The Billionaire Husband She Never Knew

1.

At the dinner table, the exchange student my wife had brought home suddenly spoke up in French:

"Polly Pruitt, whatever you do, don't let it slip that I'm pregnant. If Joseph Dickerson found out, he'd probably kill me."

Polly set a piece of braised pork belly on his plate and let out a soft laugh.

"Relax, I won't tell him. Once I start to show, I'll find some excuse and go on another business trip to France with you."

"We'll come back once the baby's born."

The student grinned.

"Perfect. Then I'll just stay here for now and watch our baby grow."

Then Polly switched to English and turned to me.

"Joseph, Caleb Henson just started in the foreign trade department. I'm going to have him stay with us for a while."

"He's been in France all this time and doesn't know his way around here. You're the head of the foreign trade department. Look after him."

Caleb lifted his glass to me with a smile.

"Joseph, Polly tells me your English is excellent. From now on we'll be building up her company together. Here's to you!"

Excellent English?

Fair enough. I'd never told my wife I speak eight languages.

Since they were this brazen about it, there was no reason for me to be polite either.

1.

If it weren't for the faint mockery in Caleb's smile, I might have doubted my own ears.

I kept my eyes fixed on him.

He hid it well.

Polly assumed I simply didn't want to drink with him.

Her face went cold.

"Joseph, can you have a little courtesy? Can't you see Caleb is toasting you?"

I let out a short laugh.

"He toasts me, so I have to drink?"

"And you brought someone home to live here without asking me. Do I mean that little to you?"

Caleb suddenly looked wounded.

"Joseph, I know you mind me staying here, and you mind that Polly looks after me so much."

"But I just got back from studying abroad. My hometown's too far away, and I don't know a soul here."

"Don't worry. Polly just feels sorry for me. Once I get my bearings, I'll move out on my own."

"Move out, nothing!"

"You can stay as long as you like."

Polly shielded him, then rounded on me.

"Joseph, when are you going to stop being so petty? Every time I mention you to people, I'm embarrassed!"

I gripped my glass and stared at her coldly.

"Then tell me. What were the two of you just saying?"

"We were…"

Guilt flickered in Polly's eyes, but she found her explanation at once.

"Caleb's going to handle all the French correspondence for the company from now on. I was just running through some practice with him, so he wouldn't get rusty."

"Joseph, you're letting your imagination run wild again. And here Caleb was just praising you."

Caleb smiled.

"That's right, Joseph. I was just saying how experienced you are, and how much I have to learn from you."

I listened to the lie, my gaze icy.

But I didn't expose them then and there.

The price for betraying me shouldn't come that cheap.

Once before, Polly had brought him home too. Back then there was only a hint of something between them.

If I hadn't understood French, I'd never have known how far it had already gone.

Six years ago.

Polly was still clawing her way up, building the business.

Domestic accounts were tight, and it was my fluent English that landed her a string of major overseas clients.

I also brought in an investment from Huasheng Group, the biggest company in the city.

The thing is, English is the international language, so even though I speak eight languages, English was the only one I ever used in front of her.

And what she knew even less was this.

The former chairman of Huasheng Group was my grandfather.

Before he died, he left instructions that I couldn't take over until I turned thirty.

By now, I'm already thirty-two.

To help Polly, I never went back.

Huasheng's investment in her company runs deep.

It holds forty percent of the shares.

So on paper I'm the head of the foreign trade department at Polly's company.

But in reality.

Polly has been working for me all along.

Right now, I forced myself to stay calm.

I spoke evenly.

"If it's practice, then go ahead and continue."

At that, Caleb smiled at Polly.

"Polly, see, I told you Joseph isn't that petty."

Then he switched back to French.

"Polly, has he always been this easy to fool?"

Polly glanced at me and gave a slight smile.

"Hasn't he ever."

"Back before you graduated, when I brought you home for your internship, he was always making a fuss because we were getting close."

"And a couple of sweet words later, he was fine."

"Remember that one time we got a hotel room, and ran right into him coming out?"

"I told him I was booking a room for a client. He believed it instantly."

"When it comes down to it, he just can't live without me."

Caleb heard her out, then looked at me with real amusement and went on in French:

"Polly, that time we were in bed at your place, I was scared he'd suddenly come home."

"But the way you tell it, even if he really did catch us, would he just take some excuse and believe it?"

"Probably."

"Then once our kid is a little older, I'm going to tell him the story of the cuckold turtle every single day."

The two of them exchanged a look and laughed, watching me the way you'd watch a clown.

After that they kept flirting back and forth for a long while.

I pretended not to understand a word.

Eventually, they must have run out of interest.

Polly switched back to English.

"Caleb, this afternoon let me take you to see the company. It's been a while since you were there."

Then she said to me:

"Joseph, go to the supermarket this afternoon and pick up some Western everyday things. Caleb isn't used to what we have at home."

Then the two of them left.

I quietly brought up the phone I'd left under the table and stopped the recording.

Then I called a number I hadn't dialed in a long time.

"Cole, I'm coming back to Huasheng."