Betrayed By The Billionaire

19

"My skin is natural, too," Chloe said, her voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through her. "No amount of expensive skincare can cultivate a glow like this. It’s heritage."

Her beauty was a matter of public record in River City, as legendary as the Bishop family fortune.

She took a breath and continued, "In terms of lineage, the Bishops are a clean, prestigious family with a prominent status. My age is a perfect match for yours. Marrying me, Mr. Grayson, would be an asset to your reputation, not a stain."

Xavier studied her. Most women folded under his gaze, but this one was praising her own natural perfection without blinking an eye. He had to admit—she had the capital to be arrogant.

His indifferent gaze swept over her luminous skin. "Your credentials sound impressive, Miss Bishop. But if I recall, you had a fiancé for many years. The mistress of the Grayson household must be beyond reproach. Do you meet that criteria?"

Chloe bit her lip, a flicker of humiliation crossing her face, but she forced herself to look him in the eye. Her gaze was clear and hauntingly honest. "If I prove it... will you marry me?"

Xavier didn't give her a straight answer. He leaned back, his expression unreadable. "It's not out of the question."

The Grand Hall

Downstairs, Nadia was a bundle of nerves. Several young heirs had approached her for a dance, but she had brushed them all off.

"Mom, why hasn't she been kicked out yet?"

Mrs. Bishop patted her daughter’s hand with smug confidence. "Don't worry. Even if Chloe stays the night, she’ll never cross the threshold as a Grayson. Xavier is likely just playing with her."

Nadia frowned. "What do you mean?"

Mrs. Bishop leaned in, a malicious glint in her eyes as she recounted the story of the insult Xavier suffered at the Bishops' hands years ago. "He was there, Nadia. At her sixteenth birthday gala. And that blind fool Chloe rejected him in front of everyone for a cripple like Liam Martin. She made him a laughingstock."

Nadia’s eyes widened. She hadn't realized Xavier had been one of the rejected suitors. If that was the case, Chloe going to him now wasn't a mission—it was a suicide run. She was walking straight into the hands of a man who likely wanted to see her crawl.

The Second Floor

It’s not out of the question?

Chloe’s heart hammered. If proof was the price of her family's survival, she would pay it.

In a moment of desperate bravery, she leaned in, her lips inches from his. But a split second before contact, Xavier’s face shifted. His large hand shot out, clamping around her slender neck with terrifying speed. He radiated an aura so cold and celibate it felt like a physical wall.

The light in Chloe’s eyes died. A suffocating wave of despair crashed over her.

She had failed. After everything, she had failed.

This was her last exit, her only hope for Lily. She couldn't let it end like this.

Xavier’s grip wasn't lethal, but it was firm. Chloe’s eyes filled with a sudden, fierce determination. She used the momentum to lunge at him again, trying to bridge the gap between them.

Xavier’s expression turned lethal. He didn't hesitate; he caught her by the neck again, his fingers tightening. "Who gave you permission to touch me?"

With a cold, ruthless shove, he threw her off him.

THUD.

Chloe hit the polished hardwood floor with a sickening thud. The impact sent a jolt of white-hot pain through her side, causing her to curl into a ball.

Xavier stood over her, looking down at the crumpled woman with the same disgust he would show a pile of trash. "Get out. If I ever see your face again, you’ll regret it."

Every drop of color drained from Chloe’s face. She was trembling so hard her teeth chattered. But as Xavier turned to enter his suite and the door began to swing shut, a pale, slender hand shot into the gap, blocking it.

CRUNCH.

Xavier looked down, a flash of genuine surprise crossing his features.

Ignoring the agonizing pain in her crushed wrist and the shred of dignity she had left, Chloe forced herself up. She looked at him, her voice raspy but urgent. "Xavier, I know you hold a grudge because of what happened six years ago..."

She hadn't forgotten the way she had publicly humiliated him by choosing Liam.

Xavier let out a harsh, dry laugh. "Miss Bishop, you overset your value. A triviality like that isn't worth a second of my resentment."

"Fine," Chloe countered. "Then let's say you just hate women. I can work with that. If we marry, I promise I won't cling to you. I won't be a burden."

"You saw it yourself—your grandmother and your son already accept me. If I marry in, I will devote myself to the Matriarch and I will protect Liam Jr. with everything I have. He will never feel a second of neglect."

Xavier’s eyes dropped to her wrist. It was already beginning to purple and swell, a nasty injury from the door, yet she didn't even seem to feel it.

What kind of woman is this?

The brief flicker of intrigue vanished, replaced by his trademark mask of ice. "And you think I’d believe a word out of your mouth?"

Aren't women masters of masks and lies?

"Let me finish," Chloe said, her voice dropping an octave. "Once I tell you why I’m really here, you’ll believe me."

She laid it all out—the kidnapping, her father's coma, Arthur Bishop’s hostile takeover. She held nothing back. If he wouldn't take her as a wife, perhaps he would take her as a business transaction.

Xavier fell into a deep silence.

Chloe’s fists were clenched so tight her nails drew blood. Sweat matted her hair as the seconds ticked by like hours. It felt like an eternity before he finally spoke.

"If you fail in your duties," Xavier said, his voice low and predatory, "I will personally see to the total destruction of the Bishop family."

He had agreed.

The "Demon" of River City had accepted the deal.

Chloe felt a sudden, sharp sting in her nose. Tears blurred her vision, and she couldn't even find the words to thank him. She could only nod frantically.

Lily was saved. Her father's legacy was saved.

Women were such strange creatures, Xavier thought. She hadn't cried when he threw her to the floor. She hadn't cried when the door nearly snapped her wrist. But now that she had won, she was sobbing like a child.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Xavier said with a sneer. "You still have to prove you're qualified."

Chloe wiped her eyes, her resolve hardening. "Call a doctor. They can verify my purity right now."

Xavier’s eyes darkened. "I don't trust anyone else’s eyes."

Chloe went still. Before she could react, the world spun. She was pressed down onto the velvet sofa.

What followed was a moment of cold, clinical verification—a humiliation unlike anything Chloe had ever experienced. Her clothes remained mostly intact, but the invasion left her trembling violently, her face pressed into the cushions.

Xavier stood up, grabbing a wet silk cloth to wipe his fingers before tossing it into the trash. He looked down at the shivering woman.

"I will have your sister back to you, unharmed, by midnight," he said tonelessly. "Assuming she is still 'intact' herself."

At that moment, Chloe felt a sudden, bitter surge of gratitude toward Liam Martin. For six years, he had refused to touch her—and that "noble" rejection had just become the only reason her family had a future.