Married To My Billionaire Stepbrother novel Chapter 300

Chapter 300: Hurt

"On your wedding day, Ivan must have felt relieved that you were already married and quickly jumped ship," Briena added mockingly. "By that time, his company was stable, thanks to all your efforts, and he didn’t need to depend on Grandpa’s deal anymore. Moreover, by marrying me, Ivan knows he’ll eventually get control of the Ford Group through me. After all, Grandma dotes on me. He must have realized Grandma was planning to hand over the entire company to me because she hates you. Why would he waste his life with you and your mere shares when he could have the entire company by marrying me?"

The room fell silent after Briena finished. Mia and Cathy exchanged worried glances at Natalie, but she remained calm, quietly sipping her coffee.

"Aren’t you just a business deal for him as well?" Mia asked Briena. "He’s marrying you for the company, and you’re foolish enough to accept it."

"He loves me as well," Briena replied, offering them a meaningful gaze. "We’re closer than you can imagine. I’m sure Ivan didn’t even kiss your friend during their two years of dating. Isn’t that pathetic? How repulsive Natalie must have been in his eyes while he couldn’t wait to get into my bed."

"If you’re done sharing such confidential information, you can leave," Natalie said in a mocking tone. "No need to tell us what kind of slut you are."

Briena chuckled, unaffected. "I know you’re pretending it doesn’t bother you, but I’m sure the truth has hurt you. Your grandpa deceived you and led you to the wrong person. The man you thought cared for and loved you was just using you as a stepping stone to power and wealth."

Splash!

"Ahh!"

Warm coffee splashed onto Briena’s clothes the next moment.

"Now, you might want to leave," Cathy said. "Or should I pour some freshly brewed coffee on your face?"

"You... Cathy, you’ll pay for this," Briena said angrily before turning to Natalie, who remained stoic and unaffected, like an immovable mountain. "Poor you. No one truly loves you. That must hurt a lot, doesn’t it? But then again, you’re not worthy of anything."

Cathy grabbed Mia’s cup of coffee, but Mia stopped her and calmly looked at Briena. "If you don’t want to leave this room in a worse state, leave right now."

Briena chuckled. "It’s time to leave anyway. I’m done showing your friend her place."

"You bitch, let me show you your place," Cathy snapped, moving toward Briena, but Mia held her back firmly. "Cathy, control yourself."

Briena smirked mockingly before walking out. Mia turned to Cathy and said, "Nat needs us."

Cathy looked at Natalie, who appeared calm on the surface, but both friends could see that she was deeply hurt inside, even if she wasn’t showing it.

"Nat..." Cathy began.

Justin didn’t rush to approach her. Instead, he stood silently for a while, observing her. Mia had already told him what had happened with Briena. He had known the truth Natalie learned today but had chosen not to tell her, knowing it would hurt her deeply. Now, seeing her like this, he could feel the pain radiating from her.

Finally, with slow, deliberate steps, he walked toward her and sat next to her on the bench. He didn’t ask her anything or say a word, choosing instead to look ahead, just as she was. The cold breeze blowing from the hills was soothing, almost comforting.

After a while, the silence was broken.

"Today, all of a sudden, I felt like my entire life has been nothing but an illusion. All this time, I thought my mother was dead, but now, out of nowhere, she’s in front of me. My grandmother, who doted on me when I was a kid and whom I loved the most after my mother, suddenly started hating me after my mother left. My father—he stopped seeing me long ago. He forgot he had another daughter who always longed for his attention.

"But that wasn’t the worst of it. I’d come to terms with all of that long ago. What hurt me the most was realizing that my grandpa, the one I trusted blindly, proved to me how truly blind I’ve been all along. And then, the man I thought was my comfort, the reason I stayed alive, the one I believed truly cared for me—he was never the one.

"All of this makes me wonder: What kind of idiot have I been? What kind of illusion have I been living in? Why could I never see anything clearly?"

Her eyes turned moist, and her steady voice trembled as she spoke the last words.

Justin moved a little closer to her, placing his hand gently around her shoulder as he rubbed her arm to comfort her. "It’s fine to feel hurt. You don’t have to hold back."

Despite her efforts to stay composed, she couldn’t hold back her tears. Justin let her cry silently, holding her close. Slowly, the muffled sound of her sobs against his chest broke the silence as he continued to comfort her.