Betrayed By The Billionaire

56

Chloe didn't flee. Faced with Xavier’s lingering fury, she clutched the duvet to her chest, her knuckles white, her voice trembling but resolute. "We are a real married couple now," she said, her words carrying a sense of finality. "From this day on, I sleep here."

Xavier stared at the woman before him. Her face was deathly pale, and her eyes were swollen and red from crying. He had expected her to fall apart, perhaps even threaten to end it all, but he never expected this level of defiance.

After what had happened between them, she had somehow found the nerve to demand a place in his room. Who gave her such audacity?

A cold, mocking smirk played on his lips, his deep eyes flashing with a cruel, dark energy. "Hungry for power already?"

Chloe lifted her gaze, meeting his eyes with a flicker of spirit. "I don't want power. I want basic respect. I am your wife, not a maid you’ve hired to look after your house."

A flicker of dangerous mockery crossed Xavier’s handsome face. "A wife? Then perform your duties well, and don't let me see those cheap tears of yours again."

Before Chloe could utter another word, Xavier silenced her...

The Morning After

When Chloe finally woke the next day, the sun was high in the sky. It was already noon, and Xavier was long gone.

The events of the night before felt like a fragmented nightmare, leaving behind nothing but a sense of relentless humiliation. Xavier’s touch hadn't brought intimacy; it had brought a crushing realization of her own insignificance in his eyes.

It took a long time for Chloe to gather her strength and head to the bathroom.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, a bitter ache settled in her chest. Xavier had dragged her dignity into the dust. Deep down, she had known this day would come from the moment she sought him out and signed that contract. She knew that as a Grayson wife, this was an eventuality she couldn't escape.

She hadn't cried because she was unwilling; she cried because he hadn't treated her like a human being. He had treated her like an object—a utility—and the sheer coldness of it was more than she could bear.

Emerging from the bathroom, she was forced to re-evaluate everything. They were now husband and wife in the truest sense of the legal and physical definition. There was now even the possibility of a child.

"Madam, you’re finally awake!" Nanny White greeted her with a warm, knowing smile, her slightly plump figure bowing slightly. "The Old Madam and Master Xavier are downstairs waiting for you to join them for lunch. Please, follow me."

Chloe felt a strange weight behind Nanny White’s smile. As she followed her, she asked tentatively, "When did Grandmother arrive? Why didn't anyone wake me?"

Does the Old Madam know what happened?

Nanny White chuckled softly. "The Old Madam was very considerate of how 'tired' you must be. She gave strict orders not to disturb you. She’s been here all morning."

Considerate of how tired I am? The phrasing sent a shiver of embarrassment down Chloe's spine.

Hearing that the matriarch had been waiting for hours, Chloe hurried her pace. "Then we should go quickly. I shouldn't keep her waiting any longer."

Downstairs, Old Madam Grayson spotted her immediately. Her face lit up with genuine joy as she hurried toward her. "Chloe! Why are you up so early?"

Early? Chloe looked at the blazing sun outside and felt a wave of shame. "Grandmother, you're making me feel terribly embarrassed."

"What is there to be embarrassed about? Even if you slept until sunset, it would be perfectly understandable." The Old Madam took Chloe’s hand, patting it affectionately as she leaned in with a conspiratorial whisper. "Good girl."

Chloe’s face erupted in a deep crimson, the blood finally returning to her pale cheeks. "Grandmother..."

The pieces clicked into place—Nanny White’s comment about her being "tired," the Old Madam's delight. The entire Grayson household knew that she and Xavier had spent the night together.

Chloe glanced at the butler standing nearby. He gave her a subtle, respectful nod. Did he report this to the Old Madam?

"It's alright, Chloe," the Old Madam laughed softly. "Isn't this how every marriage begins?"