My One-Night Stand Turns Out To Be My Boss?!

It was late at night when Cathleen Gordon encountered the man.

Hours earlier, she had attended the birthday party of her stepsister, Emily Gordon. After only a few drinks, a dizziness soon left her unable to think clearly.

Emily had volunteered to escort her back to the room so she could rest. However, as Cathleen reached the doorway, a stranger approached her.

Everything around Cathleen turned hazy after that.

Cathleen regained consciousness sometime after midnight. Her thoughts remained scattered, and much of what had happened was still unclear. Moments later, she escaped the place and rushed to her best friend Jemma Davis' apartment.

Jemma woke up when she heard the commotion. "Cathleen? What's wrong?"

Cathleen couldn't bring herself to answer. She headed directly into the bathroom and locked the door.

Cathleen eventually stepped out and saw Jemma waiting on the couch. A ring rested between Jemma's fingers. "This is beautiful, and there's no doubt it's designer. How did you end up with something this expensive?"

Cathleen looked away. The truth dawned on her at once. The ring must have belonged to the man, and she had probably taken it by accident in the dark.

She was so flustered that she clung to the first excuse she could think of. "I picked it up from the street. It was so pretty that I couldn't leave it behind."

Jemma smiled. "Since you only found it, does that mean I can have it?"

"Go ahead," Cathleen said in a hollow voice.

"Wait... are you really okay?" Jemma asked.

"There's nothing to worry about. I had too much to drink, so I came here to shower and clear my head," Cathleen said, forcing a casual tone.

Cathleen wanted to bury what happened forever, and she had no intention of ever seeing that man again.

"I need to go home." Worried that Jemma might sense something was wrong, Cathleen quickly left the apartment and returned to Bayshell Villa, where she lived alone-though it was supposed to be her home with her husband.

During her sophomore year of college, Cathleen had been pressured into marrying the son of a wealthy family.

Nothing she had heard about him sounded promising. People claimed he was lazy and lacked ambition. They also said he suffered from poor health and was both short and unattractive. Still, his family had given the Gordons more than a hundred million as a wedding gift.

The enormous amount of money had been enough for the Gordon family to force Cathleen into the marriage.

Three years had passed, yet their marriage existed only on paper. Cathleen and her husband hadn't even met once.

As soon as she entered the villa, the butler came forward. "Mrs. Riley, Mr. Riley is home."

Cathleen's heart started pounding with worry. Her husband's timing couldn't have been worse.

Why had he chosen today to come back?

Cathleen was somewhat flustered. She might not have loved her husband, but she was still his wife. What had happened felt like a betrayal she could never excuse.

The butler looked at her pale face. "Mrs. Riley, is something wrong?"

His question snapped her from her thoughts. "No. I'm fine."

"Mr. Riley asked you to meet him in the study the moment you returned." Once he had delivered the message, the butler walked away.

Cathleen pulled in an unsteady breath before climbing the stairs.

Each step toward the study made her pulse beat faster.

Her husband had left Alobert on their wedding night to establish an overseas branch office. Over the next three years, he hadn't returned or called her even once.

Cathleen had never seen his photograph. She didn't even know his first name.

How would he react when he finally saw her?

After gathering her courage, Cathleen reached for the handle and eased the study door open.

"Is anyone in there? I'm coming in." Cathleen eased the door open and walked inside, but what she found made her stop.

No one was in the study.

Once she reached the desk, a document lying on top immediately caught her attention. It was a divorce agreement.

Cathleen picked it up and found her husband's signature already at the bottom. Once she added her own, their marriage would officially be over.

His name was nothing more than a messy scrawl that she couldn't read.

Another document sat beside the divorce agreement. It promised her a villa, an expensive car, and fifty million in alimony.

Cathleen sighed.

After staying away for three years, her husband had finally returned only to ask for a divorce.

She understood that his family had forced him into the marriage, just as her family had forced her.

Still, couldn't he at least end it face to face?

Her phone suddenly rang.

Dennis Lawson, her husband's lawyer, was calling.

"Did you find the divorce agreement, ma'am?" Dennis asked in a polite but businesslike tone.

Cathleen looked down at the title printed across the cover. "Yes, I'm looking at it now," she replied calmly.

"Mr. Riley has been transferred to the corporate headquarters, so he can't meet you in person. Since neither of you is contesting the divorce, you only need to sign the documents and return them to my office. We'll submit everything to the court, and neither party should need to attend a hearing. If you're satisfied with the settlement, you may also sign the asset transfer agreement," Dennis explained.

Desperation had been the only reason Cathleen accepted the marriage. At the time, she needed money to cover her mother's medical treatment.

Regardless of what her husband wanted, Cathleen had always intended to leave once she graduated, found steady work, and could support herself.

Cathleen drew a breath before answering, "I'll sign the divorce agreement, but I won't accept the settlement."

"Mr. Riley said we could increase the amount if you believe the offer isn't enough..."

She ended the call before Dennis could finish.

After signing the divorce papers, Cathleen returned to her bedroom.

For three years, she had occupied the large master bedroom by herself. Despite living there for so long, she owned very little.

It took Cathleen only a short while to pack her belongings.

She called Jemma and asked, "Could I stay with you for a few days?"

Jemma barely seemed to be listening. "I already gave up my apartment because I'm moving in with my boyfriend. Sorry, Cathleen."

"Boyfriend? When did that happen?"

"I'm really busy right now. I'll explain everything later, alright?" Jemma ended the call before Cathleen could respond.

After putting down her phone, Jemma looked at the well-dressed man who stood across from her. "Let me make sure I understand this. The man was Andrew Riley, the CEO of Riley Group?"

Cole Carter, Andrew's assistant, studied her carefully. "Yes. The ring in your possession was made exclusively for Mr. Riley. No other ring like it exists."

Jemma struggled to hide her excitement.

So Cathleen and Andrew...? That would explain why she had been so nervous and refused to discuss anything that happened the night before.

Now that such an incredible opportunity had fallen into her hands, Jemma had no intention of giving it away.

She needed to be certain. "Does Mr. Riley know I'm the woman he's looking for? Did he see my face last night?"

"Mr. Riley admitted that he never saw the woman's face," Cole replied. "Still, he plans to take responsibility for what happened. Pack your belongings. You'll be staying at his villa from now on."

Andrew hadn't seen Cathleen.

As long as Jemma possessed the ring, nothing else mattered.

"Of course," Jemma said as she struggled to hide her excitement. "I'll start packing now."

She had been handed the chance of a lifetime, and she planned to keep it.

Cole pulled out his phone and called Andrew. "Mr. Riley, I've found the woman from last night. Would you like to meet her?"

Andrew's low voice came through the phone. "I need to stop by Bayshell Villa first. Bring her to my place without me."

At the same time, Cathleen reached the Gordon residence with her luggage.

Her stepmother, Renee Gordon, rushed toward her as soon as she entered. "Where were you last night?"

Cathleen frowned. "Why would I tell you?"

Renee froze for a second before anger colored her entire face. "How could you talk to me like that!"

A hard look settled in Cathleen's eyes. Renee had destroyed her parents' marriage. The heartbreak had worsened her mother's kidney disease, leaving her confined to bed and giving the Gordons another way to control Cathleen.

Once Cathleen got married, Renee and Emily began pretending they all got along whenever her father, Harold Gordon, was around. The moment Harold turned his back, however, they never missed a chance to insult her and make her life miserable.

The argument drew Emily from her bedroom. She smiled cruelly. "Well. Looks like you had quite an evening."

Her words made the truth fall into place. Cathleen said coldly, "So that was your doing."

Renee no longer bothered hiding her satisfaction. "We know exactly what you did last night. If you don't want everyone else finding out, you'll start doing what we say. Or we'll tell your husband."

Everything finally made sense to Cathleen.

Too bad their plan was useless now.

Cathleen looked at the two women with open contempt. "You should've checked your facts before trying to threaten me. My marriage is over, and your little scheme can't be used against me anymore."

All the satisfaction disappeared from Renee's and Emily's faces. Only then did they notice the suitcase Cathleen had brought with her.

Renee's voice rose sharply. "You got divorced? Who gave you permission?"

They had planned to use the scandal to make Cathleen demand more money from her husband.

"What are you all shouting about?" Harold demanded as he walked toward them. Then he turned to Cathleen. "Cathleen, did you really get divorced?"

Cathleen met her father's eyes without hesitation. "Yes, I did. Dad, I'm moving back home."

Renee gave her a scornful look from beside him. "That's not happening. We don't have any room for you here."

"That bedroom belongs to me now. I turned it into a dressing room," Emily added in a cold voice.

"What gave you the right to do that? I grew up here. This is still my home!" Cathleen could hardly keep the anger and disbelief from her voice.

Renee looked at her with contempt. "You married into another family years ago, which means you don't belong here anymore. Why would we keep a room waiting for you?"

Before Cathleen could answer, Harold seized her arm so hard that pain spread through it. "I won't allow this divorce. You're coming with me, and we're going straight back to your husband's house."

After Cathleen's wedding, the Gordon and Riley families had barely kept in contact. Even so, the Rileys never failed to send them expensive gifts during every holiday.

Some of those gifts alone were worth tens of millions.

Their generosity had played a major role in the Gordon family's growing success.

There was no chance Harold would let Cathleen end the marriage and take that wealth away from him.

He hauled her outside while her suitcase jolted along the ground, shoved her into the car, and drove straight to Bayshell Villa.

As soon as Harold dragged her out of the vehicle, Cathleen stopped cold. A polished black limo was parked in the driveway.

Had her ex-husband finally come home?

Humiliation burned through her at the thought of entering the house again. She had just been cast aside, and now her father expected her to crawl back and plead for another chance. Cathleen tore her arm from his hold. "I won't go inside. If you're so desperate for something from him, ask him yourself."

"If you refuse to come inside with me," he warned in a low voice, "I'll stop paying every cent of your mother's medical expenses."

Cathleen drew in a shaky breath.

Years ago, Harold had arranged her marriage and promised to pay all her mother's medical expenses in return. Those had been his exact terms.

Now he intended to go back on his word.

Without regular treatment, her mother wouldn't survive. That truth drained every bit of resistance from Cathleen's body.

Once again, Harold clamped his hand around her wrist. "Start walking," he growled. "When we get inside, you will beg your husband to take you back."