He Wanted to Give Her a Home

Connor Vance hired a struggling single mother as his assistant.
I found them locked in a passionate kiss in his office.
When I asked about the new hire, Connor put on a righteous face. Sophia, her life has been so hard. We have to do what we can to help her.
I smiled and nodded.
I not only created opportunities for them to be alone, but I also gave the woman a promotion and a raise.
If Connor was so desperate to play the hero, then I was going to let him see for himself.
Some black holes can never be filled.
1
The day Connor gave his interview to Forbes, he made a special point to mention his family.
"I'm incredibly grateful to my wife, Sophia," he said, his voice smooth for the cameras. "She's the one who has always supported me from behind the scenes, allowing me to focus on my work without any worries."
The interviewer looked at him with admiration. "Mr. Vance, you truly have it alla flourishing career and a beautiful family. We hear your company just landed that major city-backed development project. A remarkable achievement for someone so young."
Connor waved his hand with practiced modesty, but he couldn't hide the glint of pride in his eyes.
Only I knew the truth.
That "major project" was something I had secured by pulling strings with three generations of my family's contacts.
And Connor's company? I had funded its creation from my own trust.
I had willingly stepped out of the spotlight, choosing to be the power behind the throne. It was something my parents had taught me from a young age: a woman who's too assertive can bruise a man's ego, especially a man with a fierce sense of pride like Connor.
So, it seemed a fair arrangement. He could stand on the stage, and I would play the part of the supportive wife.
After the interview wrapped, Connor walked over to me. "Honey, how did I do?"
I handed him a bottle of water I'd already opened. "You were brilliant. A true captain of industry."
He took a long, satisfied drink, his arm draping naturally over my shoulders. "Of course. It's all thanks to my wife's excellent training."
"Where should we go for dinner tonight? That new Italian place, or French?"
"You decide," I said, smiling as I linked my arm through his.
Just before we got in the car, my phone buzzed. It was a message from my cousin, Chloe.
"Soph, what happened to my spot in the corporate housing?! It was supposed to be mine, but your husband's new admin assistant got it?"
I frowned.
Chloe was my uncle's daughter, a firecracker with a sharp mind. Fresh out of grad school, she had insisted on getting a job at the company on her own merit, going through the entire campus recruitment process. She didn't want anyone to know we were related, worried they'd treat her differently. Not even Connor knew who she was. To escape my aunt's constant nagging, she had applied for one of the subsidized apartments the company offered to new talent.
As Connor got into the driver's seat, I casually brought it up. "I heard the list for the talent housing was finalized. It seems that new intern from Stanford got bumped off the list."
Connor's hands faltered for a second on the steering wheel. His eyes darted away.
"Oh, that spot," he said, clearing his throat. "I had HR reassign it to Bella."
Bella?
The name clicked. She was Connor's new assistant. A quiet woman, with a gentle, almost domestic air about her.
Connor let out a heavy sigh. "Sophia, you have no idea how hard her life is. She's a single mom, raising a five-year-old son all by herself. They live way out in the suburbs to save on rent. She has to get up before dawn every single day to make him breakfast before taking two trains to get to the office."
He turned to me, his expression earnest. "The corporate housing is right across the street from the office, and it has a daycare right next to it. I know that intern technically qualifies, but Bella clearly needs it more. As the CEO, showing a little compassion for an employee in need is good for morale. You understand, right?"
His reasoning was flawless. Bella's situation was genuinely sympathetic. If it had been my decision, I probably would have done the same.
After a moment's thought, I agreed. "A single mother and her child have it tough. It's good of you to have a heart. I'll smooth things over with the intern."
Connor visibly relaxed. "I knew you'd understand, honey. You're the most reasonable person I know."
I smiled faintly and typed a reply to Chloe.
"Stop fighting with a struggling employee for resources. I've got you a place at The Sterling. The rent's on me."
A bowing emoji popped up instantly. "You're the best boss ever!"
2
That weekend, Bella came to our house to thank us.
She stood hesitantly in the foyer, clutching a fruit basket, looking so out of place she didn't seem to know where to put her hands. "Mr. Vance, Sophia... thank you. Thank you so much."
Bella was wearing a pair of washed-out jeans and a loose, cream-colored knit sweater that made her look even more frail and thin. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and when she looked at Connor, it was with the reverence one might reserve for a deity.
"If it wasn't for Connor... I mean, Mr. Vance's help, I don't know what I would have done." She bowed deeply, the collar of her sweater gaping slightly to reveal the pale skin of her collarbone.
Connor reached out to steady her, his voice soft. "Please, don't. It was nothing. You didn't have to come all this way."
"Oh, but I did," Bella insisted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She turned her gaze to me. "Sophia, please tell the intern I'm so sorry. I feel terrible for taking her spot."
I offered a polite smile. "Don't worry about it. The company has its policies, and if Connor felt you met the criteria for assistance, then you deserved it."
Her eyes flickered around our living room, a flash of envy quickly suppressed. Her voice was barely a whisper. "Connor is such a good man. So successful and dedicated to his family. You're a very lucky woman, Sophia."
The praise seemed to make Connor swell with pride. He waved it off. "Not at all. It's a man's duty to take care of his family."
The words had barely left his mouth when a shadow of sadness crossed Bella's face. Connor immediately realized his mistake.
Before I could intervene, Bella's phone rang.
Her expression soured as she answered. "What? The pipe burst? The landlord... no, please don't be angry, I'll be right back..."
When she hung up, tears were streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry, Connor, Sophia, I have to go. My son was playing with the water in our rental, and a pipe burst... the whole floor is flooded."
"Oh god, the landlord is going to kill me... I'll have to pay for the damages..."
"A pipe burst?" Connor was on his feet in an instant. "How can you handle that on your own? The plumbing in those old buildings is a nightmare." He turned to me. "Sophia, I'm going to go help her. I'll be back soon."
I frowned, instinctively trying to stop him. "Can't she just call building maintenance? What are you going to do? Do you even know how to fix a pipe?"
Connor's face hardened. "Sophia, every minute that water is running is another minute of humiliation for her with that landlord. It doesn't matter if I can fix it. What matters is that I'll be there to back her up, to keep her from being bullied!"
Bella looked at him through her tear-filled eyes, her gaze shining with pure adoration. "Connor... you're so kind... besides you, no one in the world cares if my son and I live or die."
"Don't say that. It's no trouble at all. Let's go."
Connor grabbed his car keys and, taking Bella by the arm, walked out the door without a backward glance.
Leaving me alone in the foyer.
I stood there for a long time, stunned. It had been ages since I'd seen Connor that agitated. He was always so calm and collected. The only other time I'd seen that kind of frantic urgency in him was when we were first in love, when he would drop everything over the smallest problem I had.
3
Connor didn't come home until late that night.
I was waiting for him on the sofa, the issue of Forbes with his interview resting in my lap. I hadn't read a single word.
"Is it fixed?" I asked.
"Of course," he said, loosening his tie with a triumphant air. "A little problem like that is nothing for me. You should have seen the landlord's face when I pulled up in the Benz. He went pale and didn't dare say another word. Bella was terrified, just clinging to my sleeve and calling me her savior."
He recounted the story with a flourish, prouder than if he'd just closed a multi-million-dollar deal.
My voice was flat. "The apartment is flooded. Where are they staying tonight?"
"Don't you worry about that," Connor chuckled. "I put them up in a hotel for a few days. The corporate apartment will be ready soon, and I'll help them move in."
He poured himself a glass of water and drank it in one go. Then he looked at me, his expression suddenly complicated.
"Sophia, sometimes I think you should learn from Bella."
I froze. "Learn what from her?"
"Learn how to be more... like a woman."
"In that situation, your first instinct was to call maintenance, to follow protocol. Don't you think you're too strong, too perfect? Sometimes, I wish you could be more like her, needing me for something as simple as changing a lightbulb or unclogging a drain. Instead of how it is now, where you can make one phone call and have a dozen professionals at our door in an hour."
He sighed. "It makes me feel like a decoration in my own home."
I closed the magazine.
I took a deep breath.
For years, I had handled everything at home so he could pour all his energy into his career. I had never asked him to lift a finger.
And now, in his eyes, my self-sufficiency had become a cold, domineering flaw? And the weeping, helpless Bella had become the standard for femininity?
If he wanted to fix pipes so badly, he could have become a plumber instead of a CEO.
The words rose in my throat, but I swallowed them down.
Honestly, I didn't want to fight over something so trivial. But his attitude toward Bella had already set off alarm bells in my mind.
4
I had HR pull Bella's file.
Then I had a private investigator do a little digging.
It turned out, she wasn't divorced. She was raising her son alone because her husband was in prison for armed robbery. She had likely hidden this fact to protect her child from gossip.
Given her genuine hardship, I didn't want to disrupt her work life. I kept the information to myself for the time being and didn't mention it to Connor.
Our company was always hosting events to promote a positive culture.
For Family Day, the main conference room was transformed into a playground. HR ordered high-end pastries and a mountain of toys. The room was filled with the cheerful laughter of employees and their children.
Bella brought her son, a five-year-old boy named Leo. He was a sturdy-looking kid who immediately fixated on the tables laden with snacks and toys.
Bella, however, scanned the crowd with searching eyes.
Her gaze landed on Connor, who was holding court in the center of the room.
Then, she gave Leo's arm a sharp pinch.
The next second, a clear, loud voice cut through the din.
"Daddy!"
The boisterous room fell silent. Leo scrambled toward Connor and threw his arms around his legs.
"Daddy! You're here! I missed you so much!"
A dead silence fell over the room. Employees exchanged shocked glances, their eyes darting between me and Bella.
Bella rushed over, her face beet red, pretending to be flustered as she tried to pull the boy away. "Leo, don't say that! This is Mr. Vance, not Daddy! Let go!"
But Leo only clung tighter. "No! He's just like the daddy I always imagined! Uncle Connor is so nice to me! He bought me a Transformer and took me for KFC. He is my daddy!"
A Transformer? KFC?
When had all this happened?
My expression slowly turned to ice. I stared at Connor in silence.
A flash of embarrassment crossed his face. He patted Leo's head. "Alright, Leo, that's enough."
Trying to diffuse the tension, he picked Leo up and forced a smile in my direction. "He's just a kid. It's my job to care for my employees' children. Kids from single-parent homes are sensitive, they crave affection. Don't take it personally. It's just a childish outburst."
Yes, children can be innocent. But "Daddy" is not a name you just throw around. I refused to believe an adult hadn't coached him.
I turned my cold gaze on Bella. "Ms. Thorne, if your child is so desperate for a father figure, perhaps you should spend more time with him yourself. Encouraging him to claim strangers as his father is not healthy for his psychological development."
Bella's face flushed, then paled. Humiliated by the scornful looks from her colleagues, she raised her hand and slapped Leo hard across the face.
"I told you not to say that! Shut up!" she hissed. "Apologize! Apologize to Mrs. Vance right now!"
Leo, stunned by the blow, burst into tears. But instead of apologizing, he glared at me with renewed fury and screamed, "I won't! You're a mean lady! Mommy said at home that Daddy loves us the most! You're just an old witch who bosses him around!"
His words were like a physical slap across my own face.
Whispers erupted among the employees. Connor's expression shifted from embarrassment to outright anger.
"That's enough! Sophia, what is wrong with you, picking a fight with a child?" he snapped. "Does cornering a little boy like this make you feel powerful?"
5
With that, he turned, still holding the wailing Leo, and strode out of the conference room.
Bella scurried after them.
The three of them looked like a perfect little family, leaving me standing alone in their wake.
The room was silent.
Our carefully planned Family Day was ruined.
The HR manager quickly stepped in to manage the situation, and the crowd slowly dispersed.
Laura, the HR manager, was a company veteran. She brought me a glass of water. "Sophia, please don't let it get to you," she said softly.
"Anyone can see that Mr. Vance doesn't have any improper feelings for her. He just feels sorry for them, a single mother and her son. He's just a little too soft-hearted and has let things go too far."
When I didn't respond, she leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "Honestly, Sophia, I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I've seen Mr. Vance secretly contacting a private jeweler. He's designing a custom piece for your birthday next month."
"If he really had something else on his mind, he wouldn't be going to all that trouble to surprise you. Men can just be clueless about boundaries sometimes. You two have been together for eight years. It's not worth fighting over a woman like that."
I held the warm glass, but the chill in my fingertips wouldn't go away.
She was right.
We had eight years of history. I knew Connor better than anyone.
But what happened today... how was I supposed to just let it go?
For the sake of those eight years, I decided to give him a chance to talk it out.
I took out my phone and sent him a message.
"Come home early tonight. We need to talk."
An hour later, he replied.
"Leo is really upset and won't stop crying. I'm going to take them to dinner to calm him down."
I waited at home.
I waited until eleven.
I opened our shared cloud storage, scrolling through photos from our years together. A picture of him as a poor college student who had saved up three months of his living expenses just to buy me a necklace I had glanced at once. A picture of him shivering in the snow, saving me a seat outside the library.
In the early days of the company, when my parents disapproved of our relationship, he had held my hand and sworn, "Sophia, I will give you the best life. I will never let you down."
The more I looked, the more my heart ached, and the clearer everything became.
When Connor finally came home, he acted as if nothing had happened. "Still up?" he asked, kicking off his shoes.
My voice was quiet, almost gentle. "Connor, we need to talk about boundaries."
He looked exhausted. "I know what this is about. It's about today. But Sophia, could you not have given me some face? Everyone was watching. Did you have to be so passive-aggressive in front of the entire company?"
"Passive-aggressive?" I couldn't hold it in any longer. "That child called you 'Daddy' in public and called me a 'mean old witch.' Not only did you not stop him, you stormed out with them in front of everyone. Do you have any idea what our employees are saying now?"
"Let them talk! A clear conscience fears no accusation!" Connor's temper suddenly flared. "Bella is a single mother doing her best. Leo has grown up without a father; it's natural for him to project that onto someone. What's wrong with me not wanting to see a child get hurt? Is it a crime to have a heart?"
I stood up, my own voice rising. "Is your heart so big that it has to be spread everywhere? So big that you'll trample on your wife's dignity just to make someone else feel better? Tell me, Connor, is what you feel for Bella compassion, or are you in love with her?"
"Sophia!" Connor's face was flushed with anger. "How can your mind be so filthy? There is nothing between me and Bella! You really are a businessman's daughter, aren't you? You see conspiracies everywhere. You don't know the first thing about simple kindness!"
I was trembling with rage. "A businessman's daughter?"
"Yes, I am a businessman's daughter. And it was this businessman's daughter who used her own money to pave the way for you when you were being rejected by investors, when you were wandering around like a stray dog!"
"It was this businessman's daughter who used every single one of her family's connections to apologize on your behalf when your bad decisions nearly bankrupted the company, just to save your position!"
"And it was this businessman's daughter who didn't care that you had nothing, who went against her parents' wishes and insisted on marrying you!"
"Without this businessman's daughter, what right would you have, Connor Vance, to parade your 'kindness' and play savior to another woman? Have you no shame?"
The barrage of questions left him speechless.
Perhaps the memories of everything we had been through together finally sank in. The angry flush drained from his face, replaced by a pale, humiliated shame.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to apologize. "Sophia, don't be angry. I admit, I've been paying too much attention to Bella. But I swear, you're the only one in my heart. Honey, please, calm down, okay?"
He reached for my hand.
But I was still furious. Seeing him put on that loving act now just made my stomach turn.
I yanked my hand away and pointed to the door. "Don't you dare use our eight years to disgust me, Connor."
"I don't want to see you right now. Get out!"
His hand froze in mid-air, the warmth on his face turning to ice. He clenched his jaw, choosing not to argue further.
"Fine, Sophia. I'm offering you an out, and you won't take it," he said coldly. "Have fun cooling off by yourself."

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