Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband

My eyes widened in surprise, I wasn’t expecting a call from her after the saga that unfolded at the Lloyd’s mansion not too long ago. Silence stretched between us for a brief moment until I heard my name leave her lips once again, her voice breaking me out of my little reverie.

"Aurelia? Are you there?"

"Yeah, hey, Natalie," I greeted, masking the surprise in my voice. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well.. I’m sure you know about the upcoming art competition showcase..." her voice trailed off for a moment there. "Would you be available to come back to help Evelyn practise this weekend?"

There was a brief pause before I spoke. "I don’t know about this... I would love to help but Evelyn, she -"

Before I could finish my sentence, she interrupted me. "I apologise on her behalf... and my husband’s. What they did was way out of line," she took my side much to my surprise, but I wasn’t going to complain about that.

"I..."

"Please, Aurelia. Please do me this favour, I have never asked you for any other favours have I? I’m just worried about this big showcase, and she has been stressing about it lately. Besides, I have talked to Evelyn, and she’s more than happy to have you back."

Hearing the desperation and sincerity in her voice, I couldn’t bear to turn her down or even dare utter the word "no". Instead, my lips were forced upwards into a slight smile that stretched across my face and I nodded. "Alright, sure. I will do it. Just this one time."

"Just this one time," she agreed.

***

That was how I found myself right back at the Lloyd’s Family Mansion, even though I swore that I would never ever come back here again after the incident.

A small smile graced my lips as I walked into the living hall, my eyes immediately landed on Evelyn and Natalie who were already standing by the door, as if to welcome me.

"Aurelia, you are here!" Natalie exclaimed with a smile on her face as she leaned in to give me a small hug while Evelyn stood behind her, watching quietly as she gave me a meek wave with a smile etched on her face.

"Hey," she greeted me too.

"Hi," I muttered, waving back at her and an uncomfortable silence hung in the air between us for what seemed like an eternity.

"I’m sorry about that day," Evelyn started, her voice breaking the seemingly deafening silence as her head hung low and she shifted around awkwardly, shuffling her feet ever so slightly.

To say I was shocked was an understatement. Never had I ever expected or dreamt to hear an apology coming out of her mouth in my life, it felt like a miracle to say the very least. I looked up at her, surprise flashed past my eyes in an instant as we locked eyes. All of a sudden, I forgot how to speak or what to say.

"Oh, let’s not dwell in the past, everything is fine now," I claimed with a slight smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I gave one of the most PR answers I could come up with in a matter of seconds.

"That’s great!" Natalie chimed in from behind us, pulling the both of us into her embrace and we couldn’t help but to laugh awkwardly in response. She looked between the both of us with a smile stretched across her face. "Well, I will leave you two to be, have a good lesson, Eve," she said before turning around to leave.

I smiled. "Come on, we need to start prepping for the big showcase."

As soon as Natalie turned her back against us, the look in Evelyn’s eyes changed almost immediately as her features hardened and a smirk started to morph itself onto her lips. She let out a loud scoff, rolling her eyes dramatically.

"Did you really think I was sorry?" She sneered with a disdainful scorn. "It was all just an act for my mum to believe that I actually am sorry. Well, guess what? I’m not," she spat the words out like they were poison in her mouth.

A cold chuckle emerged from my throat.

"I should have known," I muttered under my breath as I looked right into her cold eyes that were swimming with contempt. I stepped towards her, my face inching closer. "So tell me, what’s the plan,huh? Why did you have to lure me back here?" I questioned her bluntly.

A laughter slipped through the gaps between her fingers. "The plan? There is no plan. Besides, even if there was, what makes you think I would tell you?" She snarled as a smirk started to appear on her lips and a knowing look twinkled in her eyes.

Before I could say another word, the sound of glass shattering on the ground pierced through the tension lingering in the air, reverberating in the living hall. Immediately, we whipped our heads around and my eyes landed on my mother. She had a flustered look plastered across her face as she scrambled to look for a broom to sweep everything up.

On instinct, I found myself rushing over to her side in a hurry. At that moment, I didn’t care that she defended Evelyn the other time.

"Mum, is everything alright?" I asked, concern and worry laced my voice as we locked eyes. I glanced down to see the scattered pieces of broken glasses lying on the ground.

Just as the words left my lips, I felt a hand on my back. Before I knew it, someone shoved me and I lost my balance, falling onto the ground where I stretched out my arms to break my fall.

"Ah!" A yelp escaped my parted lips as pain shot through my body in an instant. A piece of glass on the ground had stabbed my palm and I glanced down to see fresh red blood oozing out of the wound, trickling down my hand.

"Oh, oops. Sorry, didn’t mean it, it was an accident."