Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband

Evelyn announced and I watched from the stage as a smirk morphed itself onto her lips in a split second. She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone with a smug look plastered across her face.

I immediately knew what was coming.

Sure enough, a recording started playing and I recognised her voice coming through the speakers, loud and clear.

"Aren’t you afraid that I’m going to make her life a living hell? Aren’t you scared of what we might do?" Evelyn’s sharp and icy voice warned and the image of her smug face from that day in my office popped into my head. "We could fire her and she would lose her job, you wouldn’t like that, would you?"

Shortly after, I heard my own voice echoing in the studio for everyone to hear.

"I don’t care what you do to her. She doesn’t consider me as her daughter so she’s not my mother either," I declared resolutely, my tone laced with finality. "You can have her if you want. Do whatever you want, it won’t affect me or change my mind," I added coldly.

The recording ended abruptly with the sound of a beep and people were left in shock as whispers and murmurs filled the air once again. Everyone was jumping to criticise me for what I said, as if she did not just threaten me in that audio. Somehow I am the bad guy.

"How could she say that about her own mother?"

"Exactly! How could someone be so heartless? She typically looks so friendly and innocent, I didn’t expect someone like her to turn out this way, what a shame..."

As people continued to hurl insults at me, the smirk on Evelyn’s face grew even wider and I could see my own mother relishing in satisfaction, happy with the outcome of their little act. But they quickly masked it with a serious expression and pitiful look once again, knowing that they needed to get whatever sympathy they could from the crowd.

Evelyn lowered her head. "You know I didn’t want to do this... I didn’t want to expose you in front of everyone here because I wanted to save some dignity for you..." her shaky voice trailed off as if she was guilty and regretful for doing this even when that was far from the reality. "But you left me with no choice. You refused to acknowledge your mum and all she wanted was an apology, why couldn’t you give that to her?" She asked and I saw the way her eyes twinkled with amusement for a split second but quickly faded before anyone else could notice.

I let the corners of my lips curve upwards into a slight smile. I wasn’t falling for this.

"Right, of course..." I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "You know, I wasn’t planning on denying it. I admit it, I did say all of that. After all, why would I want anything to do with a mother who is never on my side? Why would I want anything to do with someone who hates me and treats me worse than a piece of garbage?" I retorted, defiance gleaming in my dark eyes as I stared into her eyes.

My mother straightened her posture this time, her demeanour shifted entirely. "What are you trying to say?" She questioned, her sharp voice piercing through the air. "How could you say that I am never on your side? How could you say that I hate you and treat you badly? Are you even listening to what you are saying? Why would you blatantly lie and accuse me of these things?!" She snapped in frustration as rage was pulsing through every single vein inside of her.

A humourless laugh emerged from my throat and I arched my brow at her. "Accuse you?" I spat the words out like they were poison in my mouth. "I was just telling the truth!" I yelled and I was now standing close to the edge of the stage.

"You hid the truth from me for years!" I yelled out loud, my voice cracking towards the end of the sentence and emotions were running wild in my dark eyes. "You lied to my fiance, you told Xavier that I cheated on him with another man and tore us apart after I lost my memory because of the car accident. Everything I ever did was wrong in your eyes, and everyone else is always right. And now, you have to show up at my interview on live television to try and expose me and accuse me of all the horrible things. Why do you hate me so much, mum?" I questioned, my eyes were starting to glisten with tears as I stared at her with quivering lips.

Surprise gasps filled the place and the tables have now turned. Everyone started to turn their attention on my mother, throwing insults at her for what she did.

"Oh gosh... She was involved in a car accident and lost her memory...How could a mother lie to her own daughter?"

"Why would she lie to her daughter and break them up? That is so despicable. Does she really hate her that much? I can’t imagine doing this to my own daughter."

It was funny seeing how everyone switched sides that quickly, but I wasn’t complaining. I guess at least the tears in my eyes looked genuine to them.

A flustered look stretched across my mother’s face as the panic began to settle in when she realised what was happening and that people were turning against her one by one. I was certain that she did expect their little act to backfire like that.

Meanwhile, Evelyn appeared to be in shock after listening to the words that left my lips. This must have been her first time hearing about the news of my car accident and partial amnesia. Her eyes widened with surprise, darting around anxiously and her mind raced with thoughts and questions as the fact that I was once his fiancee before this stuck at the back of her mind, haunting her.

All of a sudden, her high-pitched voice sliced through the noise that filled the studio. "How could all of you believe her words so easily?" She questioned, her voice carrying a sharp edge to it as she gazed into the crowd. "Don’t you know that she could be lying and manipulating all of you with her words? She was just trying to get your sympathy!" She snarled with narrowed eyes.

I reached up to wipe the tears that were forming at the brim of my eyes. Another cold chuckle emerged from my throat this time. "Lying and manipulating?" I repeated, tossing her words right back at her with an incredulous look plastered across my face. "I think that’s what you are best at, isn’t it?"

I watched as her cheeks were now flushed red with anger and her eyes grew even wider than before, they were filled with pure rage and anger as her features hardened. "You –!"

The words barely left the tip of her tongue when I interrupted, cutting her off before she could even finish her sentence. "Besides, I have medical records that can prove what I just said, and pictures of when my fiance proposed to me. What do you have?" I retorted, keeping my gaze steady and my voice remained unwavering.

My mother put her hands on Evelyn, pushing her gently to stand behind her. A frown appeared between her brows as she glared at me with a mixture of contempt and disdain swimming in the depths of her green eyes. "Don’t use that nasty attitude of yours against Evelyn!" She warned. "She was just speaking up for me. I know you hate me but you don’t have to be rude to an innocent person."

I was rendered speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say or how to act, because once again, my mother was defending Evelyn, as usual. I could only let out a cold chuckle as my mind continued to buzz with thoughts.

It was at this moment when Xavier had lost it and he couldn’t control or hold it back any longer. His deep voice reverberated in the studio as he glared at Evelyn and my mother with a fiery blaze burning in his dark eyes, with his fists clenched tightly beside him and his knuckles were starting to turn white.

"With all offence, Mrs Holt, but Aurelia has every reason to hate you," he said coldly with an indifferent look that masked his features while my mother’s eyes widened with anger, stuttering as she struggled to get the words out of her throat. "You did nothing to help her and as far as I know, you are constantly going out of your way to try and make her life miserable!" He spat with disdain.

There was a short pause as silence engulfed everyone for no more than a couple of seconds.

He questioned her through gritted teeth as his voice shook with anger.

"What’s your motive, huh?"