Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband

My harsh words pricked at her chest, stabbing right through it and into her heart. I watched as anger flashed past her eyes in a split second and she clenched her jaws tightly.

Her eyes went wide. "What... did... you just say?" She asked through gritted teeth, each word that left her lips were coated with a thick layer of venom as her blood boiled with anger.

I knew she heard me the first time but I repeated it anyway. "I was asking you if it hurts that your own biological daughter doesn’t want you," I said, my voice cold and icy as I kept my gaze steady.

Silence lapsed between both of us as tension hung in the air like a thick blanket. Her eyes were narrowed into thin slits as she glared at me like she wanted me buried six feet under.

"You better watch your words, Aurelia," she warned, her sharp voice slicing through the air as disdain swam in her dark green eyes.

"Why?" I retorted within the next second. "Did my words hurt you? Because I wanted it to hurt you. I hope it did."

"You –"

The words barely left the tip of her tongue when I cut her off before she could even finish her sentence.

"Why should I care about your feelings when you didn’t care about mine? Every single day, I thank God for giving me my memories back and bringing Xavier to me even after you tried to keep us apart for god knows why." I paused for a brief moment as I let out a breath, emotions were running wild in my eyes. "Now I finally understand why you never took my side and why you hated me like I was an outsider. It’s because that’s all I am to you, that’s all I will ever be. An outsider... Not your daughter even though you raised me and watched me grow up. All you cared about was Evelyn. Is your heart so small that you couldn’t even learn to fit me in there?"

"I..." She stuttered, struggling to find the words to say.

"You wouldn’t even look at me!" My voice came out louder than expected as it cracked slightly towards the end of the sentence. A sour feeling shot right up my nose and I could feel hot tears sting my eyes. I bit my lower lip as I blinked back tears, trying my hardest to hold them back. "You know...All this time, I thought it was me. I thought I was doing something wrong, maybe I didn’t deserve your love. But no..." I shook my head as I looked down.

I lifted my head and we locked eyes this time.

"It wasn’t me, it was you," I said, my voice laced with a hint of hurt as I jutted out my finger to point at her. A single tear rolled down my cheek and I inhaled deeply before I let the next few words leave my mouth. "And I will never be good enough for you, can I? Because I will never be your real daughter."

She looked me dead in the eyes, her expression remained emotionless and her eyes were void of a single ounce of warmth. She leaned in closer, our faces were now barely a few inches apart.

"You are right," she began in a low voice. "You can and will never be my real daughter," she sneered with a disdainful scorn.

I froze.

For a moment, the 10 year old little girl in me felt the pain. That little girl couldn’t fathom how and why her own mother would be saying such cruel words to her. Hurt flashed past my eyes but I quickly shook it off like it was nothing.

I reached up and pushed her away from me without a single warning, causing her to stumble back a couple of steps before she finally caught her balance. She looked up to meet my eyes.

"Get away from me," I demanded through a shaky voice. "I don’t want anything to do with you so don’t come looking for me anymore."

"I will if you stay in your lane and not go looking for Natalie anymore," she threatened, her voice carrying a slight edge to it. "Everything I have done is for Evelyn, and I will not let you ruin it now. You cannot take that away from her," she demanded, pointing her finger at me.

"And what about what you took from me?" I questioned as I kept my gaze steady, watching her eyes grow wide with surprise as she was taken aback by my words. I stepped forward, closing the gap between us. "What about me? You took my whole life away from me."

She let out a loud scoff, rolling her eyes dramatically.

"I didn’t take anything away from you," she said, her voice filled with annoyance. "Stop exaggerating."

A cold chuckle emerged from my throat as I looked at her. "Exaggerating?" I repeated with an incredulous look plastered across my face. "Am I exaggerating when I say that you lied to me about my fiance? Am I exaggerating when I say that you took my real parents away from me and gave me the childhood I didn’t deserve at all?!"

I continued. "I wasn’t exaggerating, Jennifer." My eyes narrowed as I stared right into her eyes, holding them captive. "I will take back what’s mine to begin with and I will make you pay for what you did."

***

"Serena, I need you in my office now." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

She tore her gaze away from the computer screen and turned around to let her eyes fall on me. A tiny frown was etched between her brows as she looked at me with a puzzled expression that masked her features but she nodded anyway.

"Yeah, of course," she muttered under her breath as she stood up and followed behind me.

The door was closed shut and the blinds were drawn so nobody could look through and see us. I sat down on my seat as she sat across from me with a serious look etched onto her face.

"What is it? What’s the matter?" She asked, her voice laced with a hint of concern and worry as she maintained her professionalism.

I let the corners of my lips curved upwards into a smile. "I need your help in deciding what dress to wear," I said as a soft giggle escaped from my parted lips.

She sank back into her chair and let out a breath of relief. She arched her brow at me. "So this is what this is about? I thought something bad happened."

"I mean, I am going to be announced as the lost daughter of the Lloyd’s family. This is huge, I need a good dress." I showed her some pictures on my phone of the dresses I had in mind but she was clearly distracted.

I watched as her eyes widened within the next second, surprise evident on her face. "Woah, woah, woah. Hold up," she said as the gears in her head shifted and her mind struggled to comprehend the reality. "The Lloyd’s? As in one of the richest families in this country?"

"Mhmm..." I said nonchalantly, the smile still lingering on my lips.

"What? Oh my god... How?" She asked, intrigued as curiosity swirled in the depths of her eyes. She leaned forward, anticipation hung on her face as she watched me. "Tell me!"

I raised my arms up in mock surrender as a low chuckle erupted from my throat. "Okay calm down woman," I teased, amusement dancing in my eyes. "We were swapped as babies and no one found out apparently."

"I thought that shit only happens in novels or movies?"

"Well, maybe I am in one right now," I joked as laughter slipped through the gaps of my fingers.

She laughed. "That’s crazy."

"It is crazy indeed..."

"Come, let’s get you the best dress you can ever find."

And just like that, I found myself clad in the very same dress Serena helped pick out for me. It was a long dark green satin gown. The neckline plunges down to the middle of my chest, not revealing too much skin but mostly my collarbones and neck were exposed. The fabric wrapped around my waist perfectly before flowing down to the floor.

I had stepped into the huge ballroom decorated with chandeliers that lined down the middle aisle that led up to a huge flight of marble stairs, parting to each side. Almost immediately Natalie caught my eyes. She let a smile fall on her lips as she walked right up to me.

"Aurelia, you are here."

I smiled. "Happy birthday, Natalie," I greeted as I leaned in to give her a hug.

"Thank you... Aurelia."

It was her birthday banquet today and she was planning on announcing it in front of all the guests here. From the corner of my eyes, I could sense someone staring at me. Of course it was Evelyn who was looking at me, her eyes full of disdain and contempt.

She didn’t waste any time as she came right up to us, spitting the words out like they were poison in her mouth.

"Mum, what is she doing here? Why did you invite her?"