Betrothed to the Billionaire

Chapter 5

Lisa’s POV

I didn’t cry when I left.

That was the strange part.

Not when I heard them.

Not when I stood outside that door and listened to the two of the people I trusted most in this world reduce me to nothing.

Not even when I walked out of the apartment I paid for.

I just… walked.

Like my body had forgotten how to react.

But the moment I got into the car…

Everything hit at once.

My hands trembled so badly I almost dropped the keys.

“God… what the hell was that?” I whispered, my voice shaking as I tried to steady my breathing.

Ken.

Daniela.

Together.

Laughing.

Planning.

Using me.

I let out a broken laugh, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“No… no, no, no…” I muttered, shaking my head like I could undo what I had just heard. “That didn’t just happen. That didn’t…”

But it did.

I could still hear their voices.

Clear.

Sharp.

Mocking.

“She’ll get the money.”

“Just be patient.”

“Once she gives it to you, we leave.”

My chest tightened so hard it hurt to breathe.

“Oh my God…” My voice cracked, and this time, the tears came. “Oh my God…”

They didn’t even love me.

Not for a second.

Not even a little.

Everything, every kiss, every call, every “I miss you,” every moment I thought was real…

Was a lie.

I slammed my hand against the steering wheel.

“Was anything even real?!” I shouted into the empty car, my voice breaking completely.

The silence that answered me was worse than anything.

Because I already knew the truth.

Nothing was.

I rested my forehead against the wheel, my shoulders shaking now as the tears fell harder.

“I paid for everything…” I whispered, the realization cutting deeper with every word. “Everything…”

The apartment.

His clothes.

His trips.

Even the stupid little things, his dinners, his fuel, his “business meetings.”

God.

I even gave him money to impress other people.

I choked out a laugh through my tears.

“I built his life…” I said hoarsely. “I funded everything… and he…”

My voice broke completely.

“And he was planning to leave me.”

That was the part that shattered me.

Not just the betrayal.

But the humiliation.

The stupidity.

How blind I had been.

How easily they played me.

How Daniela… Daniela… sat there, looked me in the eye, and told me I was overthinking.

I hit the steering wheel again, harder this time.

“How could you do that to me?!” I cried, like she could hear me. “How could you sit there and lie to me like that?!”

My breathing became uneven, messy.

“I trusted you…” I whispered. “I trusted you more than anyone…”

And she used that.

God.

She used it perfectly.

I didn’t know how long I sat there.

Crying.

Thinking.

Breaking.

But at some point…

Something shifted.

Not healed.

Not even close.

But something changed.

Because the pain didn’t disappear.

It just… hardened.

Turned into something sharper.

Colder.

I wiped my tears roughly, inhaling deeply as I forced myself upright.

“Okay…” I whispered. “Okay…”

My voice wasn’t steady.

But it wasn’t completely broken anymore either.

“Okay, Lisa… think.”

My reflection stared back at me faintly from the windshield, eyes red, makeup ruined, face pale.

I barely recognized myself.

“They played you,” I said quietly. “Fine.”

My grip tightened on the wheel.

“But it ends here.”

The drive home was a blur.

Not because I wasn’t paying attention…

But because my mind wouldn’t stop.

Everything replayed.

Every memory now twisted into something ugly.

Every laugh now sounded fake.

Every touch now felt like a lie.

By the time I pulled into the estate, my head was pounding.

My chest still hurt.

But I wasn’t crying anymore.

I was angry.

I stepped out of the car without waiting.

“Miss…” someone called, but I didn’t stop.

“I need to see my parents. Now.”

My voice was sharp enough to cut through anything.

The maid nodded quickly. “They’re in the study.”

Of course they were.

Always the study.

Always where everything gets decided.

I didn’t knock.

I pushed the door open.

Hard.

Both of them looked up immediately.

“Lisa…” my mother started.

“I need to talk to you.”

My voice came out low.

Too calm.

Dangerously calm.

My father frowned slightly. “What is it?”

I shut the door behind me.

“I went to see Ken.”

That got their attention.

“And?” my father asked.

I laughed.

A dry, broken sound.

“And?” I repeated. “You want to know what I found out?”

My hands shook again, but this time I didn’t try to hide it.

“I’ve been funding his entire life.”

Silence.

“What?” my father asked slowly.

“I pay for everything,” I said, my voice rising now. “His apartment? Me. His clothes? Me. His trips? Me. Every dinner, every outing, every single thing… me!”

My mother’s face went pale.

“Lisa…”

“I gave him money for his so-called ‘business plans,’” I continued bitterly. “Money he never used for anything except himself!”

My father’s expression hardened. “You did all that… without telling us?”

“Yes!” I snapped. “Because I thought I was in love!”

The word love tasted disgusting now.

“I thought I was helping him build something,” I added, my voice cracking again. “I thought… I thought we were building something together…”

My throat tightened painfully.

“But he was building it with her.”

My mother froze. “With who?”

I looked at her.

And for the first time…

It hurt to say it.

“Daniela.”

The room went completely still.

“No…” my mother whispered.

“Yes.”

I let out a shaky breath.

“They’ve been together. The whole time.”

My father stepped forward. “That’s not possible…”

“I heard them!” I shouted. “I was there! I went to his apartment and I heard them talking about me like I was nothing!”

My voice broke again, tears spilling over despite everything.

“They were planning it,” I said, my chest heaving. “They were waiting for me to bring the money… so they could leave together.”

My mother covered her mouth, crying instantly.

“Oh my God…”

“They laughed,” I whispered. “They were laughing at me…”

That was it.

That was the part I couldn’t hold together.

“I gave them everything…” I cried. “Everything… and they were just waiting to take more…”

My father looked like he might explode.

“I will destroy him,” he said coldly.

“No!”

The word came out desperate.

“Don’t… please don’t…”

“Lisa…”

“Don’t,” I repeated, shaking my head. “They’re not worth it.”

My voice dropped.

“They already took enough from me.”

Silence.

Heavy.

Broken.

My father exhaled slowly. “Then this marriage… we’ll find another way.”

“No.”

Both of them looked at me.

“I’m going to marry him.”

“Lisa, no…”

“Yes.”

My voice didn’t shake this time.

Not even a little.

“I’m done being stupid,” I said quietly. “I’m done being the girl people use.”

My chest rose and fell.

“This marriage… it’s not about love. It’s not about choice.”

I swallowed.

“It’s about survival.”

My mother cried harder. “You don’t have to do this…”

“I do.”

I looked at my father.

“You’ve given me everything,” I said, softer now. “Everything. And I wasted it… on people who didn’t deserve it.”

My voice cracked again.

“But I won’t let everything fall apart because of me.”

A tear slid down my cheek.

“I won’t.”

Silence filled the room again.

But this time…

It felt different.

Final.

My mother pulled me into her arms, crying.

I held her.

Tightly.

Like if I let go, everything would disappear.

My father joined us, his arms wrapping around both of us.

And for the first time in my life…

We weren’t powerful.

We weren’t untouchable.

We weren’t the Daves family everyone envied.

We were just…

Broken.

And somewhere in that brokenness…

I made a decision.

Not as the girl who had everything.

But as someone who had just lost it all.

I was going to marry Ethan George.

And this time…

I wasn’t walking in blind.