The CEO’s Masked Secret Wife

Hazel's POV

The next morning, we greeted the day with the rich aroma of my mother's coffee drifting through the farmhouse. Leo bounced with excitement as my dad led him to the small barn for the morning milking. They returned with Leo sporting a white mustache and clutching a blue enamel mug like a trophy.

Breakfast unfolded to the symphony of birdsong filtering through the expansive windows. The house embraced us with its generous space and comfort, morning light streaming across our table as fresh air swept through every room.

Our walking tour revealed the true scope of my parents' sanctuary. The property stretched far enough to accommodate a thriving orchard heavy with fruit, vegetable plots bursting with every green imaginable, and farm buildings housing their modest livestock collection. Leo squealed with delight as my mother guided him through collecting warm eggs from the henhouse.

The front garden bloomed in a riot of colors, centered around a small pond where a duck family paddled contentedly. Colonial-style porches wrapped around the house, adorned with swaying hammocks and wooden benches positioned perfectly beneath each window.

Behind the main house, a complete outdoor living area awaited with its own kitchen and gleaming swimming pool that made Leo's eyes light up like Christmas morning. Beyond that, a natural spring fed a gentle stream that wound its way across the entire property like a silver ribbon.

Leo gazed up at me with those distinctive violet eyes that never failed to melt my heart.

"Mommy, can we call Liam to come swim with me?"

"Sweetheart, Liam lives very far away in a different city. That won't work for this visit," I explained gently, catching my mother's knowing smile from across the garden.

My parents had truly found their slice of heaven, and seeing their contentment filled me with profound happiness. Chloe arrived just as we finished lunch, and my parents eagerly launched into their grand tour.

"Arthur, this place is absolutely paradise! Now I'm seriously considering retirement somewhere exactly like this," Chloe declared with genuine admiration. The easy affection between her and my parents warmed my heart as they embraced her like family.

"This is your home too, Chl. Our door is always open," my father said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders with paternal warmth.

Later, Chloe suggested a trip into town with Leo. My mother seized the opportunity to hand us her market list, and we prepared for our expedition.

Chloe parked near the town square, and we made our first stop at the popcorn vendor before settling onto a familiar bench. The afternoon stretched before us as we reminisced about countless conversations we'd shared in this exact spot during our youth.

As we strolled through the unchanged streets, the familiar chorus of malicious whispers followed us. The same voices still branded me as lost and my son as illegitimate, but their poison no longer penetrated my armor. Their small-minded prejudice had lost all power over me.

Inside the supermarket, I methodically worked through my mother's list until I turned into the cookie aisle and froze. Ethan stood there looking like a scarecrow come to life - gaunt, disheveled, unshaven, and wearing a wrinkled shirt that had seen better days. The sight of him made me silently thank God for my narrow escape.

"Well, look who's back. Hazel. Took you longer than I expected," Ethan sneered with familiar mockery.

"I'm visiting my parents, Ethan. Not that it concerns you," I replied, attempting to sidestep his pathetic form.

"I can only imagine the lifestyle you're living in Haven Harbor. Big city anonymity, no one watching your every move. You must be spreading your legs for anyone with a pulse."

"Keep your filthy mouth shut, Ethan! You have zero right to speak to me that way," I shot back, anger flaring in my chest.

"But I used to have rights. Or have you conveniently forgotten that I was your first?" His words made my stomach turn with revulsion.

"You know what, Ethan? I don't regret getting pregnant by a stranger for one second. He was more of a man in one night than you managed to be in all our years together. What I do regret is wasting precious time with a pathetic excuse for a man who never gave me a single moment of satisfaction and betrayed me with my own cousin in my own bed," I snarled, feeling righteous fury consume me completely.

"You're nothing but a whore, Hazel! Thank God I ended up with Jessica instead," he spat with pure venom in his bloodshot eyes.

"Oh right, because Jessica serviced half the town, but since they weren't strangers, that somehow makes her respectable?" I countered with biting sarcasm.

"You little..." Ethan lunged forward and seized my arm with bruising force.

"Release her immediately, you pathetic loser!" Chloe's voice cut through the tension as she appeared behind me, Leo secure in her arms. "Let go and disappear right now, or I'll create such a scene that when we end up at the police station, my father's attorney will personally ensure you're charged with assault and harassment."

Ethan's grip loosened as he flashed Chloe a disgusting smile, though his eyes burned with pure hatred. He'd always despised her and constantly tried to poison our friendship.

"Well, well, if it isn't the she-devil herself, complete with the little bastard," Ethan's insult toward my friend and my son shattered my last thread of control.

"What exactly is happening here?" Mr. Tobias, the store manager, appeared at the end of the aisle. "Ethan, you will not cause disturbances in my establishment. You should be ashamed to even breathe the same air as Hazel. She's a respectable young woman, and you're absolute garbage."

I stepped between them, pointing my finger directly at Ethan's wasted face with unwavering intensity.

"Stay away from my son! And my friend. Now get out of my sight. If you see us again, pretend we're complete strangers."

Ethan slithered away down the aisle, leaving my body trembling with residual fury. Chloe wrapped her arm around my shoulders with gentle support.

"Honey, this toxicity isn't part of our reality anymore. We're only in this town because of your parents."

I looked at her with overwhelming gratitude for her unwavering loyalty and protection of my son, who remained blissfully unaware, contentedly working on his lollipop.

"Chl, this child is going to lose every tooth in his head if you keep pumping him full of sugar," I said, and despite everything, we dissolved into cleansing laughter.