BETRAYED,I MARRIED HIS BROTHER

Eliara's POV

The sterile scent of antiseptic clung to the air as I lay motionless on the hospital bed. My body was weak, my mind spinning, it's was as if I was hit by a truck and beaten half to death, suspended between fever dreams and the cruel sting of reality.

The slow drip of the IV and the beeping of the monitoring machine was the only sound filling the room until the buzz of my phone shattered the silence.

I blinked, a headache coming in due to the sound, my groggy fingers fumbling for the device on the tray beside me. My thumb hovered over the screen. A notification blinked at me.

*Alexander Lancaster spotted with mystery woman, are wedding bells off?*

My breath caught in my throat, my heart sank to my stomach, for a minute I doubted my sights, I even thought for a moment it might be another person entirely and not him but was I wrong.

I clicked the article with trembling fingers. The photo loaded slowly and agonizingly slow was it. And then the world stopped spinning, the words I use in deceiving and living in my own delusional bubbles burst.

No! No! No!

But no matter how many No's I say to myself, there they were, Alexander, the man I had loved for seven years and cared about more than myself and her, Serena, my adoptive parents real daughter, who is kind of my sister, in a sense. The long-lost daughter my adoptive parents had searched for in hushed whispers and desperate prayers. Which was answered.

His arm was wrapped around her waist smugly , her face tilted into his chest, and that smile. That soft, tender smile, the one I thought was mine.

The monitoring system or IV monitor, whatever the name is, beeped erratically matching my heart rate, my vision blurred and my head pounded as if ten nails were been Hammered into them.

I dialed him, Once, Twice, but it all went to Voicemail.

The silence was louder than any scream, it was the kind that happens but isn't needed and isn't a good one.

Then the phone rang again, my Mother.

My gut twisted. I answered with shaky hands. "Hello?"

"Darling," she cooed, false sweetness coating every syllable, it never means good whenever she is like this, either she wants something or it's trouble, "Aren't you going to congratulate your sister? She and Alexander, don't they make such a stunning couple, hmm?"

I couldn't breathe, the pain and betrayal was much, my heart hurts so much, my lungs burns.

"You knew?" I whispered, voice cracking like shattered glass, I hope I was wrong, just this once prove me wrong, "You knew about them?"

A pause. Then a sigh. "It's time you accepted reality, Eliara. Serena is our true real daughter. Alexander... he was never truly yours. You were just a placeholder so act like one and send your greetings."

Click.

The line went dead just like my heart, a cold painful chill ran through my whole body, I shivered.

A placeholder, that's what she called me and at this moment I felt like one.

That word echoed in my mind as my tears fell freely. I had given him everything, My loyalty, My heart, Seven years of my life, time and effort but what happened? I got discarded like an old dress in the back of a closet in return, I was easily replaced like a spoilt old cloth doll.

A knock came at the door, I didn't answer nor made a move.

But it opened anyway, and my friend, best friend's head peeped in, she is all smiles till she saw my face. I know I look pale.

Naomi stepped in, her eyes scanning my face. "Eliara?" Her voice cracked. "Oh God, what happened?"

I couldn't speak. I just handed her my phone, I didn't need to, all my problems and woes are in there.

She looked at the phone, her eyes widened like an anime character, very funny even bit I wasn't feeling it at this moment. And then she exploded.

"That bastard! How dare he" she hissed clenching her hands into a fist. "I swear, if I see him, I'll castrate him and feed it to him till he choked on it and die"

"Maybe she's right, she is definitely right" I whispered. "Not maybe, I think she is right, I was just something temporary something replaceable. I am.....I was just a... a placeholder."

"No," she said, gripping my hand firmly. "You are not disposable not replaceable, God! Fuck no, Eliara, you are the most loveable and the most beautiful person I have ever had in my life. And there is no fucking way we are letting them win, You deserve so much than that, what they did to you isn't right, they took advantage of you and your kind heart, you are not what that bitch and sorry excuse for a woman told you, you are my friend, my best friend, they will get what is coming to them, don't worry."

But in that moment, I wasn't sure I could win anything. I wasn't sure I could even stand, everything became blurry and I let out a heart breaking sob, she immediately came to my side, holding me and rubbing my back.

"It's alright sweetie, it's alright, we will deal with them, shushhhhh, stop crying, look at me, look at me"

I lifted my head up and look at her with tears still running down my face, am sure I was covered in snot but I didn't care, I was so heartbroken, it's as if my heart was thorn to shreds and scrubbed with sandpaper, I loved him, it hurts so much, so fucking much.

"Oh baby, stop crying they don't deserve your tears at all"

Eliara's POV

The morning sun spilled across the hardwood floors like liquid gold, but there was no warmth in it for me. I stood outside Alexander's penthouse, my fingers trembling as they hovered above the keypad. Seven years. Seven years of shared promises, whispered dreams, and the illusion of......forever and yet, here I was, doubting every moment.

My heart pounded against my ribs like a warning drum. I pressed the code. The door unlocked with a soft beep. It swung open, and I stepped into silence.

The apartment was pristine, as always. Immaculate surfaces, designer furnishings the cold perfection of a man who prized appearances above all. My gaze swept the space, searching for proof of my paranoia... or confirmation of the truth I already feared.

And there it was.

A pair of earrings, diamond studs, resting on the glass coffee table. They sparkled in the morning light, delicate and feminine but not mine, i hadn't worn earrings in weeks.

Next to them is an open condom wrapper peeking out from the pocket of Alexander's discarded blazer.

A cold shiver slid down my spine.

My breath came in shallow gasps as I walked farther in. The apartment reeked of his cologne, layered with something else, something floral and saccharine.

Lipstick-stained wine glasses sat abandoned on the kitchen counter.

I clutched the back of a leather chair, my knees threatening to buckle.

He lied to me, again, when he said he was working late, when he said he was tired, when he said I was the only one......WHITE LIES.

The sound of the elevator doors opening startled me. I turned, heart hammering, just as Alexander stepped into the apartment, his phone pressed to his ear. He was laughing and definitely with her.

He froze when he saw me, the smile dying on his lips. "Eliara?"

I straightened, clutching my pain like armor. "You didn't answer your phone."

"I was...." he looked away, slipping his phone into his pocket. "Busy."

"Busy?" My voice broke on the word. "Too busy to return your fiancée's calls? Too busy to tell me you've been fucking someone else?"

His jaw clenched. "You don't understand...."

"No, No, I do." I walked over to the coffee table and picked up the earrings, dangling them between us. "These belong to Serena, don't they?"

He said nothing.

I threw them at his chest. "Say something, Alexander! Lie to me again! Tell me I'm imagining it! Tell me the picture was fake!"

He didn't flinch. Just looked at me with that infuriating calm, like I was a child throwing a tantrum.

"You're overreacting."

My mouth dropped open. "Overreacting?" that bastard didn't just say am overreacting. I facepalm myself, hands akimbo.

He stepped closer, his expression softening in a way that made my stomach churn. "It's not what you think."

"Then what is it?" I demanded.

His voice dropped, almost tender. "It was a mistake."

That word, a mistake? Like she meant nothing not her me, like I meant nothing, like a two year old on diapers.

My voice shook with rage. "You've been cheating on me with my adoptive sister. The girl who reappeared after years of being gone, you didn't just betray me, Alexander, you literally replaced me."

He looked away, rubbing a hand over his jaw. "She didn't mean to...."

"Do you dare defend her in my presence!!" I snapped. "You think I don't know what this is? She's your shiny new toy. She's the biological daughter, the golden girl. She waltzes back into the family, and suddenly I'm forgotten."

"Eliara...."

"No!" I stepped back, tears blurring my vision. "I gave you everything, my time, my heart, my soul but what did you do? You threw it away just for her."

He sighed, like I was exhausting him. "You're being dramatic."

That was the final nail.

I stared at him, the man I once thought I'd spend forever with, and felt nothing but disgust. The mask had finally slipped. He wasn't the man I loved. Maybe he never was.

"Do you love her?" I whispered.

He hesitated.

Then, "I don't know."

Silence stretched between us like a blade.

"Get out," I said, barely above a whisper.

He blinked. "This is my apartment....."

"Then I'll leave."

I walked past him, my chest burning with every step.

"I'll come by later" he said quietly. "We'll talk when you've calmed down."

I stopped at the door, turning back one last time.

"There's nothing left to talk about, Alexander. You didn't just cheat on me. You killed everything we were."

I left before he could respond, the door slamming behind me with a finality that echoed in my soul.

Naomi was waiting for me downstairs in her car, engine running, brows furrowed with worry. I slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door.

She took one look at my face and said, "You saw it?"

I nodded, biting my lip to keep from breaking.

"I swear," she muttered, gripping the steering wheel, "I'm going to skin him alive."

I stared out the window, letting the city blur around me.

"Where to?" she asked gently.

"Anywhere but not here."

She drove us without a second thought.

Silence stretched between us, but not the uncomfortable kind. The kind that understood. That held space for grief.

"Why her?" I whispered eventually. "Why Serena?"

Naomi sighed. "Some men are drawn to chaos. And she's a damn hurricane."

"She always wanted what I had. Even when we were kids."

"She's threatened by you," Naomi said. "Always has been."

"She won." My voice cracked. "She has him, she has my parents, my whole life."

"No." Naomi glanced at me. "She only thinks she's won."

I didn't reply. I didn't have the strength.

But a small ember flickered inside me.

Not rage, not revenge but resolved.

If they thought I would just disappear, fade into the background like a discarded extra, they didn't know me at all.

They would see, every single one of them, and will they regret so much? Definitely.

Eliara's POV

I hadn't cried, not when I left Alexander's apartment.

Not even when I saw the lipstick-stained wine glasses, or when he told me "It was a mistake."

But now, seated on Naomi's couch, barefoot and hollow, I felt the sob building in my chest like a storm cloud refusing to burst, I hated that I still loved him, hated that some traitorous part of me still clung to the fantasy we had built. But the truth was clear. Alexander had shattered me. And Serena? She had lit the match and watched me burn.

Naomi slid a cup of tea into my hand, I barely noticed it, she crouched beside me, her eyes kind but burning with fury.

"We need to do something," she said. "This can't end with you crawling away while they play pretend"

Silence.....

She leaned closer. "They humiliated you, El. They stole everything, you should make them bleed."

I looked at her slowly. "With what? My tears?"

"No," she said with a smirk. "With your silence, your power, your absence."

I blinked. "What?"

Naomi grinned, wicked and brilliant. "They expect you to scream, beg, create a scene. Don't give them that satisfaction, pull back, be still. Let them stew in the quiet. Let them wonder what you are planning. That will drive them insane."

I stared at her. "You've thought about this."

"Girl, I've fantasized about it."

We both laughed, and the sound broke something in me, like a hairline fracture finally splitting apart. For the first time in days, I felt.....free.

A week passed, I ghosted him, ghosted them all.

Alexander's texts turned from cool to frantic.

*Eliara, we need to talk.*

*Please, don't shut me out.*

*I made a mistake.*

*Don't make me regret telling you the truth.*

The nerve.

Serena tried, too, one messages after another.

*I didn't mean for this to happen.*

*You don't understand the full story.*

*We both love him. Maybe you never really did.*

She had the audacity to play the victim, like she hadn't stolen the man I loved out from under me. The audacity would've been laughable if it hadn't been so.....disturbing.

And then I met jasail Lancaster

It was at a gala hosted by the Delacroix Foundation, a high society affair full of overpriced gowns, clinking champagne flutes, and strategically sharpened smiles. Naomi practically dragged me there, forcing me into a midnight-blue satin dress and sky high heels.

"You look like vengeance," she said. "Hot, lethal vengeance."

I didn't want to admit how good it felt to be seen again. To have heads turn when I entered. To see Alexander across the room freeze mid-sentence, his glass pausing halfway to his lips.

And right beside him, Serena, clinging to his arm like a koala.

I held my chin high and turned away from them, that's when I saw him.

jasail Lancaster, Alexander's older brother.

The one no one talked about not since he walked away from the family business and vanished into his own empire of secrets.

He stood alone near the bar, dressed in sharp charcoal suit ,his presence magnetic and intimidating in a way Alexander never was. There was something dangerous in the way he watched the room, controlled, calculating, like a predator studying a prey.

And for a brief moment, he watched me,

I looked away when our eyes met, heart thudding in my chest.

Moments later, I felt his presence at my side.

"Quite an entrance, huh" he murmured.

I turned to him. "Excuse me?"

"You shut down an entire ballroom with one look." His eyes didn't wander, they held mine, like he was reading something beneath the surface. "Alexander looks like he's about to choke on his drink."

I smirked. "Good."

"I'm jasail " he said, extending his hand.

"I know who you are."

His smile was brief, amused. "And you are the one he let slip away."

I laughed under my breath. "More like the one he threw away."

jasail leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "That was his second mistake."

I arched a brow. "What was the first?"

He took a sip of his drink. "Thinking you could be replaced."

The tension crackled like live wire between us.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

His smile darkened, just a shade. "Let's just say I don't believe in letting snakes win. And from what I've seen, you're too sharp to let them bite twice."

Before I could respond, Serena appeared.

She froze when she saw me talking to jasail. Her expression faltered.

"Eliara," she said sweetly. "What a surprise."

jasail's eyes sharpened. "Serena."

"jasail Lancaster"she purred. "I didn't realize you were back in town."

He gave her a smile colder than winter. "Noticed you were stirring up trouble and thought I'd come see the chaos for myself, wouldn't miss it for the world now."

Serena flushed clearly embarrassed, i bit back a grin.

"Excuse me," I said to them both, brushing past her shoulder just enough to let her know I wasn't broken anymore.

Later that night, as I stepped outside for air, the city lights stretching endlessly beyond the balcony, I felt someone beside me.

It was jasail again.

"You handled that well," he said.

"She has always underestimated me."

He looked at me then, like really hooked.

"You're not what I expected," he said softly.

"And what did you expect?" I asked.

He studied me. "Someone weaker. Someone who'd break. But you're still standing."

"I'm not just standing," I said. "I'm rebuilding."

He nodded slowly. "Good. Because I have a proposal."

I frowned. "What kind of proposal?"

jasail Lancaster leaned in, voice low and deliberate. "Marry me."

The air between us stilled.

I stared at him, my heart pounding. "Is this a joke?"

"No," he said. "I want to marry you. Publicly.

Strategically.

And yes, partially to destroy them, but also because I think we could give each other something they can't. Power, control, redemption."

"This is insane," I whispered.

"It's calculated," he said. "You want revenge. I want balance restored, and they both deserve to see us thrive in spite of them."

"jasail Lancaster...." I shook my head. "We barely know each other."

His gaze didn't waver. "We will, trust me, Eliara. You'll never have to beg to be seen again."

He stepped back then, placing a card in my palm.

"When you're ready," he said. "Call me."

I need your response.

And just like that, he vanished into the night, leaving me breathless, furious, and most of all intrigued.

For the first time in weeks, I felt the pieces shifting, the gameboard tilting, my cards all aces.

And this time....I had the power.