I Let Him Keep Everything But His Pride Novel – I had been married to Lewis Carter for three years. He was 35, while I was not yet 21—still a senior in college. I hadn’t decided yet if I wanted to become a full-time housewife. Then one day, I overheard him chatting with a group of industry elites. He laughed and said, “Emily’s only asset is her youth. Compared to her, Victoria is far more refined and intelligent.
Honestly, I regret getting married. Keeping a young woman on the side would’ve cost me a lot less, but divorcing now would be a financial disaster.” The moment I heard that, I handed him the divorce papers. When he saw the document in black and white stating I’d get nothing in the divorce, he let out a long sigh of relief. Then, pretending to be generous, he said, “I’ll transfer twenty million dollars to you, consider it a parting gift.” I smiled and declined. “I’m still young, I can afford to take the loss.” What he didn’t know was that my brother, Andrew Johnson, was a scion of New York’s upper crust.
Everything Lewis had achieved, every step he’d taken into that elite world, was thanks to Andrew’s support. Now that we were getting divorced, his downfall was just beginning. *** During my senior-year internship, I made a firm decision to join Lewis’s company, simply so I could see my handsome husband a little more every day. As a regular low-level intern, I kept my head down. I was so discreet that Lewis didn’t even realize I had joined the company. I didn’t want to bother him or become a distraction.
Sometimes, I overheard the other interns from my batch talking about him. I just listened quietly and never said a word. “Mr. Lewis is seriously attractive. Thirty-five is a man’s prime.” “Too bad he’s married. And from what I’ve heard, he married some unknown girl with no notable background.” “Why couldn’t I be that lucky?” When I was eighteen, Lewis had made his intentions clear the moment he started courting me. On the very first day he confessed, he told me he was looking to marry.
He gave me a diamond ring on the spot. I responded with full-hearted passion. We dated for a year and got our marriage certificate. It was impulsive, intense, and sweet. He gave me a kind of dreamlike love I’d never imagined possible. The kind of love only a domineering CEO could give—direct, overwhelming, and all-consuming, leaving me so dazed that I couldn’t think straight. If I hadn’t taken the internship at his company, I might have never discovered what he was hiding. Victoria Blake—Lewis’s secretary. Sexy, elegant, the definition of a mature woman.
She accompanied him on all his business trips, and attended every networking event by his side. She took charge of practically every aspect of the company, sometimes she seemed to know more about its operations than Lewis himself. Before anyone at the company found out Lewis was married, everyone just assumed Victoria was his wife. Even in the cafeteria, I often heard long-time employees who’d worked with Victoria complain, “Mr. Lewis must be blind. How could he not treasure a knockout like Victoria?” “She gave up an executive position at a publicly listed company to become his secretary.” “Just wait.
Once the excitement fades, Mr. Lewis is bound to divorce and end up with Victoria.” There were plenty of rumors. I didn’t take them seriously. After all, Lewis and I were still passionately in love, night after night. Until one night, during a company dinner, Victoria got drunk and confessed her feelings to Lewis in front of everyone. Well, it wasn’t so much a confession as it was forcing him to choose. She asked him straight out if he had feelings for her. Lewis stayed silent for a long time. Then she asked again, “If you don’t care about me, why haven’t you approved my resignation letter?” His face grew heavy, and he finally said one word.