Betrayed By The Billionaire

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"Whosever wife she is, he's the one who throws her out."

Heh, how interesting.

Even Victor Vance couldn't help but admire Chloe’s grit and strategic wit. Any other woman in her position would have been reduced to a puddle of tears by now, either from humiliation or pure terror at Xavier’s glacial fury.

Yet Chloe, regardless of how dark Xavier’s face became or how vitriolic his words grew, treated him like a man throwing a temporary tantrum. She coaxed, she nudged, and she endured. It occurred to Victor that Lyra and Chloe were best friends—why hadn't Lyra picked up even a fraction of Chloe’s calculated composure?

Beside her, Xavier’s eyes were smoldering with a lethal, bone-chilling intensity. Sensing the mercury had hit the breaking point, Chloe finally released his arm. She smartly de-escalated the moment by standing up. "I'm going to the restroom."

Chloe hadn't been in the restroom for more than a minute when the door swung open and a group of women filed in.

Through the stall door, she heard Bella’s voice, dripping with artificial pity. "Some people really have thick skin. Xavier clearly finds her revolting, yet she insists on shamelessly throwing herself at him."

Then came Serena’s voice, sharp and biting. "Exactly. That fawning look on her face makes me want to gag. I can't believe she still has the nerve to stay here."

Feifei chimed in with a laugh. "Well, having thick skin has its perks. She’s willing to press her warm face against his cold shoulder. Would any of you dare to do that?"

Chloe sat on the closed lid of the toilet, her head spinning from the alcohol. She listened to them for a moment, then raised her hands and rubbed her face vigorously to clear the fog. Why, she wondered with a faint, tired smile, must women always make life harder for other women?

She pushed the door open and walked out.

The trio was standing in front of the expansive mirror, reapplying their makeup and continuing their coordinated character assassination. Chloe walked straight toward the sinks. "Excuse me. Make some room."

Bella acted as if she hadn't heard a word, continuing to meticulously touch up her lipstick.

Without a word of warning, Chloe simply shouldered her aside with a firm, decisive nudge. She turned on the gold-plated faucet and pressed down the drain stopper, letting the basin fill.

"Chloe Bishop, what do you think you're doing?" Bella shrieked, stumbling. "Don't act like the 'First Socialite' title means anything anymore! In front of Xavier, you're nothing but a lapdog begging for scraps."

Serena added from the side, "Exactly! That wound on your forehead—Xavier gave you that, didn't he? Liam threw you away, and your father is lying half-dead in a hospital bed. If you weren't shamelessly clinging to the Grayson name, you’d be lower than me. What are you so proud of?"

Chloe didn't look angry. Instead, she watched the water level rise in the basin and let her lips curl into a soft, dangerous smile. "Is that so? It seems you’ve forgotten your place."

In one swift, fluid motion, Chloe’s hands shot out. Her left hand grabbed a handful of Serena’s hair, and her right hand seized Bella’s. Before they could react, she slammed both of their heads downward into the freezing water.

She would accept Xavier’s humiliation because he held the power. But that didn't mean she was a punching bag for every petty rival in the city.

Serena let out a muffled scream while Bella couldn't even manage a sound before her face was submerged. They thrashed wildly against the porcelain.

Chloe was eventually overpowered as the two women fought back with the strength of panicked animals. They broke free, gasping and sputtering, looking utterly disheveled.

"Cough... ack!"

Serena was coughing and gagging, water dripping from her ruined hair onto her designer gown. Bella looked like a drowned rat, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and murderous rage. "Chloe! Are you out of your mind?!"

Chloe calmly flicked the water off her hands, her gaze level and icy as she looked Bella in the eye. "Have you recognized your place now?"

"Even if I'm no longer the First Socialite," she said, her voice dropping to a low, lethal whisper, "and even if I leave Xavier today, I am still someone you aren't qualified to humiliate."

Chloe has reclaimed her "teeth," proving she isn't as broken as the rumors suggested. But with Bella being Felix's girlfriend and Serena being a professional driver, the fallout from this "drowning" might reach Xavier’s ears sooner than she’d like. How will Xavier react when his "lapdog" starts biting back?