The Billionaire Wife’s Revenge

More secrets

Valerie Blake

Alessandro stood near the large floor-to-ceiling windows, his jaw tight and his dark eyes burning with irritation. And Cindy stood a few feet away from him, pacing angrily with her blonde hair falling over her shoulders and her hands moving sharply as she spoke. Both of them turned toward me at the same time when I pushed the door open, and for a brief moment, none of us said anything. Then Cindy’s eyes widened slightly, breaking the heavy quiet between us.

“Well,” she said slowly. “This is unexpected.”

I closed the door behind me, letting the click of the lock echo through the tense space.

“What are you doing here?” I asked coldly.

Cindy crossed her arms, her posture instantly becoming defensive.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

Alessandro exhaled quietly, running a hand through his hair as he stepped forward.

“Valerie—”

But I held up a hand, stopping him before he could say another word. My eyes stayed locked on Cindy, refusing to let her wiggle out of the confrontation.

“I asked you a question.”

Her lips curled slightly into a familiar, mocking expression.

“I came to talk to Alessandro.”

“About what?”

She tilted her head, watching me closely.

“About Hudson.”

The name made something inside my chest tighten instantly. I stepped further into the room, refusing to be intimidated by her presence in his apartment.

“So the two of you were discussing my husband behind my back?”

Alessandro’s voice cut in immediately, sharp and absolute.

“He’s not your husband anymore.”

The firmness in his tone made me glance at him briefly, and his expression softened the moment our eyes met. But Cindy laughed lightly, destroying the quiet reassurance he was trying to give me.

“God, this is dramatic.”

She grabbed a glass of whiskey from the table and took a slow sip.

“You two really deserve each other.”

“Say what you came to say and leave,” Alessandro said coldly.

I folded my arms, keeping my focus entirely on the woman who had helped dismantle my life.

“And now you’re here because…?”

Cindy’s gaze shifted back to me, her playful tone vanishing.

“Because you deserve the truth.”

A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

“That’s funny.”

She frowned, clearly annoyed by my reaction.“Why?”

“Because you’ve been sleeping with my husband for years.”

Her expression didn’t change at all under my glare.

“Yes.”

The bluntness almost stunned me, leaving me momentarily breathless.

“You’re not even going to deny it?”

“No.”

Her honesty felt almost insulting, a slap to the face after so much deception.

“I don’t see the point in lying anymore.”

My nails dug into my palms until the skin stung.

“For how long?”

She sighed, as if the timeline was just a tedious detail.

“Five years.”

The room went silent, the weight of those words dropping like lead. My heart stopped for a moment as the realization washed over me. Five. Years. I shook my head slowly because I knew I should be slapping her and dragging her hair now, but I also knew that wouldn’t remove the deep ache or the massive betrayal I feel now.

Cindy shrugged again, completely detached from the wreckage she had caused.

“It started about a year after you got married.”

My stomach twisted violently; of course I knew because I had just found out, but hearing this from her felt like a physical blow to my face. She didn’t feel remorseful at all, standing there holding a stolen drink. I looked at Alessandro, who remained completely still. He didn’t speak, but his silence told me everything I needed to know.

“You knew,” I whispered.

His eyes filled with a sudden, heavy guilt.

“Yes.”

My chest tightened painfully, making it hard to breathe.

“You knew Hudson was cheating on me… and you didn’t say anything?”

“I couldn’t,” he said quietly.

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t have proof that wouldn’t destroy you.”

My laugh came out hollow and entirely devoid of joy.

“And this doesn’t destroy me?”

“Valerie—”

I turned back to Cindy, cutting off his plea before he could defend himself further.

“Why are you telling me now?”

Her eyes darkened, a flash of genuine anger crossing her features.

“Because Hudson lied to me.”

My brows furrowed, trying to piece together her sudden change of heart.

“About what?”

Cindy placed her glass down slowly on the counter.

“About everything.”

She took a deep breath, preparing to drop another bomb.

“You think Hudson started cheating because he fell in love with me?”

“That’s exactly what I thought,” I said coldly.

She shook her head, a grim smile touching her lips.

“No.”

“Then why?”

Her next words made my blood run cold.

“Because your marriage was never real.”

The air in the room seemed to freeze instantly.

“What did you just say?”

Cindy looked directly into my eyes, ensuring I caught every syllable.

“Hudson didn’t marry you for love.”

I felt my heartbeat pounding in my ears like a drumbeat.

“Then why did he marry me?”

She answered without hesitation, stripping away the last remaining illusion of my past.

“For your company.”

My breath caught in my throat.

“Valére Luxe.”

The name of my company echoed through the room like thunder.

“That’s ridiculous,” I said immediately, remembering how I had only started my company during my final year in college.

But my voice didn’t sound as confident as I wanted it to. Cindy shook her head, pressing forward.

“It’s not. Haven’t you wondered why you both got married right after college?”

She took a step closer to me.

“Hudson’s family has been planning this for years.”

I stared at her, my mind spinning into overdrive.

“Planning what?”

“To take control of your empire.”

My mind struggled to process her words, fighting against the horrifying reality.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh it does.”

She folded her arms, looking at me with something resembling pity.

“You built one of the most powerful beauty corporations in the world.”

Her eyes sharpened.

“And Hudson’s family wants it.”

My chest rose and fell rapidly as panic began to claw at my throat.

“That’s insane.”

“No,” Cindy said softly.

“It’s strategy.”

“How long?”

“Since college.”

“Since… college?” I asked again, the timeline blurring in my head.

Cindy nodded.

“Hudson started pursuing you right after he learned who your father was.”

The memories flashed in my mind in a terrifying sequence. I had hidden the fact that I was from one of the wealthiest families in America because I didn’t want anyone to get close to me because of my family reputation, but somehow it got leaked and people found out, so I didn’t see any need hiding or denying it anymore. And that was exactly when he approached me, though I didn’t really think about it, or I did but I pushed it at the back of my mind. I remembered Hudson showing up everywhere, and then we had started dating during my first year of college. I remembered Hudson trying to charm my parents, constantly insisting he loved me.

My stomach twisted violently.

“You’re lying.”

But this time the words sounded incredibly weak. Cindy reached into her purse and pulled out her phone with practiced ease.

“Am I?”

She opened a file and turned the screen toward me. Emails. Documents. Contracts. Hudson’s name was plastered everywhere, alongside plans, projections, and strategies all connected to one thing: Valére Luxe.

My hands started shaking as I stared at the bright display.

“This can’t be real…”

Cindy’s voice softened slightly, seeing the absolute devastation on my face.

“It is.”

She took another step closer.

“Hudson never intended to stay married to you forever.”

My head snapped up, rage briefly replacing the shock.

“What?”

“He just needed access.”

My chest tightened further.

“Access to what?”

Cindy’s eyes turned dark and calculating.

“Your board of directors.”

The room felt like it was spinning completely out of control.

“Once he gained enough influence,” she continued quietly, “he planned to push you out.”

The words felt like actual poison in my veins.

“Push me out of my own company?”

She nodded.

“And then marry someone else.”

My voice came out as a fragile whisper.

“You.”

Cindy hesitated, her confidence wavering for a split second.

“Maybe.”

The silence that followed was suffocating, filling every corner of the penthouse. Everything suddenly made sense now: Hudson’s emotional distance, his family’s underlying hatred, and the constant, suffocating pressure about us having children. It had never been about love, and it had always been about power. A slow, cold anger began to spread through my chest, replacing the hurt.

“How far did the plan go?”

Cindy hesitated again, checking my expression.

Then she said quietly—

“Far enough to destroy you.”

My eyes narrowed into slits.

“What does that mean?”

Her gaze flicked briefly toward Alessandro, who was watching her like a hawk. Then she looked back to me.

“There’s something else you should know.”

My heart began pounding again, bracing for the next strike.

“What?”

Cindy took a deep breath, delivering the final blow to my old life.

“Hudson wasn’t just planning to take your company.”

My stomach dropped into a bottomless pit.

“He was planning to take your inheritance too.”

The words echoed brutally in my mind. My inheritance.

“My father’s estate?” I asked slowly.

She nodded.

“Yes.”

My throat felt completely dry.

“How?”

Cindy hesitated, choosing her next words carefully. Then she said something that made the entire room fall silent.

“By proving you’re mentally unstable.”

The shock hit me like a physical blow to the chest.

“What?”

“He’s been documenting everything.”

She pulled up another file on her phone and scrolled through it. Photos, videos, and private moments were neatly categorized alongside logs of our arguments, every time I had cried, and every time I had lost my temper. My chest tightened with pure, unadulterated rage.

“He was building a case.”

My voice trembled with fury.

“A case for what?”

Cindy looked at me carefully, assessing my breaking point.

“To have you declared unfit to run your own company.”

The world seemed to tilt beneath my feet, but I forced myself to stand straight.

“And once that happened,” she continued softly, “the board would remove you.”

My hands curled into tight fists.

“And Hudson would take control.”

The silence in the room stretched endlessly as the magnitude of his betrayal settled in. Then something inside me snapped, breaking the tension completely. I laughed—a low, dangerous laugh that didn’t even sound like it belonged to me.

Cindy frowned slightly, stepping back a inch.

“That’s… not the reaction I expected.”

I wiped the corner of my eye, the tears of shock entirely gone.

“Hudson really thought I wouldn’t fight back.”

Alessandro stepped closer to me, his presence solid and grounding. His voice was quiet but firm.

“He underestimated you.”

I turned to Cindy slowly, my gaze locking onto her.

“And you.”

She raised an eyebrow, trying to regain her footing.

“What about me?”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

Her expression darkened instantly.

“Because Hudson betrayed me too.”

“How?”

Her voice dropped to a whisper, laced with her own venom.

“He planned to get rid of me after the takeover.”

My eyes narrowed as I remembered the details from my own investigation.

“And the children?”

Cindy hesitated, her defensive walls going right back up.

“What about them?”

“Are they even his?”

The question hung heavily in the air between us. For a moment, Cindy didn’t speak, her silence stretching thin. Then she smiled slowly—a strange, dangerous smile that sent a shiver down my spine.

“Oh, Valerie…”

My heart began to race again, sensing another twist.

“You really don’t know, do you?”

My voice turned entirely cold.

“Know what?”

Cindy leaned closer, her eyes gleaming with something dark. And she whispered something that made my blood run ice cold.

“Those children…”

She paused, letting the suspense build.

“…might not belong to Hudson at all.”

The room exploded into stunned silence as her words landed. My breath caught in my throat, my mind racing through the implications. I had thought about this but I brushed it off after I saw those files the private investigator sent to me. Who would have thought even after 5 years of cheating on me with another lady he still couldn’t father a child, and here he was raising an unknown man’s child. How would hudson react when he finally finds out the kids aren’t his? Does he even really love the kids, that manipulative b*st*rd.

No, Cindy is only trying to pull my legs, because this kids look exactly like Hudson, anyone could tell. Cindy has always been cunning, she was never straight forward, she’s only trying to make me lose the main thing I’m supposed to focus on. No way I would believe her.

Cindy straightened slowly, enjoying the chaos she had unleashed. Her eyes were gleaming with something dark and entirely unpredictable.

“I guess the real story is just beginning.”