The Heiress And The Tycoon: A Billion-Dollar Payback

AZULA “I want a divorce.” My fingers clenched tighter around the tiny gift box hidden in my pocket — inside it, the pregnancy test I had wrapped with trembling hands just that morning. I thought it would bring him joy. I thought it might save us, or at least stitch together the cracks that had slowly begun to splinter our marriage over the past few months. But now… those hopes felt foolish. “Why?” It was the only thing I could manage to say. “I thought we were okay.” Caius let out a sharp scoff — cold, dismissive like my confusion was some kind of joke. “You know we’re not okay, Azula. Don’t pretend you don’t see it.” I bit down on my bottom lip, hard, trying to hold back the tears rising fast and hot behind my eyes. “Aren’t we? Can’t we be?” He shook his head, looking away as if even meeting my gaze would be too much. “I need to move on with my life. And I can’t do that while I’m still tied to you.” That was it. The dam broke. Tears streamed down my face. I didn’t bother to wipe them away — what would be the point? He could already see it—all of it—the pain, the hurt, the disbelief written in my bloodshot eyes. Whether I held the tears back or not wouldn’t change a thing. “Are you… Are you calling me bad luck?” My voice cracked as I asked. He scoffed, his expression twisted in frustration. “Aren’t you?” he snapped. “I need my business to get Revolution Government Funding. It’s the only chance I have to scale it up, to make something out of all the work I’ve put in all these years.” I blinked. What was he even saying? I took a small step toward him, hesitant, almost afraid. Maybe if I touched him—if I kissed him, hugged him—maybe something inside him would remember. The years we spent together. The love we built. The nights were filled with laughter, the days filled with shared dreams and whispered promises. Maybe then he’d see this moment for what it truly was—a fracture, not the end. “We’re okay,” I whispered. “We might not have everything, but we have enough. We’re not struggling. If money is the problem, I can go back to work. I will.” It was his idea, after all. He was the one who begged me to leave my job and told me to focus on starting a family. He said he wanted this. He said we wanted this. And now… now that it’s finally happened, now that I’m pregnant—he wants to leave me? “Don’t be selfish,” he spat. Selfish? My heart lurched. Did he really just say that to me? I had turned my back on everything for him—my family, my inheritance, my name. I had defied them all just to stand by his side, and now he is calling me selfish. A laugh, bitter and broken, escaped my lips. “How exactly is our marriage stopping you from getting your funding?” “Nyra,” he muttered, licking his lips and dragging a hand through his hair, clearly agitated. “She said she’d talk to her brother’s friend. He’s connected. He’s one of the judges for the event. He can get me the funding.” I froze. “Nyra?” I couldn’t help the bitter chuckle. “She’s just a friend of yours, isn’t she?” He didn’t respond. Instead, he looked away, jaw clenched. The silence was more telling than anything he could’ve said. My stomach turned. “Why does her help come with our divorce, Caius?” “She’s my ticket to a better life,” he said flatly. No guilt. No remorse. Just the truth, served cold. “I have to marry her.” It felt like the floor gave way beneath me. “Don’t you think you’re being too gentle, Caius?” A woman’s voice floated in from the kitchen hallway, slurred and smug. I didn’t need to look to know who it was. My eyes moved past him anyway, settling on the doorway. Nyra Marchand. Of all the things I expected tonight, seeing her in my home—in my kitchen—wasn’t one of them. But even that wasn’t the most shocking part. It was her belly. Round. Prominent. Unmistakably pregnant. She stepped into view, her stride slow, one hand cradling the bump beneath my husband’s shirt—my husband’s shirt. My breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. My eyes stayed locked on her stomach, my brain struggling to process what my heart already feared. Five months? Maybe six? “Have you been cheating on me?” I whispered, my voice so soft it felt like it came from someone else. I didn’t even know if I wanted the truth or a lie anymore. All I knew was—I would take anything he gave me, just to keep us from falling apart. If he told me it wasn’t his, I’d believe him. That’s how much I loved him. That’s how desperately I wanted to believe that our marriage—our life—was still worth something. Nyra laughed. Not kindly. Not nervously. It was a mocking sound. “Really?” she said, one brow arched in smug amusement. “You see a pregnant woman walking out of your kitchen… wearing your husband’s shirt… and that’s the question you ask?” She ran her hand slowly over the swell of her belly. “Isn’t the answer obvious to you?” A choked sob escaped me before I could stop it. My chest tightened as I looked up at Caius, eyes swimming with tears, searching his face for something—anything—that would make this nightmare stop. “You’re leaving me… for her?” Nyra stepped closer to him like she had every right in the world to be there. She laid a hand on his chest—my husband’s chest. “It’s not my fault you have nothing to offer,” she said with a cruel, honeyed smirk. Then she leaned forward, lowering her voice. “Next time, tell your parents to work harder. Maybe then they will be able to give you a life worth living.” She snorted. “I heard you were disowned,” she continued. “All because you married Caius instead of that old man who could’ve saved your sorry little family. That,” she said with a dramatic sigh, “was a very stupid decision—if you ask me.” Before I could respond—before I could even gather enough breath to defend myself—she snatched the envelope from Caius’s hand and shoved it hard against my chest. “Here,” she said, her voice sharp. “Do yourself a favor. Sign the divorce papers, hand over whatever dignity you have left, and go crawling back to your wretched family. Maybe they’ll take you back.” Her eyes burned with triumph. “And if that old man you turned down is still breathing, beg him to marry you. Who knows? He might still be willing to save you from the pathetic mess you’ve made of your life. God knows—you desperately need it.” I was too stunned to speak. Too broken to even blink. I just stood there, frozen, staring at Caius—the same man who once swore to love me, to stand by me until the end of time. But now, here he was, silent and still, letting his mistress insult me. “And if I refuse to sign it?” I managed to choke out. Nyra’s smirk widened as she glanced over at Caius. He stepped forward. “In that envelope,” he rasped, his eyes dull, “are pictures of you… With a strange man. In a rather compromising position. That should be more than enough evidence for the divorce in court.” My brows furrowed in confusion, my mind struggling to make sense of his words. A strange man? What is he talking about? I never cheated on him. Without thinking, I reached for the envelope, my hands trembling as I pulled out three photos. I glanced down at the first photo, then the second. My heart skipped a beat, and my stomach dropped in shock. “This… this was on your birthday last week,” I blurted out, still reeling from the sight of the man in the picture. “How come I don’t remember this?” “That was because you were drugged,” Nyra said, her lips curling into a sly smile. “We needed a backup plan… in case you refused to sign the divorce papers.” I took a shaky step back, my heart pounding so loudly I could barely hear myself. “You… you let her drug me?” I whispered, staring at Caius like I didn’t even know him anymore. “I didn’t do sh*t,” Nyra snapped, raising both hands like she was offended by the accusation. “Caius was the one who drugged you. I just brought the man.” I had to grab the edge of the table to stop myself from falling. Caius had the audacity to speak then, his tone flat—emotionless. “Nothing happened between you and the guy. We just needed the pictures. That’s all.” That’s all. As if violating my trust, my body, and my dignity could be so easily dismissed. “You b*st*rd!” I screamed. I’m pregnant and he drugged me? “You’re going to regret this,” I hissed through clenched teeth. Caius just shook his head. “Actually, I won’t. I have nothing to lose by divorcing you.” That’s it! I swallowed the lump in my throat, clutching the envelope so tightly my knuckles turned white. “I’ll have them signed,” I said stiffly. “And I’ll send them back.” Then I turned to him, one final look filled with all the pain he’d caused me. He didn’t look sorry. Not even a little. I shook my head, then turned around. I ran. Out of that house. Away from that life. And just like that… it was over.