Betrayed? I Upgraded to His Billionaire Brother novel Chapter 240

Third–person POV

In a corner booth of the restaurant, three men had their attention fixed on Elara’s table. Well, two of them did. The third was focused solely on devouring his food.

The driver, Locke, frowned around a mouthful. “Boss, the portions here aren’t enough to feed a bird.

Why’s everyone so keen on eating in a place like this?”

Neil reached over and patted his head condescendingly. “There, there. Just focus on eating.”

Locke scratched the back of his head, confused. “Huh? What?”

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Neil said, his face completely serious. “Just eat. Complex questions aren’t for your brain to handle.”

After working with this guy for so long, Neil still wondered how one head could hold so much…

nothing. And the thing was, it was a big head, so it had an impressive capacity for it. Truly remarkable.

Aiden shot Gavin a sidelong glance.

“With all this free time to stalk her here, why didn’t you just ask Elara out for her birthday beforehand?”

”

Gavin didn’t even bother to look away from his viewing spot, his voice cool.

“I’m not the most important person to her right now.” Showing up uninvited would just be asking for a brush–off.

“Then who is?” Aiden’s interest was piqued. His eyes scanned the table, landing on the gentle, scholarly–looking guy next to Elara. “Elias?”

Gavin’s irritation flared, his words turning sharp. “It’s the ex you can’t get back, no matter how hard you try.”

Aiden wasn’t fazed in the slightest. He fired back instantly. “Oh, well then you’ll probably lose out to Chloe. She’s clocked more time with Elara than you have, hands down.”

“You think you’re in a position to compete with Elara for Chloe’s attention?”

Gavin finally glanced at him, adjusting the frames of his gold–rimmed glasses with deliberate slowness. “When Chloe’s birthday rolls around, you’ll be lucky to even get a glimpse of her.”

At least he lived right across the hall from Elara. Where was Aiden in all this?

The truth of the statement hit Aiden, and he rolled his eyes in frustration. “You’re seriously toxic, you know that? You’re a real ‘bestie‘.”

“Right back at you.”

“Please, I’m an amateur compared to you. Speaking of which, since when do you wear glasses?”

Always have,”

“Really?”

Aiden blinked, a thought occurring to him.

Isabella. A singer I’d loved for years, now massively famous, her concert tickets selling out in seconds.

Chloe knew she was beat the second she heard it. “That’s just not fair! You totally saved the big guns for this!”

But she couldn’t even be mad. Elias was, after all, the heir to his family’s pharmaceutical empire. Having connections in the entertainment industry was pretty much a given.

My eyes lit up. I took the gift openly, holding it preciously on my lap, a radiant smile on my face. “Thank you. It’s more than ‘like.‘ I love it. So, so much.”

We were all in high spirits, and the dinner stretched on pleasantly. Thankfully, the fruit beer had a low alcohol content. When we finally left the restaurant, I just felt a little lightheaded, but otherwise fine.

Elias wasn’t comfortable letting the two of us get into a rideshare alone after even a little drinking. He dropped us off, waiting until we were stepping into the elevator before turning to hail a cab for himself.

Inside the elevator, I held the gift in one hand and looped my other arm through Chloe’s, resting my head on her shoulder. My plan was to get home and immediately listen to Isabella’s new song.

Unexpectedly, the moment we stepped out of the elevator, a large hand shot out and pulled me to the side.

I gasped, startled, but the familiar scent of cedar and vetiver hit my senses, and the tense nerves in my brain involuntarily relaxed.

My cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. I looked up at the man beside me. “What are you doing?”

Your best friend and your senior have had their turn,” Gavin said, his dark, piercing eyes locked on me as if trying to gauge how much I’d had to drink His large hand remained firmly around my arm. “Isn’t it my turn now?”