Betrayed? I Upgraded to His Billionaire Brother novel Chapter 239

Chapter 239

His eyes darkened slightly when he saw Elias beside me, but he kept his composure for my sake. “Elara. I was coming up to wait for you. Didn’t expect you to clock out so early.”

If he weren’t the one holding the only leads to my parents‘ case, I would have told him exactly where he could go after that little lockdown stunt he pulled. As it was, the best I could manage was a flat, unfriendly tone.

“What do you want?” These days, the only thing we could possibly have a civil conversation about was my parents. Everything else was off the table.

He clearly felt the chill. His lips pressed into a thin line. “It’s your birthday. I made reservations. I thought we could have dinner together.”

“I already have plans with friends.” My refusal was simple and absolute. I glanced at Elias. “Elias, let’s go.”

“Mm–hm.” Elias smiled, subtly shifting his position to place himself slightly between Zane and me. That was Elias. When I liked Zane, he never said a word against him. Now that I couldn’t stand the sight of him, he had my back. Whatever made me happy.

We’d barely taken two steps when Zane caught up, blocking our path. I could see him fighting the impulse to just throw me over his shoulder right there.

“Elara, be reasonable,” he said, straining for patience.

“I’ve never gotten to celebrate your birthday with you. Just give me one chance, okay?”

“Zane.”

Chloe’s voice cut in before I could respond. I hadn’t even seen her arrive. She strode toward us, her heels clicking decisively on the concrete. “Some chances, Elara gave you plenty of times.”

She stopped beside me, a protective force field in designer heels. “If you want any chance of her speaking to you in the future, maybe let her go celebrate her birthday with us now? After all, for the last three years, it’s been me and Elias with her on her birthday. Not you.”

Her meaning was crystal clear: Who do you think you are? She doesn’t have to obey you just because you’ve had a sudden change of heart. Keep pushing like this, and you’ll be nothing but a stranger.

Zane seemed to actually consider her words. His tightly clenched fists loosened slightly. His gaze swept over the three of us. “You’re all going together?”

“Of course,” Chloe said, slinging an arm around shoulders.

She laughed, but her words were a pointed dart. “Elara has boundaries. Elias is just her senior. She wouldn’t go celebrating her birthday with him alone. Unlike some people who used to spend every other holiday cozying up to their so–called ‘sister–in–law‘.”

Zane wasn’t stupid; he heard the dig loud and clear. But she was my best friend, and she was only pointing out the idiotic things he’d done in the past. He could only look at me, letting out a long, slow breath that seemed to carry the weight of his frustration.

“Then… I’ll wait for you at home.”

Maybe he was afraid of hearing me reject the idea outright. Or maybe he was just so used to making unilateral decisions. He didn’t wait for my reply before turning and striding away.

Chloe ruffled my hair.

“Come on, let’s go. Don’t let some irrelevant guy ruin your birthday mood.”

I managed a small smile. “I thought we were meeting at the restaurant. What brought you here?”

What better way to show the birthday girl I care than to pick her up from work?” she said, steering me toward her car.

His eyes darkened slightly when he saw Elias beside me, but he kept his composure for my sake. “Elara. I was coming up to wait for you. Didn’t expect you to clock out so early.”

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