Ch. 351..360

Loving You In Secret Chapter 351-'He isn't giving me options. He's trying to corner me!' she growled mentally.

The man's mask shimmered under the light as he sat elegantly and observed Vicky like a predator gazing upon his dying prey.

"Have you decided, Miss Shaw? Are you going to spy on Tyler for me, or...’ He lowered his voice and murmured, "Are you sleeping with me?"

She jolted and stuttered, "I... I can get the confidential information on his computer for you, but...that's just for three months."

The look in his eyes darkened. "Looks like your innocence is more important to you than your husband's career."

Vicky lowered her gaze.

"Since you’ve made your choice, I won't push you,' the man said. "I heard that your husband is recently on a business trip, so...it should be easy for you to obtain the information." The man paused for a few moments to think and said, "Bring a copy of whatever is in his computer to me tomorrow at the same time."

Vicky stared at him. "It's just for three months...deal?"

The man crossed his legs elegantly. "Sure. I'm only staying for three months, anyway."

"Can... Can I leave now?"

"Of course," the man said.

Relieved, Vicky hurried toward the door.

"By the way," the man added, 'there's something I need to remind you of."

Her heart sank, and she froze as she reached for the door.

She turned around to look at the man, whose body was completely absorbed into the darkness except for the mask on his face.

"I mentioned that I hate being lied to." The man's eyes shone in the darkness. "I hope that you won't disappoint me, Miss Shaw."

Vicky's palms were covered in sweat at this point, and she muttered, "I know..."

Since the man did not say anything else, she turned the doorknob and ran.

The sky had completely turned dark outside, and the neon lights on the streets lit up the city. Still, Vicky felt that demons were hiding in the corners, and she would fall if she made the wrong move.

Vicky struggled to fall asleep that night, and when she did, she was haunted by nightmares.

It had been some time since she had them.

After washing up, she headed downstairs for breakfast and did not have an appetite, so she only managed to take a few bites.

She lowered her gaze and caught the wedding ring on her ring finger, and a wave of bitterness overwhelmed her.

After sitting in the dining room for a while, she went back upstairs and instead of returning to the bedroom, she walked toward Tyler's study.

She stood blankly in front of the door for a few minutes before entering the password on the digital lock and walking in.

Everything inside the room was just as she remembered.

She was in a horrible state when she returned from Forever Night and could not stand to be alone at all in the first few days, so she would follow Tyler to the study while he worked.

She closed her eyes and walked over to Tyler's desk to turn on his laptop before inserting a USB.

She did not know much about business and did not know what was useful, so she clicked open a few files and copied some of the documents that did not seem important.

Loving You In Secret Chapter 352-As she focused on filtering the documents, the phone she placed on the desk started ringing.

Ring!

Vicky was startled by the sudden sound and took some time to calm her racing heart.

When she saw Tyler's name on the screen, she twitched and answered the call right before it automatically ended.

"Tyler...*' she whispered, her hand trembling as she held onto the phone.

"Nanny Paterson said you didn't eat much today.' His familiar voice came from the other end of the line. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine. I just...didn't sleep well."

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah."

"Why are they starting again all of a sudden?" Tyler's voice turned into a low growl. "I'll call Doctor Grimes to pay you a visit later."

Doctor Grimes was the therapist who had been counseling Vicky.

Vicky felt a lump in her throat at the concern in his voice.

"I guess... I'm having a hard time adjusting to you going on a business trip."

Tyler remained quiet for a few moments and said, "I'll try my best to handle everything as soon as possible and come home."

Vicky felt even more devastated as she stared at the laptop screen before her.

"I'm sorry...about what happened the day before yesterday. I forgot about our anniversary and neglected your feelings,’ she whispered.

"I'm not mad."

"I know... You wouldn't have sent your men over to help me if you were mad at me."

"Yeah. If you're struggling with something on your end, call me anytime you want."

Tyler’s voice was calming and reassuring, and Vicky slowly began to regain her composure. "Alright."

They continued to chat for a few more minutes, and Vicky ended the call before collapsing onto the chair.

Guilt, despair, and heartache threatened to drown her, and she shut the laptop down to leave the room.

After taking two steps away, she remembered something and turned around to open the drawer in the desk hesitantly.

She went straight for the third drawer. As she remembered, there was supposed to be a pen, a wallet, a photo, a watch, and a pair of rings inside, but it had been emptied.

Not willing to give up, she opened the first and second drawer as well, but there was nothing other than documents related to work.

'Has he...moved all the stuff?' she thought to herself and walked out of the room thoughtfully.

At eight that night, Vicky arrived at the hotel to find the room as dark as it was before.

She handed the USB to the man and said, "I copied these from his computer."

The man accepted it and said, "Wait."

He did not seem to be worried that she might run away and headed into the bedroom.

10 minutes later, the man returned.

Loving You In Secret Chapter 353-The light in the living room flickered, and his shadow stretched and twisted in the most peculiar way.

Tension rose in the air, and Vicky instinctively clenched her fists.

"I've gone through the documents," the man said emotionlessly. "You gave me the list of employees and their respective departments... Are you trying to get me to work there?'

Vicky looked away. "I'm a designer, not a businesswoman. I don't know much about the company and...I thought that these were plans for Hart Corporation and copied them."

"What about finance reports, bidding reports, and contracts the company had signed before?"

"I didn't see any.’

"Really?"

"Really." Vicky tried her best to sound as sincere as she could. "Tyler is a skeptical man, and he's going to place the important documents in

encrypted files. I'm not a hacker, and I cant possibly find them. These are all I found."

The man chuckled. "Vicky Shaw, do you take me for a fool?"

"Sir, I don't understand..."

"You are a designer and it is understandable that you don't know much about running a business, but what exactly do you think my profession is, Miss Shaw? Do you really think that I'm unaware of what's inside his laptop? " The man's voice grew colder. "Miss Shaw, do you really think that I know nothing? Is that why you took the opportunity to play your tricks?"

The air around the man seemed to have frozen, and she shouted, "I didn't, Sir!"

"No?" The man narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Ha!" He mocked and took out his phone.

She was stunned at first, but soon noticed what he was doing.

The lights were dim inside the room, so the screen of his phone stood out.

She could distinctly see that he was adding the videos to a message. He then dragged his long fingers across the screen and entered a certain number; a number that Vicky remembered by heart.

Her eyes widened, and she questioned, lips quivering, "W-What are you doing?!"

The man did not bother looking up. "Don't worry. Tyler Hart might not recognize that it's your voice.’

He typed in the number and was about to send the message when Vicky snatched his phone out of his hand. "Are you crazy?!"

His eyes underneath the mask shimmered mercilessly. "Miss Shaw, I told you that I don’t like being lied to."

She held onto his phone as tears welled in her eyes. "Next time... I won't lie to you next time.’

He studied her with his cold, dark eyes.

Loving You In Secret Chapter 354-"Next time? Do I look like someone who gives second chances?"

"I promise that this wont happen again-"

"Your promise is worth nothing to me,’ the masked man interrupted Vicky impatiently.

He had said something similar before.

When she was stuck in Forever Night, she sought his help, and he said that her gratitude meant nothing to him.

Realization dawned on Vicky, and she backed away.

Amused by Vicky's wariness, the man said, "You can leave whenever you want. Leave with my phone, if you want to. I have plenty of phones, and I can always replace them."

He did not go after him, but his words alone were enough to push her over to the edge of a mental breakdown.

Tears welled in her eyes as she muttered, ’Sir, can you please...just give me one more chance?"

"No," he said cruelly.

Despair filled her heart as she thought to herself, 'What should I do? What am I supposed to do?'

Sensing that she was about to break, he drawled, "Miss Shaw, you chose this. You have no one else to blame."

Tears fell from her eyes. "What do you want me to do, then?"

He strode over and whispered into her ears seductively, ’If you can't betray Tyler Hart...spend the night with me."

His breath was hot even when he was speaking through the stone-cold mask, and Vicky backed away with disgust.

The man chuckled at the look on her face. "Naturally, you can also choose to continue stealing confidential documents from him, but if you try anything again, you'll have to spend the night with me like tonight."

"I haven't agreed!" she shouted with widened eyes.

"Then leave," he said casually.

"You won't leave, but you won't spend the night with me. Are you going to just stand there for the whole night?"

She paled and said, "If it makes you feel any better, I can...kneel here the whole night."

"Is that supposed to benefit me in any way?" the man mocked.

Vicky bowed her head in embarrassment.

The man checked the time and said, "You have one minute. Leave, or stay."

She was as pale as a ghost at this point and trembled pathetically.

Before long, the man's words pierced through the air like blades. "Time's up.

Loving You In Secret Chapter 355-The next morning, Vicky was woken up by the ringing of her phone. She fumbled for her phone and answered. "Hello..."

"Still sleeping?" A cold, melodious voice came from the phone.

"Tyler?" Vicky jolted awake and said, "ls...something wrong?"

After a brief moment of silence, he said, 'I texted you this morning and you didn't reply, so I was worried about you."

'This morning?' She repeated inwardly and glanced at the time to find that it was already twelve at noon.

When Vicky did not respond, Tyler added, "I called Nanny Paterson, and she said you're not at home. Did you not go home last night?"

She started panting heavily at the memories of the night before.

"I... I stayed in the hospital with Jennifer last night, so I didn't go home."

Tyler knew that Vicky had gone to spend nights with Jennifer in the hospital in his absence and did not suspect a word she said.

"You've been up all night taking care of Jennifer again, haven't you?" he asked.

Vicky tried her best to comb through her thoughts and muttered, "Yeah..."

"Should I hire a private nurse for you?"

Vicky’s heart sank as she blurted out, "It's fine!" Realizing that she sounded hysterical, she added, "Jennifer is recovering. Cece and I are enough...

Bringing a stranger in might make Jennifer uncomfortable."

Tyler did not insist. "Call me if you need anything."

"Sure."

Just as Tyler was about to hang up, she asked, "When are you coming home?"

"In about two weeks."

"I see..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Tears welled in her eyes, but she kept her tone cheerful. "Tell me when you're coming home. I want to pick you up from the airport."

"Sure."

The call ended, and Vicky curled up as her tears dropped onto the white sheets beneath her.

She had meant to tell Tyler the truth, but she did not know where to start.

She had lost consciousness from the stress the night before.

Vicky pulled at her hair in agony and though the pain helped to sober her up, she still could not find a solution for her current crisis.

The masked man was far too sharp for her to fool him with fake or unimportant documents.

She went to wash up and headed to the hospital to check on Jennifer.

Both Cece and Jennifer noticed how upset she was but dared not ask Vicky about it.

Vicky stayed for a while, but the two soon told her to rest at home.

Since she was indeed feeling exhausted, she did not insist on staying.

As soon as she returned home, her phone rang, and she came close to throwing her phone across the room when she saw the display on the screen.

It was from the masked man.

Vicky did not answer, nor did she reject the call until the call was automatically cut.

A few minutes later, her phone rang again and she glared at the numbers dancing on her screen.

For a moment, she desperately wished that she could stomp her phone into pieces, but suppressed her urge to do so.

The call was automatically dropped once again, and an unread message popped onto the screen.

There was no text and only a video. Without playing it, she knew what it was.

Loving You In Secret Chapter 356-Vicky closed her eyes and dialed back after a few minutes.

Beep, beep, beep...

The call was answered shortly after, but the man did not say a word, so Vicky spoke first, "I was occupied just now and didn't hear my phone ringing."

A voice altered by a voice changer came through the line. "Did you not hear it, or did not simply wish that you didn't hear it?"

"I didn’t hear it."

The man did not argue on the matter and asked, "Have you decided how you're going to accomplish your mission tonight, Miss Shaw?"

"Do I have to meet you tonight as well?" She panted heavily. "Are... Are you asking me to meet with you every single night?"

"That's right.’

"Tyler isn't in Stoneford City right now and I can go out to meet you, but he'll be back in a few days! By then—’

"How is that my problem?" interjected the man curtly.

Vicky froze.

'TH be waiting for you in the same hotel," said the man before ending the call without giving her the chance to react.

At eight that night, Vicky remained sitting in the study.

She had not been moving for hours as she stared at the laptop before her.

She did not turn on the light in the room, and the light on the screen reflected on her face.

'Let it be,' she thought, 'I don't care even if he hands the videos to Tyler or releases them online.'

Fear and guilt tormented her every single moment, and she knew that she would soon be driven mad.

She could never betray Tyler.

Vicky continued to sit dazedly for another half an hour when her phone started to ring.

She glanced at her phone. Instead of ignoring it, she answered the call expressionlessly.

"Vicky Shaw, you're late," the man said in displeasure.

"Yeah," she said coldly.

The man was sharp enough to spot the difference in her tone and said," Where are you right now, Vicky?"

"At home.’

"Are you not coming?"

Determination filled her eyes. "Yes."

"Are you not afraid of me sending Tyler the videos or releasing them to the public?"

"Go ahead," she said apathetically. "If I'm going to be miserable either way, I might as well choose a quick death over this torment.’

The man fell into silence, but Vicky did not care. "If that's all, I'm hanging up now."

"Vicky," the man called out. "Death isn't what's scary. You shouldn't be scared of wanting to die, but not being able to."

"Whatever you say."

The man chuckled darkly. "Vicky Shaw, you'll regret this."

Vicky did not waste any time and hung up right away.

The thick layer of curtain blocked the moonlight outside the windows, and Vicky found herself in the depth of nightmares.

Loving You In Secret Chapter 357-At first, Vicky thought that she was dreaming of Tyler, but it all felt too real to be a dream.

She opened her eyes abruptly and sobered when she saw the dark figure before her.

Realization dawned on her that it was not a dream, and she instantly recognized the man in her room.

It was the masked man.

They could not see much of one another in the dark, but their eyes reflected the light and shimmered.

"Why... Why are you here?" Vicky gaped at the figure.

For a moment, she wondered if she was still asleep.

After a few moments of silence, the altered voice echoed inside the room." You've extended an invitation to me, Miss Shaw. I would be rude if I don't come over here.'

"When have I ever invited you here?!"

"You didn’t show up at the hotel. Isn't that your way of inviting me to your house?’

Vicky shivered in rage and said, 'You're imagining it!’

"So be it,’ he said casually.

Vicky was so shocked by the sight of the man that she forgot where she was for a moment. Realization dawned on her that he had broken into her house.

"Password is needed at the door. How did you get in?”

Apart from Vicky and Tyler, Nanny Paterson was the only one who knew that password, and she was an experienced nanny who would never let it slip to anyone else.

'How did he find out about the password? It's a gigantic mansion, so how did he find out where my bedroom is?' she thought to herself.

He spotted the doubt on her face and said, 'Passwords are the easiest to break, and I didn't even need a locksmith or a hacker... I just needed to send my men to keep an eye on you and snap a photo of you when you key in the password.’

Her pupils contracted at his words. "You... You've been watching me?"

He chuckled with amusement. "Of course. How else will I find where you live?"

His tone was mocking and taunting, and Vicky's heart sank at his words.

The man showed her the phone he was holding in his hand and chuckled." When you passed out last night, I took some photos of us. Would you like to see them?"

"Photos? What photos?"

He ignored her question and mumbled to himself, ’Nothing happened between us last night, but I'm not sure if Tyler will believe that once he sees the photos. He might even think that we're on the same side."

"What on earth do you want from me?!"

"I gave you a choice, and you were the one who's been playing tricks with me. You can't blame me for not showing you mercy." He lowered his head and met her eyes. ’I came here tonight to teach you a lesson. Remember to show up in time tomorrow, or else... I'll be left with no option but to come looking for you.'

With that, the man vanished into the darkness.

The next morning, sunlight shone onto Vicky's cheeks, and her lashes fluttered as she slowly woke from her sleep.

Loving You In Secret Chapter 358-'Was it all just a dream?' she thought. 'That's right. It must be.'

She sat up and was about to go to the bathroom when she noticed something in the corner of her eye.

She froze at the sight of a demon mask next to her bed and felt her blood run cold.

Just then, her phone on the nightstand vibrated, and she unlocked it to find an unread message.

[Are you coming to me tonight, or should I come to you?]

All strength was instantly drained from her, and she started shivering.

Since she had not replied to the message, the phone started ringing. She felt numb as she stared at the number on the screen.

The call was automatically dropped sometime later, and the screen turned black.

A few minutes later, the screen lit up again, but she had not answered any of the calls.

She remained frozen in place and ignored the relentless ringing of her phone.

She did not know how long had passed, but the phone eventually stopped ringing.

Knock, knock!

Just then, someone knocked on the door, and she heard Nanny Paterson's voice from outside the door. "Missus Hart, are you awake?”

Vicky snapped out of her dazed state and turned to look at the door. "What is it, Nanny Paterson?" she asked hoarsely.

"Mister Hart just called you, but you didn't pick up. He was worried and wanted me to check on you."

After a few moments of silence, Vicky shouted through the door, ’I'm fine, Nanny Paterson.’

Relieved, Nanny Paterson said, "Remember to call Mister Hart back, then.

He's worried sick about you."

"Sure..."

Nanny Paterson left afterward, and Vicky sat on the bed for a while longer before picking her phone up from the floor with a blank look in her eyes.

There were a lot of missed calls; three from the masked man and three from Tyler.

Vicky stared at her phone bitterly and ignored the unknown number to call Tyler.

The call was answered right away. "Vicky."

Tears scrolled down her face at the sound of Tyler's familiar voice.

"Yeah," she murmured. "I'm sorry. I've just woken up, so I didn't hear my phone ringing."

After a brief moment of silence, Tyler asked, "What's wrong with your voice? Have you...been crying?"

Loving You In Secret Chapter 359-"No." Vicky sniffled and added, "I've probably caught a cold." "Take care of yourself.’

Another tear dropped at Tyler's words. "Yeah. You too." Worried that she might not be able to contain her emotions, she said, "I'm about to go downstairs to eat, so let's end the call here...’

Before she could hang up, Tyler called out to her, "Vicky.’

"Yes? What is it?"

"Are you really alright?"

"Of course," she said in the most cheerful manner she could manage. "I'm just tormented by a nightmare and haven't been able to sleep... Don't worry about me. I'll get better soon."

"Okay."

After breakfast, Vicky collected herself and went to visit Jennifer in the hospital.

She felt dazed and did not know what she was thinking or what she should do.

Everything was spinning out of control, and she had not expected the masked man to be mad enough to break into her house.

Even if Tyler had been understanding, he would never tolerate her if he was told that she had been with someone else, and she would struggle to accept it as well if she was in his shoes.

Too caught up in her thoughts, Vicky accidentally bumped into a passerby.

"I'm sorry...’ Vicky apologized.

"Vicky," a melodious, soothing voice called out to her. "Are you ill?"

She looked up and saw a devilishly handsome face, his almond-shaped eyes locking onto hers.

"Harvey Sparks..."

Ever since Harvey’s true identity was exposed, it had been a long time since Vicky saw or contacted him.

He studied the pale look on her face and frowned. "Is Tyler hurting you again?"

She shook her head. "No."

"You look horrible."

"I haven’t been sleeping well."

"Why are you at the hospital, Vicky? Are you feeling ill?"

Harvey could tell that Vicky had lost a lot of weight.

"No," she said emotionlessly. "Just visiting a friend here.’

"Vicky..."

Vicky did not want to continue the conversation and thus said, "I should get going.’

Before he had the chance to respond, Vicky walked around him and left.

Jennifer was young and healthy, so she could take care of herself.

Moreover, the doctors informed them that she could be discharged after a week.

Vicky was in such bad shape that she could easily be mistaken as the one who was sick. She managed to stay for a while to chat with Jennifer before leaving.

She had to find a way to survive the night.

The thought that she would be stuck in the same nightmare for the following three months, she felt helpless and devastated.

Vicky did not know what else she was supposed to do.

Loving You In Secret Chapter 360-Vicky walked out of the hospital, but she wandered on the street instead of going home.

Vicky used to feel secure at home, but it recently became suffocating to stay home as well.

Honk!

Hearing the honk of a car, she looked up to find a car racing toward her. She had been in her head the entire time and could not react in time, so it was too late to dodge.

Screech!

The car came to a sudden halt, and the people around gasped. The car was at too high a speed to stop immediately.

Just when everyone thought that Vicky was about to be sent flying, someone pulled her backward abruptly, and the car raced by.

"Thank you." Vicky turned to look at the person who helped her.

Harvey gazed down at her. 'Vicky, what happened?"

He had never seen her in such a terrible state before.

"I'm fine," she said. "I just haven't been sleeping well."

Harvey had known Vicky for long enough to spot her lie and said, "Vicky, you don’t look like you’re just suffering from the lack of sleep."

She had not told Tyler what happened, so she was not going to tell Harvey. Thus, she changed the subject. 'Why are you here?"

Harvey shot her a knowing look and said, "You went in there to see your friend and you eventually have to come out, so I waited for you at the entrance."

Vicky was too absorbed in her thoughts to notice him, and since he did not know what happened to her, he decided to follow her and ran into the sight of her almost getting hit by a car.

Vicky did not want to be associated with Harvey, but she could not possibly give him the cold shoulder when he saved her life. "Mister Sparks, do you need something?"

"Vicky, I want to talk to you."

"We've said everything we needed to say on the phone last time.’

"I won't use you against Tyler, Vicky. You don't have to avoid me like this."

Vicky did not respond.

"Ten minutes. Just give me ten minutes, okay?" Harvey looked at her. "You wouldn't want me to come to the hospital looking for you every day, would you?"

Vicky was already at her wit's end with the masked man and did not have the strength to deal with Harvey, so she nodded.

Five minutes later, the two sat down in a cafe by the road.

The bittersweet scent of coffee filled the air as the two sat across each other wordlessly.

Vicky was the first to break the silence. "Proceed, Mister Sparks."

He picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip. The bitterness filled his mouth, and he drawled, "You are aware of the fight between me and Tyler back then, right?"

She nodded.

"I came really close to buying Hart Corporation out, but Tyler's parents died on their way to sign it, and the buyout was never confirmed. Before stepping foot into Stoneford City, I ran a detailed analysis of the power balance in Zendonia and though the Harts were pretty well-off, they were considered inferior to the Sparks and even the Shaws. I extended the intention of joining forces with the Shaws, and Stoneford City was supposed to be mine."

Vicky did not know why he was telling her this and muttered, 'Are you saying that you wouldn’t have failed unless Tyler played dirty and plotted against you?"

"Tyler resented me, and it's not strange to assume that he'd plot against me, but..."

He stared into her eyes seriously as the casual look on his face vanished." He dared to tell you that I gave you to another man for some woman..." He narrowed his eyes coldly. "When that 'other man' was him!"