Divorced My Cheating Husband, Married A Billionaire novel Chapter 102

'What?' Brian had already turned his back when Adrian had made the announcement. He gulped and shifted his attention back to the man in a wheelchair. He clarified, "What did you say?"

"I am Mr. Ace," Adrian repeated with his chin raised. "It was I who bought many pieces of Riley's designs. It was I who made your company reach your monthly sales. It was I who referred new clients to Brey Jewelry. If not for me, your company would not have thrived."

"I did all that!" Adrian's voice boomed, revealing, "I did all that in secret to support Riley. Even when she was not with me, I did it all for her."

Brian noticed Adrian's face tighten as he continued, "So don't you dare accuse her of soliciting clients. My support has always been for her, not you!"

"Don't blame Riley if you had lost your clients and lost sales because, at the end of the day, you fired Riley when she had the potential to go big," Adrian added.

"Thank you, though, Brian. If it weren't for your stupid choices, I would not be able to pursue Riley again," Adrian said. "Riley is where she truly belongs: with me."

"Does that mean you own Adley?" Brian asked bitterly.

"Of course. I created Adley for Riley. If you had not broken up with Riley, I would have still supported your company," Adrian revealed. "Do you now see that you had thrown away a diamond?"

Brian could not believe his ears. All those years, he thought he had succeeded in business, but apparently, Adrian was partly behind his company's success! How could he accept that?

And, of course, there was Adley. How could he not have seen it? Adley meant Adrian and Riley, a combination of their names!

There were many signs, including his encounter with Adrian at the Mega Mall and the King’s Collection, but Brian missed it completely.

"So, now that you know who is behind Adley, don't even think of coming to the store and causing trouble because you will make an enemy out of me," Adrian declared. "And you don't want that."

Brian's chest felt tight. A big part of him wanted to cry, but his pride prevented him from giving away his true sentiments. He turned to Claire and knew what he had to do first.

"Go on now," Adrian said, seemingly reading his mind. "Deal with your innocent wife. I wish you the best of luck and hope you will be smarter this time."

Brian left, practically dragging Claire out of the university. For whatever reason, his friends, Mark and Luke, went after Brian.

***

"Brian! Brian!" Outside the university grounds, Luke called.

Brian was already standing before his car when he noticed Luke and Mark running after him. He yelled, "What? Are you going to mock me like you did earlier?"

"Despite everything, Brian, you are still our friend. Let us help you," Luke offered."

Brian was pulling Claire by the arm. He turned to her and ordered, "Get in the car!"

Claire was weeping so badly. She begged, "Brian, please don't believe them. Don't believe them. It's a lie!"

"Those pictures look pretty real to me," Mark declared, looking irritated at Claire.

Even Brian thought they were real. Still, there was a part of him that wished they were fake. He will definitely get those soft copies from Adrian, and he will have the photos analyzed, but first, he needed to take Claire to the hospital.

"Get in the car, Claire, or I'll make you!" Brian ordered, but his wife had no choice but to get in.

"I can drive," Luke offered.

"I -" Mark hesitated, and Brian understood why. His wife, Jean, was still back at the university with Riley. "I'll check on you later."

Mara also lost, but because of her encouragement, Beatrice kept playing. When she had lost a hundred thousand dollars, Beatrice said, "I can't do this anymore. Darwin will get mad at me."

"Oh, he doesn't have to know," Mara said. She pointed to a man with a black coat and said, "See that man? He is a loan shark. We can borrow money until you win it back."

"You'll win it back!" Mara pressed.

"You'll win it back, dear," another player said at their table.

"I'll help you," another woman offered.

Other players pressured her, and Beatrice gave in. She borrowed five hundred thousand dollars and made wager after wager. Unknown to her, trouble lay ahead as Brian ordered a paternity test for Claire's baby.

***

Meanwhile, at Halliport University, Riley was still shaken by all the revelations. When Adrian had told her last night that he was going to unmask Claire, she did not expect it to be this bad.

Yes, Riley did not know all the details, but she had always thought Claire was a big fake.

"Are you okay, Hun?" Adrian asked.

"Is it over?" Riley asked with sorrowful eyes.

"I'm afraid not, but for now, I'll give Brian a chance to act on his faults," Adrian said.