I’m No Longer His Secret Novel by Briar Delaney _ Novel





I’m No Longer His Secret Chapter 01

I had been Dashiell Hudson's secret lover for four years.
He paid my tuition. I paid him back with my body.
The day we ended things, he lit a cigarette while the sheets were still warm and said, "I'm getting engaged. Be good. Don’t make this ugly."
I nodded. "Don't worry. I'm going abroad for grad school."
He looked faintly annoyed, then let out a low sneer. "That's probably for the best. Four years with the same girl is long enough. I need something new."
Years later, we met again—this time, he was my boss.
In public, he stayed calm and distant.
But in private, he cornered me in a dim hallway and pressed a hotel key card into my hand.
"One more time?"
I shook my head and smiled. "Sorry. I've changed my type. Guys over 20 aren't my cup of tea anymore."
***
I never expected to run into Dashiell at the company's annual party.
He sat at the head table, looking sharp and untouchable, surrounded by a sea of smiling, sycophantic faces.
My supervisor, Alvin Jones, pushed me forward. "Bridgette, that's the big boss who acquired our company. This is your chance to make an impression. Go say hello."
I tightened my grip on my glass, fingers stiff.
"Mr. Hudson, this is Ms. Thomas, our planning manager. She’s an Ivy League graduate and one of our strongest planning managers—"
Only then did Dashiell look up. His gaze brushed over my face, lingered for half a second, then moved on.
"Really?" he said with a faint smile, like he didn't believe it.
To him, I would always be the poor village girl who couldn’t even pay for school.
Alvin gave me a nudge. "Bridgette, go make a toast to Mr. Hudson."
I bit my lip, about to raise my glass.
"No need," Dashiell blurted. "She's allergic to alcohol."
My chest tightened.
Years ago, his friends had pressured him to drink. I stepped in and took a glass for him. My face flushed almost instantly.
He pinched my cheek and laughed. "One drink and you’re already burning up. You’re allergic, silly.
"No drinking when I'm not around, got it?"
Alvin froze. "Mr. Hudson...you know each other?"
Dashiell said nothing. He would never admit what I had been to him, and I had no intention of bringing it up.
I smiled and covered for him. "Mr. Hudson's family sponsored my education back then. I've always been grateful.
"Cheers!" I raised my glass and drained the wine in one go.
His brows drew together.
In truth, during the years we'd been apart, I'd drunk a lot. My tolerance had grown. And alcohol didn’t affect me the way it used to.
He looked at me, his eyes darkening. Then he looked away and said to Alvin, "Bridgette can be stubborn. Take good care of her, Mr. Jones."
Alvin nodded fast. "Of course. She’s one of our best."
I stopped listening, made an excuse, and slipped away to the restroom.
In the hallway, some coworkers came over.
"Bree, that's Mr. Hudson. How do you know him?"
"I heard his fiancée is from the Evans family. When are they getting married?"
"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "His family sponsored my education years ago. That’s all."
I hadn't expected him to be the one who acquired our company.
He was supposed to follow the future his father, Matthew Hudson, had laid out for him. I didn't know why he'd gone into business instead.
They kept asking.
"Bree, was he super popular in school?"
"Did he have girlfriends? I bet tons of girls had crushes on him, right?"
I glanced at him in the distance.
Even after all these years, he was still the kind of man every room seemed to bend around.

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