Billionaire's Betrayal a contracted revenge (Aurelia) novel Chapter 4

Chp 4: The cold ride home.

Aurelia’s POV

Rieck didn’t speak on the ride home.

He sat across from me in the back of the SUV, one arm resting against the window, his gaze fixed on the dark streets like he was watching something I couldn’t see.

He hadn’t looked at me once since we left the gala.

I sank deeper into the seat, my hands still trembling.

Kaelen’s eyes wouldn’t leave my head.

That yellow, hungry look—like I was meat on a hook.

I kept twisting the diamond band on my finger.

“Stop that.”

His voice cut through the silence.

I froze. “Stop what?”

“Fidgeting.”

I dropped my hands and the rest of the ride was in silence.

Thirty minutes later, the SUV slid into the private underground entrance of Valerius Tower.

Rieck stepped out first, he didn’t hold the door, he didn’t look back to see if I was keeping up.

I gathered my gown and followed, my ruined heels clicking against the concrete.

The moment we stepped into the penthouse, he went straight to the bar.

Jacket off, poured himself a glass of something dark, half of it gone in one swallow.

Like he needed it.

I stayed near the entryway, cold still clinging to my skin.

I knew I shouldn’t ask.

But the question had been sitting in my chest since the moment Kaelen looked at me.

“Rieck,” I said quietly. “Who is Kaelen?”

He went still.

Completely still.

Then he turned.

And something in his eyes—

For a second, I would have sworn they weren’t human.

Sharp. Bright. Almost glowing.

Then he blinked and it was gone.

Just cold again.

He crossed the room in three long steps.

Before I could react, his hand caught my chin, forcing my face up to his.

Not rough.

Not gentle.

Controlled.

His fingers were warm.

His breath brushed my skin—scotch, sandalwood, and something wild that didn’t belong in a man’s mouth.

“Listen to me, dear wife,” he said, voice low.

“You don’t say that name in my house.”

My breath caught.

“Not at dinner. Not in bed. Not in your sleep.”

He paused.

“If I hear it again,” he added quietly, “we’ll have a very different conversation.”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“I only wanted to know why he—”

“Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

He held my face there a second longer.

Then—

His thumb brushed once along my jaw.

And he let go.

And just like that, he turned away and walked toward the hall,already done with me.

“Guest room,” he said. “Go to bed.”

The door shut behind him with a soft click that somehow sounded louder than a slam.

And I stood there.

In the middle of a room that didn’t feel like mine.

In a dress that wasn’t mine.

With a name that wasn’t mine.

And slowly—

I realized I was crying.

—

Sunlight spilled across the floor when I woke up.

For a moment, I didn’t recognize the room.

Then everything came back.

I sat up slowly and saw that someone had laid a silk robe at the foot of the bed. My ruined dress was also gone.

I pulled it on and stepped into the main room.

Breakfast was already set— fresh fruit, yoghurt, a pot of coffee. Warm bread that made my stomach growl.

A young woman stood by the window, adjusting flowers.

She looked up immediately.

“Good morning, Mrs. Valerius.”

The name still didn’t feel like mine.

“Good morning,” I said. “Where is Mr. Valerius?”

“Gone to work, ma’am. Very early.”

“How early?”

“Before five.”

So he either hadn’t slept… or hadn’t wanted to be here when I woke up.

I poured the coffee.

“Have you worked for him for long?”

“A few months, ma’am.”

“Has he lived here long?”

Her eyes flickered to the hallway, then back to me “Not long, ma’am. He moved in recently”

“From where?”

A pause.

“I couldn’t say, ma’am.”

“You couldn’t,” I said quietly, “or you aren’t allowed?”

A careful smile.

“Is there anything else you need?”

“No,” I said. “Thank you.”

With that, she left.

I looked around the penthouse in daylight. A wall of glass, steel and white leather.

No photos. No clutter. No sign of a life.

Just a single row of hard-cover books, all about war or construction.

I was half way through the bread when the elevator chimed.

I froze.

It wasn’t Rieck.

Hebvron Valerius walked in like the space belonged to him.

Silver cane. Measured steps. Smile already in place.

Arnell followed behind him.

“My new daughter,” Hebvron said warmly. “Still in one piece, I see.”

I pulled the robe tighter.

“Mr. Valerius.”

“Hebvron,” he corrected. “We’re family now.”