Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband

Immediately, I snapped my head around to find myself looking into a pair of familiar green eyes that were gleaming with a knowing look.

It was Evelyn who was standing right in front of me. She was dressed rather extravagantly, clad in a long dark red dress that flowed like silk, down to her ankles. Her long blonde hair looked soft and silky, as if she had just paid the hair salon a visit.

She had this slight smirk that was plastered across her face, it was almost as if she knew something that we all didn’t. If it wasn’t for that arrogant look etched onto her face and what happened between us, I would definitely have complimented her because I couldn’t deny that she did look stunning.

"Hey," I greeted nonchalantly as Xavier stood beside me and a frown crept onto his face. "Good to see you," I responded with an unbothered look on my face but I remained civil as I kept my gaze steady on her.

There was a short pause that stretched between us for a brief moment before she opened her mouth to speak once again.

"By the way," she began as she let a smile grace her bold red lips. "Congratulations on having your painting displayed at this prestigious art exhibition," she announced as we locked eyes, her tone stressing on the last three words.

"I’m happy for you," she finally said.

I forced my lips to curve upwards into a smile. "Thanks," I simply said, not wanting to say anything more.

I didn’t wish to engage in a conversation with her or let her try to ruin my mood and this special moment for me. So, I have decided to quickly put an end to this conversation. I grabbed Xavier’s arm and turned around to leave when her sharp voice pierced through the air and stopped me once again.

"Aren’t you going to ask me what am I doing here?" She asked.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance and turned back around to come face to face with her, seeing that she was looking at me with a raised brow, as the smirk on her face grew wider.

We locked eyes and I deadpanned, "I’m not interested."

A soft chuckle left her lips and she continued to explain anyway.

"Well, I’m just here to take a look at the exhibition, looking around... and admiring the works of aspiring artists in our country..." she said as her voice trailed off. There was a brief pause as silence lapsed between us momentarily. "As you know...I could have had my artwork featured too but unfortunately for me... something happened," she spat the words out like they were poison in her mouth as she glared at me with narrowed eyes.

In a split second, her expression was replaced with a slight smile as though she didn’t just try to insinuate that it was my fault that she lost her spot at the exhibition.

"But that’s fine," she continued, the smile still lingering on her lips as she flipped her long hair over her shoulder. "There’s always next time, right?" The words that left her lips were laced with a hint of malice as she eyed me.

I let my lips curl upwards into a smile as I noticed from the corner of my eyes, Xavier’s expression had hardened and he was trying his best to maintain a calm demeanour. I squeezed his hand lightly and he let out a breath.

"Yeah, hope you will get it the next time," I commented as I stepped forward to give her a pat on her back. Then, I let the next few words roll off the tip of my tongue, my voice carrying a slight edge to it. "I have faith in you, Evelyn."

She let out a scoff as she reached up to grab me by my wrist and shoved my arm off her shoulder. "I don’t need your fake and insincere blessings or whatever that is," she snarled with a disdainful scorn.

Xavier immediately stepped forward but I held him back before he could utter another word or do anything rash.

Instead, I turned to smile at her, unfazed by her sudden shift in demeanour and aggression.

"Why would you think that?" I questioned, amusement dancing in my eyes. "You congratulated me on my achievement here today and after all, I was once your art tutor. Of course I would like to see you succeed and do well one day. Otherwise, I would have failed as a tutor, wouldn’t I?"

She let out a breath and I watched as she struggled to find the words to say, her eyes only darting around nervously as she thought of what to say. After a while, she cleared her throat and straightened her posture.

"Don’t think that you have won and I lost just because you have your artwork displayed here and I don’t. I was just unlucky, that’s all. You should know that I am capable on my own," she spat, then leaned forward slightly with a dangerous look glinting in her eyes as her face was now barely inches away from mine.

A cold chuckle escaped from my parted lips and I stood rooted to the ground, not moving or budging an inch.

"Not everything is about winning and losing, Evelyn. Besides... didn’t you have to use your daddy’s money to help you secure a spot at the exhibition? So, really, how capable are you?" I reminded crudely as a smirk morphed itself onto my lips and a snicker escaped his lips.

I watched with satisfaction as her eyes grew wide with anger and rage coursed through her body in an instant. "You —!" She blurted out loudly on impulse, causing a few people to turn around to stare. She then lowered her voice, dropping to a hush whisper as our gazes matched. "Don’t you dare bring that up," she snarled, her voice heavy with a threat.

I smirked. "Why not? Not too proud of it?"

She huffed. "I still don’t understand what Mr Jones saw in your artwork. It is certainly not better than mine," she hissed, contempt swimming in her eyes.

I let a smile fall on my lips. "But he seems to think that my artwork is good enough to be displayed here today," I retorted as I basked in the moment and a wave of satisfaction washed over me. "You don’t have to understand everything, Evelyn."

A soft ding interrupted us, and reached my ears. She glanced down at her phone and another chuckle left her lips this time before she looked back up to meet my eyes, a smirk starting to form on her lips. "You are right, but what would others think of your work?"

"What are you..."

The words barely left my lips when the sound of phones buzzing and ringing filled the air and then, a sharp gasp sliced through the tension that was lingering in the air. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Oh my god!"