I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 239

Arianna thought she’d finally met a good guy. For once, it felt like the universe was cutting her a break.

But on Steven Wright’s birthday, she found out the truth he’d been hiding.

When Natalie saw the sadness in Arianna’s eyes, her own heart twisted with pain. “Arianna, why didn’t you tell me sooner? And just now, you acted like nothing was wrong… Why didn’t you just call him out on it?”

Natalie couldn’t wrap her head around it. Arianna already knew Steven was seeing someone else, so how could she keep her cool like that?

Arianna looked away. “The woman who introduced us is my mom’s friend. And in my family, there’s this old-school rule. No matter what happens, the woman should just grin and bear it. The worst thing is to let the man look bad.”

That was why she’d stayed quiet, even after she found out about Steven’s cheating.

Natalie was stunned. She couldn’t believe people still followed traditions like that. But right now, none of that mattered. “So, what, you’re just going to keep pretending everything’s fine until he dumps you?”

Natalie remembered the video she’d seen and almost blurted out that Steven actually had two other women.

Arianna shook her head. “No, of course not. Tonight was me giving him one last shot. If he’d stopped seeing her, maybe I could’ve let it slide. Honestly, he’s been good to me.”

She tried to smile, but it just made Natalie feel worse. “Arianna, have you ever thought maybe he’s being just as nice to them? He’s not worth it.”

Arianna went silent, staring at her own hands. For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Arianna’s voice broke the silence. “Natalie, do you remember when I told you there was someone I liked?”

He said, “Don’t worry. Did you save your file anywhere else, like the cloud?” His voice was calm and reassuring, like none of this was a big deal. It helped her steady her breathing.

That’s when she remembered she’d backed up the file online. She’d just been too stressed to think clearly.

She thanked him over and over. He smiled and said, “Your laptop’s out of commission. Use mine for now.” He talked quietly to someone nearby, nodded at her, and walked away.

A few minutes later, someone brought her a new laptop.

When the meeting started, Arianna walked into the conference room with the borrowed laptop and took a seat in the back. She glanced toward the front of the room… and there he was, the same man who had helped her, sitting at the head of the table in the CEO’s chair.