Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband

His voice was soft but the coldness in his voice was unmissable, carrying an undercurrent of finality that I did not expect to come from him. There was no hesitation, and barely any trace of warmth. His gaze was unwavering, but there was something behind his eyes I couldn’t quite decipher, perhaps it was shame or guilt or anger, I don’t know.

All I knew was that his words had hit me hard, stabbing through my chest and into my heart like sharp daggers. I stood frozen in place, unable to move, the words ringing in my ears, replaying in my head like a broken record player I couldn’t seem to fix.

"Leave!" He shouted again, much louder than before as his deep voice remained hoarse.

I could feel Paula’s presence behind me, her eyes sharp and her mocking gaze lingering on me, waiting for me to react as a slight smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. But all I could do was stare at Xavier, trying to process the situation that was unravelling before my own eyes. I stumbled a couple of steps back and for a moment, I thought I might collapse. But I reached out and held onto the wall beside.

"Xavier..." His name left my parted lips in a soft voice as I looked at him, hurt flashed past my dark brown eyes. My brows were knitted together, forming a slight frown between my brows as a puzzled expression masked my features.

"What are you...I don’t understand..." My voice trailed off, my tone was laced with confusion as my mind buzzed with thoughts and questions, swirling inside my head like a damn hurricane. I just couldn’t understand it. What was with the sudden change? "Why?"

Before he could even utter a single word, Paula’s voice reached my ears.

"What do you mean why?" She asked smugly. I whipped my head around to come face to face with her this time, watching as her eyes swirled with satisfaction. She had her arms folded over her chest as our gazes met. "Just leave, he told you to leave," she sneered, her tone carrying a sharp edge to it as the smirk that was plastered across her face grew wider.

I had expected Xavier to speak up for me, to defend me against his mother’s sharp words. But instead I was met with silence and disappointment washed over me in an instant.

"But I –"

Her sharp voice interrupted me, cutting me off before I could even complete my sentence.

"He doesn’t want you here, Aurelia," she spat the words out like they were poison in her mouth. "Don’t you get it?" She taunted, raising a brow at me.

I didn’t reply to her. Instead, I turned back around to meet Xavier’s gaze, but he barely spared me another glance, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Is that true? You don’t want me here?" I asked, hurt evident in my voice.

Silence hung in the air between us like a thick blanket as the air crackled with unspoken tension.

"Tell me, Xavier! Is it true?!" I burst out this time, unable to hold myself back any longer as my heart pounded loudly against my chest. Emotions were running wild in my eyes as I looked at him, waiting for a reply, for an answer, just a word from him.

"Yes," was all he said.

I felt my heart sink to the pit of my stomach once again as hurt crossed my face for a split second. I let out a breath. I bit my lower lip, trying to stop the tears from streaming down my face.

"Okay," I mumbled under my breath with a defeated look etched onto my face, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of my lips. "I hope you are feeling okay."

I saw a hint of regret flashed past his dark eyes for a brief moment but I didn’t stay. As soon as the words left the tip of my tongue, I spun on my heels and walked away. I heard the door closed behind me with a soft thud and the tears that I was fighting so hard to hold back came rolling down my cheeks.

***

I heard the door knock and before I could say a word, I heard a familiar voice called out to me.

"Aurelia!" She muttered my name in surprise and a hint of relief.

I lifted my head to come face to face with Serena who was rushing over towards me, closing the distance between us in a few large strides. There was a concerned and worried expression that masked her features as we locked eyes.

"What are you doing here? I heard about the car accident, you shouldn’t be at work!" She reprimanded me with a tiny frown etched between her brows, as though I was her child. "How are you? Are you okay?" She asked, her eyes darting around, examining my features and body.

I looked at her and our eyes met.

As soon as those words tumbled out of her lips, I broke down immediately. Hot tears stung my eyes and they soon started streaming down my face. Serena quickly wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into her warm embrace, letting me cry my eyes out as she comforted me.

"My poor girl..." She muttered under her breath as I sobbed in her arms. "I’m here... I’m here with you."

"I don’t... I don’t understand..." I muttered incoherently, choking on my words as I stammered, struggling to get the words out of my mouth. "Did I do... something wrong? Why is he pushing me away?"

She looked me in my eyes this time, worry evident on her face.

"Aurelia... What happened? Is everything okay?" She asked, her voice laced with concern and worry.

"It’s Xavier..." I admitted. "He didn’t want to see or speak to me after the accident. I don’t know what happened, why did he... change?" I asked, my voice cracking towards the end of the sentence.

She mirrored that sad look etched onto my face as she squeezed my palm tightly in reassurance.

"I’m sure there must be a reason... Don’t worry about it," she comforted.

"I mean how can I not worry about it? His voice was so..." My voice trailed off. "...cold."

There was a brief pause as she thought of what to say next, still holding onto my hand, she let the words roll off the tip of her tongue. "Why don’t you go look for him again today?" she suggested.

"He doesn’t even want to look at me!" I broke down once again, bursting into tears.

"Hey, hey...Look at me..." She whispered softly, lifting my chin so that I could meet her eyes. Her gaze was soft and her tone was warm and gentle as she wiped the tears off my face. "I know you are hurt and upset but you need to talk to him," she urged.

"I... I don’t know," I stuttered. "I’m not ready for what might come."

"You will never truly be ready. But I will go with you if you need me." Silence stretched between us for a moment before her words broke it. "Hmm? What do you say?"

I didn’t want to do it, but I knew she was right. I need to talk to him, I need to find out what’s wrong, so I nodded, albeit reluctantly.

That was how I found myself standing outside of the very hospital I left just yesterday night. The memories from yesterday came rushing into my mind, flooding my brain instantly without a single warning. His words were stuck at the back of my mind, replaying every now and then, as if to haunt me and taunt me.

Serena grabbed onto my arm and pulled me inside despite my reluctance.

As we walked down the hallways, passing by the rows of rooms, my mind continued to buzz with thoughts and my heart was thudding loudly against my chest, threatening to burst out at any second with each step I took.

"Aurelia, where is it?" I heard her call out to me, her voice snapping me back to reality.

"Huh?"

"Where is his ward?"

I looked ahead. "I think it is right..." I stopped when I caught a glimpse of something from the corner of my eyes.

We were a distance away from the ward when my eyes landed on a familiar figure standing by the door and recognition flashed past my eyes instantly.

The long blonde hair and dark green eyes, I could recognise her from a mile away.

Realisation dawned upon me when I finally realised who I was looking at. Within the next second, I felt my heart drop and my stomach was tied into a knot, a sinking feeling settling in my chest. It hit me like a brick and I froze, not moving a single inch from where I was standing, just staring ahead blankly.

It was Evelyn who was standing by the door.