Betrayed By The Billionaire

6

Liam was indeed exceptional in every way. Before the accident, he had been the crown jewel of the Martin family, the heir apparent that everyone looked up to.

If it hadn't been for that car crash—the one that cost him a leg and saw his name ruthlessly struck from the inheritance list by the family patriarch—he wouldn't even be standing at a secondary event like this birthday gala.

Charles Bishop knew the truth: that "accident" smelled of his uncle Marcus Martin’s interference. Charles didn't want Chloe anywhere near a family tree that grew such poisonous fruit.

"Let's keep looking," Charles sighed to his wife. "There are plenty of other options."

But as they scouted the lawn, a slim teenage girl was already pressed against a second-story window. Her bright, almond-shaped eyes were locked onto the boy standing beneath the white magnolia tree.

He came!

Chloe could hardly believe it. The boy who had occupied her every waking thought for two years—the one who had defined her standard of "perfection"—was actually at her party. Her heart hammered against her ribs so hard she thought it might bruise.

This was it. The feeling people wrote songs about.

It wasn't new to her. She had carried this crush since the first day of high school, from the exact moment he had sprinted toward her across the grass in his white soccer jersey. From that day on, the soccer field became her daily pilgrimage.

Then, the accident happened. He disappeared from the field forever. He only resurfaced months later for the college entrance exams, pale and refined, navigating the halls in a wheelchair. He had gone off to River City University while she finished high school, but she had never stopped tracking his progress. Every award he won, every rumor of his recovery—she knew it all.

The guests had all arrived. Charles and his wife led Chloe downstairs to make her official entrance.

In this city, Chloe Bishop was a living legend. They said that on the morning she was born, every flower in the private hospital bloomed at once, and a golden light settled over the building like a lucky charm.

A famous fortune teller, who happened to be recovering in the same hospital, had made a public declaration to the visiting relatives: "This girl carries a treasure basin into the world. The Bishop family is about to change forever."

Back then, the Bishops were just a small, struggling business. But within a few years of Chloe's birth, the Bishop Group had skyrocketed into a massive conglomerate. The family's fortune grew as she grew.

The boys invited today were the best their respective families had to offer, but there was a catch. Because Chloe was an only child, whoever she chose would have to marry into the Bishop family—effectively becoming a "trophy husband" who would take her name and manage the estate under Charles’s guidance.

Mrs. Bishop whispered names into Chloe’s ear, but Chloe was deaf to them. None of those names were "Liam."

After a round of social pleasantries, Chloe was cut loose to mingle with her peers. She was naturally graceful and easy to talk to, and the boys swarmed her. Most of them were more than willing to trade their family names for the keys to the Bishop empire and a bride as beautiful as Chloe.

"Go on, move!"

Isabella, a woman from the Grayson circle, nudged the silent teenager beside her. "Xavier, look at me. If the Bishop girl chooses you, Charles can use his connections to get your father’s prison sentence reduced. Do it for him."

Xavier Grayson, the boy with the icy demeanor, finally showed a flicker of emotion. His jaw tightened.

"You’re the most handsome boy here," Isabella pressed. "She’ll definitely pick you. Just go!"

Xavier looked at Chloe—the girl being treated like a literal princess—and a faint, mocking smirk touched his lips. Still, he straightened his lean frame and began to walk toward her. Isabella watched his retreating back with a satisfied smile. Ever since Xavier’s father went to prison, the Graysons had been in a tailspin. This was their only way back to the top.

"Hello. I'm Xavier Grayson, a freshman at—"

Chloe had just managed to escape a circle of admirers. Her eyes were fixed on the magnolia tree, and she could see Liam was preparing to leave. She had no patience for Xavier.

"Sorry," she interrupted, not even looking up at him as she tried to dodge past. "You're blocking my way."

At sixteen, Chloe was draped in the arrogance of youth. She brushed past Xavier without a second glance.

Xavier stood frozen, his hand still half-extended. He stared at his empty palm for a few seconds before slowly pulling it back. Around him, the other guests whispered and snickered about the "fallen" Grayson boy who didn't know his place.

He remained stoic, seemingly unaffected by the mockery. But as he turned to watch Chloe’s retreating back, the crowd’s gossip took a darker turn.

"Is that him? The son of that actress, Lana?"

"That's the one. Lana was a piece of work—cheating on her husband left and right until he caught her. He killed the lover in a rage and ruined his whole life for a woman like that."

"I don't know why he only stabbed the guy. If it were me, I’d have started with Lana."

Actress. Lover. Slut. The words were like jagged glass shards being driven into Xavier’s heart. The icy, detached boy finally broke. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. His face drained of color, and his eyes burned with a dark, murderous red. In that moment, he looked like a demon crawling out of hell to settle a debt.

Chloe heard the whispers behind her and stopped. she turned around, her brow furrowed, and saw Xavier. The transformation in him terrified her. He looked like he truly hated the world—and his own mother.

As Xavier walked away, he passed right by Chloe. His gaze swept over her face for a split second.

Chloe felt the blood in her veins freeze. A bone-chilling cold swept through her, making it hard to breathe. Long after he disappeared, she stood there shivering. That boy... he’s a monster, she thought.

But the drama was short-lived. In the high-society pond, Xavier was just a ripple. Everyone’s attention snapped back to Chloe. She was the star, after all.

Under the collective, stunned gaze of the elite, the beautiful, proud girl rejected every healthy, powerful heir in the room. Instead, she walked straight to the boy in the white shirt standing under the magnolia tree.

This was the Bishop girl’s choice.

But... a cripple?

Chloe walked up to him. It was the boldest thing she had ever done—her first act of open rebellion against her parents.

"I choose him," she announced.

Liam looked at her. Amidst the gazes of disbelief, jealousy, and mockery from the crowd, he watched her approach him with unwavering steps. His hands tightened slightly on the grips of his wheelchair.

"Why me?" he asked quietly.

"Because I like you," Chloe said, forcing a playful, easy tone. Her almond eyes were bright with stars—clear, honest, and incredibly brave. She looked like a perfect porcelain doll, radiating a sincerity that felt almost too pure for the world they lived in.