The Billionaire's Betrayal

Bella's POV

“Miss Bella?” The doctor’s calm voice came through the phone. “Could you come to my office? It’s urgent.”

My eyes immediately went to Aina. She was still lying quietly in her bed, the IV running into her small hand.

“Yes, of course.”

The call ended before I could ask anything else.

I slipped my phone into my purse and reached for her hand. She looked up at me with a soft smile while Nurse Lina checked the IV.

“I need to speak with the doctor for a few minutes,” I said, brushing a few strands of hair from her face. “Will you stay here with Nurse Lina until I come back?”

She nodded.

“I’ll wait for you, Mom.”

“I’ll be right back.”

I kissed her forehead before leaving the room.

The corridor felt unusually quiet as I made my way to the doctor's office. I knocked on the door before stepping inside.

He was already waiting for me, Aina's file opened on his desk. I took the seat across from him.

"I've reviewed her latest scans," he said gently. "I need to be honest with you. The cancer is now at an advanced stage.”

I stared at him. For a moment, the words seemed to lose their meaning. My eyes dropped to Aina’s name on the file in front of him.

He slid it across the desk toward me.

“Treatment needs to begin immediately. The sooner we start, the better her chances will be.”

My fingers tightened around the file as I opened it.

“She’s only five years old,” I whispered. “How did this happen?”

“I’m afraid we don’t always know why this type of cancer develops. There are treatment options, but they’ll be intensive and expensive.”

“How much?”

“The estimate is toward the back.”

I skipped past the pages and turned straight to the last one. The number stared back at me, followed by more numbers I could barely bring myself to read.

I placed it back on the desk and took my phone from my purse. I opened my banking app and looked at my savings. Then I compared the balance with the estimate.

I locked the screen and held the phone against my lap. For the first time, I had no idea what I could do next.

The doctor tapped the file once before speaking carefully.

“Her father’s information is listed in her records. For treatment this intensive, there may be consent forms and financial arrangements that require both parents. Can you contact him?”

Even after five years of marriage, calling my own husband had become something I had to think twice about.

“I’ll speak to him.”

“The sooner you make arrangements, the better. We shouldn’t lose any more time.”

“I understand.”

I folded the report and placed it in my purse before standing.

“Could you ask one of the nurses to stay with Aina until I return? I need to step out for a while, but I don’t want her to be alone.”

“Of course. We’ll make sure she’s looked after.”

“Thank you.”

I left before the tears in my eyes could fall.

Outside, the afternoon air brushed against my face as people moved around the hospital, unaware that my entire world had just shifted.

I stood beside the entrance with my phone in my hand, my thumb hovering over Adrian’s name. After a moment, I pressed it and lifted the phone to my ear.

It rang. I waited, expecting him to answer, but it went unanswered. When the ringing stopped, I stared at his name on the screen.

Maybe he hadn’t seen it.

I called again. The ringing filled my ear as I shifted my purse higher on my shoulder and glanced through the glass doors toward the corridor where I had left Aina.

The call ended without an answer.

I couldn’t stand there waiting when Aina needed treatment.

I walked to my car and drove toward the one place I had promised myself I would never return to.

Blackridge Holdings.

Five years ago, I had walked through these doors as Adrian’s wife and an employee of the company. Now, even seeing the building made my grip tighten around the steering wheel.

After parking, I stared through the windshield for a moment before forcing myself out of the car.

The lobby looked exactly as I remembered it. Employees moved between the reception desk and elevators, afternoon light reflecting off the marble floors.

Everything was familiar, yet I felt like a stranger.

A few employees recognized me and offered polite greetings, though their brief hesitation told me they remembered me.

At the reception desk, the receptionist stared for a moment before smiling.

“Miss Bella?”

“It’s been a long time.”

“Five years since you left your position,” she said. “I never thought I’d see you here again.”

“I’m here to see Adrian.”

She checked the screen in front of her.

“Mr. Adrian isn’t in his office.”

“Then where is he?”

“He’s in the cafeteria. Miss Alina returned from her trip this morning, so they’re discussing work.”

My fingers curled around my purse.

“He’s in the cafeteria. Miss Alina returned from her trip this morning, so they’re discussing work.”

My fingers curled around my purse.

Alina.

Once, that name meant nothing to me. Now it was tied to the change I had spent years trying to understand.

After Aina was born, I took leave from work, and Adrian hired Alina to take over my position.

At first, he still called and checked on Aina. Then his calls became less frequent, our conversations shorter, and he started coming home later. Even when we were together, he seemed somewhere else.

I couldn't understand what had changed.

A few months later, I went to the company, hoping I might find an answer.

That's when I saw him with Alina.

She stood beside his desk, saying something that made him smile. When a loose strand of her hair fell across her face, Adrian reached over and tucked it behind her ear.

I stopped at the doorway, my fingers tightening around the doorframe as I watched him.

For the first time, the distance between us seemed to have an explanation.

I could have asked, but how could I when I already knew he had never wanted this marriage? I had never been his choice.

There was no place for me beside him anymore, so I never asked to return to my old position. He never asked me either.

And somehow, five years passed.

“Thank you,” I said quietly before turning toward the corridor.

The framed awards still lined the walls, and the familiar scent of coffee drifted through the corridor.

As I approached the half-open entrance, I heard Alina's voice before I saw them beside the cafeteria counter.

“Why did you put the clause in if you were never going to apply it?”

Adrian was silent for a moment.

“Because I thought I might have to. I didn't know how things would turn out.”

Alina studied him.

“Adrian, you can’t keep avoiding the decision forever. I can see what this is doing to you.”

A strange numbness spread through me.

“You’ve already made up your mind. You just haven’t been able to give it to her.”

My stomach tightened.

They were talking about me.

Adrian took a slow breath.

“I just don’t know how to face her with it.”

I stood frozen outside the half-open door, trying to understand what he meant.

I shook the thought away and straightened my shoulders before stepping inside, pretending I hadn't heard a thing.

Adrian and Alina turned toward me. Their conversation stopped immediately, and their faces briefly drained of color as they exchanged a startled glance.

“Adrian.”

I walked toward them and placed the medical report beside their untouched coffee.

“You need to read this.”

The ease between them vanished. Adrian picked up the report.

“Aina’s condition has worsened,” I said, forcing the words out. “She has been diagnosed with cancer and it has reached an advanced stage.”

His eyes moved across the pages. His expression barely changed, but I noticed the slight pause before he closed the report.

“What does the doctor recommend?”

“She needs treatment immediately. The cost is more than I can manage.”

Neither of us spoke. Alina glanced between us before stepping away.

“I’ll leave you two to talk.”

She left without waiting for a response.

I forced myself to meet his eyes.

“Please.”

He rested one hand against the counter.

“You know what I give you each month.”

My chest tightened. Even after hearing that Aina had cancer, he still hesitated to give me more than he normally did.

I swallowed.

“I know.” My voice came out quieter than I intended. “I wouldn’t be standing here asking you if I had anywhere else to turn.”

I reached for his hand before I could stop myself. His palm was warm beneath mine, and for a moment, I held on, afraid that if I let go, I would lose even this small piece of him.

Adrian went still. His eyes dropped to where our hands met. For a moment, he didn't pull away.

“This isn't about us. It’s about Aina. How can that amount matter more than your own daughter?”

He looked away.

“It doesn’t.”

The words came out quietly, almost as if he hadn't meant to say them.

I stared at him.

“Then why are you still hesitating?”

He didn't answer. His fingers shifted beneath mine. Then he slowly pulled his hand away.

I’d prepared myself for him to refuse. Somehow, his silence made it harder to breathe.

“I came here because I thought maybe...” My voice caught. “Maybe, after everything, you would still care.”

I forced myself to keep going.

“I’ve never complained about what you give me. I never asked you for more. But I can’t let our daughter pay for something that has nothing to do with her.”

His brows pulled together for the briefest moment.

“If something happens to Aina because you refused to help her...” My hands balled at my sides. “I’ll never be able to forgive you.”

I held his gaze one last time before picking up the report.

Without another word, I turned and walked out of the cafeteria.