First-Class Vacation for His Parents? His Secretary Had Other Plans Chapter 01

When my in-laws wanted a vacation abroad, my husband, Ryan Carter, booked them first-class tickets and approved a million dollars for the trip. His secretary sent a battered van instead and gave them a hundred bucks.

My father-in-law called me.

“Emma, didn’t you say we were flying first class? Why is there a beat-up van here? And why did they only give us a hundred dollars?”

“A van?”

“That can’t be right. Ryan already bought your first-class tickets. Even your ride to the airport was supposed to be a Rolls-Royce!”

His secretary, Chloe Hayes, snatched the phone from him.

“Emma Bennett, isn’t it enough that you spend Mr. Carter’s money? Now your parents are bleeding him dry, too?”

“He works hard for that money. You people should be grateful for what you get.”

Then she hung up.

When I called back, the phone was off.

She’d mistaken my in-laws for my parents. That explained the wreck of a van and the hundred dollars.

But where was she sending them?

…

I called Ryan right away.

He sounded irritated the moment he picked up.

“Chloe already told me everything. I think she did the right thing.”

“You wanted to pamper your parents, so you lied and said the trip was for mine.”

“You know how much I hate being lied to. If you’d been honest, I would’ve given you the money.”

“I work hard for my money. When I give you something, you and your parents should be grateful.”

“And if I choose not to, I have nothing to feel guilty about.”

For a moment, I was speechless.

“What have you got against my parents?”

“They’ve never asked you for money. If they needed any, they’d come to me.”

“Just like today. Your parents asked you for money, not me.”

“They know I handed the company over to you to run, and that all the household expenses go through you now.”

“If you’re not happy with that, come home and take a break. I’ll go back to running it myself.”

The company wasn’t his alone. I’d built it from the ground up.

But Ryan hadn’t wanted to be a househusband. He said he’d never had the chance to play the big-shot CEO.

He’d coaxed and sweet-talked me into letting him serve as CEO for two more years, promising he’d hand the position back afterward.

I loved him, so I always gave in to him.

After that, our roles reversed.

He took charge of the business and became the breadwinner, while I stayed home.

Every household expense needed his approval. We’d never had so much drama at home until Chloe came along.

As Ryan grew fonder of her, she started handling our household affairs for him, too.

Every request for household money had to go through Chloe.

My monthly household allowance dropped from $50,000 to $5,000, then to just $500.

That didn’t sit right with me, so I went to confront Ryan.

Chloe stopped me outside his office. Anyone who wanted to see Mr. Carter needed an appointment, she said. No exceptions.

I needed an appointment to see my own husband?

In my own company?

I shoved past her without another thought. When Ryan heard about it, he called me petty.

Then I saw a medical report on his desk. Stomach cancer. That was how I learned he was sick.

It was the only reason I’d swallowed my anger over Chloe.

I stopped using the allowance Ryan gave me and started spending my own money.

Then my in-laws called, asking me to get Ryan’s approval for a trip to Valdoria.

And that was how all of this had started.