Loveless Betrothal

Chapter 2

"Let me formally introduce myself," he starts.

He bit his lower lip before continuing. "My name is Zoren Nikkolas Brennery. I'm your fiance's uncle."

I tried to suppress my laugh from disbelief but I ended up letting out a chuckle. This guy is insane.

"You don't look like your age for an uncle. And how do you prove that claim of yours?" I asked.

He gave me my purse before grabbing his phone from the pocket of his chinos. "You left your purse earlier, by the way," he commented while going through his phone.

"Oh... thank you."

He then gave me his phone, showing a family picture with the Brennerys in it. I looked at him and raised my eyebrows. "You could've just edited yourself in this photo."

He let out a laugh. "Damn, did my nephew give you trust issues?" He then showed me their group chat with the whole family. "Do you want me to ask Chris?"

I stopped for a moment before answering his question. I can't tell our parents about what happened tonight--it might start a feud between the two families and I also don't want to ruin this special night for them. "Alright, I believe you. But I have a question."

"Hmm?" he smiled while raising his eyebrows.

"Did you follow me from the party?"

He chuckled before gently grabbing my hand, and walking on the grand hallways in the penthouse floor. "Baby, I own this place."

My lips parted after hearing what he said, caught in disbelief that the guy I accused of being my stalker, turns out to be a wealthy businessman who owns the entire place. Let's not forget that he is also the uncle of my fiance--err, make that ex-fiance.

We stopped as he opened the door with his keycard. Before I could get inside the room, my phone rang. It was my sister, Irene. I decided to answer her call since there were already 26 missed calls from her. She must be distraught.

"Can you take your call inside? There might be people around that will hear you," he asked.

I just nodded and went inside. Zoren then closed the door and went ahead, giving me my privacy as I stood at the doorway.

"Betty?! Where are you?!" it was the voice of my sister on the other line.

"Hey, I'm still at the hotel, you don't have to worry about me," I answered, almost whispering to the phone.

"Mom and Dad are looking everywhere for you! Where are you? I'm going to go and get you."

"Can you tell them that I'm not feeling well tonight? I might've drank too much from the party."

"All the more reason I should come and get you."

"No no.. I already booked a room here. I'm really tired tonight and I just want to take a rest," I responded. "I swear, I'll go back to my flat first thing in the morning."

"Wait, don't tell me you're... UGH! You made me worry! No wonder both you and Oliver were gone!"

I let out a fake laugh. "Yeah! I'm with him right now, he's asleep though."

"Okay, I'll tell them you're with Oliver. The party just ended anyway, so they were just worried that you weren't there."

"Okay, thanks, bye!" I abruptly ended the call.

I let out a deep breath before looking around the interior of the room I was in. I peeked at the kitchen and saw Zoren preparing something. I silently walked over to him to see what he was doing, but he instantly noticed my presence and gave me an assuring smile.

"Did you ease their worries?" he asked.

I nodded. "What are you doing?"

He stopped and turned to face me. He gently pats his hands on the pink bunny apron that he's wearing--unusual, but kinda cute, to be honest. "After all the drinking you've done tonight, I know you're famished", he said before turning his attention back to the food.

"So, what's your story?" I asked him out of the blue.

"My story? Well, I'm your typical handsome rich guy who knows how to cook," he answered.

"I mean, how come I never see you around? I didn't even know Oliver had an uncle our age," I asked as I sat on the counter.

"Now you'll see me often," he said while putting a plate of food in front of me. "Pepper lunch beef and rice."

I looked at the food in front of me. I can't lie, I'm impressed by how delicious this looks. The slices of beef look perfectly cooked, along with the rice and corn topped with spring onions. My mouth instantly watered just by the having a whiff of the smell!

"Did you cook this just now?" I asked, impressed by his skills. "This looks good."

He smiled. "Thank you. You better eat up now, the food will get cold."

I enjoyed devouring the food he had prepared for me while he cleaned up. It was just a simple meal but it felt very hearty and homey for me. The beef was succulent and tender--it was braised to perfection, paired with its sweet and salty sauce. This made me realize that Oliver never cooked a meal for me.

"You know, Oliver never cooked for me before," I commented.

"Hmm? And why is that?" he asked while taking a seat in front of me.

I stopped to gather my thoughts before answering his question. A realization then hit me that our relationship was never really rooted deep within us--like our love didn't feel intimate. "When we'd go out on dates, we'd usually go to fancy restaurants, or if I'm at his place, he'd have his chef prepare a meal for us."

"Wow, and how long were you guys together?"

"More than a year now," I answered.

He let out a chuckle. "I'm not surprised it didn't work out."

My brows furrowed after hearing what he said. "Did you perhaps forget that I just witnessed my best friend French kissing my fiance?"

"Ex-fiance," he corrected me. "Or will you forgive him and take him back?"

I almost spit out the food on his face after hearing what he said. which made him laugh. "Betraying me once is enough--and I've had enough. Besides, I should've seen this one coming."

"Hey," he called my attention. "No one deserves this betrayal."

After hearing those words from him, I got teary-eyed. I've been suppressing the pain I'm feeling right now. It's hard to witness the betrayal with your own eyes, even more so that it was the people you trusted the most. What have I done wrong?

I couldn't help but cry at how the situation has led to this--how I have been fooled by the people I love. Zoren was startled when I started crying my heart out. He immediately moved to the seat beside mine. He held me as I lost my strength and just sobbed in his arms. "Hey.. shh.. everything will be alright, Betty."

I sobbed even more. It's so unfair.

After I cried my eyes out and finally calmed down, Zoren took me to the bedroom and gave me some spare clothes to change into. "These are mine but they're brand new, so don't worry."

I just nodded.

He then gently pats my head. "Don't worry about it. Just get some sleep here, I'll sleep on the couch."

After that, he left and closed the door. I then fixed my composure, took a quick shower, and changed into the clothes Zoren let me borrow, which were quite oversized for me since he has a huge build. After brushing my teeth, I peeked outside to see where Zoren was. I wanted to thank him for helping me even though he could choose not to.

The lights were turned off but I could see him lying on the couch, probably dozing off already. "I'll just talk to him tomorrow."

Later that morning, I woke up to the muffled sound of the news on the TV. I could feel the warmth on my skin being kissed by the sunlight--it was a cozy feeling. My eyes wandered around the room before I could even notice that this was not my flat. I immediately stood up and fixed the bed. I then carefully opened the door to try and sneak out of there.

"Good morning," it was Zoren, cooking breakfast in the kitchen. "Are you feeling better now?"

I was surprised that he noticed me sneaking out of the room--I probably wasn't quiet enough. "Yes, thank you for asking." I then proceeded to sit at the counter, facing where he was cooking. "Um so... I just wanna thank you for helping me out yesterday. I was honestly a mess, so I apologize if I burdened you too much."

"Like what I said, don't worry about it," he responded. "Do you like sunny-side-up eggs?"

"Um, actually..." I answered. "I was planning to leave right now."

He turned to look at me. "You're not hungry?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, I still have things to take care of."

He gave me an assuring smile. "That's fine, but if you ever need anything, you know where to find me."

I called Mr. Simon to pick me up from the hotel, while I waited at the hotel lobby. I honestly don't look like myself right now--I doubt anyone would recognize me. While waiting, I got bored so I decided to read the newspaper. Unfortunately, I'm not on the headline page--but then again, if someone in the press was there yesterday, I'd be on the front page of every newspaper now.

Not long after, Mr. Simon picked me up from the hotel and drove me to my family's mansion. They have to know the truth about why I was gone yesterday. They deserve to at least know that.

When I arrived at the mansion, everything seemed normal, except for the fact that I was still wearing yesterday's white dress. Yikes, I better get changed. I carefully asked one of our maids to fetch me some clean clothes from my old room--if there were any. Luckily, there was, and I was able to change my clothes before talking to my parents.

I went inside and looked for them--turns out they were having breakfast with my other siblings. I quickly rushed to the dining room so I could tell them that the wedding was off--and that Oliver was a cheating, lying bastard!

"Sylvia, you finally decided to show up!' it was my Dad.

"Hi Mom, Dad, fellow siblings, and Oli--"

Oliver?! What the hell is he doing here?!

Oliver stood up and walked up to me. "Hey, Darling. Sorry I left the hotel first, your Dad called for me."

"Please excuse us," I said while I pulled Oliver away from the dining room.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I almost shouted in frustration.

Oliver held my hands. "Betty... I'm sorry for what I did. It was an honest mistake," he said, still caressing my hands. "If you can forgive me, we can just forget about it and our engagement will be okay, our company will be okay!"

I withdrew my hands from his grip. "Don't take me for a fool, Oliver. The engagement is off!"

"Then, why did you tell your sister that you were with me the entire night?!" he raised his voice in anger.

I gulped. "I didn't want to ruin their night. It was an important event for them! And why are you getting angry at me? You're the one who cheated on me with my best friend!"

He put his hands behind his head, trying to calm himself down. He took a deep breath before responding to me. "Look, we can't cancel the engagement. This has been planned by our parents ever since they became friends. I can't afford to mess up the chance to create a billion-dollar company."

I scoffed. "You should've thought about that before cheating on me. What did I even do to deserve that kind of betrayal?!"

He let out a scornful laugh. "You're the most shallow woman I have ever met. That's why I cheated on you. The entirety of our relationship is just about you being the center of attention!"

Tears suddenly streamed down my face after hearing those words from him. This was not the man I fell in love with.

I was completely oblivious to who he was--all because I loved him and always chose to see the good in him. I can't be with a man like him. I can't fool myself anymore.

"The engagement is off," I coldly replied.

He let out a scoff. "Good luck finding a new fiance who can endure your shallowness."

"Don't you worry," I grinned.

"I already have a new fiance."