The CEO’s Masked Secret Wife novel Chapter 68

68 The Girlfriend Club’s Gambit

68 The Girlfriend Club’s Gambit

## Liam’s POV 1

I woke up feeling more complete than I had in months. My arms were wrapped around Hazel, her warm body pressed against mine. Last night had been incredible- passionate, raw, and honest. My chest tightened with emotion as I watched her sleep. This was where she belonged. With me.

But when I reached over to pull her closer, my arms found only empty sheets.

“Hazel?” I sat up quickly, scanning my bedroom.

She was gone.

My heart pounded as I leapt out of bed, calling her name. The bathroom was empty. So was the kitchen. My entire penthouse echoed with her absence.

That’s when I saw it-a folded note on the kitchen counter next to a half-empty cup of coffee. I grabbed it, my hands shaking slightly.

*Liam,*

*Last night was everything I’ve been missing. I do love you-I never stopped. But we can’t erase what happened or who we are now. I need time and space. Please respect that.*

*-H*

I read it three times, emotions warring inside me. She loved me. She admitted it. But she was still walking away.

“Dammit, Hazel!” I slammed my fist against the counter.

I grabbed my phone and dialed her number. Straight to voicemail. I tried again. Same result.

This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

I showered quickly, my mind racing through strategies. If direct approach wouldn’t work, I needed reinforcements. I scrolled through my contacts and fired off a text to my closest friends: *Emergency meeting. My place. One hour.*

12:18)

1/6

68 The Girlfriend Club’s Gambit

Within sixty minutes, my living room filled with confused faces. Damian arrived first, followed by Adrian, then Owen and Noah.

“This better be important,” Damian said, eyeing me carefully. “You look like hell, man.”

I paced back and forth, running my hands through my still-damp hair. “Hazel’s gone.”

Noah frowned. “Gone? As in…?”

“As in I woke up and she’d left.” I thrust the note at them. “She loves me but she’s

walking away.”

Adrian read the note, then passed it to the others. “At least she admitted she loves you. That’s something”

“Not enough.” I sank onto my couch. “I need her back. I need her to forgive me.”

Owen, always the practical one, crossed his arms. “Did she say what she needs from you specifically?”

“Time and space,” I muttered. “But I’ve given her months of that already.”

“No,” Damian contradicted. “You’ve been pursuing her relentlessly for months. That’s different.”

I glared at him. “Whose side are you on?”

E

“Yours, obviously.” He sighed. “Which is why I’m telling you that your approach isn’t

working.”

Noah had been unusually quiet, fidgeting with his phone. Now he looked up with a grimace. “Guys, I think there’s something you should know.”

All eyes turned to him.

“Chloe just texted me.” He held up his phone. “Apparently Hazel called an emergency meeting with the girls this morning. They’re at Chloe’s place now.”

“What are they saying?” I demanded.

Noah hesitated. “I don’t know exactly, but…” He paused, looking uncomfortable. “Chloe’s been playing you, man.”

“What?”

12.18

2/6

“She’s been reporting everything back to Hazel. All your attempts to win her back, all your grand gestures-Hazel’s known about them in advance.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?”

Damian let out a low whistle. “So all those times Chloe was giving you ‘advice’ on how to approach Hazel…”

“She was setting me up to grovel,” I finished, a sinking feeling in my stomach.

Adrian shook his head. “That’s cold.”

“No, that’s strategic,” Owen corrected. “Chloe’s been operating as a double agent. Honestly, it’s kind of brilliant.”

I shot him a withering look. “Not helping.”

Noah looked miserable. “There’s more. Apparently, they have some kind of ‘girlfriend club’ pact.”

“A what?” Damian asked.

“A solidarity agreement. If one of us hurts any of them, they all band together against all of us.”

The implications hit me like a truck. “Wait-you’re saying because I hurt Hazel, all your girlfriends are punishing you guys too?”

The guilty looks on their faces confirmed it.

“Why didn’t any of you tell me this was happening?” I demanded.

Owen shifted uncomfortably. “We thought you had enough on your plate with trying

to win Hazel back.”

“Plus,” Adrian added, “we’ve been dealing with our own fallout. Every time you make a move that backfires with Hazel, we all suffer.”

“That’s why we’ve been so invested in helping you fix things,” Damian admitted. “It’s not just about you and Hazel anymore. It’s about all our relationships.”

My head was spinning. “So every time I tried to surprise Hazel or convince her to talk

to me…”

12:18

316

68 The Girlfriend Club’s Gan

“She already knew it was coming,” Noah confirmed. “And when it didn’t work out the way she wanted, all our girlfriends went cold on us too.”

“That’s insane,” I muttered.

“That’s female solidarity,” Owen corrected. “And it’s formidable.”

Adrian leaned forward. “The problem is, you’ve been playing checkers while they’re playing chess.”

“So what do we do?” I asked, feeling genuinely lost for the first time since this whole

mess began.

Damian grinned slowly. “We form our own alliance. Beat them at their own game.”

“How?” I challenged. “They’re clearly better at this than we are.”

Noah’s phone buzzed. He checked it and his eyes widened. “Well, we better figure it out fast. According to Chloe, they’ve just enacted Rule Seven.”

“What the hell is Rule Seven?” I asked.

Owen and Noah exchanged grim looks.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify