Billionaire And His Son Betrayed Me: Brothers Back Me Up novel Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

:

Xylia just wanted to laugh coldly.

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After years of secret marriage, even now at the brink of divorce, outsiders still didn’t know she was the one married to Connor Ford.

Let alone anyone praising them as a match.

But at least she was finally getting divorced.

Masking the flicker in her eyes, she steadied her breath and stepped out of the dressing room.

Joshua Garcia waited on the sofa, now in a tailored suit, platinum blond hair swept back.

An ordinary cut looked impossibly refined on him.

Her chest tightened before she could stop it.

She’d seen his eyes sharp with rage, seen him at his lowest…

But never like this.

Joshua slouched with casual grace, one leg bent, a cigarette burning low between his fingers.

Smoke veiled his features, etching distance and ice into his expression.

When she paused in the doorway, he arched an eyebrow, stubbed out the cigarette, and let a faint smile thaw the frost in his gaze.

“Found your gown?” His voice softened.

That earlier edge in his eyes might’ve been her imagination.

Xylia’s dress dipped low, baring the pale lines of her collarbones as she moved toward him.

Under his stare, she suddenly felt uneasy.

“Does it… not look right?” she murmured, avoiding his eyes.

She’d never worn anything like this.

After years of motherhood, this was her first time putting herself first.

Joshua’s gaze lingered on the exposed curve of her lower back. Something unreadable flashed in his eyes before he swallowedl.

11:45 Wed, Sep 10

Chapter 14

“It’s perfect.”

…

:

He looked down, smothering the heat rising in his chest.

Too perfect.

Perfect enough to make him want to hide her away where no one else could see.

The gown clung to her as if forged for her alone.

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Her cool elegance didn’t clash with the dress’s bold color–it sharpened it. Like a rose blooming in the desert, delicate yet unbreakable.

Silence thickened the air between them.

The silence stretched between them until Xylia finally spoke.

“Time for the gala? Should we head over?”

This Jupiton gala united top enterprises for investment deals.

As Joshua listed organizers during the drive, Xylia frowned.

These were Jupiton’s elite dynasties.

Such galas had velvet ropes.

Even the Schultz family might struggle for invitations.

How did Joshua–an ordinary employee–get one?

He caught her doubt, fingers tapping the steering wheel. “My boss opens doors for client meetings,” he said, gaze lingering on her,

Makes sense.

Xylia looked down, cheeks warming. He’d helped her, yet she’d questioned him.

They arrived in thick silence,

The parking lot gleamed with luxury cars, their Toyota Camry seeming pathetically small.

Inside, faces Xylia recognized from news moved through the crowd.

Joshua watched her from the corner of his eye–back straight, expression unreadable.

His thin lips twitched.

11:45 Wed, Sep 10

Chapter 14

No wonder he had his eye on her.

:

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A manager hurried over, his face respectful the moment he saw Joshua, his smile turning

eager.

“We didn’t expect—”

Joshua lifted a brow, silent.

The manager cut himself short, forcing a smile at Xylia instead. “You happen to be our hundredth guest. Care to join the raffle?”

His smile stretched too wide.

The stiffness thickened.

Joshua broke the stiffness with a tilt of his chin.

“Go with him. Luck favors you.”

With nothing to lose, Xylia followed.

As she walked away, Joshua’s chuckle escaped.

Quick thinking.

He typed a command into his phone, pocketed it.

Across the ballroom, notifications pinged simultaneously.

[If you ever see him with that lady in the red dress–no matter what, pretend you don’t know him.]

Guests exchanged bewildered glances. What trick was he pulling this time?

*****

The raffle corner looked shockingly makeshift–unthinkable for a gala this exclusive.

The manager offered an apologetic shrug. “Our little surprise. Rushed, I admit.”

Her fingers closed around a slip marked “Grand Prize“.

Since when this lucky?

She showed the manager the slip. “Looks like luck’s on my side. Grand prize—what is it?”

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