Lahat ng Kabanata ng DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

My husband always had a thing for his secretaries. Some men liked older women, some men had no control of who they slept with, some liked them short, some tall, but my husband... my husband liked his secretaries. And he changed them like ragdolls whenever he was done with them. With the first two women, I thought his affairs were mistakes... Just an urge he had those two moments. But the third time, I found out it was a pattern. "You should be grateful I only cheat with my secretaries." That was what he'd said to me when I caught him in his office. You'd think I'd have left after that, or the fourth or fifth one, but I hadn't. I loved him too much to leave, and I thought that if I loved him hard enough, my love was going to make him change... Maybe he was even going to go back to his past, loving self. It got to a point, I learned to ignore. I even started deleting the pictures of his affairs that an anonymous account always sent to me. As long as he came back to me at the

~~Brandon~~I never attended events with partners.That rule was there for a reason, and has never been bent. Not for convenience, not for appearances, not for pressure. It kept expectations low and helped me avoid the whole female drama. You take one to an important gathering, and suddenly, you guys become inevitable. I would've known, I'd learned the hard—and uncomfortable—way. Plus, people speculated less when you gave them nothing to work with.Which was why I knew something was wrong the moment my grandfather summoned me privately.Victor poured two glasses of whiskey and handed me one.“You’ll escort her tomorrow,” he said as soon as I met him in his home office.He'd sprung up the information on me minutes ago, and he expected me to be fine with it so easily. Meanwhile, he knew my golden rule. Luckily, I knew how to let only the emotions I wanted to show on my face. As much as it annoyed me, it wasn't Joan's fault my grandad felt entitled enough to think he could control my a

As I returned to the ballroom, I lingered at the entrance for a brief moment, letting calm wash over me and my composure slide back into place like a perfectly fitted mask. I'd spent hours, days—months—calculating, scheming, and I wasn't going to let a little glitch ruin the sequence of my plans.I lifted my chin and walked forward, painfully aware of how many eyes tracked my movement. Some watched with curiosity, some with intrigue, some with suspicion... And some, like my ex-husband’s, burned with resentment.If I let myself admit it, I enjoyed the attention. I was going to love it even more when everyone found out who I really was. Brandon noticed me before I even reached the table. His posture shifted subtly, his chair moving to give me space as I slid back into my seat. His eyes lingered on me for a second longer than necessary. “Everything okay?” he asked quietly, just for me.I nodded, smoothing my dress as though I hadn’t just come face-to-face with the woman who had replac

~~Dean~~It was two days after the ball, and I was still thinking about her.No, not thinking.Fuming. I was fuming over her. She was nothing before she disappeared five years ago, but now she was back, and every news outlet that mattered had talked about her. Her name was on the lips of every client, every colleague, and even my employees. It was almost like she had bewitched them. I could tolerate it when everyone talked about her false persona, the Ice Queen. I hated her then, even without knowing who she was. But now, her identity was finally out, and it was like the noise around her intensified. Joan Lancaster, a woman who was formerly at my mercy. If I'd known she was going to become someone important, I would have kept her on the leash, which I called marriage. I wouldn't have divorced her that night. 'Fast-Risen Corporate Guru, The Ice Queen's identity finally revealed. Joan Lancaster spotted with Brandon Hamilton at the annual corporate gala. Now that the Ice Queen's ide

~~Joan~~It was only mid-afternoon, but I was done for the day. That was one thing I enjoyed about being my own boss. I could leave whenever I wanted, and no one could question me. However, I wasn't just leaving because I felt like it, but because I intended to spend the day with Kai. His school began the next week, and with my going into work full-swing we weren't going to spend as much time together until his next holiday. Kai kicked his shoes against the leather as the car rolled out of the Loop and into slower traffic. "Mama," he said, looking up at me. "How many offices do you have?" I blinked at the question, surprised, but mostly amused. "Just one. Why?" "I saw you coming out of the other building, even though you said you were going into the first one." I smiled. "Sometimes Mama has business to do in other places. Just like that one." His lips pursed as he considered my answer. "Did you finish your business?" "Yeah, baby. I did." I left the entire board in a confuse