Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband

I looked at her with curiosity burning in my eyes and anticipation hung on my face as I waited for her to say something. My words caused her to hesitate for a while and I watched as she inhaled deeply before letting the words leave the tip of her tongue.

"Evelyn knows that ...I know she isn’t my biological daughter," she revealed and I felt my blood chill as my heart sank to the pit of my stomach.

I looked at her with wide eyes. "How did she..." My voice trailed off and she knew exactly what I was talking about as she answered my question without me having to complete my sentence just yet.

"I let it slip," she muttered under her breath as she lowered her head and averted her gaze in shame, guilt laced her voice. "It’s my fault," she confessed, the words leaving a sour taste in her mouth as a defeated look was stretched across her face.

I reached up to rest one hand on her shoulder. "Don’t say that, Natalie. It’s not your fault, things happen, don’t beat yourself up for it," I comforted in a gentle tone as I let the corners of my lips curl upwards into a reassuring smile.

She looked up to meet my eyes, emotions running wild in her dark brown eyes. "Maybe it isn’t but now... my life is one big mess. I don’t know how to fix it..."

"What... What do you mean? How is it a mess?" I asked with a puzzled look etched onto my face as my voice was laced with a hint of confusion. "I’m sure everything will be just fine."

"But it isn’t fine at all. I think my husband hates me," she started and I looked at her with disbelief written all over my face. "He thought that I would hurt Eve and he doesn’t trust me at all, he thinks that I was cheating on him. I..." She let a soft sigh escape her lips this time and there was a slight pause before she continued.

"I hate to be the one saying this but..." she dragged, struggling to get the next few words out of her lips for a while before she finally broke the silence that settled among us. "I think Evelyn has been trying to sabotage me ever since the day she found out that I knew about her. She threatened me not to tell anyone, especially her father. Everything is too much of a coincidence, I feel like such a horrible mother for even thinking this," she said as her voice cracked towards the end of the sentence.

As soon as the words left the tip of her tongue, I watched as she broke down crying in front of my eyes once again. I didn’t know exactly what to say but only put my arms around her to offer her some comfort and let her know that I was there with her.

"You are not a horrible mother, Natalie," I said, murmuring next to her ears as she buried her face in her hands. "I know you love Evelyn and she is very lucky to have you as her mother. I know you –"

It was at this moment when a high-pitched voice pierced through the air and reached my ears, interrupting me and cutting me off before I could even complete my sentence.

"What are you doing with my mother?!" The voice shrieked loudly as it shook with what seemed like pure rage and anger spreading inside the body like a wildfire.

I lifted my head up almost immediately and my eyes landed on a pair of familiar dark green eyes. Shock and surprise filled my eyes as I looked ahead and my mind buzzed with questions, wondering how they found us.

There was no one else around besides her and another man. It was Evelyn who was staring right back at me, glaring at me as her eyes were narrowed into thin slits. Beside her was her father who stood there with an unhappy expression that masked his features as he looked at me with clear disdain.

I backed away from Natalie who was also staring ahead as she quickly reached up to wipe the tears off her face. We watched as Evelyn wheeled her wheelchair over angrily while James followed behind her. She stopped before me and leaned in closer until our faces were only inches apart.

"What did you do to my mother? Why is she crying?" She asked, spitting the words out like they were poison in her mouth as the words that left her lips were dripping with accusation.

"I didn’t do anything," I said as my voice remained unwavering and I kept my gaze steady, unfazed by her accusations hurled right at me.

Evelyn barely spared me another glance as she turned to look at her mother and her gaze softened visibly. "Mum, are you okay? Did Aurelia do something?" She questioned, her voice laced with fake concern and worry for her mother.

Within the next second, Natalie quickly defended me. "Aurelia, didn’t do anything. I was just talking to her, that’s all," she explained which only further fuelled the fire that was already raging inside of Evelyn.

"Clearly something happened," James chimed in this time to support his daughter, his tone carrying a sharp edge to it. "And didn’t I tell you to stop talking to Aurelia? I don’t care if you think she’s a good person or that you like her art, did you forget what she did to Eve? What the hell are you still doing out here with her? If I didn’t check with the chauffeur, I wouldn’t even know you have been sneaking around out here with this woman!" He sneered with a disdainful scorn as he jutted out his finger to point at me.

Behind him, a satisfied smirk morphed itself onto Evelyn’s lips and instantly, I knew she had a part to play in this.

Natalie moved his finger away from me this time. A frown crept onto her face, forming deep creases in her forehead. She stood up and looked into her husband’s eyes.

"What do you mean by ’this woman’?" She questioned as the frown that was resting between her brows deepened. "Aurelia didn’t do you wrong, in fact, she didn’t do anything wrong at all. So why are you being so hard on her? Do you have something against her?" She asked, the sharpness in her tone caught him off guard as he simply stared at her, blinking.

Despite the circumstances I was suddenly thrown into, I couldn’t stop the smile that was appearing on my face as I watched quietly. Afterall, it was the first time I felt loved by a mother who actually cared to stand up for me and defend me even when everyone else was against me. This was a foreign feeling, something I haven’t felt in a while now.

"Of course I have something against her!" James insisted, his voice snapping me back to reality. "She made Eve upset! All I am asking is for you to consider our daughter’s feelings. You know how Eve feels about this, don’t you? Why can’t you be more considerate to your own daughter?"

Evelyn tugged at her father’s arm, looking up at him with wide doe eyes and a pitiful look that was etched onto her face. "Daddy, that’s fine. I guess mum enjoys the company of Aurelia..." She mumbled softly under her breath as she lowered her gaze. "I don’t want to be the one who stops her."

A cold chuckle emerged from Natalie’s throat as she was rendered speechless.

James and I locked eyes from a distance and I could see the anger that was swirling in the depth of his eyes as I spoke up for her this time. I didn’t even care about what he was accusing me of.

"I think Natalie has been more than considerate to Evelyn, can’t you see that she loves her? How can you stand there and accuse her of not considering her daughter’s feelings?"

Without a single warning, he raised his hand to slap me across my face and pain shot through my body in an instant. A loud gasp left Natalie’s parted lips and I whipped my head back around to look at him with shock evident on my face. Behind him, I noticed the satisfied look that was plastered across Evelyn’s face as a slight smirk tugged at the corners of her lips.

"You do not talk to me like that!" His deep voice sliced through the tension that was brewing in the air between us. "Who do you think you are?!"

"James, what is wrong with you?!" Natalie’s voice boomed loudly as she stood in front of me to shield me from her husband and glared at him with wide eyes.

"Step away, Natalie," he demanded through gritted teeth as anger was pulsing through his veins inside of him. "I need to teach this woman a lesson," he snarled.

"I’m not moving."

"Move!" He yelled impatiently and reached out to push her aside and raised his arm once again.

Before I could even stop him myself, Natalie was standing in front of me as she grabbed onto his arm, her fingernails digging into his skin and she looked right into his eyes.

"Don’t hit her!"

"Why not?!"

"Because Aurelia is our daughter!"