Betrayed by My Trash Husband, Surrender Myself to the Devil-Chapter 30: A Chattering Secretary

Claudia POV

My jaw dropped as I heard whatever insane explanation this woman had given. And the fact that she delivered it with terrifying composure made me wonder if Ray had specifically hired an unhinged woman just to torment me.

Or perhaps Ray knew that he was mentally unstable, so he hired a woman who could connect with him personally.

"Come again?" I asked, just to make sure that I heard it right this time. Jane repeated her explanation without a hiccup.

"I am Mr. Gatlin’s secretary, but starting from now, I’ll be your assistant in this penthouse. You’re free to ask me for anything, and I’ll buy it for you outside. Other than that, I am tasked to keep an eye on you, since Mr. Gatlin said you often have a rebellious streak and are unable to respect the rules he sets."

"Do you not realize how crazy you sound just now?" I asked. "I signed a contract with him, and I agreed to stay inside this penthouse for the time being, but why would I need someone to watch over me like I’m a toddler?"

"Beats me. I’m just following orders, Miss. You are free to file a protest with him later, we’re stuck together for now, though," Jane Jiang shrugged. She walked into the penthouse and looked around in awe, as if she were marveling at a piece of art. "This is the first time I’ve stepped into Mr. Gatlin’s apartment. I didn’t know that he’s into Japanese-style design."

"Don’t lie to me. You are his secretary. What kind of secretary has never visited her boss’s house?" I pointed out.

I remembered Miles’ secretary, a rather tall lady named Penelope. She was already married, but her husband was in the navy and rarely came home. She often came to the house to deliver office documents or for urgent matters.

At that time, I was very wary of her, because Miles and Penelope were always together, so there must have been temptation between them.

Little did I know, Penelope was not the threat. It was my own half-sister whom I hadn’t met for more than a decade who crashed into my life and turned it into a pandemonium once again.

Jane tilted her head to stare back at me. "I mean, have you seen him? Mr. Gatlin doesn’t even talk unless it’s necessary. And if he wants to bring work home, he just tells me to leave the documents in his car."

"And what about you, Miss? I’m surprised that Mr. Gatlin would keep a woman in captivity," Jane giggled. "I guess that’s very on-brand with his personality. So it’s not hard to digest after a moment."

I didn’t know if she was joking or being serious.

Either way, she sounded just as crazy as he was, and I couldn’t help to sneer at both of them.

"Really? Having a married woman trapped inside a penthouse owned by a man is easy for you to digest?" I asked as I crossed my arms. "Now I see why Ray chose you to be his secretary."

"Right? I am the only secretary who lasted more than three months with him," Jane doubled down. "He changes secretaries like he changes his suits. It’s a surprise that none of them became his girlfriend."

I almost scoffed at that last sentence. Because it wasn’t a surprise to me.

When we dated back then, I could see that Ray was unable to love properly. He was like a robot who wrote his own program to ’look’ human, but the more time you spent with him, the more you saw the flaws in his program.

"By the way, Miss Reed. I’ve never heard of you before this, so I was caught off guard when given this task," Jane paused, staring at me with a knowing look before nodding. "I see that he’s got a type."

"A... type?"

"Mhm. Wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, and has a sharp tongue. You’d be surprised how many women he went on dates with who were similar to you," Jane pointed out with her usual fast speech. "So you don’t have to worry about getting trapped here for long. None of the first dates he went on resulted in anything, so he’s probably going to get bored of you and let you leave after a week or two."

"Really? You’re not lying to me, are you?"

"Why would I?" Jane shrugged again, now with a more sinister smile. "I can see that you’re very unwilling, and whatever deal you have with him, it won’t last long. So you can rest easy until he kicks you out."

"That’s... GREAT!" I couldn’t help but show a big smile full of relief in front of Jane, which surprised her. "Oh, thank goodness. I really thought that I’d be stuck here forever. But I can manage to stay here for a month or two until he gets bored."

I noticed the smile on Jane’s lips slowly dimmed, which confused me, because she didn’t seem happy seeing my relief.

Wouldn’t it be good for her? Because I was one hundred percent sure she also hated having to babysit a grown woman like this.

"You’re not that special to him, Miss Reed. You should know that."

I nodded happily, ignoring the sour mood on her face. "Thank you, Jane. Now I feel better about myself. Do you want to have lunch with me? I’m planning to cook something for myself."

...

Jane ignored me and decided to sit at the coffee table and open her laptop, continuing her work and pretending that I wasn’t there.

Meanwhile, I went to the kitchen, humming a little tune as I fantasized about my freedom.

It would be great if what Jane Jiang said was true. In fact, the best scenario I could think of was for Ray to help me with my case and then give me the freedom I needed once the case was over.

By then, I’d escape with Aurora, start over in another state, and use my license as a General Practitioner to get a job in a clinic.

As long as I had my daughter by my side, I didn’t need another man.

I could raise her on my own!