Betrayed? I Upgraded to His Billionaire Brother novel Chapter 2

Chapter 02

"Good." My voice was hoarse but calm. "Don't email it. Have the papers delivered."

"That's sudden. Are you sure?" Chloe, my lawyer, sounded concerned. "Look, Zane's a terrible husband, but—"

I switched on the lamp, my eyes clear. "We haven't had sex once in three years. I thought he had no desire. Then I caught him getting off to pictures of another woman. Still think I'm being rash?"

The line went silent. I could almost hear the gears grinding in her head. Reserved, quiet me had never used language that blunt.

"That bastard," she finally hissed, her tone turning cold. "I'll deliver them myself. Then I'm working late."

After hanging up, I sat frozen on the bed. I hadn't expected to say it like that, either. I guess some humiliations just fester until they spill out.

Who would believe I was still a virgin after three years of marriage? I'd even wondered if he had a problem.

But the truth was worse. I'd seen him in his study, an album in his lap, his hand moving underneath. His choked gasps felt like slaps across my face.

Once, he noticed me and pulled me into a tight embrace. "Elara, I'm sorry," he'd whispered against my neck. "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'd believed him. I'd even blushed.

But the night I flew back to New York, feverish and desperate, I'd pried open his locked cabinet.

That album was filled with pictures of Amelia. My sister-in-law. Ethan's wife.

Every smile was a treasure to him. And I was the punchline of a joke I never agreed to be in.

I even remembered all those years I’d trailed after Zane like a little puppy. It wasn’t that I was deliberately following him—it was just that my brother was always with him.

After watching for so long, I’d started to fantasize—if I could marry a man so gentle and patient, I’d probably be very happy.

Back then, Zane was refined and elegant, always bringing me little gifts when he visited my brother. Among my brother's friends, he was the most steady, the most reassuring.

And this same man would rather get off to pictures of his sister-in-law than touch the wife sleeping right beside him.

I hadn’t expected Chloe to move so fast.

I’d just finished washing up and hadn’t even gone downstairs when the doorbell rang. The urgency suggested that if the courthouse weren’t closed, she’d have dragged me there to finalize the divorce immediately.

I had just taken the thick envelope of divorce papers, feeling a strange sense of settlement, when a sharp crash came from upstairs.

Before I could react, the maid, Mary, hurried down, her face troubled. “Ma’am…”

Max nodded proudly. “He brings me lots and lots of candy!”

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

“Wahhhhh—!!!”

Max, just a child after all, burst into terrified tears and buried his face in Amelia’s neck.

Amelia frowned, looking at me with displeasure. “He’s just a child. You didn’t need to scare him like that.”

I remained expressionless. “If you can’t even teach a child basic manners, what can you do besides risking your life skydiving?” A part of me couldn't help but wonder if that "risk" was ever just a cleverly disguised intention.

With that, I turned and went back to my room, shutting the door decisively behind me.

Late that night, the sound of an engine purred in the courtyard. A black Maybach slid smoothly into the garage. Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, I watched the car door open. Max happily pulled Amelia toward Zane. The three of them stood together, looking indistinguishably harmonious. Like a family.

A little while later, the doorbell to my room rang. Zane entered. He was still elegant in his white shirt, but the air around him was cold.

His gaze was sharp, his voice low and tight with accusation. "What the hell did you say to him, Elara? He's been hysterical since I got home, crying that monsters are coming for him. He's a child who just lost his father. Was that really necessary?"