The Wife He Betrayed Was A Billionaire

The tenth time I found him in bed with another woman, Dean Miller’s reaction wasn’t as explosive as it used to be.

He casually glanced at his expensive watch, then gently draped the silk robe over the girl huddled next to him.

“Didn’t you say your prenatal appointment was this afternoon? Why the early return?”

When I didn’t answer, he smoothed the girl’s hair and subtly positioned himself between us.

“She’s young. Whatever the issue is, you take it up with me.”

He was expecting the usual performance. The screaming, the hysteria, the raw fury.

But what he didn’t know was that the ten-year contract was up.

I was finally free to leave him.

1

The wedding photo on the nightstand now bore two distinct handprints—one covering my face, one covering Dean’s. It didn’t take much imagination to picture the scene that had just unfolded.

I took a deep breath, turning to face Dean.

“We had an agreement. You wouldn’t bring them back to the house.”

I paused. “Do you even remember what day it is?”

Dean gave a dismissive, casual laugh. He lit a cigarette, blowing the smoke directly into my face.

“Too much to drink last night, Ellie. How could I keep track of every little thing?”

The girl, startled, fumbled with her clothes, watching me with wide, terrified eyes.

“Mrs. Miller, I swear I didn’t mean to. It was just last night…”

Seeing her panic, I stepped forward and calmly zipped up the back of her dress.

“It’s fine. You can go.” I gave her a look of utter indifference. “I know exactly who Dean Miller is.”

It wasn’t the first time, not even close. Drunk, stressed, bored, celebrating a win—everything was an excuse for him. As for this particular girl? She wasn’t even mistress number eighteen. Why waste my energy?

She fled in terror. I called Mrs. Albright to clean up the room. The sight of the messy sheets, the scattered, empty condom wrappers… it was nauseating. I covered my mouth and nose, spraying the air with a bottle of antiseptic.

Dean wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, nuzzling the top of his head into my shoulder.

“My good wife. When did you become so domesticated?” He sounded amused, content. “Are you worried I won’t come home, or have you finally mastered the art of being the perfect society wife?”

He squeezed my cheek, then sighed contentedly. “This is much better. Just stay agreeable, and I promise, no one will ever take your place as Mrs. Miller.”

He expertly fished a small velvet box out of a pile of other gifts and clipped a pair of diamond earrings onto my lobes.

“A reward for your silence. Come on, don’t be mad. I know it’s our tenth anniversary. Wipe those tears. I’m taking you out to celebrate.”

He spoke with such easy flippancy. He had no idea that over the last ten years, my tears had long since run dry.

I pulled away from his touch and presented the document I’d prepared long ago. The divorce papers.

“Dean Miller, we’re getting a divorce.”

He froze for a beat, then laughed harder than before.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ellie. You know we can’t divorce.”

He grabbed my face, his hand tracing a path down my side, finally resting over my lower abdomen.

“Go pack a bag. I’m taking you to your prenatal appointment. Don’t cause trouble for yourself.”

A decade ago, to be with Dean, I cut ties with my family. My father, the Commodore of Aethelgard, had banished me, forbidding me from ever returning. To punish my willfulness, he used his considerable influence to bind us together. No separation. No break-up. No divorce. We were to be chained to each other, for better or worse, for life.

Dean had knelt then, swearing he’d spend his life loving me, ensuring I’d never regret my choice.

Yet, by our second anniversary, he had betrayed our vows.

He stood there, arm around his first mistress, staring me down. “Yes, I cheated. What are you going to do about it? Eleanor Kane, you’re an outcast. For the rest of your life, you are tied to me!”

I’d called my family, sobbing, admitting my mistake. My father hung up coldly; my mother merely stood by. They told me I’d chosen my path and must walk it, crying or not.

Knowing I couldn’t leave, Dean became bolder, more flagrant. The affairs were constant, his scandals front-page news. Now, he was bringing women right into the house.

But he never knew that before I left Aethelgard, my father and I had made a pact: a ten-year wager. We gambled on how long my ‘great love’ could last. If I won, my father would fully support our marriage and Dean’s career. If I lost, I was to return and accept a pre-arranged strategic marriage.

Because of Dean, this marriage, this wager, I had lost everything.

As Dean drove, I quietly dialed that familiar, distant number.

“Dad, I lost.”

“A debt paid. I’ll be back in three days for the wedding.”

2

My father, a man who never lost a high-stakes bet, showed no surprise at the expected outcome.

He simply offered a low grunt of acknowledgment and gave me simple instructions.

“Ellie, you are my firstborn. This empire is yours to inherit. What’s done is done. I won’t debate your past, but remember this: Don’t bring unneeded baggage, and don’t leave the unearned assets behind.”

The “unneeded baggage” was the child in my womb. The “unearned assets” was the business empire I had built for Dean. The ten years of pain were my lesson, the price of my tuition.

“I understand, Dad.”

As soon as I hung up, Dean’s horn blared from below. I slid into the passenger seat, the one that smelled of another woman’s perfume.

The car ride was silent. He pretended not to notice the cold distance on my face. I pretended not to notice the cheap, cloying scent of the fragrance.

When we pulled up to the clinic, Dean instinctively reached out to help me. His sleeve rode up, revealing a long, jagged scar on his forearm.

A wave of nostalgia hit me. To be with me, Dean had once endured a brutal beating from my father’s enforcers, nearly dying. The man who once loved me enough to risk his life… how had he become this?

Before I could dwell on it, a woman latched onto Dean’s arm.

“Dean, baby, it’s been too long since you stopped by.”

Talia Reed. The most favored of his mistresses, and the one who had stayed the longest.

“Did the old war horse finally throw a fit, or did your new toy fail to satisfy?” she purred, pressing her chest against him.

Dean was all smiles. He ignored me completely and conjured a dazzling ruby necklace from a tiny box to appease Talia.

“What kind of talk is that? I’d forget everyone before I forgot about my little treasure.” He kissed her. “I flew this piece in from Aethelgard specifically because it matches your skin tone.”

He patted her rear affectionately. “Alright, keep yourself busy for a bit. I need to take my wife to her appointment. I’ll come back and take care of you once I’m done.”

Watching him, I almost laughed aloud. The man who crawled out of the gutter was nothing if not efficient. A single jewelry suite, disassembled and distributed among his women. The cheap earrings in my ears burned. I snatched them off and dropped them into a nearby waste bin.

As I turned, I caught the hushed voices of two passersby. They were wondering about the nature of our three-way encounter.

One leaned in to listen, but her friend pulled her back.

“Are you insane? Didn’t you see the woman with him? That’s… the Commodore’s daughter.”

The Commodore’s daughter. It had been years since I heard that title.

Talia, however, had heard it. She sneered, looking me up and down with utter contempt.

“The Commodore’s daughter? Please. She’s just a wash-out, kicked out of her own home, clinging to Dean’s coattails like a useless parasite.” Her voice rose, clearly meant for me. “A dried-up old trophy wife who only matters because she might be carrying his child. What’s there to be afraid of? I despise these pathetic, leeching women!”

A parasite.

Then what was Dean, who built his empire using my name? What was Talia, who lived off Dean’s money?

When did these two connect? Was it when I had my first miscarriage? Was it when I was drinking myself sick to close Dean’s first big deal? Or was it the time I shielded him from an attack and was left comatose?

It was too long ago to remember. I only recalled that Dean had been having a torrid affair with this soft, pretty nurse during my hospital stay.

I had lain in the sterile white bed, pale and alone.

Talia had been draped over a bed, flushed and passionate, with my husband wrapped around her.

She was still this arrogant, which spoke volumes about how much Dean spoiled her.

No matter. Once I was gone, they could be together openly.

My only task now was to eliminate the last piece of baggage.

3

Ignoring the couple’s open affection, I walked straight into the surgery center.

Dr. Lee had just heard the news of my pregnancy. Before he could offer his congratulations, I handed him the reports.

“I want an abortion.”

Dr. Lee was stunned. He looked over the documents, his face growing somber.

“Mrs. Miller, are you absolutely sure? The baby looks perfectly healthy. You’ve been trying to conceive for so many years…”

My first miscarriage was when I was twenty. We had just arrived in Ironwood City, broke and living in a cramped basement apartment. I, accustomed to Aethelgard’s mild climate, couldn’t handle the brutal winter. I fainted delivering Dean a meal, and when I woke up, the child was gone. My body was damaged. We were too poor to do anything but survive and hustle. By the time our business found its footing, I was too busy catching him cheating and fighting off mistresses. The time simply slipped away.

In the beginning, when Dean was destitute, he knelt by my bedside. “Ellie, I swear I will make something of myself and repay you for all this suffering.”

Later, after he had found success, he held his mistress and looked at me with cold eyes. “Ellie, I know what you’ve done for me. I promise I won’t let any woman replace you, and I certainly won’t let them bear my child before you do. Everything I have will go to our flesh and blood.”

Now… I looked out the window at the pair tightly locked in each other’s arms. I offered a bitter, self-pitying smile.

“Take it out. I’m going back to Aethelgard soon. A baby would be inconvenient.” I added, my voice hardening, “Besides, Dean drinks, smokes, and has a completely chaotic private life. A child born into that situation could never be healthy.”

My father had started his empire with my mother’s backing, only to bring home a string of mistresses once he was successful. It was why I desperately craved true, honest love.

But the first time I caught Dean cheating, he showed no remorse. Instead, he lashed out, indignant.

“Eleanor Kane, what is wrong with you? Your own father has a dozen women. What’s wrong with me having a bit of fun? Think about how your mother handled it! You grew up in that world. Why haven’t you learned how to be a society wife yet?”

He weaponized my deepest insecurities to wound me. In that moment, I knew. Our love was dead.

But because of that ten-year pact, I couldn’t leave. I could only watch as he trampled on my dignity and gutted my emotions. The wedding I’d fought for became my prison. The profound love I’d cherished became his weapon.

I’d paid the ultimate price for love and family. I refused to let my child repeat my fate.

I would end this irreparable marriage myself.

When I opened my eyes, the procedure was finished. The child I had waited years for, along with our relationship, had been reduced to a pool of blood, washed down the drain.

Looking out at the city slowly being swallowed by the dusk, I couldn’t help but wonder. Why did Dean and I end up this way?

Was it Talia?

Or was it… that incident?

4

It didn’t matter.

Regardless of the reason, the betrayal and the cruelty were undeniable facts.

I called a cab to return to the penthouse and pack my things.

While waiting, I saw Dean at the crosswalk. He was holding Talia’s hand, strolling the busy street like a pair of giddy teenagers.

Talia pecked him on the cheek. “I had my check-up today, too. The baby is perfectly healthy. The doctor said it’s a boy. Five more months and you’ll be a father!”

Dean smiled, peeling off his expensive coat and wrapping it around her.

“Silly girl, you’re pregnant, you need to take care of yourself.” He kissed her. “I bought a villa down south for us. Move in with me. Ironwood City winters are too cold, and I don’t want you to get sick.”

He continued, talking endlessly about the do’s and don’ts of pregnancy, post-partum care, and how he would do everything to protect this child.

His words, mixed with the chilling winter air, slowly sliced through my heart.

Finally, Dean took her hand and fastened the simple, silver “Peace Locket”—the one I had begged for at the temple after our first loss—around her neck.

“I’ve already picked a name for our son. Pax,” he said, the name sounding foreign on his tongue.

“Pax. Peace and fullness. A perfect life.”

Pax… Pax…

That was the name I’d chosen for our first child. My lifetime of pain. Dean had gotten that locket with me, hoping it would help us move on, a symbol that our love was real. Now, he was giving the name to another woman’s illegitimate child, using my memory and my sacrifice to pay off his mistress.

How absurd. How utterly tragic.

I took a deep breath, trying to appear unaffected. But Talia spotted me immediately.

“Dean, baby, your warden is here to check up on you again.” She fiddled with the locket, her gaze mocking. “Tell some people to go home. You think your worthless, dead little embryo is even in the same league as the baby in my belly?”

“Instead of crying here, why don’t you go home and focus on your own pregnancy? You’re old. Even if you managed to get pregnant again, there’s no guarantee it will stick. Without that child, Dean won’t look at you twice!”

She was trying to provoke me, hoping I would lose control, maybe even suffer another miscarriage.

But she didn’t know.

The child was gone. Dean’s love was irrelevant.

By the time the sun rose, I would be on a flight out of Ironwood City. Dean and I would be returned to our original trajectories. He would go back to being a penniless opportunist.

I took one last look at Dean, utterly devoid of affection.

“Dean Miller, you will regret this.” I told him clearly. “Because you’ve forgotten who was responsible for everything you own.”

Dean started to say something, but Talia pulled him back. He watched me, but in the end, he didn’t follow.

The moonlight poured down, a sheet of cold silver. I dragged my exhausted body to the port.

In those final, quiet hours, I paid Mrs. Albright, instructing her to dispose of all our shared belongings. Then, I sat alone, waiting for dawn.

At sunrise, a private jet landed directly in front of me.

“Miss Kane. I’m here to take you home.”

The plane soared above the city, condensing all my past sorrow into thin air.

From this day forward, Dean Miller and I would be separated by a vast ocean, never to meet again.

…

Dean Miller bolted upright from a nightmare. He remembered the pained, mournful look in my eyes last night and felt a sudden unease. He reached for his phone to call, but a headline stopped him cold—

AETHELGARD SHIPPING HEIRESS WEDS FINANCIAL TITAN: MASSIVE CAPITAL PULLBACK THREATENS MILLER GROUP