The Price Of Her Betrayal And My Billionaire Protector

Five years. My wedding band hadn’t left my finger since the day I put it on, yet on the morning of our anniversary, I found a silk men’s tie—not mine—tucked into the passenger seat of Bianca’s car. “Oh, that,” she said, dismissively waving a hand. “My new junior associate must have left it when we were running accounts yesterday.” That night, for our intimate anniversary dinner, she brought the associate. Chase. She insisted he sit right beside her. “I haven’t been feeling well recently,” she murmured, her voice laced with manufactured frailty. “He needs to be near me to monitor my schedule and make sure I don’t overdo it.” Later that week, when I went to her office suite, Chase blocked the door, forcing me to book an appointment with my own wife. His eyes, usually hidden behind an unctuous smile, were arrogant. That was the line. I fired him on the spot. Bianca barely reacted. “Just an assistant, Fion,” she said, a delicate shrug lifting her silk shoulders. “If you don’t like him, let him go.” We settled back into our routine, an uneasy, brittle peace. It was as if that small friction had never occurred. But the atmosphere at the firm changed. Almost overnight, I became an outcast, frozen out by colleagues, and even the new interns felt emboldened enough to publicly challenge me. Then the ‘accidents’ started. I began having freak near-misses on the drive home. The worst one landed me in the ICU for a week. The final, devastating blow came with Barnaby. My loyal Golden Retriever, whom I’d raised for eight years, was maliciously murdered and left on our doorstep. After burying Barnaby beneath a weeping cherry tree in my parents’ plot, I went to a downtown bar, desperate to numb the grief. I was numbly trying to drink away the pain when I overheard a group of women in the next booth—Bianca’s old college friends. “When do you think Fion will figure out Bianca arranged the ‘accidents’?” one slurred. “Doesn’t matter, does it? Even if he knew she killed his dog, he’d still crawl back begging for forgiveness,” another scoffed. “Fion just doesn’t know his place, firing her boy.” The ice in my veins didn’t melt; it shattered. My head spun. The isolation, the crashes, the murder of my dog—it had all been Bianca’s cold, calculated retaliation for daring to fire Chase. So be it. I would give them what they wanted. … Bianca was gently rubbing Chase’s temples, her fingers light and solicitous. Her friends were cooing. “Bianca really treasures Chase, doesn’t she? Have you ever seen her so attentive to anyone else?” “After he was humiliated and fired publicly, she immediately bought him that villa. The luxury cars she’s gifted him? They’re practically disposable.” Bianca’s lips curled into a faint, satisfied smile. “I won’t see Chase suffer. And I want everyone to know: even without a job, as long as I’m around, he’ll never want for anything.” The room tilted. I gripped the back of a chair, fighting to stay upright. Moments later, Chase announced a sudden headache and slipped upstairs to rest. As soon as he was out of sight, Bianca’s expression hardened. “How’s the rest of the plan coming along?” “Smoothly, Queen B. You should have seen Fion’s face when he saw the dog’s carcass.” Bianca nodded, her voice devoid of warmth. “He forced Chase to resign and triggered his anxiety disorder, leading to his heart issues. The pain Chase suffered, I will make Fion repay it a hundredfold.” One of her friends leaned in, excited. “It’s been a while since the last accident. Time for another one?” Another worried, “But if they happen too often, won’t he call the police? What if they trace it back to us?” Bianca casually took a sip of her champagne. “He won’t. Every time he’s hospitalized, I’m right there, holding his hand, never leaving his side. He just thinks he has rotten luck. He’d never suspect me.” I turned, clamping a hand over my mouth, stifling a sob. I should have suspected. Why had she been so unnaturally tender after every single crash? I’d thought it was guilt, worry. It was only the satisfaction of the perpetrator watching their victim bleed. But Barnaby. We’d gotten him when we first started dating. He was family. How could she have killed him? Barnaby had run away once years ago, and after that, he’d never stepped outside, even with the door wide open. He was a big dog; it would have taken two people to drag him out, let alone fight him. But Bianca, with her friends, had managed it easily. When she cornered him, when she put her hands on him, why would he fight? He would have just thought his mom was playing a game. I leaned on the bar, tears streaming. Bianca glanced at her phone, her brow knitting into a sharp line. She slammed the phone down, her teeth clenched. “I thought the punishment was enough, but Chase still can’t sleep because of him! Schedule the next one as planned. I will make Fion pay a hundred times over for his stupidity!” My ears were ringing. The world was blurry and distant. The fracture in my arm—from the last crash—was still healing, and every movement sent a jolt of raw pain through me. Before, if I’d just scalded myself with coffee, Bianca would have rushed me to the ER. Now, thanks to her, my body was a patchwork of old injuries piled on top of new. I don’t know how I got home. Standing at the door, I instinctively waited for Barnaby to greet me. The sudden, agonizing memory that he was gone brought me back to reality. I locked myself in the bedroom and cried until I was hollow. I eventually heard the front door open. Bianca stood in the doorway, then her eyes fell on me. She paused, then knelt and pulled me into her embrace. “I’m so heartbroken about Barnaby too, my love. I promise I’ll find the monster who did this and make them pay,” she whispered. “I’ll buy you another dog, okay? Don’t be sad.” I violently shoved her away. She didn’t get angry. Instead, she grabbed my hands, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. “It’s my fault. I failed to protect you and Barnaby.” She left the room and returned with a glass of what looked like a homemade soothing drink. “It’s an herbal calming tea I picked up for you. Drink this, relax your nerves, and get some rest.” Like a ragdoll, I let her hold the glass to my lips and drink. Within two minutes, my head was swimming, my consciousness fading. My body hit the floor. As I slipped into blackness, I heard Bianca’s voice, cold and detached, talking into her phone. “Send the guys in. Take him away. This time, dump him directly onto the interstate.” This time, my legs were crushed beneath a speeding car. When the police brought me to the hospital, Bianca was there immediately. She gripped my hand, her face a mask of anguish. “The doctor says you’re under too much stress, darling. You were sleepwalking. It’s all my fault. I should have been watching you at home.” My legs were numb with agony, and tears flowed uncontrollably. All this excruciating torment—just because I fired Chase. Bianca, how little do you value my life? Would my death mean nothing to you? “The orthopedic surgeon isn’t on call tonight, but hold on, my love, I’ll summon a specialist from another city!” But before I opened my eyes, while my mind was still floating, I distinctly heard her talking to a nurse: “Chase is having trouble sleeping. Pull every available doctor to check on him. Fion has survived worse injuries; he can wait a couple of days.” I wished, in that moment, that the car had just killed me. That the asphalt had claimed me so I didn’t have to endure this anymore. The driver, afraid of a fatality, used their connections to finally get an orthopedic surgeon. Even a stranger, I thought bitterly, was kinder than my wife. When I awoke in the hospital room, the first face I saw was Chase’s. He gave a sickly, thin-lipped smile, his voice a concerned, gentle murmur as he asked about my well-being. Then, his right hand slipped beneath the covers and pressed down hard on my broken leg. A white-hot streak of pain ripped from my thigh to my brain. I shrieked, my body slack. My weak shove barely connected with him. Chase threw himself backward dramatically, landing hard on the floor with a groan. Hearing the noise, Bianca burst into the room. She helped Chase up, then scowled at me. “Fion, I know you resent Chase, but he came here out of kindness to check on you.” “Rest up,” she ordered. They walked out, arm in arm. I didn’t see Bianca again until I could move slowly with crutches. Trembling, I made my way to the cemetery. My parents had passed years ago, and I had dug a small, quiet hole next to their headstone for Barnaby. The scene that met me stopped my heart. The entire burial plot was overturned. The white, fragile bones of my parents were scattered haphazardly on the dirt. I screamed, a sound ripped from my gut. I threw the crutches away and crawled, bloody-kneed, toward the mess. I lay on the desecrated ground, wailing uncontrollably. A cemetery worker rushed over. “Are you next of kin? A man and woman came in today with a crew. They just started digging everything up. We couldn’t stop them.” My vision narrowed with rage. Bianca. Why? Why are you doing this to me? My heart constricted, suffocating me. I pulled out my phone, my fingers shaking so badly I kept misdialing her number. When I finally connected, she hung up on me twice. Ten minutes later, she answered. The first sound I heard was heavy, ragged breathing—two sets. My voice emerged as a raw, strangled bellow. “Bianca! What did you do to my parents’ graves! Why?” Her voice was thick with annoyance. “Chase knows a little about feng shui. He said their burial spot was cursed, which is why you’ve been getting hurt lately. He was trying to help them relocate—but we got halfway through and ran out of time, so we just left it.” She hung up. Hatred, pure and deep, consumed me. I couldn’t protect my dog, and now I couldn’t even give my parents peace in death. I wiped my tears. A cold, absolute resolve settled in my chest. Even dragging this broken, crippled body, I would have my revenge. Back at the apartment, I found Bianca and Chase emerging from the bedroom, their clothes rumpled and mismatched. Fury surged. I swung my crutch at Bianca. Before I could turn my rage to Chase, Bianca kicked out, sending me sprawling to the floor. “Are you insane? Just because we didn’t get your parents’ plot moved in time?” Chase immediately burst into tears, dramatically falling to his knees. “I’m so sorry, Fion. I’ll go right back and work all night. I promise I’ll have it moved tonight!” I screamed, my voice cracking. “Who told you to touch them! They’re my parents! Who gives you the right! And Barnaby! He was just a dog!” Bianca rushed to pull Chase into her arms, shooting me a hateful glare over his shoulder. “I think you’ve truly gone mad. You can be difficult with me, but I will not allow you to hurt Chase!” I lay on the floor. The sutures on my wounds had torn open. Blood soaked my pants and dripped onto the pristine white marble. Bianca and Chase stood over me, perfectly fine, not a speck of dirt on their clothes. Who was truly hurting whom? “Fine. I’m a madman. I don’t deserve you. Just let me go!” Bianca frowned. “What are you talking about? You’re my husband. Don’t misunderstand—I’ve always loved you. But you hurt Chase, and you need to pay the price.” I shook my head, despairing. “Haven’t I paid enough?” I looked up and noticed the ring on Chase’s finger: a three-carat diamond, blazing on his hand. Our engagement ring had been a modest 0.3 carats. I had offered to buy hers, but she insisted on buying mine, claiming she was an independent woman. Knowing she was struggling financially then, I’d accepted the small stone. She promised me she’d get me a massive one when she was rich. Now, she was rich, and the massive diamond was on another man’s hand. Catching my eye, Bianca looked slightly uncomfortable. “Chase comes from a wealthy family; he needs the best. But yours does need an upgrade. I’ll find you a bigger one soon.” The sheer arrogance made my chest ache. Didn’t she remember? Before her, I had been the pampered son of a wealthy family, too. After we married, she refused my family’s money, and to protect her pride, my lifestyle plummeted. I stopped buying luxury goods and canceled my five-star memberships. Over time, she had simply convinced herself I didn’t deserve nice things. My thoughts were violently interrupted by a panicked shriek. Chase was scrambling behind Bianca, trembling. “Fion, why are you doing this to me! You know I’m terrified of rats!” I looked down. A small rat was scurrying across the high-rise living room floor. Before I could defend myself, Bianca slapped me so hard my head swam. “How could a rat get up here? You put it here, didn’t you!” Chase was shaking and weeping behind her. Bianca’s eyes were filled with hatred, like she was looking at an enemy. She kicked my injured leg. The agony was too much. I blacked out. When I woke up, I was dangling in a cage suspended in mid-air. A chorus of frantic squeaking came from below. I looked down, and a wave of revulsion and icy horror washed over me. Below me, a dense, writhing mass of rats covered the floor. “Help… please… help…” My voice was a choked, useless rasp. My legs were already slick with fresh blood, but the fear eclipsed the piercing pain. It was only when I looked up and saw the two figures standing calmly on the balcony railing that I truly understood despair. Bianca’s voice drifted down, chillingly rational. “Fion, this is for your own good. You need to stop with these cruel games. Experience Chase’s fear, and maybe you’ll learn.” Knowing it was futile, I screamed anyway. “Please, I’m begging you! I didn’t do this! I swear I won’t do it again!” The next second, the cage floor dropped open. I fell, plunging straight into the swarm of rodents. Their needle-sharp teeth tore at my raw wounds. The primal instinct to survive forced me to shield my head, pushing with the last of my strength. I woke again in a hospital bed, wrapped like a mummy, unable to move. My legs were completely numb. A cold terror gripped me. Would I ever walk again? Bianca stood beside me, her expression one of pained concern. “Fion, why do you always pick fights with Chase? If you just got along, none of this would happen.” She softened slightly. “Those were lab rats, they didn’t have diseases. But someone mistakenly mixed in a sick one, which is why your leg got infected. The person who did it knows they messed up. It wasn’t intentional.” I knew exactly who that person was. My heart pounded, the anger choking my breath. “Get out! Both of you, get out!” Bianca’s face went cold. “You are truly ungrateful. Chase already apologized, and you still act like this.” She turned and stormed out. I fumbled for the phone on the bedside table and dialed a number I hadn’t used in years. It was answered almost instantly. I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. “Shirley. I miss you. I don’t want to be with Bianca anymore… it hurts so much…” I sobbed into the phone. The woman on the other end drew a sharp breath. Her voice was low and gravelly. “I’m on the next flight to you. I will make both of them pay for what they’ve done.” A deep, profound calm settled over me. I finally slept soundly. But I woke to a sudden, terrible stillness. Bianca was standing beside me. Seeing the cold, empty look in her eyes, a bead of sweat tracked down my temple. “What are you doing?” She reached out and gently stroked my cheek. Then I saw the syringe in her hand. My blood ran cold. Her voice was an unnerving whisper. “Once I inject this, you’ll never walk again.” “Be a good boy. Stop making trouble. I’ll take care of you forever.” I was paralyzed, forced to watch as she plunged the needle into my numb thigh. I closed my eyes in absolute despair.