Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband

As soon as those words rolled off the tip of his tongue, I felt my heart instantly sink to the pit of my stomach and the world came to a complete halt as time stood still. I parted my lips, taken aback by his sudden question.

"I... I..." I stuttered. There was a lump stuck in my throat and I couldn’t seem to get the words out despite knowing exactly what needed to be said.

"I saw you back then. I saw you putting your arms around another man and you kissed him," he started, his voice laced with hurt and betrayal, as though it had just happened yesterday. "I was hiding behind the wall but you didn’t see me, you didn’t know that I knew, you didn’t know that I saw everything with my own eyes."

He continued, still wrapped up in his own thoughts and emotions. "I didn’t say anything back then because I still loved you and I didn’t want to leave you. I knew I couldn’t leave you even if I wanted to. So I stayed. I stayed by your side, Aurelia..." His voice faltered. "I simply couldn’t forget that. It’s always been at the back of my mind, haunting me the entire time, no matter how hard I tried. That feeling... it sucks and it won’t go away. But now it’s back again to taunt me."

I couldn’t help but to wonder had this always been replaying at the back of his mind when we first kissed? When we went on our dates? When we held hands? Had this been bothering him the whole time but I was just too blind and ignorant to see it?

I bombarded myself with questions and the immense guilt overwhelmed me. I was to blame.

A sour feeling shot up my nose and my cheeks were now tinged red. Hot tears stung my eyes and tears began to fill the brim of my eyes, threatening to spill at any given second now. His words pricked at my heart, I could hear the betrayal and anger in every single word that left his lips. I couldn’t lie, of course it would hurt me to see him act like this but I could barely control my own emotions too.

A single tear fell down my face.

I sniffled. "I... I didn’t mean to hurt you."

"But you did," he replied, his voice coarse and shaking as if he was trying to hold back tears himself too.

"If I had known then... I wouldn’t have done that. I had no choice, Xavier," I said in between sobs. "I really mean to hurt you, if it wasn’t because of my mother, I wouldn’t have done that."

His eyes lit up for a moment as he registered the words that had just left my lips. With wide eyes, he looked at me, reaching out as he closed the gap that was once between us, keeping us apart.

"What do you mean by that? What did your mother do?" He questioned in a hurry, his eyes burning with the desire to get the answers and he looked as though he wanted to believe me. His grip around my shoulders tightened as he held onto me and we locked eyes.

My eyes were still glistening with tears as I looked up to meet his eyes.

"My mother... she... she threatened to destroy your business if i didn’t leave you. She didn’t think you were good enough, but she’s wrong! You are more than good enough, I loved you, I always do. That day, I knew you saw me kiss another man, I did it so that you would leave me on your own accord. I thought that if you hated me then it would be easier for you to move on and forget about me. I rather you hate me than let myself be a burden to you and ruin your future."

He let out a shaky breath as he looked at me with wide eyes and a blank look plastered across his face. Maybe I had said too much and he couldn’t register all of it properly yet, or maybe he needed some time to process everything that I had just told him.

He released his grip on my shoulders, his arms falling back limply to his sides as he stepped back, creating a small distance between us this time. Silence enveloped us for what seemed like an eternity before his shaky voice broke it.

"...What...?" He mumbled under his breath, his tone filled with disbelief. A tiny frown crept onto his face as he looked at me. "So you’re telling me that all these years, whatever I have known and believed is all a lie? It was all fake and you didn’t actually cheat on me?" He questioned, emotions running wild in his dark eyes.

I reached up to wipe the tears that were falling down my cheeks and I nodded silently without uttering a single word for a while. Until eventually, I did.

"I didn’t. At least it was because I had my reasons. I realised it too late that they were shitty reasons. I should have spoken to you, I should have tried harder," I said, my voice filled with regret. The next few words left my lips in a soft murmur as my voice cracked towards the end. "Why didn’t I try harder?"

I broke down the next second.

My shoulders shook as I drew in ragged breaths and I buried my face in my hands as I sobbed quietly.

I felt him wrap his arms around me, pulling me in close to him as I felt the warmth of his body seeping into my skin. I let myself cry even though it felt wrong. I was supposed to be the one comforting him, telling him that he is okay, telling him that I love him, apologising for hurting him because I kissed another man 3 years ago. But here I am crying in his arms as he rubbed my back in a soothing manner.

"I’m sorry... I’m sorry Xavier," I mumbled, my voice muffled as I pressed my face against his chest, hiding my tear-stained face.

He held my chin, tilting it upwards so that our eyes would meet. He wiped the tears off my face as he apologised, "I’m sorry too. I didn’t know..." His voice trailed off and there was a pause before he spoke again. "But you were right, they were shitty reasons," he blurted out as a low chuckle emerged from his throat, eliciting a soft laughter from myself as well, dissipating the tension that was once lingering in the air.

The corners of my lips slowly twitched upwards into a slight smile before a serious yet solemn expression masked my features. "But Xavier..." his name left my lips. "The money... I didn’t take it. I swear. I don’t know how it got in there. I wasn’t going to leave you, trust me. I don’t want to ever leave you."

He pulled me closer to him, hugging me even tighter than before as a soft snicker left his lips once again. "I’m not letting you go anyway."

***

Third Person POV

"Son, you are home!" Paula exclaimed in excitement and her lips curled into a huge grin as soon as she laid eyes on Xavier. She immediately stood up from the couch and rushed over towards him with open arms, wanting to give him a big hug. But just as she was about to pull him into an embrace, he stepped back, creating a small distance between them.

There was a cold and distant look that was stretched across his face as he looked into his mother’s eyes.

A frown immediately appeared on her face, forming a deep crease in her forehead. "What’s wrong? Why don’t you want to –"

He cut her off before she could even complete her sentence. The next few words that leave his lips would be dripping with accusation.

"Did you try to frame Aurelia?"