The House Husband is a Secret Tycoon

Chapter Three

The woman stood beside the car, looking perfectly composed in her tailored suit, and smiled at him.

Julian stared – he knew that face.

She was Gianna Brennan, CEO of Apex Innovations, one of the largest tech companies in the region.

The newspapers always referred to her as the Ice Queen because she was cold, untouchable and ruthless in business.

There was a story about her that everyone repeated – how the richest man in the city had pursued her for months, sent her gifts, showed up at her office with flowers, and she'd turned him down without a second thought.

But right now, she was giving him a warm smile, as if she'd known him for a long time and had been waiting for him.

"Young Master," she said again.

Julian's expression remained hard. "Do I know you?"

Gianna laughed softly. "Of course you do. We've met many times."

He searched his memory and came up empty. "I don't remember –"

"This isn't a good place to talk," she said, gesturing to the car. "Please. Let me explain properly."

Julian looked at the car, then back at her.

His knuckles were still bleeding. His chest still felt tight with rage.

After a moment, he nodded and got into the car.

***

At the coffee shop, Gianna ordered for both of them without asking what he wanted. The server nodded and disappeared.

Julian sat across from her and waited.

"You really don't remember?" Gianna asked, leaning back in her chair.

"No."

She studied him for a moment, then smiled again. "There was a banquet two years ago. Your wife attended. She drank too much."

Julian frowned. He remembered that night. Colette had come home late, makeup smudged, her dress wrinkled. She'd said she was fine, just tired.

"There was a man there," Gianna continued. "He was an influential investor. He cornered her in a hallway when she was too drunk to walk straight."

Julian's stomach tightened.

"You showed up," Gianna said, "I don't know how you knew where she was, but you walked right into that hallway, in front of everyone, and you knocked him down. One punch. Then you picked her up and carried her out."

The memory came back slowly. The banquet hall. The text from Colette's assistant saying she wasn't feeling well. The man with his hand on her waist, leaning too close.

Julian had seen red that night too.

He'd hit the man hard enough to break his nose. Then he'd taken Colette home and put her to bed and never mentioned it again because she'd asked him not to make a big deal out of it.

"I was there," Gianna said. "I saw the whole thing."

Julian looked up at her.

"And I remember thinking," she said softly, "that Colette Mercer was the luckiest woman in the world. To have someone like you."

The words hit him harder than he expected. His throat tightened.

He thought about all the things he'd done for Colette over the years. The late nights he'd waited up for her. The meals he'd cooked. The way he'd defended her to his own mother.

Then he thought about what she'd said at the celebration.

He did serve that purpose.

His hands curled into fists on the table.

"She doesn't deserve any of it," he said coldly.

Gianna's eyes widened slightly. Then understanding flickered across her face.

The Julian she'd seen two years ago would have never said that. That man had looked at Colette like she hung the moon. He'd defended her without question.

He had loved her without limits but this man sitting across from her now, he was cold.

Something I changed.

"Something happened," she said. It wasn't a question.

Julian didn't say anything, he didn't need to but his jaw tightened. Gianna nodded slowly. Whatever had happened, it had been bad

enough to break him free.

"You're right. She doesn't deserve it."

She leaned forward, folding her hands on the table.

"Then let's talk business," she said. "should we remove Apex's support from Mercer & Co?”

“Apex Innovations has been supporting Mercer & Co for three years now. Did you know that?"

Julian looked up at her.

"We're one of their biggest partners,"

Gianna said. "The only reason they have our contract is because someone very high up told me to give it to them."

Julian's thought back to what his mother had said earlier about helping Mercer and Co because of him.

"We even sent one of our best people to work with them," Gianna continued. "David Park. One of our top engineers. He's been embedded in their company for two years, helping them develop their platform."

Julian stared at her.

"If you want," Gianna said carefully, "I can pull all of that,”

Julian's mind raced. Colette's company had grown fast over the last three years. He'd always wondered how she'd managed to land such big clients so quickly.

Now he knew – It was all his mother and Colette had no idea.

"I don't want to waste time on her," Julian said finally. His voice was flat. "Dealing with her isn't worth the energy."

Gianna nodded.

"But," Julian added, his jaw tight, "she doesn't deserve any of it either."

"So?"

"Do what you think is right," he said.

Gianna smiled. "Understood."

She picked up her coffee and took a sip, looking satisfied.

Julian's phone buzzed on the table.

He glanced down and saw Colette's name on the screen.

His stomach twisted.

Giannanoticed. "Your wife?"

Julian didn't answer. He just stared at the screen as it buzzed again and again.

Finally, he picked it up.

"What."

Colette's sharp voice came through, "Where the hell are you?"

She didn't give him a chance to answer.

"You need to come back right now and apologize," she snapped. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Sebastian's face is a mess. His nose is broken. He's talking about pressing charges."

Julian's grip tightened on the phone.

"Are you listening to me?" Colette's voice rose higher. "You're going to come back here and apologize to him. Right now. I don't care where you are or what you're doing. Get back here and fix this."