Betrayed? I Upgraded to His Billionaire Brother novel Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Zane’s face darkened as he rushed out.

Mary stood there confused: “Master Zane, if you don’t look now, it’ll be shipped out right away…”

“Then ship it out!”

Zane was anxious and couldn’t care about anything else.

Racing to the hotel, he ignored the front desk’s attempts to stop him, rushed to the room door, lifted his leg, and kicked the door open violently!

Inside the room, there was more than one man.

Fortunately, Amelia’s clothes were still relatively intact. When she saw Zane, she immediately collapsed to the floor, tears streaming down her face.

Zane’s face was terrifyingly dark, his eyes bloodshot, his entire being visibly radiating murderous intent.

He grabbed a chair and hurled it at the three men!

When the chair broke, he used his fists.

Each punch landed with force.

Elara’s POV

When my phone rang and it was the police, I felt this wave of pure absurdity wash over me.

Zane? In a fight? Mr. Peaceful–and–Reasonable himself? It was almost laughable.

Apparently, it was one against three, and he’d handed them their asses. Go figure.

I rushed down to the station and saw him, looking pretty banged up himself. I just blinked. “What happened?”

“Elara, don’t be mad.” Amelia came shuffling over, her eyes all red and puffy. “It’s all my fault. I had too much to drink, and if Zane hadn’t come to get

me…”

She didn’t even need to finish. I got the picture. Classic damsel–in–distress, knight–in–shining–armor routine. The only twist? The knight was technically

my husband. For now.

Zane had the decency to look at least a little guilty. “Sorry to drag you into this.”

“No trouble,” I said, my voice flat. I went into efficiency mode, following the cop to fill out the paperwork, sign the forms, smooth things over.

I paid compensations where needed, settled fines where required, even offered apologies to the other parties‘ families. The whole song and dance.

One of the officers gave me a look, surprised I was so calm, being the wife and all. I guess he expected hysterics.

I met his gaze and just shrugged, offering a simple explanation. “We’re divorced. Just waiting for the papers to be finalized.”

His expression shifted to something like admiration. “For an ex–wife to handle all this… that’s really something else.”

I didn’t respond. What was I supposed to say? It’s fine, I got paid for this. Five mil covers a lot of hassle.

Chloe had driven me here and was waiting outside. Once everything was sorted, I didn’t even bother with small talk. I just turned and walked out.

The weather had turned. Unlike the bright morning, the sky was now a gloomy gray. Even though it was barely past three, it felt like dusk. A light, cold

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Betrayed? I Upgraded to His Billionaire Brother

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Chapter 27

rain was falling, the kind that seeps right through your clothes and chills you to the bone. I felt it in every limb.

“Elara.” Zane caught up to me. “Don’t let Grandmother or the others know about this.”

“Yeah,” I nodded easily. “I get it.”

With the Grayson family’s influence, making this whole mess disappear would be a phone call. The only reason he wasn’t making that call was that he was afraid they’d dig deeper, find out about Amelia, and refuse to let her off the hook.

He was protecting her. I understood that perfectly.

His eyes stayed on my face. “Are you angry?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

He was studying me, looking for any crack in the calm. “Then let’s go. I’ll drive you two home.”

You two.

He’d said Amelia was moving out. Looked like he’d gone back on his word, again.

A part of me was just… grateful. Grateful that ever since I found out about him and Amelia, I’d never once been stupid enough to actually trust him. Trust was a luxury I couldn’t afford. I’d given Zane one chance. There wouldn’t be a second.

My gaze flicked over to Amelia, who was hovering behind him. My voice was utterly flat. “No need. Chloe’s waiting for me.”

“Elara.” He could tell something was off. His hand shot out and gripped my wrist. “Wait.”

I tried to pull away, but his grip was firm. He glanced back at Amelia. “Get in the car first.”

“Alright,” she said, putting on a show of being the understanding one. “You two talk it out.” But I saw the way her fists clenched, the displeasure in her eyes before she turned away.

Zane’s thumb rubbed against the inside of my wrist. He chose his words carefully. “About what happened at the hospital… you hurting Mia. She agreed not to press charges, not to pursue it. I promised her we’d hold off on her moving out for a little longer.”

So, me giving her a taste of her own medicine was now being framed as my transgression, and Amelia was being magnanimous by not calling the cops. And him letting her stay? That was supposedly a concession for my sake. Like they were both making sacrifices for my so–called impulsiveness.

“What if I wanted to call the police?” I asked.

“What?”

“I was pushed down a flight of stairs. My head was busted open. Can’t I call the police?”

I looked at him, my eyes calm. “If I had called the cops that day, what would you have done? You’d probably only have thought about how to cover it up for Amelia, right?”

Those two words I’d overheard on the hospital balcony. they’d always stuck with me, in a darkly funny way. My husband’s first instinct, when I was lying hurt in a hospital bed, was to cover up for someone else.

A flash of confusion crossed Zane’s face. Seeing his expression didn’t surprise me at all. I was just stating facts.

“As long as you’re willing, even if she did call the police, you have a hundred ways to protect me. You have plenty of methods to make any report she files useless. The real reason you agreed to let her stay isn’t for me. It’s for yourself.”

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Betrayed? I Upgraded to His Billionaire Brother

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Chapter 27

He was doing what he wanted. He wanted to keep his beloved close. Why use me as the excuse?

I wasn’t being humble or arrogant. My voice was peaceful, just laying out the truth without any emotional charge

Zane was speechless. He just stared at me, almost dazed. Like he was wondering how that obedient, understanding girl had suddenly become so sharp so… clear–eyed.

If it were anyone else, he could probably brush them off. But facing my gaze, he couldn’t muster a single word of denial.

The rain was getting heavier. Zane walked to his car, popped the trunk, and pulled out an umbrella. He walked back and pressed the opened umbrella into my hand.

“Just give me some time,” he said, his voice low. “I’ll settle things with Mia.”