Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband

Continuation, Third Person POV

Evelyn’s yell reverberated in the room, her high-pitched voice piercing through the tension that was lingering in the air between them and stabbing right into Jennifer’s chest.

Hurt flashed past Jennifer’s dark green eyes as she quickly lowered her head and averted her eyes. "Okay," she murmured softly under her breath, her voice barely above a whisper. She sounded as if she was going to cry but she only sucked in a deep breath before letting the words roll off the tip of her tongue. "I’m sorry, I won’t bother you again," she apologised, secretly reaching up to wipe the tears that were forming at the brim of her eyes.

Just as she spun on her heels and was ready to leave, the door swung open and the both of them looked up to find themselves looking right at Natalie.

They couldn’t help but to notice the distraught look that was plastered across her face, as a tiny frown resting between her brows. She looked as though she had been thinking a lot, like there was a lot going on inside of her head but she didn’t utter a word about it.

Jennifer took this opportunity to mutter the next few words, "Hi Mrs Lloyd," she greeted, forcing her lips into a smile. "I will leave you to be," she said before leaving and closing the door behind her, letting silence enveloped the both of them.

Natalie noticed the redness and puffiness of Jennifer’s eyes but she didn’t mention anything about it. Instead, the corners of her lips were curved upwards into a slight smile as she greeted her daughter.

"Hey Eve, how are you doing?" She asked in a soft tone as she sat down on the bed next to her, reaching out to hold her hand but Evelyn quickly pulled back her hand and looked away from her mother, ignoring her entirely. "Eve, what’s wrong?" She asked, her voice laced with a hint of concern and worry as she reached out once again to hold onto her shoulder.

"Don’t touch me!" Evelyn shrieked as she pushed her mother’s hand away fiercely without an explanation, leaving Natalie clueless and confused as a puzzled expression masked her features.

A frown immediately appeared on her face as she looked at her daughter. "Eve, what’s going on?" She questioned, confusion evident in her tone. "You can talk to me."

Evelyn turned back around to face her mother, a mixture of anger and betrayal was swirling in the depth of her eyes as she glared at her. She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes into thin slits.

"What’s going on?" She repeated, tossing the words right back at her with an incredulous look that was stretched across her face. "Don’t act innocent, mum. I think you know exactly what has been going on!" The words that left her lips were dripping with accusation as she clenched her jaws tightly while rage spread through her body like a wildfire.

Natalie reached up, trying to hold onto her daughter’s shoulders but she was shoved roughly once again.

"I said don’t touch me!" Evelyn demanded through gritted teeth as her voice shook with anger and she breathed heavily.

"Evelyn Lloyd, what is wrong with you?!" Natalie snapped in frustration this time, losing her cool.

Evelyn’s face fell within the next second as she looked at her mother with disbelief written all over her face. "You shouted at me..." she pointed out.

"Eve, I..." Natalie stuttered as though there was a lump stuck in her throat and she struggled to find the right words to say.

"You shouted at me," Evelyn repeated again in disbelief with wide eyes as her tone stressed on the last word that left her mouth. "You never shout at me, you never once raise your voice at me!" She screamed, her voice cracking towards the end of the sentence.

"Eve, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I was just –"

Evelyn interrupted her, cutting her off before she could even finish her sentence.

"You think I’m a burden, don’t you? Ever since you found out I was diagnosed with breast cancer, it’s like you have changed," she admitted, hurt evident in her voice. "I could no longer sense that warmth and everything just feels... different."

Natalie leaned forward, her hands cupped her daughter’s face as they locked eyes. "No, gosh no. You are not a burden, Eve. I’m sorry I made you feel that way. You should have never had to feel that way."

Tears were now glistening in Evelyn’s eyes, threatening to spill at any second now. She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. Silence stretched between them for a brief moment before Natalie reached out to pull Evelyn into a hug, her arms wrapping around her and giving her a tight embrace.

"I love you, Eve. I will always be here for you, no matter what." She pulled away from the hug, leaning back to meet her teary eyes. "Remember that, okay?"

Evelyn nodded but the next few words that left her lips left her mother shocked.

"If you really love me then stop seeing Aurelia."

As soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth, Natalie felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach as she froze. The air crackled with unspoken tension before her soft voice broke the silence that engulfed them both. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"...What...?" She muttered under her breath, her eyes wide with surprise.

"I knew you went to meet her, mum," Evelyn started, her voice carrying a slight edge to it. "I saw the pictures."

"Eve, what are you–?"

"These pictures," Evelyn announced as she held up her phone to flash the screen at her mother’s face, the pictures of them talking and hugging were displayed along with huge titles sprawled across the screen.

What is Natalie Lloyd doing with Aurelia Wilder?

Secret rendezvous between Natalie Lloyd and Aurelia Wilder!

Natalie’s face fell in an instant as realisation dawned upon her and she finally understood what was going on here. Her mind began to buzz with thoughts and questions filled her head.

"Why? Why were you with her? You know she has it out for me. She’s always trying to ruin things for me," Evelyn spat the words out like they were poison in her mouth, her voice snapping Natalie back to reality.

"Don’t say that..." Natalie urged. "Aurelia is not like that. You two just have your conflicts and misunderstandings."

A cold chuckle emerged from Evelyn’s lips. "Even now you are defending her!" She snarled. "Why couldn’t you accept that Aurelia just hates me?!" She screamed loudly.

"I–"

"Do you not see what the paparazzi are saying? Just stay away from her," she sneered with a disdainful scorn. "If you truly love me like you said, you would do this for me."

"I do love you, Eve. But..." Natalie’s voice trailed off as the gears in her head shifted and she contemplated her next words. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest and she could practically hear the sound of her heartbeat in her head. "You know I can’t just stay away from Aurelia."

A loud scoff left Evelyn’s lips. "Why?" She questioned as she arched her brow at her mother. "Why can’t you just stay away from her? Why is it so hard?" She asked, hurling question after question even though she already knew the answer herself, but she didn’t think that her mother would mention a word about it.

"That’s because Aurelia is my daughter!" Natalie blurted and before she could even stop herself, it was much too late.

Evelyn stared at me blankly as she let out a breath. Her lips were curled upwards into a bittersweet smile that was plastered across her face.

"I knew it..." She muttered softly under her breath. "I should have known you found out."

She lifted her head to meet her mother’s gaze this time.

"This is why you have been treating me differently, haven’t you? Because you knew that I’m not actually your daughter. But you couldn’t stand to abandon me when I’m sick and diagnosed with cancer which is why you are still so nice to me. Right?"

Natalie gulped inaudibly and took in a deep breath when she realised what she had done. And there was nothing she could do to reverse this mistake or undo what she had done.

"No, you are wrong," she started, her face bored with a serious expression. "It’s because I raised you as my daughter for over 20 years and I love you, nothing can change that."

A bitter laughter left Evelyn’s lips. "Is that so?" She questioned.

The next few words that left her lips left a sour taste in her mouth.

"Then why did you treat me differently after that? Are you going to kick me out of the house? Are you going to send Auntie Jennifer to jail for what she did?"