Betrayed I Upgraded to His Billionaire Brother novel Chapter 2

**TITLE: Pushing the Edge 2**
**CONTENT: Chapter 02**

“Good.” My voice emerged from my throat, rough yet oddly composed. “Don’t email it. I prefer the papers delivered.”

“That’s quite sudden. Are you absolutely sure about this?” Chloe, my lawyer, inquired, her tone laced with concern. “Look, Zane is undoubtedly a terrible husband, but—”

I flicked on the lamp beside me, the soft glow illuminating my face. My eyes were steady, betraying none of the turmoil within. “We haven’t been intimate even once in three years. I initially thought he simply lacked desire. Then, I stumbled upon him, lost in pleasure, looking at pictures of another woman. Do you still think I’m being hasty?”

The line fell into an uncomfortable silence.

“That bastard,” she finally spat, her voice now icy with anger. “I’ll deliver the papers myself. After that, I’ll be working late.”

Once the call ended, I found myself frozen on the edge of the bed. I hadn’t anticipated my words spilling out in such a definitive manner. Some humiliations, it seemed, fester within until they erupt, raw and unfiltered.

Who would ever believe that after three years of marriage, I remained a virgin? I had even pondered whether Zane might have some sort of issue.

But the reality was far more painful. I had caught a glimpse of him in his study one evening, an album resting on his lap, his hand moving beneath it. The sound of his choked gasps felt like a slap to my very soul.

Once, he caught sight of me and pulled me into a tight embrace. “Elara, I’m so sorry,” he had whispered against my neck, his breath warm yet filled with regret. “I’m afraid I’ll hurt you. I can’t bear to touch you… I can only… look at your pictures like this.”

Absurdly, I had believed him. A blush had crept across my cheeks, a foolish reaction to his confession.

But that night, when I returned to New York, feverish with desperation, I pried open his locked cabinet, driven by a need to uncover the truth.

Inside that album were countless pictures of Amelia. My sister-in-law. Ethan’s wife.

Each smile captured in those images was a treasure to him, while I felt like a punchline in a cruel joke I never consented to be a part of.

But I was done playing along.

I hadn’t expected Chloe to act with such swiftness.

I had just finished washing my hands, still in the process of gathering myself, when the doorbell rang with an urgency that suggested if the courthouse hadn’t been closed, she would have dragged me there to finalize the divorce on the spot.

I took the thick envelope of divorce papers from her, a strange sense of closure washing over me, when suddenly, a sharp crash echoed from upstairs.

Max looked up at me defiantly, his small voice ringing with conviction. “Uncle Zane said he’ll take care of me and Mommy, just like Daddy did!”

Gazing at Amelia, I noticed her lack of intention to correct him, and a smile, tinged with something darker, crept across my face.

I crouched down to Max’s level, my voice softening. “You know Christmas is just a few days away, don’t you?” I asked gently. “Do you know what Santa Claus does to naughty little boys?”

Max nodded, his eyes sparkling with pride. “He brings me lots and lots of candy!”

I shook my head slowly, my smile gentle yet edged with an underlying threat. “Wrong. He cuts off the hands that broke my picture and bakes them in the oven to feed to the monsters.”

“Wahhhhh-!!!”

Max, still just a child, erupted into terrified tears, burying his face deep in Amelia’s neck.

Amelia frowned, her displeasure evident as she looked at me. “He’s just a child. You didn’t need to scare him like that.”

I remained utterly expressionless, my gaze unwavering. “If you can’t manage to teach a child basic manners, what else can you do besides ‘risk’ your life in a wingsuit?”