning, he casually brushed his nose tip against hers. The gentle and cheeky move resembled the touch of a lover. Suddenly, he rasped, “You left my heart behind.” Amber, whose heart had been racing, broke into laughter. Axel raised a quizzical brow at her. “Tsk! What are you laughing at?”
“Mr. Axel, I assume you haven’t dated before, right? Not every girl could take your cheesy jokes.” Amber, covering her mouth, laughed uncontrollably in front of him. The affection in his eyes deepened. He clicked his tongue and retorted, “That was a pickup line!”
“A funny pickup line is a joke in itself.” She was halfway through teasing him when her eyes wavered in shock. Her silver locket dangled and swayed gently in front of her.
“My necklace!” She frantically fumbled around her neck as all color drained from her face. She had no idea when she had dropped it!
“Give it back!” She reached out to snatch the locket from him, but he playfully raised his arms to keep it out of her reach. She stood on her tiptoe but failed to reach it. He questioned, “Who’s that pretty girl in the photo?”
“She’s my friend!” Her cheeks flushed before turning white again. This time, she jumped to reach it, but her efforts were futile.
“Do you even have friends? Even if you want to make friends, Jameson Schmidt wouldn’t allow it,” Axel questioned in disbelief.
“She’s… my younger sister!” She spoke in a higher pitch from the embarrassment.
“You literally told me you were an orphan. Why is there a sister in the picture?” His expression soured. Then, he swung the locket and grabbed it. “Ms. Altman, if you refuse to tell me the truth, I’ll have to confiscate this and return it to you next time.”
Close to tears, she blurted out, “That was me!”
He fixed a deep, emotional gaze on her.
“I was the girl in the photo. It was taken when I was 20. The photo was the only profile photo I have of myself before I was molded into Alyssa Taylor.” Her lips quivered. She was overcome with bitterness. “Jameson destroyed all my old photos after I got my plastic surgery, but I managed to save a photo without him knowing. This is the only photo I have of myself.
“Without it, I’m scared that one day I might forget how I look like. If that happened, no one would remember that Amber Altman once existed. I would be no different than an empty shell.”
Though she obediently played the role of Alyssa Taylor by Jameson’s side, she desperately wished that she could be herself again one day.
“So, please return it to me.” Tears streamed down her cheeks when she started speaking. The tears sent a pang of pain through his heart, scarring him.
He silently took her hand and placed the locket, still warm from his touch, on her palm.
Axel and Amber left the orphanage when night fell. Axel hadn’t expected her to spend an entire day there, and she was surprised he’d keep her company the whole day.
She said to him, “I’m heading back. Bye.”
“Amber Altman!”
Her body stiffened when Axel called out to her. She slowly turned around and gaped at what she saw. Axel stood there holding some lit sparklers. The tiny sparks shimmered like clusters of flowers or ethereal fairies dancing at night.
Smiling, he waved the sparklers around, putting on a delightful fireworks display under the starlit sky.
Amber stared at the sparklers vacantly as tears welled up in her eyes. She clutched her fists, holding back her emotions.
“Come join me! Let’s have some fun.” Axel bounced up to her and handed her a sparkler with eyes that shone bright like the sun.
She accepted the sparkler with trembling fingers, knowing that he must have come prepared with them. It was impossible to get this stuff at the remote location of the orphanage.
The light from her sparklers danced on her face. A smile appeared on her face. She took on a resemblance to the girl in the locket when she smiled.
“Do you like that massive fireworks show I put on for you the last time?” He glanced at her before asking.
Staring at the sparkler in her hand, she replied softly, “Yeah.”
“Well, that doesn’t mean anything. I’m not as rich as Landon Harper. Can’t afford a showy performance worth tens of millions,” Axel blurted out.
She flashed a faint smile at him, having been used to his blunt and outspoken manner-probably the reason he was single.
“No, this is good.” She smiled gently, satisfied. “Anything that belongs to me is the best in the world.”
As she had never enjoyed anything to her name, she treasured every single moment of happiness that belonged to her.
When the last sparkler was about to go out, Axel tilted his head and whispered into her ear, “Now, you’re not the only one who remembers how you looked like before.”
Trembling, she suddenly turned around to face him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and put a hand at the back of her head, pressing their foreheads together. He added, “I’ll remember how you looked like.”
The moment their eyes met, she felt all her blood rush to her head. She blushed, and her heart pumped wildly.
The sparkler might have gone out, but the passion in their eyes remained.
The romantic moment was interrupted by a jarring ringtone from her phone. She coughed awkwardly before drawing away from She checked her phone and saw Carl’s name on the screen-a sight that hurt her eyes and burst her dreamy bubble.
“Hello?” she croaked.
“Ms. Altman, Mr. Schmidt would like you to host two guests from Tsulu,” Carl informed her in a business-like manner.
Feeling cold from head to toe, she hurried toward her sportscar, fearing that Axel might overhear. “What guests? Are they politicians? Or business partners?”
“Mr. Schmidt wants you to keep them happy. You don’t need to know anything else.”
Amber felt her chest tighten. Jameson appeared to have grown vigilant of her, refusing to even reveal the identity of his guests.
Carl, who picked up on Amber’s emotions, fell silent before offering, “They are Mr. Schmidt’s business partners. This deal is important to him, as he wants to gain entry to the Tsufu market. Ms. Altman, you’ll have to put in more effort,
“Before this, you have crossed Mr. Schmidt a few times. Why don’t you take this opportunity to regain his favor? That will make your life easier.” The last remark sounded genuine.
She replied icily, “Fine. I’ll return to The Millennium and get ready.”
“The guests are not at The Millennium.”
Her pupils shook in surprise. Over the years, she had always entertained Jameson’s guests at The Millennium and never anywhere else. Besides, he would never allow her to leave the clubhouse
This time, the rules had changed. In her confusion, she heard Carl saying, “I’ll text you the address later.”
After the call, she stared vacantly at the dark screen as dizziness overcame her. An invisible hand seemed to have shoved her into an abyss once more.
She heard Axel’s approaching footsteps, but she dared not turn around to look at him. Instead, she scrambled into her sportscar and sped away in the night.
At midnight, Amber arrived at a countryside villa in her sportscar. She had changed into a flaming red slit dress and styled her long, dark hair into a bun that was held together by a golden hairpin. Her style, classic and alluring, was to Jameson’s taste. However, she was dressed to the nines for a nasty deal.
She ran her cold fingertips through the hem of her dress and chuckled bitterly. What a waste of high-grade silk and top-notch tailoring! Her perfect attire and her dignity would end up being trampled by the beasts she would host.
She received a video call from Wesley when she was about to leave her car. The video call was their preferred way of communication as it was impossible to be tapped. “Wesley,” she began with a forced smile.
“Ms. Altman, are you about to…” Wesley choked up emotionally at the sight of her beauty. As an employee at The Millennium, he knew what that would signify.
“What’s the matter? Is everything alright?” Amber hurriedly shifted the topic of conversation.
“I’m fine, Ms. Altman. The two guests you’re meeting are not just any ordinary men, though.” Wesley put on a worried look. “Based on my recent investigation, these two men might have bought the same batch of drugs as Aidan Lovelace from Jameson!
“We might get more information about the drugs if you get to them. If we get our hands on the drugs, we’ll be one step closer to defeating Jameson.”
Her worry gave way to the determination for justice. “I will try my best to pry some crucial information out of them. Wesley, thanks for letting me know!”
“Ms. Altman, be careful.” Worry clouded his eyes. He had a bad feeling. “Something feels off when Jameson made you come out here to host the guests without Carl following you. I’m scared that…”
“No. That won’t happen.” Amber’s eyes were emotionless. “Jameson Schmidt hasn’t hurt me yet, and that goes to show I’m still of use to him.
“I know him too well. He won’t let go of a person until he’s extracted every drop out of them. He’ll protect me if needed.”
Apart from Amber, four other women working for The Millennium were sent to host the Tsulu guests.
Two bodyguards armed with guns stood in the dark corners of a luxurious suite. The women had no choice but to entertain the two male foreign guests sporting beer bellies.
