The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband – Episode 12
Morning arrived too quickly. Natalie stood before the bedroom mirror in a simple blouse and dark skirt, repeating answers until they stopped sounding memorized. She checked the folder containing her résumé three times, then added copies of academic projects she hoped might compensate for her thin employment history. The new shoes remained in their box. Wearing seven thousand dollars to an entry-level interview would invite questions she could not answer.
In the kitchen, Sebastian prepared coffee while pretending not to monitor the time. He had spent half the night deciding whether to warn Daniel about Natalie’s application. Giving her special treatment would insult the independence he admired; allowing a hostile manager to reject her unfairly felt equally wrong.
Natalie emerged carrying a worn portfolio. “How do I look?” The question escaped before she remembered that theirs was not that kind of marriage. Sebastian turned, and the unguarded appreciation in his eyes answered before he spoke.
“Like they should be trying to impress you.” She smiled, smoothing one sleeve. “That isn’t how interviews work.” “Maybe they’ve been doing them wrong.”
He handed her coffee in a travel mug. Natalie accepted it with surprise. “You’re getting dangerously good at this husband act.” Sebastian’s hand paused around the mug. “Who said I was acting?”
The words hovered between them. He rescued the moment with a grin, but Natalie carried their warmth all the way to the door. “I’ll see you tonight.” “Good luck,” he said. “And don’t let anyone make you apologize for your résumé.”
Once she was gone, Sebastian called Daniel. “Natalie has an interview at the company today.” He moved away from the window even though there was no one left outside to observe him, already feeling the old division between his private face and public mask return. Daniel’s silence lasted long enough to be meaningful. “Would you like me to make sure she’s hired?”
“No.” Sebastian paced toward the window. “She earns whatever position she gets. No favors, and no one tells her I know.” The conditions preserved her agency, though they did little to ease his concern.
“Then why are you calling?” Daniel asked. Few people dared pose the question so directly, but years of loyalty had earned him the privilege. Sebastian watched Natalie disappear at the end of the block.
“I want to know if the process is fair.” He ended the call before Daniel could point out how personally involved he had become. The shareholder negotiations demanded his attention, yet his thoughts followed his wife.
Across town, Natalie met Sarah in the lobby of an office tower whose mirrored façade reflected a version of the city built for people with stable careers and uncomplicated lives. Sarah had lent her the wedding clothes and spent the previous evening forwarding every opening she could find. She was one of the few people who helped without converting kindness into leverage. One look at Natalie’s tense face made her pull her into a hug.
“Breathe,” Sarah said. “You survived marrying a stranger. An interview is nothing.” Natalie laughed nervously. “The stranger is nicer than most recruiters I’ve met.”
Sarah drew back with immediate interest. “So the terrifying ex-con husband is nice?” “He’s complicated,” Natalie corrected. She did not mention the expensive shoes, the dinner, or the way Sebastian had looked at her in the bedroom.
“Complicated and handsome,” Sarah said. “A dangerous combination.” Natalie checked the time to avoid answering. “I need this job, Sarah. Dad still hasn’t given me the money, and Mom’s bills are overdue.”
Concern replaced Sarah’s teasing. “Does your mother know you married someone to pay them?” Natalie shook her head. Her mother would blame herself and try to refuse treatment, even if doing so placed her life in danger. Natalie had learned to make frightening decisions with a calm face whenever illness stole her mother’s strength. Keeping the bargain secret was the only way to protect her from that guilt.
“Do you have anything you can sell for fast cash?” Sarah asked. “I have a couple thousand I can lend you.” Natalie refused the loan at once. Sarah had already done too much, and the debt was far beyond what friendship should be asked to carry.
“I’ll find a way,” Natalie said. The assertion sounded stronger than she felt. “First I get a job. Then I deal with George.” She would no longer kneel and wait for her father to remember his promise.
A receptionist called her name. Natalie hugged Sarah once more and walked toward the elevators, holding Sebastian’s advice in mind. Her years of work were proof of endurance, not shame, and no polished office or skeptical interviewer could erase what those years had demanded of her. She repeated that truth with every floor the elevator climbed.
Upstairs, she was directed into a glass-walled conference room overlooking the city. The view should have felt promising, but the vacant chair on one side of the table and the closed portfolio on the other made the space feel staged. The chair facing away from the door turned slowly, revealing a woman Natalie recognized from college.
“Natalie!” Serena exclaimed with a smile that did not reach her eyes. “It’s been so long.” Natalie stopped, remembering old competitions, quiet insults, and Serena’s talent for disguising cruelty as concern. The interview she had hoped would save her was about to be controlled by someone who had once taken pleasure in watching her fail.
