MARRIED TO MY EX HUSBAND'S OLDER BROTHER: REVENGE

Chapter 2: A Chance Encounter

Orion's POV

Paintings, artifacts, and jewels spread across the gallery, and art enthusiasts feasted their eyes on them. I stopped In Front of a large painting of a girl with extraordinarily long legs and hands, with a torso that was so small, it was impossible for such to be real.

So far, I was perfectly blended with the crowd as no one seemed to recognize me.

3 years ago, my family threw me into a rehabilitation center in Thailand, on the pretext of me being crazy. For 3 whole years, my hate for them built into disdain, and I waited eagerly for the day that I would leave the confines of the psychiatric unit, to have my revenge. And now in the States, it was time for everyone to pay!

My eyes fell on Byson Skai, a billionaire architect, standing a fair distance from me, as he keenly surveyed a ceramic piece on a table. I casually walked up to him, and stopped a few inches from the piece, studying it with interest myself.

"This is a good one." The architect remarked.

I stared at the perfectly smooth curves of what resembled a blue vase, with intricate details of several patterns on it. "It is," I replied.

"It is impossible for an architect like yourself to miss such great works, which can serve as inspirations. Or don't you think so?"

Bryan Skai took his eyes off the vase and gave me a brief glance, "Have we met before?" He asked, professionalism taking over his voice. "I seem to be unfamiliar with you."

"I do have quite a handful of clients that I've worked with, it becomes difficult to keep faces." He added with pride.

I smirked at his pompous remark, "I bet you do!"

His mouth fell into a frown at my reply and he quietly excused himself from where he was standing. My eyes followed him. A man and a woman walked up to him, singing his praises and I could see Bryan Skai's shoulders rising above his head.

Just as I went back to perusing the interesting vase In front of me, I felt something splashing all over my suit jacket, and my face, and before I could have time to react, a body crashed into mine and the sound of broken ceramic followed almost immediately.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!" A woman's voice filled my ear.

I cleaned my face, boiling with anger as I noticed that the shattering of the art piece had attracted a number of audience who seemed to be staring at me, with keen interest. "What is the meaning of this madness!" I snapped, ready to disgrace the woman who had started this mess.

"Can't you see where you are going?!"

"I am very sorry, sir. I didn't mean to bump into you." She replied, fear filling her voice as she stared between me and the shattered vase on the floor. There was something familiar about this woman.

"What have you done?!" A ridiculously dressed man with an accent yelled as he ran into the gallery. All the serving waiters and waitresses, along with the gallery guests were speculating over the unfolding scene. "Do you know how much that piece is?"

"You've destroyed a very precious artifact!" He yelled. I caught a gasp from the waitress as her jaw fell on the floor.

"You two will pay for damages!" The man added.

"How much is it?" The clumsy, blonde-haired waitress, asked with humiliation written all over her face.

"22 million dollars." The man announced, and the waitress gasped in shock.

I scoffed. "No way, I'm paying 11 million dollars.

"What?"

"You heard me." I fired back at the gallery manager. "Your worker bumps into me, spills wine on my tux, and breaks a flimsy piece of vase. And you want me to pay for it?"

"That's not happening," I added.

"Failure to do that will mean legal action against you!" He added.

Fear and desperation filled the waitress's face as she exchanged looks between myself and the manager. There was no way such a pathetic-looking woman could raise 11 million dollars. If she could, she wouldn't be serving as a waitress. Her pretty face would have no choice but to rot in jail.

Still, there was something else that fascinated me about her that I couldn't wrap my fingers around.

A woman rushed into the room, boiling with anger. "What did you do!"

"I am terribly sorry, Mrs Damian."

"Sorry!" She yelled. “Sorry cannot pay things off. If they could, everyone could have anything they wanted." A few people in the room laughed. From her facial expression, she didn't seem to be finding any of this funny.

I continued staring at her as despair filled her.

Then realization dawned on me as the angry woman blurted out the name "Odessa." She was my younger brother Caspian's ex-wife!

I continued staring at her in utter disbelief. She was a shell of her former self. Still dashingly beautiful, of course, but the touch of luxury and elegance she usually carried with her was no longer there as she stood before me, dressed in a white shirt and a black skirt, with her long blonde hair, packed into a ponytail.

"I'm afraid I have no choice but to allow the gallery to take action against you. Dante would not pay for damages."

Odessa's skin paled at her words. She tried to speak but stuttered on her words. She was now aware that her actions could cause her a tough case at the police station and bankruptcy.

"I'll pay for it." I finally spoke, after having been silent for the most part of the drama. All eyes fell on me, and I placed my hand inside my suit jacket, pulling out a cheque.

"I will pay 25 million dollars instead of the 22, due to the inconvenience you've had to face." I said, and immediately wrote down the cheque, handing it over to the manager, who stared at the cheque in disbelief.

Turning to Odessa, he said, "I guess you have this man over here to thank for coming to your rescue."

Mrs Damian went silent for a while. Then she said, "Don't bother coming back to work, tomorrow."

Odessa's face was filled with pain and disappointment as the woman left. Turning to me, she faked a smile. "Thank you very much, sir."

She didn't seem to recognize me. It was good. "Sorry you had to lose your job."

She let out a dry laugh. "It's fine."

This was the perfect time to get her wrapped around my fingers. Odessa would be of great help to me in exerting my revenge.

"And now you have a 22 million dollar debt on your hands." A sly smirk hid at the side of my lips as fear gripped her.

"Unless…" I added, savouring the sweet look of despair on her face. "You will work under me to pay off your debts."