Betrayed: Using My Ex's Brother For Revenge

"Really?!" Desmonda yelled, her eyes full of tears. "After everything I've done for you, this is how you betray me?!"

Her fiancé shrugged and slipped on his coat, unbothered by her glare. "What did you expect? You're an ugly, useless woman Des. You forced me into this engagement when I said I wanted nothing to do with you, why are you so surprised now that I've chosen to take on a mistress?"

Rage coloured Desmonda's face, and without letting herself think twice she lifted her hand and slapped him harshly across the face.

He blinked rapidly and so did she when she realised what she'd done, anger and emotions had just controlled her actions, something she'd sworn she'd never allow to happen, but right now she couldn't bring herself to feel bad about it.

"You deserve that, hell, you deserve a lot worse than that! You stand here, unapologetic after I caught you cheating on me and then you try to insult me like I brought this upon myself!" she started, her chest heaving from the heavy breaths she drew.

She could feel tears stinging her eyes and sobs rising up her throat, but she couldn't cry, she couldn't let him know how much this affected her, even though she was utterly shattered inside.

"Because you did bring this upon yourself," he hissed and took a threatening step towards her. She retreated, intimidated by the anger in his eyes and the tension lining his shoulders. "Did you actually think a man like me would be interested in a slip of a woman like you? I told you I didn't want this engagement, I warned you that I wouldn't be faithful, but you ran off with the stupid idea that you could change me, you thought you could make me love you."

He snorted and this time, Desmonda couldn't stop the tears. She clamped a hand over her mouth to stop the sobs that'd been threatening to burst out of her since the private investigator first dropped those photos on her office table.

Photos of Freddie and a woman with her face hidden by large hats and hoodies, some of the pictures showed them hugging or on the rare occasion kissing, their faces were permanently frozen in stills of them laughing and teasing each other, Freddie looking happier than he'd ever had with her.

He was right, she had deluded herself. She'd been the one to agree to their pairing when even her parents advised against it, she'd been the one to delude herself into thinking that she could make this work, that she could make him fall in love with her.

They'd known each other for years, she was sure that with all the fond memories they'd shared, she could get him to love her the way she loved him and now look where those ridiculous notions had gotten her.

"Let's call it off then," she whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked over to where the pictures were, spread out on the bed of their hotel room. "You're right, I was stupid to believe we could make this work. Let's call off the wedding and you can be with whoever you want. We don't have to-"

He scowled. "What? No. We're not calling off the wedding Des. Imagine what it'd look like when the news comes out, it'll ruin my family's image and yours, not to mention our company..."

"You're thinking about your image now!?" She yelled, confused by his words. "When you've been cheating on me for months!? Don't you think that's more damaging than us splitting up?"

He waved away her words as if they held no meaning to him, he backed away from her and picked up his wristwatch from the dressing table, slipping it on with practised ease. "Can you imagine the field day the tabloids would have if our split hit the media? Not to mention if the reason for our split ever got out. Besides, what's a little cheating? It's normal for men of my calibre to keep a mistress, if anything you'll be laughed at for being delusional enough to think you could keep me entertained."

Des sputtered with disbelief and threw her hands up. "I don't care, Freddie! I don't care if your image or the image of this company is ruined! I don't care if I look pathetic, I want nothing to do with you from now on-!"

She'd barely gotten those words out when Freddie stepped forward quickly and grabbed her by the throat. She gagged and stared up at him fearfully as he pressed her against the wall and glared down at her with rage contouring his features.

He tightened his fist around her throat. "I'm only going to say this once and just once. You will not call off this wedding, you will act alright when I introduce my mistress to the family and you won't cause a scene. We'll get married and you'll play the role of a smiling and perfect wife, you'll give me as many heirs as I need. It's either you do this, or I swear to all that is good and holy I will bring down that pathetic company you and your family struggled to start, I'll make sure you never work or live in Arindale again and you know I can do all this and more."

Desmonda reached forward to wrench his hand away from her throat, but it was of no use, Freddie was much stronger than her and much more powerful. He could bring down her family's business, he could make it impossible for them to ever have a life in this country and it would only take a snap of his fingers.

Their marriage was always more beneficial to her anyway. Freddie was the handsome CEO of the second most powerful corporation in the country, he had ties to the government and like other executives in the country, he had ties to underground networks of criminals that he used to do his bidding. His influence wasn't only relegated to the business world, but to literally every sector you could think of.

Compared to him, Desmonda was nothing. She was the the adopted daughter of a new money family. She didn't have half of his influence, reach or wealth. Their wedding was her way of fixing that and now she was having it used against her.

She was powerless here and she realised that very quickly.

"Do you understand me Desmonda?" He asked again, squeezing her throat tighter for emphasis.

She nodded shakily and he instantly released her.

Her body slumped to the floor and she coughed violently as tears of pain and despair stung her eyes.

"Get up," he said impatiently and rolled his eyes at her hunched-over figure. "You have foundation, use that to cover the bruising and wipe away your tears. We'll have dinner in two days where I'll introduce you and the family to my girlfriend, she'll be around often so I want everyone to know where I stand from the beginning. You got it?"

She nodded and bit down on her lower lip to keep from lashing out at him, that would get her nowhere.

"Room service will be here soon, don't let them see this mess you've made of yourself," he glared down at her. "Remember Des, it's my image you stand to ruin, I'm already a laughingstock because I got an ugly fiancée like you, don't make things even worse by overreacting. Is that clear?"

She nodded.

"Use your words," he spat.

"Yes, Freddie," she replied hoarsely, her throat hurt too much to speak. She stood up with her head still bowed and remained frozen in place until he picked up the photos from the bed and left the room with them.

Slowly, almost robotically, Desmonda rearranged the room as much as she could. She folded the clothes that she'd initially angrily tossed at him, picked up her smashed phone and rearranged the pillows.

When she made sure the room showed no sign of their tussle, she sat in front of the vanity and picked up her makeup to hide the bruises on her neck.

"Oh my gosh! Des!" Natalie ran over to Desmonda and hugged her tightly, careful to make sure they weren't being watched.

After letting Des soak in the comfort of a best friend's hug, she pulled back and assessed her friend's tired face and turtleneck-covered torso with a frown. "Did he really strangle you?"

Des shook her head to indicate she didn't want to talk about it here and Natalie nodded in understanding.

As an A-list actress herself, Natalie more than anyone understood how damaging rumours were and if anyone caught the tail end of their conversation or managed to glimpse the fractured expression on Des's face before she could mask it with fake joy, everything she was trying to keep in place could easily come crashing down.

And only God knew what Freddie would do if that happened.

Natalie linked their arms and led Des past the tables occupied by wealthy patrons to a small booth tucked away in the corner.

"I probably should have picked another restaurant huh?" Natalie said with an apologetic smile.

"It's fine," Des replied, glancing around the elegant interior of the most luxurious lounge in Capital City.

Amour was known for many things, rich patrons, expensive food and a spot where paparazzi lingered around in search of the latest scoop on Arindale's biggest socialites and executives. It wasn't the place Desmonda would have picked for the type of conversation she wanted to have with Natalie, but it was better than being cooped up within the four walls of her and Freddie's suite.

"Two margaritas," Natalie said to the waitress, then rattled off a long list of food items she wanted brought to their table.

"Are you planning on feeding the entire lounge?" Desmonda said with a short laugh, nothing felt funny to her.

Natalie chuckled when the waitress left and slipped out her phone from her purse, the bright grey eyes that'd earned her a good chunk of her fame were fixed on her phone. "I just thought food would be the easiest way to cheer you up, you know?"

Desmonda winced at that and subtly pinched the skin of her arm. Freddie's words came back to her. 'Ugly...' he was right, she was ugly. Ugly and fat, with short dark hair, dull brown eyes and ridiculously, disproportionate curves, the complete opposite of skinny, blonde Natalie, with her perfect body.

He was right, she was undeserving of him, she should have seen it sooner.

"I'm not hungry," she muttered and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears.

Natalie looked away from her phone with a frown and slowly set it down. "Des, tell me what happened..."

And she did. She made an effort to suppress the tears that threatened to flow and kept her voice steady, but merely recounting the events of this morning, broke her heart all over again.

After everything she'd invested into their relationship, all the plans she'd made, he still saw her as nothing more than the fat, ugly child that'd clung to him when they were children, only now they were engaged and she was keeping from the one he truly loved.

"Do you know who he's cheating on your with?" There was an edge to Natalie's voice when she asked this.

"No, her face was well hidden," she replied with shrugged shoulders. Even if her face wasn't hidden, Des had no intention of looking for the girl.

"Damn it," Natalie pressed her lips together and glared at the table when Des finished. "And he really won't let you break off the engagement."

"No," she pursed her lips. "And even if he did, there's a contract..."

"A what?" Natalie paused when the waitress came back with their food, she took the glasses of margaritas and then waved her away. "Take them back, we're not hungry."

The waitress blinked in shock. "I'm sorry Miss Marshall, but we can't just-"

"I said take them back!" She snapped at her. "You clearly know who I am and you dare to go against my instruction? You can eat them yourself, we don't want them anymore."

The waitress looked torn and embarrassed. Desmonda felt bad, were it another place, people would have cussed Natalie out for how terribly she was treating the staff, but this was Amour and Natalie wasn't just anyone.

"We'll pay for it anyway, you can keep them," Desmonda spoke up in a gentle voice.

The waitress nodded shakily then scurried off while Natalie just glared as she ran off.

She rolled her grey eyes. "You're too nice, especially to low-born people like her."

"Natalie," Des whispered.

"No seriously, you need to learn to be more assertive, if you were Freddie wouldn't dare say such things to you," she rolled her eyes. "You let people walk over you way too much."

"I..." Des didn't know what to say to that.

"Anyway," Natalie continued. "You were talking about a contract."

"Yes, well, Freddie's parents wanted our engagement to be as fair as possible and like Freddie they're as obsessed with their image so they drafted a contract that technically binds me to him for the next six years," she explained.

Natalie leaned forward. "And there's no way out of it?"

"None..." she thought for a moment then sighed. "Well, there is one way... If Freddie's stepmother allows it."

"That witch," Natalie shrieked, then cleared her throat. "Oh Des, she hates you."

"I know," Desmonda massaged her temples, trying to melt away the stress that was there. "But I still have to try. I spoke to her secretary before coming here to see you, I'm going to see her tomorrow."

"And if she agrees... you'll be free Des," Natalie said eagerly.

"Yes but... what will I tell my parents? They'll be so disappointed. This marriage was supposed to help out company, it was supposed to open doors we couldn't open ourselves," she tilted her head down to hide the anguish on her face. "I'm failing them by doing this."

Desmonda always felt like a failure. She felt that as an adopted child she should be doing more to prove herself worthy of her parents and worthy of being chosen. But she had never managed to do that, she was an okay student, an okay soccer player, an okay dancer. She was okay, nothing marvellous or talented or useful as they probably hoped she'd be, and the one chance she had to prove herself as every single one of these things, she was throwing it away.

Maybe she was being too emotional, maybe she should suck it up.

"Hey," Natalie reached forward and placed her hand over hers. "You're worth more than whatever business advantage you bring to your parents, I'm sure they'll understand your reason for breaking the engagement off."

She whispered after a while, "He was everything to me."

Natalie stared at her for an even longer moment then smiled. "You're strong, Des. You'll be fine without him anyway."

She sucked in a breath and nodded, smiling gratefully at her friend.

Natalie could be rough around the edges and a little spoiled, but she was Des's best friend, the only girl at their school who hadn't bullied her relentlessly for no reason, she'd been the first person who had shown her any actual kindness and continued to do so.

Natalie's phone pinged and she quickly looked down at it. A smile touched her face and she quickly replied to whoever had messaged her.

"Is that mystery man?" Desmonda asked teasingly.

"Yep! We've been talking a lot more these days, we even went out a couple of times," she said in an excited voice. "He's introducing me to his family soon..."

"Really?" she perked up and clapped excitedly for her friend.

Mystery Man was the guy Natalie had been seeing for the past three months. Natalie didn't want to share his name because he was some big-shot executive who didn't want anyone to know they were together until he was ready. Natalie had complained about his need for secrecy a while ago, and had gone through phases about doubting their relationship.

Desmonda had supported their relationship from the onset, she gave her advice when she was nervous and encouraged her in her pursuit of him, she was glad to see that her friend was finally getting some peace in her relationship. Even if her own love life was shitty, she'd be fine as long as Natalie was fine.

"Things must be getting pretty serious," Des said and smiled even brighter. "I'm happy you're happy Natalie."

"Thank you," she smiled back. "You'll meet him soon, don't worry, he's warming up to the idea of me introducing you two."

"I'd love that," she replied and the two continued to chat for a while until Desmonda felt at ease enough to return to the hotel.

The Aston Mansion was as intimidating as ever. Sitting on one of the largest privately owned land in the country, it was an imposing building made of bricks and covered with vines to give it that old-money look.

Desmonda slipped out of her car and with a small thank you, handed her keys over to the valet to park it for her, all the while staring at the imposing mansion while dreading meeting the even more imposing woman that was inside.

She'd lived there ever since her engagement was announced three months ago, and she'd visited this mansion several times as a child, but the place never failed to make her tremble with fear and living here never made her ever feel comfortable. When she and Freddie were told to vacate the wing for a few days because of revocations, she'd let out a sigh of relief.

They were both supposed to return the day of the family dinner, but Des hoped that if this meeting went well, she'd never have to come near this place again.

Bracing herself, she walked into the mansion and up the spiralling staircase to where Marguerite Aston entertained guests. The maids bowed as she passed and she made sure to pause and greet a few as she walked past them. She spoke to one about their newborn and another about the slight cold they'd had the last time they'd seen each other.

The maids adored Des because unlike most wealthy people, like the Astons, she saw them as people and tried to get to know them.

Marguerite's secretary, Stephanie, gave her a once-over before letting her in. Even though her face was perfectly impassive, Des could tell that much like her boss, she didn't like her at all.

Des suddenly felt uncomfortable in her pink cardigan and black slacks.

"You're late," those were the first words Marguerite said to her when Des walked into her lounge.

She froze a little then smiled shakily. "The traffic-"

"Sit," Mrs Aston said with a careless wave of her hand then narrowed her brilliant, blue eyes at her. "You have thirty minutes left to make your case, with each second you waste talking about irrelevant things, your time only reduces."

Stephanie tapped her wristwatch with a cruel smile.

She sat down quickly. At fifty years old, Marguerite didn't look a day older than when we first met, two months after Freddie's father and mother split up, the elegant-looking woman was standing in their garden watching as Des played with Freddie and their other friends.

Much like now, her face was stone cold, her brown hair pin-straight and piled up into a high bun, she was dressed in subtle designer from head to toe, she wore no makeup she looked a million times better than everyone who had.

She hadn't been nice to Desmonda in the past, and her attitude only worsened with the engagement. Marguerite had openly told her that she didn't deserve her son. The only reason she tolerated "new money" like Desmonda around her stepson was because her husband was friends with Des's parents.

Her time in this house was marked by Mrs. Aston's cruel words and even crueller actions, which Freddie didn't care about, let alone do anything to stop.

For a stepmother and stepson, they sure were close, even closer than he was to his actual mother.

Des was hoping that her hatred for her would make her eager to rip apart their engagement.

"I want to call off the wedding," Desmonda said, choosing to not waste time.

Mrs Aston's brow rose. "You want to call off the wedding? After all the manipulating and scheming you did to make it happen?

Desmonda curled her fists.

She had been determined to get them paired together for marriage, but she certainly hadn't manipulated or schemed her way into it.

In their social circle, marriages were typically arranged to pair influential men and women together. Even among the wealthy, social classes existed and it was common for families to match their children with others of the same social standing.

Des wasn't stupid, she knew what people thought when news of their engagement broke. They thought she'd used her connections to get him to pick her, a new money, adoptee who was below-average looking. But she didn't care back then, she'd gotten what she wanted Freddie, so it shouldn't have mattered.

I should have listened to my parents, she thought.

"Well, I'm sure there's a reason," Marguerite spoke.

"He's cheating on me," she whispered. "I'm not sure for how long or with who, but I have proof. I don't want to be in a marriage with an unfaithful man so-"

"So what?" She spat, suddenly, interrupting Des. Her face contorted with disgust. "Did you think you were going to get complete loyalty from my son? Oh please, a woman like you should know better. This isn't a valid reason to go back on the contract."

Des frowned. "When I confronted him yesterday, he strangled me, that's abuse and-"

"Abuse!" She burst out into dry laughter and Stephanie mimicked her. "A little bit of strangling and you're crying abuse? You had it coming, pestering him all these years and then manipulating him into picking you and then confronting him about his personal matters. How impudent."

Desmonda sputtered and glanced between Marguerite's uninterested face and Stephanie's cold face. She would get no help and no support here, it seemed even her hatred wouldn't get Marguerite to back down on their agreement.

"His personal matters? Cheating is betraying a relationship, a relationship that involves two people. So it is my matter too!" She argued.

Marguerite was unfazed. "Who a man chooses to spend his time with outside of a relationship is his business," she said with a brief glance at her. "Don't look so shocked, dear. You know how men in our social circle behave. Taking a mistress isn't exactly scandalous, and it's certainly not a good reason to call off a wedding."

"You don't even like me, you don't even want me to be with your son, wouldn't ending the engagement do you more good?" She barely stopped herself from yelling out these words.

Mrs Aston sneered. "And risk ruining my son's image in the media, no. Our family has spent years away from the spotlight and drama, we certainly won't change that because of you. Let him do what he wants and learn to suck it up, it's what a woman of your standard deserves anyway. This meeting is over."

Desmonda stood up, enraged this time. "This isn't fair, I didn't do anything to deserve this! You have to cancel this agreement."

This time, anger laced her voice as she spoke. "You don't get to tell me what to do, Desmonda. This marriage will happen. In a month, you and Freddie will walk down that aisle. You won't overreact; you will suck it up and play the role of the docile and perfect wife. You will not tarnish our family name with your pathetic whining."

"Marguerite..." she said brokenly and watched her only way out disappear before her very eyes.

She was stuck, with a family that hated her, a husband that was disloyal and a cruel mother-in-law.

"Freddie is bringing his mistress with him for the family dinner. You will not cause a scene when you meet that woman, she's more of his wife than you'll ever be," she said, calm once more. "Don't bother me about this again, leave."

Desmonda left without another word. She ran down the hall, past maids who avoided her gaze and slipped into her car without a second thought. Her hands were shaking, and agony caused her chest to constrict tightly.

She couldn't go back to the hotel this evening, she needed to drown this pain away and numb herself before she saw Freddie again. And she knew just where to go for that.

Des started the engine and sped away.