Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband

As soon as the words left the tip of my tongue, a gasp louder than the one before erupted from the crowd at the bottom of the stairs. They were watching us with eyes full of shock and surprise as their lips were left agape, struggling to comprehend the words that they had just heard spew out of my mouth.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Jennifer glaring at me with narrowed eyes, disdain written all over her face. Natalie looked calm as always while James’ eyes grew as wide as the size of a saucer. He clutched onto his chest and stumbled back a couple of steps when his wife caught him, holding him up.

The entire ballroom fell silent in a split second as the air crackled with unspoken tension for what seemed like an eternity but in reality, only lasted no longer than a couple of seconds.

I watched as the colour drained from Evelyn’s face almost immediately and her eyes grew wide the moment realisation dawned upon her. Slowly, her head turned to face me and we locked eyes as she took in a deep breath.

Her heart was pounding loudly against her chest, threatening to burst out at any second now. A flustered expression masked her features as her eyes shifted around anxiously.

"What did you just say?" She asked in a low voice, her shaky voice slicing through the silence and tension that lingered in the air between us.

"I said I am the Lloyd family’s daughter, not you," I repeated as my voice remained unwavering and a look of certainty was plastered across my face.

"You are wrong," her voice came out soft. "You are wrong!" She shrieked loudly this time, her high-pitched voice echoed in the vast ballroom as everyone continued to watch on.

She turned to face the crowd this time, her eyes wide and panic settled in, overwhelming her all at once. Without even looking at me, she jutted out her finger to point at me directly.

"Don’t believe her!" She shouted, straining her voice a little as it cracked towards the end of the sentence. "She is lying! She is just doing this for attention and she is trying to ruin my mum’s birthday. I am the real daughter of the Lloyd family!" She declared, the words that left her lips were dripping with accusation.

James who was standing near the bottom of the stairs finally recovered from shock this time as his voice boomed loudly.

"Eve is right, don’t believe that manipulative woman!" He sneered with a disdainful scorn, chiming in to support his daughter as he eyed me with contempt. He whipped his head around to meet my gaze this time. "Aurelia, get down here right now!" He demanded through gritted teeth as rage spread inside of him like a wildfire.

"I’m not going anywhere," I said in a cold voice as I stayed in the same spot, refusing to budge as I balled up my fists.

His face darkened visibly at my words of disobey as he clenched his jaw tightly and stared at me. "Don’t make me go up there to drag you down," he warned, his voice heavy with a threat as he kept his gaze steady.

Within the next second, he started marching up the stairs when my words stopped him and he found himself standing right at the middle before the stairs were parted on both sides.

"I am not lying," I announced. "I have proof."

I stepped forward but felt someone grab me by my wrist. It was Evelyn whose dark green eyes were boring right into mine. Her sharp and perfectly manicured nails dug into my skin, pressing up against my bone.

A pitiful look was etched on her face as her eyes landed on mine.

"Don’t do it," she pleaded, desperation evident in her voice, a jarring difference from how tightly she was gripping onto me. "Please," she begged and satisfaction filled the hollows of my heart seeing that look on her face.

I yanked my wrist out of her tight grasp. "I–" The word barely left my lips when a loud yelp pierced through the air.

Without a single warning, Evelyn intentionally threw herself down the stairs. I knew it wasn’t me, I didn’t even touch her. I watched calmly as she tumbled down each step before her father finally caught her in his arms.

No one dared to speak a single word until James cried out loud.

"Aurelia! What have you done?!" He screamed, his blood boiling with anger as he stared at me like he wanted me dead.

Meanwhile, Natalie also ran over towards Evelyn, going up the stairs in a hurry, concern and worry swirling in the depths of her dark brown eyes. "Evelyn, my darling..." She leaned forward, reaching out to touch her when James shoved her away, taking her aback.

She looked at her husband with shock in her eyes, unable to say a word.

"This is your fault," he snarled, blaming her. "If you hadn’t invited that woman to your birthday banquet, this wouldn’t have happened!" He spat the words out like they were poison in his mouth.

"I didn’t..." Her voice trailed off as a look of helplessness was plastered across her face and she averted her gaze to look down at her wringing hands.

James barely spared her another glance as he turned back to face Evelyn who was still lying in his arms. She coughed dramatically, her features were contorted into a pained expression as she looked into his eyes.

"Eve..." Her name left his lips as he looked down at her with his brows knitted together, concern evident on his face. "Tell me, what happened? Did she push you?"

"Daddy..." Her voice came out weak and soft, barely above a whisper. She coughed again before her voice got louder, making sure that people around could hear the accusations that were hurled at me. "I don’t know what I did wrong... All I did was try to stop her from ruining mum’s birthday but I think she got mad at me so she pushed me down the stairs."

She tried to sit up this time. "But don’t blame her, I’m sure it was just an accident, I know she didn’t mean it. It was my fault for not being careful..." She muttered under her breath.

I slowly made my way down the stairs and stopped not too far away from them. My eyes flickered down to glance at her, my face void of any emotions and my voice cold and icy.

"I didn’t push her," I said as I maintained my calm demeanour then turned to lock eyes with Evelyn. "I didn’t push you, and you know it."

She let out a breath. "I...I..." She stammered, struggling to find the words to say for a while but James quickly came to her rescue.

"What is wrong with you?!" He snapped at me, his tone carrying a sharp edge to it. "Everyone here saw her fall down the stairs and you were the only one up there standing next to her," he snarled.

"That doesn’t mean anything. I know I didn’t push her, my conscience is clear," I retorted without hesitation. There was a brief pause before I continued. "Though...I can’t say the same about her."

His eyes grew wide with anger in an instant. "Are you trying to say that Evelyn threw herself down a flight of stairs to accuse you of pushing her?"

I nodded. "That is exactly what I am saying."

His blood boiled with anger. "You!" He shouted.

I watched as Evelyn placed her hand on his arm as she shook her head lightly. "It’s okay, don’t blame Aurelia, it’s my fault. I should have been more careful..." She mumbled, that pitiful look still lingering on her face as she feigned innocence and played the role of the victim.

"Nonsense! She needs to pay for what she has done!" He yelled out loud then his eyes dragged over to meet mine. "You stay here," he remarked, leaning her against the railing before he stood up, leaving her side to start marching over towards where I was standing.

Seeing what was about to happen, Natalie’s eyes went wide with horror as a wave of realisation washed over her. Knowing her husband’s temper and the type of person he was, she could predict exactly what he was going to do.

He closed the distance between us in a few large strides, raising his arm before he swung down to try and slap me across my face.

But what he didn’t expect was that he didn’t slap me. Instead, his palm landed right on his own wife’s face, her cheek stinging with pain as it left a huge red mark on her skin as she stood between us, shielding me with her body.

Another gasp rose from the crowd once again.

Before I knew it, a single word emerged from my parted lips.

"Mum!"