Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

"Okay, go on up."

"Drive safe."

Nancy Hughes got out of the car and walked into her apartment building without a backward glance.

Even after going upstairs, Nancy Hughes still felt like it was all a dream.

She hurried up the stairs, ran to the window, and looked down.

Dylan Heston’s car was still parked where he had left it. Feeling as if the man inside was watching her, she guiltily pulled her head back.

’Why hasn’t he left yet?’

At her feet, Blue was rubbing against her ankles, meowing insistently.

Nancy Hughes crouched down and scooped up the fat white cat. "Your mom ran off to Akashima and left you behind. What’s the use of crying to me? Look how fat you are, you’re like a little pig!"

Blue struggled in her arms, meowing loudly as if to protest its dissatisfaction with Nancy Hughes.

"You’re going hungry tonight so you can lose some weight!" Nancy Hughes let go, and Blue jumped to the floor, still following her every step, pestering her for food.

Nancy Hughes’s stomach rumbled with hunger too, so she rummaged through the refrigerator.

It was completely, utterly empty.

Blue’s fat body was surprisingly agile. With a light leap, it jumped onto the table and meowed in Nancy Hughes’s ear.

"Stop meowing! I’m going to the supermarket to buy us some food!" Nancy Hughes squeezed its cheeks.

Blue kept meowing, its sharp cries grating on her nerves.

Standing by the window, she wondered if he had left yet.

She stroked Blue’s soft fur, again and again. "Blue, why do you think he brought me home?"

’Something feels off.’

She stared into space, holding the cat, until her stomach rumbled loudly again, finally jolting her sluggish mind back to reality.

’Why do I keep thinking about Dylan Heston!’

’It’s very possible Dylan Heston is just a good person, a gentleman, and that’s all there is to it.’

She pinched Blue’s face. "I’m going to buy cat food for Your Majesty. You be a good boy while I’m gone."

With a casual release, Blue jumped down from her lap. She grabbed her wallet and headed out.

The night wind was strong, whipping against her body with a WHOOSH.

Her scarf and hat covered her face well, leaving only her round, almond-shaped eyes exposed.

There was a supermarket near her apartment. Ever since Georgia Thorne went abroad, she’d had no choice but to cook for herself.

But more often than not, she preferred to just have a pack of instant noodles for dinner.

Her cooking skills were so terrible that even she didn’t want to eat her own food.

At this hour, the supermarket was crowded and bustling.

Nancy Hughes pushed a cart, quickly selecting the items she needed. As usual, her cart was filled mostly with instant noodles of all different flavors.

Then she bought a large bag of the most expensive cat food in the store.

Her own food wasn’t even as expensive as the cat food. It pained her to pay at the register.

Her hectic work life was suffocating, but thankfully, this busy period only lasted for about a week at the start of the year.

Afterward, her workload gradually decreased, and she began to feel relatively more relaxed.

A rainy weekend was even more perfect for sleeping in.

Nancy Hughes was burrowed in her warm blankets. She had only just dozed off again when, at seven o’clock, the phone on her nightstand suddenly vibrated, jolting her awake.

The call was from Julian Caldwell. He said Zoey Zane had collapsed while doing chores at home. She had been taken to the hospital and diagnosed with lung cancer.

The news sent a jolt of terror through Nancy Hughes, scaring her out of her wits. "How could that be!"

Julian Caldwell told her to hurry home—and to bring some money with her.

She had already given them all of her savings before she returned to the city. This month’s salary hadn’t been paid yet; where was she supposed to get that much money?

A hospital stay wasn’t something that could be covered with a small amount of money.

They had been classmates for four years in college, but they had hardly spoken. How could she have the nerve to ask them for a loan? Besides, she had lost contact with all of them since graduation.

After racking her brain, the only person she could think of was Georgia Thorne.

When Nancy Hughes frantically called Georgia Thorne, Georgia was at her part-time job.

She heard her handle a customer in fluent Japanese before switching to Chinese to ask, "Hey, what’s up? Is something wrong?"

The words "I need to borrow money" were stuck in her throat. She was broke, and Georgia was even more so.

The cost of living in Akashima was high, and besides her studies, she had to work part-time to make ends meet.

"No, nothing! I was just calling to see how you were doing," she lied.

Georgia Thorne chuckled. "Oh? Since when did you care about little old me?"

"Georgia, I’ve got something to do, so I have to go!" After hanging up, her mind raced, searching for names. There was only one person left she could possibly borrow money from—him.

She opened her contacts, mustered her courage to pull up Zane Lennox’s number, and hesitated for over ten seconds before her trembling finger pressed the call button.

The phone rang a few times before Zane Lennox picked up. His voice was clear. "Hello?"

Nancy Hughes hadn’t expected him to actually answer her call. Her heart leaped into her throat.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"...Um, it’s me, Nancy Hughes," she answered meekly.

"Nancy Hughes?" His voice rose in volume. Nancy could almost picture Zane Lennox on the other end, frowning in anger. "How did you get my number!"

"I..." A lump formed in Nancy Hughes’s throat. The man on the other end continued, "Nancy Hughes, will you ever give up? I told you I don’t like you. Don’t you dare—"

He didn’t get to finish the word "pester" before Nancy Hughes hung up the phone.

Her heart throbbed with pain. ’Well, I brought this on myself.’

’I messed up again.’

On the other end of the line, Zane Lennox was slightly surprised. Nancy Hughes had actually hung up on him. ’Since when did she learn to throw a tantrum?’

Nancy Hughes was desperate for money. She only had a few dozen dollars left in her bank account, and with the three hundred in cash she had on her, it wasn’t even enough for a ticket home.

After thinking it over, her only option was to ask Gwen Gunn for a loan.

Gwen Gunn had always treated her well. When she heard Nancy needed money, she didn’t hesitate, simply asking how much she needed without questioning what it was for.

Nancy Hughes asked for ten thousand, and Gwen Gunn promptly transferred the money to her.

As soon as she received the text confirmation, she immediately called Gwen Gunn. "Thank you, Ms. Gunn. I’ll pay you back as soon as I can."

"It’s nothing. We all have emergencies when we’re living on our own. If you need more money, just let me know."

"Thank you, Ms. Gunn."

Nancy Hughes bought a ticket for the fastest train home and requested a week’s leave from her company.

She spent a sleepless night on the bumpy train, sick with worry.

Upon arriving at the station, she rushed straight to the hospital.

Zoey Zane’s condition was severe. After one night in the local town hospital, she was immediately transferred to a major city hospital the next morning for treatment.

The major hospital had better medical equipment, and its doctors were more specialized in the field.

Zoey Zane hadn’t woken up yet. She had undergone surgery, and her face was pale as she struggled to breathe through an oxygen mask.

Nancy Hughes stood anxiously outside the observation window, her heart aching as she watched. She asked Julian Caldwell, "What did the doctor say?"

Julian Caldwell sighed helplessly. "This doctor hasn’t said much, just told us to prepare for the worst."

Zoey Zane had always been relatively healthy, with no warning signs. It was a mystery how she had suddenly gotten cancer.

Nancy Hughes’s expression turned grim. ’If only she had listened to me and gone for a check-up over the New Year, maybe there would have been some hope.’

Zoey Zane had just been transferred that morning, and the hospital admission hadn’t been processed yet.

When a nurse came to inform them, Julian Caldwell looked embarrassed. "Your mom’s illness came on so suddenly. I was in such a panic that I forgot to bring any money!"

She had left them about ten thousand, money she had painstakingly saved by skimping on her own food and expenses.

"You watch my mom. I’ll go take care of it," Nancy Hughes instructed Julian Caldwell uneasily before following the nurse.

Zoey Zane was still in a coma. Nancy Hughes paid the hospital admission fee and the cost of her medication.

After just one night, the ten thousand had already dwindled to just over five thousand. Nancy Hughes’s heart pounded with a dull dread.

Clearly, ten thousand was nowhere near enough.

Zoey Zane woke up in the afternoon. When she saw her daughter sitting by her side, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

"Mom, are you thirsty? Do you want some water?" Nancy Hughes stood up nervously. Zoey Zane’s voice was a faint whisper; she could barely speak.

She shook her head and reached out to grab her hand. Nancy Hughes immediately grasped her wrist. "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Should I go get the doctor?"

Nancy Hughes had thought the bond with her mother had faded, but at this moment, she realized that regardless of whether their family was still intact, Zoey Zane was still her mother.

The ties of blood could not be severed.

By evening, Zoey Zane had regained some strength and began to speak slowly.

Her first words were a complaint directed at her daughter. "Why did you come back?"

"I heard from Mr. Caldwell that you were sick, so I rushed back."

"I’m fine now. You should go back. Don’t let this interfere with your work," Zoey Zane urged her to leave.

Nancy Hughes immediately broke down in tears. "How can you be fine? You had surgery! You’re in the hospital!"

Late-stage lung cancer. Just hearing those words was terrifying.

Zoey Zane was the only family she had left. If even her mother was gone, she would be truly all alone in the world.

Zoey Zane stayed in the hospital for two days, and Nancy Hughes stayed by her side for both nights.

She was too worried to sleep at night, waking up several times to check if Zoey Zane was all right.

Back home, Riley Caldwell still had to go to school, so Julian Caldwell went back the next day to look after him, sending Lana Caldwell to take his place at the hospital.

Lana Caldwell arrived, saw Nancy Hughes bustling about the hospital room, shot her a cold, arrogant glare, then plopped down in a chair, crossed her legs, and started playing on her phone.

Zoey Zane still couldn’t get out of bed. "Lana, has Spencer been behaving himself these past few days?"

"He’s been fine."

"And how have you all been eating? Do you need Mom to come home and cook for you?"

Nancy Hughes overheard their conversation as she came out of the restroom. "Mom, you’re not well yet. You can’t leave the hospital!"

"I’m not in pain anymore. I’m fine!" Zoey Zane felt completely ill at ease staying there.

’This hospital is decorated so beautifully; I can’t imagine how much it costs to stay here.’

’Sigh. Where were they going to get that much money for treatment?’

But Nancy Hughes was stubborn. No matter what Zoey Zane said, she refused to budge on the issue of her being discharged.

During the lunch hour, while out buying a meal for Zoey Zane, Nancy Hughes stopped by the doctor’s office.

The ten thousand she had deposited was already gone. The doctor asked if she wanted to temporarily stop the medication until she could add more funds to the account.

Nancy Hughes refused without a second thought. "No, continue the medication. I’ll find a way to get the money very soon."

Medical bills were a bottomless pit, but no matter how deep that pit was, she had to keep filling it.