The Wife He Could Never Control

My husband married into my family.

But I was more than happy to support him. After all, he had the looks and the buildand most importantly, he had real talent. He could help me take the company to new heights.

Until at the corporate year-end gala, I caught sight of the female VP who'd been shadowing him all evening. She leaned in slightly and smoothed down his cuff with practiced ease.

That night when we got home, I tossed him a transfer order with a smile.

"By next week, she's being relocated to our European division."

Charlie frowned. "She's still managing core projects."

I brushed at a non-existent wrinkle on my dress, my voice light and unhurried.

"Do you know why I've never bothered to interfere with you two?"

"Because in my world, people are like projectsI only keep the ones I can control."

He went silent for a long moment before finally speaking. "How long are you planning to send her away for?"

I looked up at him, lips curving into a smile.

"That depends on your performance."

After all, his first lesson should be: never make your master teach you the meaning of boundaries herself.

......

By the time I arrived, there was already a woman standing next to my husband Charlie.

Long wavy hair, crimson lips, dressed in a bold red evening gownher delicate hand resting naturally in the crook of Charlie's arm.

I raised an eyebrow and walked over to Charlie's side without changing my expression.

When Audrey saw me, she made no move to release Charlie's arm. Instead, she leaned in slightly, smiling at me.

"Miss Laura, you're here. That dress looks stunning on you tonightwhite really brings out your complexion."

Her words were complimentary, but her body pressed even closer to Charlie. She looked down, smoothing her own dress.

"Not like me. I've been fighting in the trenches with Mr. Charlie for so long, I can't pull off such an elegant color. I'd only ruin it."

I looked at her with a smile but said nothing.

Charlie smoothly extracted his arm and took two steps forward to my side, wrapping his hand around my waist as he said quietly,

"Mr. Brown is here today. Let's go say hello."

Audrey was naturally left standing where she was, head lowered, lost in thought.

Halfway through the gala, I stood beside Charlie with a glass of champagne, watching him exchange pleasantries with several directors from headquarters.

At some point, Audrey had positioned herself on Charlie's other side.

She jumped into the conversation at just the right moments.

She steered the discussion perfectly toward the high-stakes deals she and Charlie had closed together.

And then, at just the right moment, she suddenly reached out and brushed something off Charlie's cuff.

"Mr. Charlie, right here."

Charlie glanced at me and shifted away from her hand.

Audrey's hand froze mid-air. She didn't seem bothered, though. Instead, she turned to look at me, her eyes glistening.

"Miss Laura, please don't take offense. I've spent so many years building this empire alongside Mr. Charlie, taking care of him has become second nature."

She paused, her lips curving into a smile as she sighed.

"Sometimes I wonderif I'd been born with Miss Laura's privileges, maybe I could've lived comfortably as a wealthy heiress instead of weathering every storm, grinding myself down into this rough version of who I am now."

Finally, she concluded: "I really envy you. I wasn't so lucky."

I couldn't help but laugh, studying her with interest for a few seconds.

"Miss Audrey, has the pressure gotten to you? Are you having some kind of breakdown?"

Audrey's smile faltered. She stared at me in shock.

I handed my champagne glass to Charlie beside me and straightened his collar.

"Have you been putting too much pressure on Miss Audrey? She's started talking nonsense in broad daylight."

"It's embarrassing, really."

The area around us gradually fell silent.

Several directors exchanged glances and smiled as they echoed my words.

"That's right, Audrey's worked herself into some kind of delusion."

"Young people, ambition is good. But too much ambition makes you lose touch with reality. Do it long enough and you can't tell the difference between privilege and fantasy anymore."

Audrey's smile completely collapsed.

"Gentlemen, you're joking. I was only"

"Only what? Only envying President Laura's good fortune?"

"Young lady, President Laura doesn't just sit at home drinking coffee. When she was managing billion-dollar investment portfolios, you and Mr. Charlie were probably still scraping by in the dirt."

The comment was cutting enough that it didn't even spare Charlie.

Someone laughed quietly.

Audrey's face went paler and paler. She looked at Charlie helplessly.

Charlie rubbed his temples, his tone sharp as he addressed Audrey:

"Apologize to Miss Laura. If the pressure's too much, take some time off. Stop spouting nonsense."

Audrey froze. Her gaze shattered as she looked at me and said hoarsely,

"Miss Laura, I'm sorry."

I didn't look at her. I didn't even wait for her to finish.

Charlie called out softly, "Laura."

I turned the bracelet on my wrist, acting as if I hadn't heard him, and said goodbye to the gentlemen.

"Gentlemen, enjoy yourselves. I have a meeting early tomorrow."

After a few polite exchanges, I'd already taken two steps toward the exit.

People around me began stepping aside, nodding in acknowledgment.

"Miss Laura, have a good evening."

"Miss Laura, see you at next week's meeting."

"Miss Laura, please give my regards to your father."

President Laura. Not Charlie's wife.

When we got home, Charlie opened the car door for me.

Under the dim courtyard lights, I studied that handsome face and suddenly remembered the first time he met my father.

My father had been drinking coffee, asking him what his plans were.

He'd said he wanted to start a business, to help me expand the family empire.

My father had smiled and simply said, "Ambitious."

Later, he'd delivered on that promise.

The subsidiary company he managed had launched a new brand.

In just five years, the brand's valuation had increased tenfold.

The people in our social circle who'd once mocked Charlie for marrying into my family now addressed him respectfully as "Mr. Charlie."

Too bad shortcuts have a way of making you forget how you got to where you are.

I looked at Charlie standing before me and brushed an invisible speck off his shoulder.

"By next week at the latest, transfer Audrey to the European division."

Charlie frowned. "She's still managing core projects"

I raised my eyes, my voice calm. "I'm informing you, not asking for your input."

Charlie pressed his lips together. "Laura, you know nothing's happened between Audrey and me."

I nodded, looking down to smooth the pale fabric of my dress.

"Charlie, do you know why I passed over so many excellent strategic matches and chose to marry you?"

Charlie's expression turned uncomfortable.

Back then, when we'd gotten together, he'd been the one to push open my bedroom door and offer himself.

I smiled, unconcerned.

"Because you're smart. You knew you had no background, no connectionsbut your ambition and hunger were strong enough that you refused to settle. So you came to me."

"And what I valued was exactly that refusal to settle. People who refuse to settle claw their way up. They treat the family business like their own life, fighting for it with everything they have. I needed someone like that."

He stood in the shadows, his expression dazed.

I touched his face.

"Charlie, these past five years you've exceeded my expectations. I trust you won't disappoint me going forward, will you?"

He stood in the shadows, silent. I couldn't make out his expression.

I smiled and walked past him into the house.

If he knew when to advance and when to retreat, I wouldn't mind helping him climb even higher.

The next morning, the butler told me Charlie had stood in the courtyard for half the night.

I sipped my coffee and raised an eyebrow at the latest personnel announcement on my phone.

Rushed and bare-bones, but apparently effective immediately.

Audrey had been transferred to Europe.

The matter should have ended there, naturally.

But a year later, during the holidays, I found Audrey at Charlie's parents' house.

She answered the door, then casually took the gift bags from my assistant's hands with familiar ease.

"Miss Laura, long time no see."

She smiled warmly, wearing an apron and the slippers I usually wore when I visited.

"Come in, come in. I'm cooking todaydon't be shy, eat as much as you like."

Charlie's mother stood in the living room, wringing her hands nervously.

"Laura's here... come in, come in..."

I lifted my chin slightly, my face cold as I stared at Audrey.

"Are you going to leave on your own, or should I have someone help you leave?"

Her lips twitched, but she maintained her composure as she spoke.

"Miss Laura, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come."

"I've always treated Charlie's mother like my own. I used to visit often to keep her company, go shopping with her."

"This past year I was transferred to Europe, and I felt so empty inside. So the moment I got time off, I wanted to come back to see her, and to see... everyone."

I let out a cold laugh, seizing on her deliberately ambiguous tone.

"Audrey, do you think I'm an idiot?"

"I let you off once. Did you think that made me soft-hearted and merciful?"

"Last time. Are you leaving or not?"

I raised my hand slightly. Security guards nearby moved in closer.

"Miss Laura!"

Audrey's voice turned sharp and shrill, her face showing undisguised defiance and humiliation.

"I know you look down on me. You were born with privilege, with luck, with an amazing husband like Mr. Charlie. But what gives you the right to trample me underfoot?"

"People like us aren't like you. We fight with everything we have just to get a little bit. We cherish every little thing we manage to get. What's wrong with that?"

The living room fell silent.

I turned my head toward Charlie, who'd just finished a phone call and walked in.

"When she says 'us,' does that include you?"

Charlie pressed his lips together and glanced at me before walking over to Audrey, whose eyes were red but chin still raised high in defiance.

"You should go."

Audrey's eyes flushed crimson as she called out, "Mr. Charlie."

Charlie didn't look at her again. He lowered his eyes, his voice quiet.

"I'll have someone take you home."

Audrey removed the apron and slippers, then walked away in her heels.

Charlie's parents' house fell into silence. His mother tiptoed upstairs.

Charlie walked up to me, his voice gentle as he explained.

"I didn't know she was coming. You know my mom has a soft heart. When Mom had her surgery, Audrey stayed by her bedside for an entire week."

"So when Audrey said she wanted to visit, Mom didn't think it through and said yes."

I looked quietly into his eyes.

He didn't look away.

"Charlie, this is the second time you've allowed her in front of me."

Charlie sighed. "Laura, I told you I didn't invite her here."

"You didn't invite her. You just allowed it."

"You got here half a day before me. You weren't blind when you walked in, were you? You saw her bustling around your parents' house, and you let her stay."

I looked at him. "What were you waiting for?"

He said nothing.

I smiled, though the smile didn't reach my eyes. "Charlie, there won't be a third time."

I didn't go inside Charlie's parents' house that day.

As I was leaving, Charlie chased after me and blocked my way.

"If you leave now, what will my parents think? You only see them once a year. Do you really have to humiliate them like this?"

I didn't stop walking.

His voice finally lost that calm composure.

"Fine. I apologize, okay? Is that enough?"

I stopped, my voice colder than his.

"When you let Audrey through that door, did you think about the consequences?"

His face turned ashen as he stared at me.

I let out a cold laugh and got into the car without looking back.

No one in this world had been born yet who could make me swallow my pride and suffer in silence.

He was overestimating himself.

Charlie stayed at his parents' house that night.

He didn't come home for three days straight.

It wasn't until my family's estate hosted a New Year's party that he finally showed up.

My friend Rosen stood beside me and whistled, his tone full of schadenfreude.

"Showing up right when the party's about to startlooks like President Laura's lost control of her prize horse. You've let him run wild."

I stared coldly at Charlie's car, though my voice remained calm. "If he's gone wild, that means he needs to be disciplined."

Rosen raised an eyebrow but didn't respond.

At the dinner party, I held onto Charlie's arm with a gentle smile, as if there had never been any rift between us.

Charlie, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable. The arm I held was tense with rigid muscles.

I turned my head, pretending to adjust his tie, and whispered,

"Relax. Smile."

He looked down at me and forced his lips into a curve.

It looked terrible.

My eyes went completely cold.

He hadn't even reached the top yet, and he already thought he had enough skill and confidence to defy me.

I tightened my grip.

Just as I was about to threaten him, Rosen's lazy voice drifted over.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here? If it isn't Mr. Charlie himself."

Charlie turned his head and nodded slightly. "Mr. Rosen, it's been a while."

Rosen's smile was absolutely genuine.

"My old man's been singing your praises for years now. Mr. Charlie's impressivebeing able to build up a subsidiary to this level isn't something just anyone can do."

Charlie smiled but didn't respond.

Rosen winked at me.

"But you know, talent sometimes comes down to luck."

"Some people claw their way up for decades and never make it. Others hook up with the right person and reach the top in five years."

The air went still for a moment.

Charlie's jawline went rigid.

Rosen acted like he hadn't noticed and kept talking.

"Of course, hooking up with the right person is a talent in itself."

"You've got to know how to read the room, when to push forward, when to pull back. And most importantly, you've got to remember who you are and whose boat you're standing on."

He tilted his head, swirling his drink with a smile as he looked at Charlie.

"Oh man, was that too harsh? Don't take it personally, Mr. Charlie. I didn't mean anything by it. Just making an observation."

"After all, these days it's pretty rare to see someone ride their wife's coattails as successfully as you have, Mr. Charlie."

Charlie's face turned dark. He looked at me.

I let out a soft laugh, slowly raising my glass to take a small sip. I made no move to rescue him.

More meaningful glances turned our way.

Rosen sighed, putting on a show of sympathy for Charlie.

"Don't blame me for being blunt, Mr. Charlie."

"I feel for you, really. You've worked so hard to get where you are today. Some people praise you as a young talent, but behind your back, they say all kinds of things."

He paused, lowering his voice.

"They say you got where you are by riding your wife's success. That without President Laura, you'd be nothing."

"Those words sting, don't they? I hate hearing them too. But you've got to admit, there's... some truth to what they're saying."

Charlie was silent for a few seconds before his voice came out tight.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Rosen. But I don't need a spoiled rich kid who does nothing all day to worry about me."

The party wasn't even halfway through when Charlie left abruptly.

Rosen stood beside me as we watched Charlie's car drive away.

"So how are you going to thank me?"

I withdrew my gaze and smiled at him.

"Some of Charlie's projects can be redirected to you going forward."

Rosen raised an eyebrow. "Decided on divorce?"

I texted my assistant to prepare divorce papers.

"He's used up his chances. Time to send him back where he belongs."

He climbed the wall and started tearing down the ladder, thinking he'd grown wings. He forgot who built that ladder in the first place.

But I could give him the ladder to heaven, and I could just as easily let him come crashing down.

That night at the party, I accompanied my father alone as we saw off the last batch of guests.

My father suddenly spoke. "Made up your mind?"

I adjusted my shawl and answered softly, "He forgot who he is."

As I walked out of the estate, I glanced back.

This was where Charlie had stood at the entrance with a ring, proposing to me.

Fine beads of sweat had dotted his forehead, but every word came out steady and firm.

"Laura, give me a chance. I'll prove to you that choosing me was the right decision."

At the time, I'd thought he was interesting.

He didn't want money. Didn't want shares. He'd even volunteered to sign a prenup.

I'd believed in him. Given him a chance.

Too bad people's hearts can change.

When I got home, it was already eleven o'clock.

The lights by the entrance were on. Charlie sat on the sofa with a bottle of wine, drinking straight from the bottle.

This man who was usually steady as a rock and unshakeable looked unusually disheveled.

Hearing footsteps, he didn't get up or turn around.

"Miss Laura. You're back."

I set my purse on the entrance table and walked barefoot across the carpet, sitting down on the armchair across from him.

He didn't look at me. His gaze was unfocused, staring at some point in empty space.

"Those things Rosen saidthat was your doing, wasn't it?"

I didn't deny it.

He finally raised his eyes, anger that had been building all evening blazing in them.

"Laura, are you satisfied?"

"Humiliating me in front of all those people, having someone point at my face and call me a freeloader, letting them watch me like I'm some kind of circus actare you satisfied now?"

I propped my chin on my hand and leaned back against the sofa, watching him quietly.

Charlie hurled the wine bottle onto the white carpet.

"I know that in your eyes, I'll always be someone who exists only because of you."

"I live in your house, drive the car you assigned me, and everyone knows Mr. Charlie is just a high-level employee. The real boss is you, Miss Laura."

He twisted his lips into a sarcastic smile.

"But I'm still a person. I still have dignity."

"You had Rosen humiliate me in public. You just stood there holding your glass, watching me like I was some servant who'd messed up."

He stood up, looking down at me from above.

"Laura, people like you will never learn what respect means because you're always looking down from above!"

"You humiliate Audrey, you humiliate me. Will people like us who clawed our way up from the bottom never earn the right to be seen as equals by people like you?!"

I couldn't help but laugh.

He frowned. "What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing at you."

I stood up. I was half a head shorter than him, but my presence was no less commanding.

"Charlie, these past five years you've been the successful and accomplished Mr. Charlie out in the world, and the thoughtful, caring husband at home. When I worked late you'd bring me food. Everyone said Laura had excellent taste in husbands."

"I thought you truly accepted this marriage. I never held back on giving you resources. When you couldn't crack tough deals, I visited every uncle one by one, asking them to take care of you."

"But it turns out you've resented it all along."

"You should have said something sooner. I don't need you specifically."

His face showed confusion. He didn't speak.

I took a step forward. He took half a step back.

"You say I don't respect you. So tell me, what does respect look like?"

"Should I have pretended not to see when Audrey took your arm? Should I have praised her dedication when she straightened your cuff?"

"Or when your mother welcomed her into your house to wear my slippers, sit in my seat, acting like the lady of the houseshould I have smiled and accepted it, shaken her hand and welcomed her, for that to count as respecting you?"

He opened his mouth.

"My mom was just being soft-hearted..."

"But you weren't."

I cut him off.

"You were just waiting. Waiting for me to arrive, to see, to get angry."

"What were you testing?"

He fell silent.

After a long pause, he said hoarsely, "Audrey and I really haven't done anything."

"She walked this journey with me to get where I am today. She helped me a lot. So sometimes I... I couldn't bring myself to be harsh with her."

I looked at him quietly.

"You can be soft-hearted. But you can't play dumb."

"Charlie, you're too smart."

"So smart that from the first time Audrey got close to you, you knew exactly what she was thinking. You didn't push her away because you needed her. You needed a loyal subordinate, a woman who would give everything for you."

"You allowed her to get close, enjoyed her admiration, and then conveniently used her to train and test me."

His face went pale, bit by bit.

"Too bad you miscalculated. I'm Laura. I'm not your accessory wife."

"You want to mold me into the shape you want? Dream on."

I held out the manila envelope I'd been holding.

"We're done."

"The agreement has a detailed property division plan. After you sign it, give it to the lawyer. You can stay in the house until the end of the month."