I Called Him from Under an AVALANCHE, But He Declined to Bed His Secretary Chapter 01
The day after we renewed our vows, Julian Hayes went straight back to his secretary.
The earthquake came without warning. Then the avalanche. The snow swallowed me whole.
He lied.
I tracked the address to Snowcrest and found the villa — snow-covered, tucked away where no one would look. Their hideaway.
The earthquake came without warning. Then the avalanche. Snow swallowed me whole.
I called Julian with shaking hands. He let it ring twice, then declined.
[Problem with the Westridge project. I’ll be gone for a week. Don’t call me.]
That message was colder than the snow crushing my chest.
Blood pooled under me. I dialed 911 before everything went black.
Once I was back in Oakhaven, I went straight to Harper Reed. My best friend. My lawyer. I needed her to draw up the divorce papers.
Harper studied me, frowning. “You’re not going to take him back again, are you?”
My hand pressed against my lower belly. There was nothing left in my eyes.
“No. A baby and one eye — I’ve paid enough.”
***
Harper exhaled. “Is he even back yet? Wasn’t it supposed to be one week?”
I stared at the coffee in front of me. My left eye saw nothing — just black.
“I don’t know.”
“He hasn’t reached out.”
Two weeks. We were husband and wife, and we hadn’t spoken a single word to each other.
Harper went quiet.
She squeezed my hand.
“Stop thinking about it. I’ll have the papers ready tomorrow — want me to drive you home?”
I shook my head. “I’m fine. I’ll stay a little longer.”
Harper was barely out the door when my phone buzzed.
The home security app alerted me — an unrecognized person had entered the house.
I frowned and tapped it open.
Julian. Finally home after two weeks.
He’d been gone so long the camera flagged him as a stranger.
On the feed, he tossed his suitcase by the door, dropped onto the couch, and started a video call.
I zoomed in. Sienna Brooks.
Her voice was syrupy, all pouty and clingy.
“You just left, and I already miss you. When are you coming back?”
Julian tugged his tie loose, his voice dropping into something warm.
“Give it a month. Hazel’s gonna start asking questions if I keep disappearing.”
“Behave while I’m gone, okay? If anything happens, call me. Lock up at night, and don’t go anywhere without the driver.”
He kept going — fussing, reminding, checking every detail — with a patience I’d forgotten he was capable of.
I tried to remember the last time he’d talked to me like that. All I ever got anymore was, “Don’t bother me with every little thing, Hazel. Handle it yourself.”
I almost laughed.
On the feed, Julian hung up and paused — like something had just occurred to him.
He glanced around the empty house, then picked up his phone again.
My phone rang. Julian.
“Where are you?”
Every trace of that warmth — gone.
Not cruel, exactly. Just hollow. Like I was some employee on his payroll.
“The hospital,” I said, keeping my voice flat.
On the feed, his hand stopped halfway to his mouth. “Want me to come?”
If he actually cared, he wouldn’t ask. He’d already be in the car.
So I gave him the easy out. “It’s nothing. Allergies. I’ll be home soon.”
He made a sound that might’ve been “okay” and hung up.
What had I expected?
My coffee was stone-cold.
I grabbed my bag and walked outside. I raised a hand for a cab — and heard the screech of tires half a second too late.
The e-bike hit me from the left — my blind side. I went down hard, both knees scraping raw on the pavement.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Watch where you’re going!”
He rode off still swearing. The pain drained every bit of color from my face.
Nothing on my left but darkness. I couldn’t even walk down a street without becoming a target.
I limped home. Julian was in the bedroom, packing his suitcase.
His suitcase was all neutrals — black, white, gray. And right there on top, a white Aries keychain, impossible to miss.
He glanced up.
“You’re back?” Then he caught me looking at the keychain and didn’t miss a beat.
“The Westridge client’s daughter gave it to me. She’s like five — I wasn’t gonna say no to a kid.”
I nodded and let it go.
I didn’t mention that Sienna was an Aries.
His eyes dropped to my knees, still bleeding, and his jaw went tight.
“You didn’t even clean that up?”
He tucked the keychain out of sight first. Then he went for the first aid kit.
I sat on the edge of the bed. Julian knelt and started cleaning the scrapes.
Watching him bend over my knees pulled something loose — a memory. High school. The mile. I’d wiped out mid-race and bled all over the track.
Julian had patched me up then, too.
Except back then, his eyes had been redder than mine — eighteen years old and more wrecked over my scraped knees than I was.
Now there was nothing. Not even a flicker.
He closed the kit.
His gaze caught on my eyes for a second — long enough to notice, if he’d been looking. He wasn’t.
“Hey — there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
I looked up. He had that expression — already bracing for my reaction. “What?”
“You know how bad the avalanches get up in Snowcrest this time of year. I want to bring Sienna back for now — just until it’s safe. I can’t leave her up there.”
Something inside me went numb.
I didn’t ask why he couldn’t move her to a different part of Snowcrest. I didn’t ask why it couldn’t be another city, another country — anywhere but here.
Asking would only humiliate me.
So I nodded.
“Fine. Bring her back. Whatever makes you happy.”
