A Decade’s Betrayal Chapter 02

A Decade’s Betrayal Chapter 02

I was just stepping out of Riverside General Hospital when my phone rang.

It was the hospital.

My mom was dead.

She had died five minutes ago.

A scream tore out of my throat before I could stop it.

And then Victoria called me again.

“Miss Miller, Mr. Vance is traveling tomorrow. Please prepare two pairs of leather shoes and three suits for him.”

I stared at the commanding message she had sent and shouted at her through the phone.

“Can’t you see the sticky note? Lucian and I broke up!”

Victoria’s reply was instant. “I’m sorry, Miss Miller. I haven’t passed your note to Mr. Vance yet, and he hasn’t informed me.”

“Since you two are broken up, please still prepare his clothes according to his usual schedule.”

A sharp, suffocating pain pierced my chest.

If my ride hadn’t arrived in time, I would have turned around and slapped Victoria right then and there.

After all, if it weren’t for her, my mom wouldn’t be dead.

Mom had already been battling cancer, and she would have been discharged after her previous treatments. This relapse was unexpected.

Even the doctors said that although the cancer had returned, a $200,000 surgery could save her life.

I didn’t have $200,000, so I had no choice but to ask Lucian.

I must have called him a hundred times.

And every single time I mentioned money, he’d cut me off, impatient, “Why are you asking me for money? Go talk to Victoria.”

And every time I went to Victoria, she would look at me with exaggerated regret.

“Sorry, Miss Miller. $200,000 isn’t a small amount. Let me think about it.”

Victoria had “thought about it” for two whole weeks.

Until today, when the doctor told me my mom didn’t have much time left, I had to make a decision.

I had rushed to Lucian’s top-floor office, believing that if I cried and begged him, he would agree to help me.

But I didn’t even get a chance to speak.

Lucian glared at me and snapped, “Do you think money just grows on trees? Do you think I can throw $200,000 at you just because you asked?”

I froze, standing there in agony.

He didn’t even glance at me and had Victoria escort me out of the office.

A bitter sneer twisted my own lips then. I wiped my face dry, climbed into the taxi, and never looked back.

For the next three days, I was caught up in Mom’s funeral arrangements.

I cried nonstop, and the whole world knew she was gone.

But Lucian didn’t.

Our social circles never overlapped. He had never introduced me to his friends, and he had never cared to meet mine.

And with a net worth in the hundreds of millions, every minute for him was worth thousands. He would never stoop to check my social media.

He didn’t know my mom had died, and he didn’t even know she had died because we couldn’t afford the surgery.

Standing in front of her gravestone, I took out my phone and said to the stranger on the other end, “Book a ticket for me tomorrow night. My mom’s affairs are settled.”

Then I grabbed a taxi and returned to the apartment I shared with Lucian.

As soon as I walked in, I saw him sitting on the sofa.

His hair was still damp, and water droplets rolled down his chest beneath the open V-neck of his bathrobe.

It was the Lucian I had once loved most.

I instinctively pursed my lips and was about to walk over.

Then a sultry, clear voice came from the bathroom.

“Mr. Vance, can I dry your hair now?”

A flash of red appeared as Victoria stepped out.

I turned my head and locked eyes with her.

When my gaze landed on her bright red pajamas, a sneer escaped my lips.

That pajama set was the only gift Lucian had ever bought me with his own money. I had worn it only once, too precious to use.

And now, Victoria was wearing it.

I drew a deep breath.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I guess I came back at the wrong time.”

I grabbed my suitcase and turned to leave.

Lucian suddenly stormed over and grabbed me angrily. “Jessica, must you always make a scene?”

“Victoria and I got drenched inspecting a site. We’re just using the place to change.”

I really tried to hold back.

After all, in just four days, I would marry another man. This trip back was only to resign and officially end things with Lucian.

I didn’t care what he and Victoria did outside.

But I couldn’t tolerate him letting Victoria wear my pajamas in what I had thought was our home before we had officially broken up.

“So you’re saying those marks on her neck aren’t from you?”

Yes. The pajamas were sheer and revealing, and I could see the faint kiss marks she was trying to hide under the thin fabric.

Lucian’s expression flickered with a hint of panic.

Victoria, however, spoke calmly. “Miss Miller, whatever marks are on my body are my private business. It’s none of your concern, and you’re in no position to comment.”

“If my presence bothers you, I’ll leave. But you really should stop with these dramatic walkouts.”

“Do you have any idea how demanding Lucian’s schedule is? Your constant theatrics—he’s only human. He gets exhausted.”

Victoria’s elite education showed.

In just a few words, she had painted me as unreasonable.

I clenched my chest, ready to retort, but Lucian cut me off with a cold face.

“Jessica, apologize to Victoria right now. She’s my assistant, not your punching bag. Don’t keep testing my limits over and over.”

I looked at him pale-faced, but instead of anger, I smiled bitterly.

“Lucian, you want me to apologize? Dream on!”