I Stopped Fighting For My Husband and He Panicked Chapter 03

I nearly jumped out of my skin, but I didn’t have time to argue with Tristan. I rushed through my morning routine, grabbed my jacket, and bolted for the door.

I’d calculated my commute down to the minute. If I left at this time, I could catch the subway, grab a Lime scooter right outside the station, and make it through the office doors at exactly 8:59 a.m.

Except when I ran outside, I found the driver already waiting at the curb.

Tristan emerged behind me, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. His expression was unreadable as he said, “Have the driver take you.”

I accepted his offer in approximately 0.01 seconds.

The back of the SUV was spacious and comfortable. Best of all, I could catch up on some much-needed sleep.

I had just closed my eyes, ready to enjoy a peaceful nap, when Tristan climbed into the car after me.

My eyes flew open.

He immediately caught on to what I was thinking and cut me off before I could say a word. “It’s my car, my driver, and I’m going to the office too.”

Once again, I was left speechless.

I checked the time. There was no way I’d make it to the subway station now, so I resigned myself to my fate and settled in for the ride with Tristan.

Neither of us spoke the entire way.

We were still two intersections from the office when I suddenly shouted, “Stop the car!”

The driver slammed on the brakes.

Tristan’s eyes snapped open. Clearly annoyed, he ordered, “Keep driving.”

I immediately put on my most ingratiating smile. “Mr. Hayes, think about it. If we show up at the office together, people are going to start talking. Ivy might hear the rumors and get upset. Why don’t we arrive separately? Could you please have the driver open the door?”

Tristan’s anger flared.

He was just about to remind me that we were legally married, so what exactly did we have to hide?

But before he could get a word out, I’d already pushed open the door.

I hopped out, hurried to the corner, pulled out my phone, and unlocked a Lime scooter like I’d done a thousand times before.

Tristan watched me disappear down the street before losing his temper and kicking the back of the driver’s seat.

“Why did you let her out?”

The driver looked bewildered. “Mr. Hayes, didn’t you specifically tell me to keep everyone at the company from finding out you were married?”

Tristan fell silent.

As he stared at my retreating figure, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was slipping out of his control.

The morning meeting went smoothly. Afterward, Paige Gallagher, one of my closest coworkers, came over to congratulate me.

“Vivian, you’re finally getting to lead a project on your own! You’ve made more progress this year than anyone else on the team.”

Her words touched me more than I expected.

“I couldn’t have done it without you and Hailey. I honestly don’t know where I’d be without you two.”

My parents had named me Vivian because they wanted me to live a vibrant, carefree life, always passionate about whatever the world had to offer. As long as they were alive, they’d made sure that was exactly the life I had.

Then they died in an accident, and Harrington Group collapsed soon afterward.

That was when Tristan came into my life.

He hadn’t called off our families’ arranged marriage just because I’d lost my parents. If anything, he’d spoiled me even more, treating me like I could do no wrong.

I’d grown up wanting for nothing. Food, clothes, a place to live. I’d never had to struggle for any of it, and as a result, I was practically helpless when it came to the real world.

I didn’t even know how to put together a basic PowerPoint presentation.

Hailey Brooks, my supervisor, had taken one look at my first attempt and torn it to shreds. She’d ripped into me so badly that I could barely hold back my tears.

I ran back to my desk and cried my eyes out. Paige, who sat right beside me, eventually got so fed up with my sniffling that she came over with a dark look on her face and taught me how to do it properly.

That was how the two of them whipped me into shape. Hailey tore into my mistakes, and Paige patiently showed me how to fix them. Between the two of them, I grew at a pace I never would have thought possible.

Now, Paige didn’t need to teach me anything anymore. Sometimes, I was even the one offering her advice. Hailey had stopped criticizing my work, too. These days, she praised my eye for design and my creativity instead.

If I’d managed to find my footing in the corporate world, it was all thanks to them.

Paige leaned over from the next desk, her expression turning conspiratorial.

“Okay, Vivian. Be honest with me. Was Mr. Hayes really asking you to help him pick out Ivy’s birthday present yesterday?”