Betrayed By The Billionaire

104

Looking at the fractured mirror in the corner of the room, Nora tentatively touched her pale, sallow cheek. Her voice was hollow, stripped of its usual military steel. "My reflection... I must look hideous to him now."

Chloe and Lyra shook their heads in unison. Before her marriage, Nora had been the "Rose of the First Military Academy," a woman whose beauty was matched only by her lethality. Even after giving birth to little Maya, her figure hadn't truly withered; if anything, she had gained a mature, sophisticated aura.

But days of insomnia, raw grief, and a night of heavy drinking had taken their toll. Her face was swollen, and the light in her eyes had been replaced by a dull, aching fog. Even the most stunning beauty cannot withstand such self-destruction.

"You don't have to comfort me," Nora said, her shoulders sagging. "Ever since Maya was born, I’ve felt the change. My skin is losing its elasticity. My stomach isn't firm anymore. And that scar..." she trailed off, thinking of the jagged mark from her C-section.

She had felt it for a long time—the subtle cooling of Nicholas's desire, the way his gaze lingered a little less every year.

Chloe and Lyra exchanged a helpless glance. They were both young, and neither had experienced the physical toll of childbirth. They couldn't fully grasp the quiet horror of a woman watching her youth slip away while her husband seemed to only grow more distinguished.

At 28, a woman’s biological peak often begins its slow descent, requiring anti-aging serums and constant maintenance. Meanwhile, a 30-year-old man like Nicholas is entering his prime—powerful, seasoned, and increasingly magnetic to the world outside.

"Nora," Chloe said, taking her friend's cold hand. "Aging is inevitable, but it’s about how we embrace it. You haven't become 'ugly.' What’s changed is your perspective. For years, you’ve shrunk your world until it only contained Nicholas and the baby. You forgot how vast the world is, and more importantly, you forgot how incredible you are."

Chloe squeezed her hand tighter. "Try to step out again. Next month is the International Grand Prix. Come with me. Compete with me."

Nora’s gaze flickered, then dimmed. "In this state? I’d be a liability on the track."

Racing requires absolute, razor-sharp focus. A single second of distraction caused by a broken heart could lead to a fatal crash. As much as Chloe wanted the world to see the "Racing Goddess" return to her throne, she knew she couldn't force a woman whose foundation was crumbling to drive at 300 km/h.

After a heavy silence, Nora remembered Nicholas's parting accusations. She looked at Chloe, her brow furrowed. "Nicholas mentioned something else... He said you were the one who had Cindy's brother, Cyrus, ruined? And that you sent a group of thugs to... to assault Cindy?"

Chloe’s eyes widened in genuine shock. "Me? If I had that kind of dark influence, would I have been pushed to the brink of ruin by the Chen family?"

She shook her head, her mind racing back to the night at the Bishop estate. "That night, Cyrus brought men to my house. He wanted to destroy my reputation so Xavier would discard me. One of the men he brought was incredibly skilled—and hideously scarred."

Chloe paused, a realization dawning on her. "Xavier arrived just in time and severely injured that man, then let him go. I asked him later why he didn't just hand him over to the police. Now I see... Xavier didn't 'let him go.' He pointed a monster back at its master."

Chloe felt a chill run down her spine. Xavier Grayson hadn't just saved her; he had orchestrated a counter-strike so brutal it was now being used to dismantle Nora's marriage. By "saving" Cindy, Nicholas was unknowingly protecting the very person his sister-in-law's husband intended to destroy.

"Xavier did it," Chloe whispered. "He didn't do it to help me; he did it because they dared to touch what belongs to him."

Nora looked at Chloe, a new kind of fear in her eyes. "If Nicholas finds out Xavier is behind this, and he continues to protect Cindy... he’s making an enemy of the most dangerous man in River City."

Should Chloe tell Xavier to back off for Nora's sake, or let the Demon CEO finish what he started with the Chen family?