Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband

Flashback - Third Person POV

From the corner of his eye, Xavier watched as two very familiar-looking men walked into the washroom casually. He didn’t have to wreck his brain as realisation quickly dawned upon him. He had seen these men at the art competition earlier today, what are the odds that they would run into each other again?

The two men had their guard let down as they talked to one another without a single care.

Xavier was just about to step out when he heard the man’s voice reach his ears, the words that left his mouth piqued his interest and he stopped immediately, hiding behind a wall.

"Yeah, they paid me a lot of money to make sure that their daughter wins. Can you believe it?" One of the men shared out loud, a hint of excitement laced his voice as he laughed, thinking that no one else was around.

The other man nodded in agreement. "These rich people are different, man," he commented nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulders. "I’m just glad I got the money, no complaints!"

It finally clicked inside of Xavier’s head. Just the thought of it made his blood boil as the image of Aurelia’s disappointed face popped into his mind at that exact second. His face darkened visibly and his fists were clenched tightly beside him as he stepped out from behind the wall.

It was at this moment when his deep voice pierced through the air.

"So, you are saying the Lloyd family bribed the judges so that Evelyn would win?!"

His loud voice immediately caught their attention and he watched them jump in fear and their eyes widened in horror as recognition flashed past their faces. They remembered seeing him earlier today in the audience too.

"I...I..." the man stuttered, struggling to get the words out of his throat as fear gripped him.

Sensing the tension that was starting to brew, the friend chimed in. "We didn’t!" He proclaimed as he shook his head, feigning innocence. "There’s no such thing."

Anger coursed through Xavier’s body upon hearing the words that left the tip of their tongue. Impulse started to cloud his judgement and he soon marched towards both men, closing the gap between them in a few large angry strides.

Without a single warning, his hands reached up to grab onto their collars as he stared into their eyes with an intense look that was stretched across his face.

"I heard what the two of you said the first time! So, don’t bother lying to me!" He yelled through gritted teeth before letting them go. His features hardened and he clenched his jaw. "Tell me, how much did the Lloyd’s pay you?"

"I don’t know what you are talking about," the same man insisted, claiming that they were innocent as his voice remained unwavering. "We didn’t accept any bribes at all and the Lloyd’s did not pay us a single cent."

There was a short pause before the other man chimed in too. "Exactly! Evelyn won because her art was outstanding."

But Xavier ignored all of their dumb excuses and lousy explanations.

"How much did the Lloyd’s pay you?" He repeated again, this time sounding much more impatient and agitated as compared to the last time. He turned to look at both men as the corners of his lips curved upwards into a smirk. "I will pay the two of you double of that if you confess anonymously on video."

He watched as their eyes lit up in an instant at the mention of money, a smile starting to form on their lips before it was quickly replaced with disdain and coldness in their eyes.

"Do you think we are stupid? This could possibly land us in jail or at least a fine! Are you going to pay for that?"

"Not if I hire the best lawyers to defend you, and I will gladly cover the fines."

"You? You are going to pay us double? Can someone like you afford to?" The man mocked as a low chuckle escaped his parted lips. "Don’t you know that the Lloyd’s is one ... if not the richest family in the country. And who are you? Thinking that you could pay us and cover everything," he spat the words out of his mouth.

"He paid us $10,000 each. Can you make that $20,000?" The other taunted with a smirk etched onto his face.

Xavier let out a loud scoff. "$20,000? That’s just spare change for me. You want it?" He asked with a raised brow, amusement dancing in his dark eyes. He reached for his pocket, pulling out his wallet and two pieces of already pre-signed cheques he kept with him.

He waved the blank cheques in their faces as if to taunt them even further as the smirk on his face grew wider. "They are all yours."

Greed was evident on their faces as the two men quickly reached forward trying to snatch the cheques out of his hand but he quickly stepped back.

"Yeah, as if," he sneered before stuffing the cheques back into his wallet and shoving it into his pocket. "I already got all I needed."

Confusion flashed past their eyes in an instant as their brows were knitted together to form a frown resting between their brows.

"What?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Xavier forced his lips into a smile. "I got what I needed, have fun rotting in jail."

News spread fast like a wildfire that no one can seem to tame or control in any way. It only took a couple of hours after Xavier posted the audio of the two men’s confession that he secretly recorded for everything to quickly come crashing down.

***

I had woken up the next morning to my phone blowing up on the bedside table beside me.

Still half-asleep, barely awake as I reached for my phone and answered the call.

"Hello?" I greeted groggily.

"Is this Aurelia speaking?" The person on the other line asked, the unfamiliar voice echoing in my ear.

I nodded. "Yeah, it’s me," my voice still hoarse from sleep.

"Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we have adjusted the results. We would like to congratulate you for being the champion of this year’s art competition!" The lady on the phone announced with a hint of excitement in her voice.

My eyes shot wide open and disbelief was written all over my face. Is this some kind of joke or sick prank? Am I dreaming? I pinched my cheek hard and a soft yelp escaped my lips. No, I’m not dreaming, this is real life... But how?

A million questions and thoughts began to swirl inside my mind in an instant. "What?"

I headed downstairs shortly after the call ended and my eyes were immediately drawn to the television and the commotion on screen. I watched a few people being taken away by the police in handcuffs as they kept their heads hung low, seemingly ashamed and embarrassed.

Realisation washed over me within the next few seconds when I finally figured out why their faces were so darn familiar.

"The police had arrested all 5 judges of the art competition just held yesterday for bribery allegations as an audio clip of their confession posted online went viral," the reporter on the screen announced with a serious look on her face.

This time, an image of Evelyn appeared on screen.

"Ms Evelyn Lloyd, the previously declared champion of this year’s art competition has been disqualified due to suspicions of bribery. The new champion was announced to be Ms Aurelia Holt. The new winners have been notified accordingly."

I was still in shock, my mind busy trying to register what I just saw and heard when Xavier turned around to see me standing right in front of me. The corners of his lips immediately twitched upwards into a knowing smile.

"Surprise," he said casually. "Congrats on being the champion."

"So..." my voice trailed off. "It was you? You were the one who posted the audio clip?"

I watched the smile on his face grow wider as he gave me a nod.

I couldn’t hold back the smile that was starting to appear on my face. I didn’t know what got into me right there and then, but I found myself running towards him and I hugged him tightly.

"Thanks, Xavier," I muttered under my breath, my voice muffled against his chest. I pulled back after a while to look up at him and we locked eyes. "You don’t know how much this means to me."

He smiled. "I do. I know exactly how much this means to you, which is why I did what I did. Besides..." he drawled. "How can I possibly let them off scott-free?"

The chaos on screen got our attention once again as we glanced over to look with curiosity. It was a live footage of the scene where a swarm of reporters gathered outside the Lloyd’s family mansion demanding for answers.

I watched with wide eyes as Evelyn appeared on screen, this time, standing in front of the large crowd of reporters that surrounded her and shoving their microphones in front of her face.

"I was never involved in the bribery. I believe I have been framed," she explained.

"By whom? Who would do that to you?" One of the reporters questioned.

"Aurelia Holt."