Chapter 1 The Secret Husband Of Josie

Autumn in Hofcaster was very cold, giving its residents an illusion that winter had arrived overnight.

Josie Yates stood in front of the bus stop sign and listened to the girls gossiping beside her.

"Have you seen the entertainment headlines? Ashley's sugar daddy has been revealed. They came out of a hotel while holding hands intimately!"

"Like I said. She must have a sugar daddy for having so many resources immediately after debuting! This confirms it this time."

"The statement that Ashley's studio gave was also ambiguous. It was along the lines of 'may lovers all over the world live happily ever after.'"

Josie turned on her phone and glanced at the entertainment news splattered across every news website as though wanting the whole world to know about Ashley's benefactor.

Her breathing turned jagged. The second Josie turned off her phone, the screen was drenched with tears.

That photo was taken just right. Even if others couldn't recognize him, she knew him.

It was Henry Gibson. The husband she married secretly three years ago.

"The bus is here! Let's hurry up, or there will be no seats left!"

Josie was pushed into the bus by a group of strangers. Her body had turned stiff from the numbness and was squeezed against the window.

Everywhere in the city was covered with Ashley's endorsements. It showed how much the benefactor behind the popular celebrity was willing to splurge on her.

She glanced ironically at the reflection of herself in the window glass. She looked ridiculous compared with Ashley under the spotlight.

Henry never mentioned Josie to anyone, so no one knew about her existence.

After leaving the house, anything that happened to Josie had nothing to do with Henry, whether she took the bus or ran until she broke her legs. He didn't care about her and wouldn't ask about it.

Josie got off in advance from being pushed by the crowd.

Josie twisted her ankle in the process. Her face paled from the excruciating pain.

A black Maybach passed her by, and Josie knew it was Henry in that car, but he didn't stop. She didn't expect him to stop.

In broad daylight, Henry would leave her dying on the road in order to avoid suspicion.

When she got home, Josie took off her shoes tiredly and examined her red and swollen ankle.

The sudden pricking pain in her stomach almost sent Josie to the floor.

"Where did you go last night?" Sitting on the couch, Henry had changed into his casual clothes as he asked in a cold voice.

"I spent the night at Maddy's house," Josie replied calmly. She wanted nothing more than to go back to her room at that moment.

"Did you see the entertainment news?" Henry took a sip of coffee with a stony face. "Ashley has just debuted in the entertainment industry, so she needs to be in the headlines. Don't take it seriously."

Josie's fingers stiffened as she looked over her shoulder at Henry. "You don't have to explain."

Henry frowned. Displeasure was written all over his handsome face. "Are you angry?"

Josie smiled ironically. "No."

"Josie, I already told you nothing will threaten your status no matter what I do outside." Henry was getting a little impatient.

The women outside were for the sake of socializing. As long as Josie was obedient, she would always be Henry's legal wife.

It was a position many women dreamed of.

Josie's lips curled into a sarcastic smile. The painful pangs in her stomach were getting worse.

Cold sweat soon soaked her hair. Hiding in the room, Josie thought the pain would ebb if she endured it.

However, she felt something wrong with the pain.

She had stayed by Henry's side for three years like a shadow.

Henry only married her for the full inheritance right to Gibson Corporation.

It was ironic that Henry was just the adopted son of the Gibson family.

Yet he was the successor John Gibson had raised.

Josie, on the other hand, was the eldest daughter of the Gibson family.

"Henry..."

Josie couldn't bear the pain in her stomach, so she walked out of the room but fell to the ground.

With her sprained ankle and the pain in her stomach, Josie wanted Henry to take her to the hospital.

"Jo!"

Henry came out of the bathroom and saw Josie on the ground.

"My stomach hurts. Can you..." Josie's voice was trembling. She didn't know what was going on.

However, at that moment, Henry's phone rang, interrupting Josie.

"Mr. Gibson, Ashley has gotten into a car accident!"

Henry's face turned somber. He shot to his feet.

At that moment, Josie saw the panic in Henry's eyes.

"Jo, is it just a stomachache? Go to the hospital by yourself. Something urgent came up at work. I have to go."

In Henry's eyes, Josie was omnipotent. She could handle everything on her own.

Josie stared at Henry as numbness spread through her. She wasn't deaf, so she heard what was said on the phone.

Ashley Long.

That celebrity had a car accident.

Chapter 2 Henry You Prick

"Henry... It hurts bad." Josie's voice was hoarse. She would never trouble Henry under normal circumstances, but the pain was too overwhelming to endure.

"It's just a stomachache. Drink some hot water. A celebrity from my company got into a car accident, so I need to go and check it out. Be good." Henry emphasized the word "be good" and left without another glance.

Unable to take the pain, Josie passed out.

Before losing consciousness, Josie was wondering whether the reason Henry could leave her so readily was due to her sensibility.

Meanwhile, at the Hofcaster Hospital.

Ashley finally came out of the emergency room at twelve o'clock.

Sitting in a wheelchair, Ashley's pretty face was covered with tears.

"Henry, I thought I'd never see you again." With that, tears started streaming down her face.

"What happened?" Henry frowned and questioned Ashley's agent, Thomas Carden.

"The driver was distracted and crashed into the guardrail, but it wasn't a big issue. Only her leg was injured. The doctor had already treated it, so there wouldn't be any scars."

Henry was relieved. "Fire the driver."

"Mr. Gibson, please stay with Ashley for a while longer. She was frightened from the accident." Thomas hurriedly left with the assistant to make space for them to be alone.

Buzz!

Henry's phone kept vibrating.

"Henry, do you have something urgent?" Ashley cried as she held Henry tightly. She was frightened and figured it was a good opportunity to further her relationship with Henry.

"It's nothing." Henry glanced at his phone and noticed it was Josie's number.

Frowning slightly, Henry was surprised by Josie's thoughtlessness.

She would never call him under usual circumstances.

Josie had always been obedient since she was young in Henry's memory.

He didn't have any concept of marriage. With her obedience, sensibility, and unclingy behavior, Josie was a suitable wife candidate.

Moreover, he had a reason to marry Josie.

"But your phone keeps ringing. How about answering the phone first?" Ashley suggested, showcasing her sensibility.

"It's nothing urgent." Henry turned off the phone and took hold of Ashley's wheelchair. "I'll take you home."

"I'm sure there isn't anything serious with Josie," he thought.

"Henry, I'm scared. Can you stay here with me?"

Henry frowned slightly, hesitating over her request.

Ashley was good at acting. She could cry for a long time over a tiny injury to provoke men's sympathy.

Suddenly, Josie flashed across his mind. Josie was so strong that a knife cutting her hand wouldn't break her mask of indifference.

For men, women like Josie were nothing more than wooden puppets.

Unlike Josie, Ashley could provoke men's protective desire to care for her.

"I remember when I cried at night back in the orphanage, you were the one who accompanied me..."

"Okay, I'll stay with you." Henry cut her off. He couldn't refuse her.

As soon as Henry's car left the hospital, an ambulance roared by. He didn't notice the woman the doctor carried down from the ambulance was Josie.

"Jo! Jo!"

Madelyn Hayes wept as she called Henry with Josie's phone, but Henry's phone had been turned off.

There were only a few people who knew about the relationship between Josie and Henry. As Josie's childhood friend, Madelyn was one of them.

"Doctor, please save her!"

Madelyn was in a state of panic. "If Josie hadn't called me with the last of her strength... The consequence would've been disastrous," she thought.

"Patient is going into shock from blood loss. The initial diagnosis is ectopic pregnancy. Where is the patient's family? She has massive abdominal bleeding and needs surgery to remove one of the oviducts. Is she married?" the doctor asked Madelyn when he came out of the operating room.

Madelyn was stunned at the diagnosis and fell to the ground with trembling legs. "Married... She's married, but I can't get through to her husband. Please save her."

"Stop crying. Her life would've been in danger if she had arrived a second later. Does the patient have any history of giving birth?"

Madelyn shook her head with a sob. Henry didn't want a child, so Josie always took contraceptive pills.

"Okay. Find a way to contact the patient's husband."

The doctor didn't say anything more and returned to the operating room.

Madelyn slumped to the ground and continued calling Henry over and over as she cried.

However, his phone was always off.

It was the early morning of the next day.

"Have you seen the news? Ashley reached her peak right after her debut. I heard her benefactor is the CEO of Gibson Corporation."

"They've been on the entertainment headlines these few days. Isn't it already an official announcement when they spent the night in Ashley's apartment?"

Oblivious to Madelyn furiously scrolling through her phone by the hospital bed, the nurses, who had just changed shifts, gossiped excitedly. "Henry, that prick!"

Lying on the hospital bed, Josie slowly opened her eyes.

At that moment, she felt as if she had woken up from a dream.

Chapter 3 She Is Tired

"Jo, you're awake!" Madelyn shot to her feet, and tears flowed from the corners of her eyes.

If the hospital director hadn't agreed to the operation last night, Josie would have died in Henry's absence.

"Oh, my Jo. You don't owe Henry anything."

Josie was the eldest daughter of the Gibson family.

Henry was nothing more than an heir who John adopted.

"Owe..." Josie mumbled with a hoarse voice.

"When Grandpa forced Henry to marry me, I already owed him," she thought.

"But I don't owe him anything anymore now..."

Josie took her mother's family name. Her mother was a dancer with low status, but her father, Hayden, had a crush on her mother.

In that era, parents' orders were absolute commands. John objected to Hayden's marriage to her mother. Despite Hayden's persuasion, the Gibson family members wouldn't let her mother marry into the Gibson family.

Josie was envious of her mother. At least Josie's father didn't give in to the pressure from his family members. He eloped with Josie's mother to a place where no one knew them and lived an ordinary life.

When Josie was 15 years old, her parents had a car accident.

Josie watched her parents die in front of her and hadn't dared to ride alone in private cars ever since.

John found her that year and took her back to the Gibson family.

Even though John didn't like her, she was still the eldest daughter of the Gibson family.

That year when she returned to the Gibson family, John had already been raising Henry as his heir for ten years.

Henry was 18 years old, and Josie was 15 years old.

"Jo, I will protect you from now on."

She looked up into a pair of gentle eyes when she shrunk herself into a ball in a corner of the mansion that unwelcomed her.

Josie fell in love with Henry at first sight.

The ignorant love of youth was like wine. The longer it aged, the better the taste.

Josie was quiet and obedient, so John slowly accepted her.

When John passed away three years ago, Henry was able to manage the Gibson Corporation alone and led it back to its peak in just two years.

From an outsider's perspective, Henry was the favored son and the only heir of the Gibson family.

However, only Josie knew Henry was adopted. If he wanted to gain the full inheritance right to Gibson Corporation, he had to marry her, a woman with the blood of the Gibson family.

Josie guessed that Henry wanted to hide her because her identity was a shame to him.

If everyone knew Josie was the legitimate daughter of the Gibson family, then what was Henry? Did he marry into the Gibson family?

Josie had always been sensible and obedient. She obediently agreed when Henry asked for a secret marriage.

Henry told her to pretend to be strangers if they ever ran into each other outside, so she never mentioned her marriage to anyone.

Henry was nice to her at home. He had never missed an anniversary or birthday in their three years of marriage.

He often said, "Jo, I will give you everything as long as you be good. No one can threaten your status."

However, that was never what Josie desired.

The glory hidden in the shadows of the stars was worthless.

She had loved Henry for close to ten years. During those ten years, she gleefully formed a family with him, thinking someone would finally protect and care for her for the rest of her life.

She was greedy for Henry's warmth to a state where she almost lost herself.

She deceived and immersed herself in the secret dream Henry drew up and refused to wake up.

"Jo, you almost died last night. Yet he was with that celebrity..." Madelyn didn't want to hurt Josie, but she wanted to smother any hope Josie had for Henry.

"He splurges for Ashley but never cares about you! Did you see the necklace Ashley wore around her neck at the film festival a few days ago?" Madelyn pulled up the photos with trembling fingers on her phone. She knew Josie had never looked at them.

Josie felt as though a knife had stabbed into her heart. It didn't bleed, but it hurt.

In the photo, the emerald necklace was a token of love Hayden gave to her mother.

John said that it was reserved for his future daughter-in-law.

Although the Gibson family had never accepted her mother, her father still gave her the necklace.

When her parents passed away, Josie returned the necklace to John.

John probably regarded Henry as his own child, but that necklace was for Henry's future wife.

John thought that it would return to his granddaughter.

Yet he didn't know Henry gave it to a celebrity.

"Ha..." Tears were brimming in Josie's eyes.

She still couldn't capture Henry's heart despite three years of marriage.

"Maddy, I'm so tired."

"I'm exhausted," she thought.

Meanwhile, at the Lake House.

Henry returned home early in the morning after finally coaxing Ashley to sleep. When he got home, he saw the mess and a small patch of blood stain on the ground.

"Jo!" Henry's heart tightened at the sight. He frantically opened the bedroom door but didn't see Josie inside.

Henry turned on his phone in a hurry. When he saw the hundreds of missed calls, he felt coldness engulfing him.

Chapter 4 Divorce

When Henry arrived at Hofcaster Hospital, Josie was lying quietly on the bed, her face pale.

The autumn sun shone on Josie, but she looked so cold.

At that moment, Henry's heart skipped a beat.

Josie looked exhausted, and her face was completely drained of color, like a lifeless body without a soul.

Henry's fingers were numb. He walked slowly to her bedside and whispered, "Jo..."

"Mr. Gibson, you are such a busy man!" Madelyn exclaimed sarcastically as she placed a bowl of oatmeal on the table. "Jo was experiencing an ectopic pregnancy! Where were you last night when she was having severe blood loss and required the signature of a family member? Do you know she almost died at home?"

Henry frowned. Obviously, he didn't like being scolded.

"Maddy, let me talk to him." Josie's voice was hoarse.

Madelyn looked at Josie with reddened eyes and snapped, "He spent the night with that vixen last night! Do you know you almost died, Josie? If you forgive him, I will look down on you!"

"Madelyn Hayes!" Henry's voice was deep and low. It sounded like he was warning Madelyn that his patience was running out.

Josie looked at Henry in despair and scoffed inward bitterly. "She just called her a vixen, but he couldn't stand it, huh?"

"Jo..." Henry turned around and panicked.

"Apologize to Maddy," Josie said flatly. It was the first time she used a commanding tone with Henry.

Henry was stunned. He had never seen Josie act in such a way before.

Since Josie returned to the Gibson family at the age of 15, she had been as gentle as a rabbit.

She wouldn't bite or cry.

"Sorry, I'm being impatient," Henry apologized to Madelyn obediently.

Madelyn snorted, turned around, and left.

"Don't take anything they say online seriously, Jo. My phone was turned off last night. There's nothing between Ashley and me." Henry tried to coax Josie.

He was very good at that because Josie was very easy to coax. She would immediately become obedient after coaxing.

"Henry, let's get a divorce."

The atmosphere in the ward seemed to have stiffened, and Josie could hear Henry's heartbeat.

How ironic it was that Henry's heart was, unfortunately, not beating for her.

"Josie, don't be angry with me and ask for a divorce. You know I'm not going to divorce you. I know you've been wronged and aren't feeling well right now. Rest well, and I'll give you whatever you want. We'll discuss it again when you're feeling better."

Henry was very rational. He was calm, and his words were confident as if he were talking about business or a bet.

Josie stared at Henry's eyes in despair. She wanted to make herself feel heartbroken so that she could give up Henry thoroughly.

"Okay, but you have to let Ashley stay in the shadows. I don't want to hear anything about her from anywhere." Josie was negotiating with Henry.

"Josie!" Henry frowned and felt that Josie was extremely unsensible today.

Henry didn't want to provoke Josie, so he took a deep breath and uttered, "Take a good rest. I will ask my assistant to take care of you."

With that, Henry left without looking back.

Meanwhile, Josie sat quietly, her hands clenched so hard that they bled. She had waited a long time, but Henry never talked about her pregnancy.

Even if it was an ectopic pregnancy, Josie was still pregnant with Henry's baby.

Josie stayed in the hospital for half a month; however, Henry only came in twice.

In the meantime, Josie didn't say a word to Henry. She remained still and listened to the patient in the bed next to her talk about their parents and family as she lay silently. She felt sad and alone.

During that period, Henry wanted Josie to transfer to the VIP ward. It was quiet there, and he could frequently come to accompany her. After all, it was inconvenient for him to go if outsiders were in the ward.

However, Josie refused. She was afraid of loneliness.

"Ms. Yates, Ms. Hayes said she would come to pick you up this afternoon," said Henry's assistant. She was always in the hospital.

Josie lowered her gaze and weakly asked, "Where is Henry?"

"He doesn't even want to come when I'm discharged?" she wondered.

"Mr. Gibson wants you discharged from the hospital tomorrow. Today..." The assistant hesitated. She couldn't bear to say it.

"Tell me..."

The assistant glanced at Josie carefully and stated, "Today is Ms. Long's birthday party. She invited many big shots of the industry. She can't deal with them alone if Mr. Gibson doesn't go."