Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband

The crowd held their breath as they looked up at the lady on stage with a mixture of excitement and anticipation swirling in their eyes. I could hear my own heartbeat inside my head and I bit my lower lip. It felt as though the whole world had gone silent at that moment.

"...Evelyn Lloyd!"

At first, I was surprised, shocked to hear her name. I thought I stood a chance, but I guess I thought wrong. I was defeated, to say the very least.

The light in my eyes was instantly extinguished as soon as I heard the familiar name echoed in the ballroom. I let out a breath, disappointment clearly evident on my face as I lowered my head.

"Evelyn?" I muttered under my breath. "How?"

A huge round of applause sounded in the ballroom. James and Natalie both stood up, clapping enthusiastically for their daughter with big smiles that were stretched across their faces as they watched her carefully make her way up the stage.

I looked up and found that she was already looking at me with a smug smile plastered across her face as they handed her the trophy.

Xavier interlaced his fingers with mine, giving it a slight squeeze of assurance. "It’s okay, I think you did great nonetheless," he whispered beside my ear, shooting me a comforting smile.

I leaned my head on his side, a small smile etched onto my face as I found comfort in his presence. "Thanks, Xavier."

And just like that, the competition I had been working so hard for had come to an end. We had already stepped out, away from most people when a familiar sharp voice pierced through the air and reached my ears.

"How does it feel to be a loser?" The voice taunted.

Xavier and I whipped our heads around in an instant and our eyes landed on Evelyn who had this smug look on her face.

"I told you I was going to win," she continued as a smirk morphed itself onto her lips. "And you? You couldn’t even make it to the top 3, how pathetic!" She sneered with contempt, arrogance laced her voice.

"You-!"

The word barely left the tip of his tongue when I let go of his hand to place on his chest and shook my head lightly. He immediately understood what I meant and held his tongue.

I stepped forward, closing the distance between Evelyn and I. My features softened and I knitted my brows, feigning concern as we locked eyes. I reached up to put my hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay? Is there something you need to talk about?" I asked in a soft voice, my voice laced with sarcasm.

She pushed my hand off her shoulder.

"I don’t need your fake concern."

"Then what are you going on about?" I questioned with a raised brow. "Are you that insecure of your capabilities that even after you have won you still find the need to taunt me to make yourself feel better?"

Beside me, I could hear a snicker escape Xavier’s lips and I watched as anger crept up onto her face in a split second and she burst.

"What the fuck do you think you are talking about?!" She spat, clearly agitated by my remark. "Why would I be insecure? I won first place, you are nothing compared to me!"

I remained unfazed by her snide remarks as we continued to stare at each other.

"Exactly. I’m wondering the same thing too," I mused with amusement twinkling in my eyes and my voice was dripping with sarcasm. "You won, no need to be insecure, just be happy. I’m sure your parents are very proud of you," I mocked with a smile as I patted her on her back.

"Of course we are proud of our daughter," a familiar voice sliced through the tension that was thick in the air.

I snapped my head around to see James walking over towards us with Natalie beside him.

"After all, she did win the competition," he continued with an arrogant look etched onto his face and he finally stopped before us. He put his arm around Evelyn’s shoulders. "Our Eve here attends the most prestigious art school in the country. It’s only natural that she would win."

I watched as Evelyn looked up at her father, her lips curved into a knowing smile as she clung onto his arm. "Dad... you know I don’t like to brag... it’s nothing much anyway," she said shyly, as she lowered her head.

I laughed as I watched their interaction. "You are paying hundreds of thousands for her lessons. If she didn’t win, that would be quite concerning. Wouldn’t it?"

"You!" His voice boomed loudly as anger pulsed through every single vein inside of his body. "You think you are so smart with your sarcastic comments and snide remarks huh?!" He sneered with disdain as his voice trembled with anger.

"Dad! Don’t get angry, it’s bad for you. Don’t let her get to you," she pouted while Natalie watched quietly behind them.

The corners of my lips curled upwards into a smile.

"What do you mean by sarcastic and snide remarks? I was just concerned, that’s all," I said, feigning innocence as his intense gaze matched mine. "But clearly, you don’t need my concern because she won."

"Yeah, I’m sure she didn’t mean it," Xavier chimed in with a smirk.

"Don’t overthink it." I said before turning to Xavier. "Come on, let’s go."

***

That evening, Xavier insisted on taking me out to dinner to celebrate.

"You deserved it!" He would say it over and over again with a smile on his face whenever I mentioned that I did not actually win anything.

That was how I found myself sitting in the middle of the restaurant as we ate, I was practically devouring the steak on my plate at this point. A huge fancy chandelier hung above us, illuminating the place with a soft yellow glow as soft classical music played in the background.

He had excused himself towards the end of the dinner to head to the restroom. I simply nodded with a small smile on my face as I sat there slowly sipping on the red wine.

My eyes glanced down at my phone and I realised that over 15 minutes had passed and he was still nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?" I muttered to myself as my eyes scanned the interior only to be greeted by unfamiliar faces. I tapped my foot against the ground impatiently.

He didn’t leave and forgot about me, right?

Just as I was about to stand up from my seat, Xavier appeared before my eyes and casually plopped down onto the seat with a smirk on his face.

"Where have you been?!" I exclaimed with concern. "What happened? I thought you left."

A low chuckle erupted from his lips as we locked eyes and I watched him lean back into the chair with his arms folded over his chest.

"I got a surprise for you."