I Was Married To An Unconscious Billionaire?!

"Ah!"

A piercing scream shattered the silence of the hotel corridor, but it was cut short as a heavy door slammed shut.

Inside the pitch-black room, Valerie Brown's heart raced. She tried to scream, but no sound escaped-her lips were smothered by a rough, unyielding hand.

She froze, feeling the hot, alcohol-laced breath of a stranger against her neck, every exhale tightening the grip of fear coursing through her.

This wasn't Javier Barnett. This wasn't the man she loved.

"Let go of me! Who the hell are you?"

Valerie thrashed violently, her fists pounding the stranger's chest, but his hold was ironclad.

Shock flooded her. All those years of martial arts training, and yet this man overpowered her as if she were nothing.

In an instant, the world spun.

Valerie felt herself lifted, and then dropped onto the softness of a bed. Before she could comprehend what was happening, a crushing weight pressed down on her.

"Stay still!" the man growled, pinning her wrists to the headboard with one effortless hand.

The sharp sound of tearing fabric pierced the air. His touch was searing, every brush of his fingers like fire, while her attempts to resist were useless, as futile as pushing against an unstoppable force.

Tears spilled from Valerie's eyes, blurring her vision as panic gripped her. She choked out the words, trembling. "Please... I don't even know you..."

But her plea fell into the void, answered only by the low rasp of his breath against her ear, cold and callous.

When morning light crept into the room, it stabbed at her eyes.

Valerie blinked, her body radiating pain.

Every inch of her ached, especially her legs, which felt limp and powerless, refusing to move.

Flashes of the night before rushed back in fragmented pieces-intertwined bodies, forceful touches-but the face, his face, remained shrouded in shadow.

The memory of violation gnawed at her, her teeth grinding together as a flood of helpless anger surged within her. Her fists clenched so tightly that her nails bit into her skin, though she felt no pain. Only rage.

...

As the minutes dragged on, Valerie's mind gradually cleared, pulling her back to a harsh reality.

She glanced around the room-a wreckage of scattered sheets and torn clothes-and willed herself to stand, though every movement was a battle against the soreness in her body.

Still barely clothed, she stumbled to gather herself when the door exploded open with a deafening bang.

"You're a disgrace!" A voice, dripping with fury, filled the room. "You've brought shame to the entire Brown family!"

Valerie spun around, startled, only to see her father Craig Brown charging in, his face twisted in rage.

His eyes bore into her, scanning her rumpled clothes, her marked skin-his gaze lingering on the red stains of humiliation around her neck and shoulders. Hatred flashed in his eyes, raw and venomous, as if the very sight of Valerie stirred a desire to obliterate her.

"Valerie, how could you turn out to be such a disgrace?" Craig bellowed, his voice brimming with contempt. "You're just like your mother-an utter disgrace!"

Valerie's body tensed, a surge of defensive anger rising in her chest. Her eyes flashed with defiance.

"You don't get to talk about my mother," she shouted, venom dripping from each word. "Disgrace? Me? What about you then? The day you threw us out-me and my mother-for that vile Lacey and her scheming mother, you lost any shred of dignity."

Her words sliced through the air like knives, cutting deep. Craig's face contorted with fury, his body trembling with rage.

He glared at her, spewing curses, but Valerie didn't flinch. She had stopped expecting anything from this man long ago.

Yet, after enduring a night of violation at the hands of a stranger, and now being cursed by her own father, something inside her shattered. The bitterness she had kept buried began to spill over, coating her every thought.

Without another word, Valerie turned, desperate to escape the suffocating room. But as she reached the door, her way was blocked.

Someone stood in her path.

"Valerie, is that how you talk to your father?" The voice was smooth, yet laced with mockery, and it sent a chill down Valerie's spine. Two figures strolled into the room, and her heart lurched.

She glanced up sharply, only to see Javier, the man she had once loved so deeply, standing arm-in-arm with her stepsister, Lacey Brown.

Javier's grip on Lacey was possessive, his eyes scanning Valerie with pure disdain.

"You deceitful, promiscuous woman," he hissed, the words dripping with contempt. "Thank God I saw through you in time and chose Lacey instead. If we'd ever married, I would have been the joke of the century!"

Valerie's breath hitched. She staggered backward, the cruel words slamming into her like a wrecking ball. Disbelief washed over her as she stared at the man she had once thought of as hers. Her mind buzzed, the world tilting off its axis, crumbling around her in that single, devastating moment.

"Oh, Javier, don't be so harsh on my sister," Lacey said, her voice soft and sweet as honey. She leaned into him, her tone dripping with false concern. "It was just a mistake made in the heat of the moment, and I'm sure she didn't mean it. Valerie has always been exceptional-my role model, really."

Her words carried an air of magnanimity, but the glint in her eyes told a different story. Lacey's gaze sparkled with smug satisfaction, as if everything was falling neatly into place under her control.

Suddenly, she gasped, stepping forward with exaggerated shock. "Valerie, your neck..."

She pointed delicately at the red marks staining Valerie's skin, a mock expression of embarrassment plastered on her face. She hesitated, eyes flicking toward the rumpled bed, pretending to be too shy to say more. "Oh no, who were you with last night? How could he just leave you here like this? That's just... awful."

Valerie stood frozen, her face an empty mask as she stared at their clasped hands. Her chest tightened painfully, as every word felt like a vice squeezing the breath from her lungs.

It all clicked into place.

The phone call from last night, Javier's unusually soft tone as he invited her to the Majesty Hotel, promising a surprise.

This was his surprise? Sending her to another man's bed?

The blood drained from Valerie's face, her body quaking with the force of the revelation.

The truth hit her like a tidal wave-Javier and Lacey had orchestrated this.

They had conspired behind her back, pulling the strings while now standing before her, pretending to be innocent. Acting self-righteous, as if they had any right to judge her.

Did they think she was really this easy to manipulate? That she would just crumble?

A sharp, burning rage ignited inside her, rising with every second, drowning out the humiliation.

Valerie's eyes darkened, narrowing on Lacey, who still stood smugly, finger raised in mock concern.

Without warning, Valerie lunged forward, her hand shooting out like lightning. She grabbed Lacey's outstretched finger, twisting it sharply.

"Ah!"

The snapping sound was unmistakable. Lacey's face twisted in shock and pain as the bone broke beneath Valerie's grip.

"My hand! What did you do?"

"Valerie! Are you out of your mind? How could you lash out at your sister?"

Craig's voice boomed, the shock and urgency ripping through the room.

He rushed to Lacey's side, throwing his arms around her in a protective embrace, shielding her as if Valerie were some kind of monster.

"Lacey, let me see," he murmured, his anger melting into worry as he cradled her in his arms.

Lacey huddled in Craig's arms, her voice trembling with practiced innocence.

"Dad, it's okay. I'm fine. I shouldn't have said those things..."

Craig's expression darkened further, his eyes narrowing on Valerie, filled with nothing but rage. It was as though he was staring at an enemy, not his daughter- a complete shift from the softness and care he'd shown Lacey moments before.

"Valerie!" he barked, his voice a whip crack. "Apologize to your sister this instant!"

The demand cut through the air, but Valerie remained still, the tightness in her chest twisting into something darker. A bitter laugh escaped her, her eyes gleaming with cold mockery as she faced him.

"Sister? What sister?" she scoffed, her voice laced with venom. "My mother has only one daughter, and that's me! I have no sister at all."

Her words hit like a slap. The room seemed to freeze as Valerie took a step forward, her disgust clear. "You threw me and my mother out for this pathetic mother-daughter duo. Have you forgotten where your fortune came from?"

Her gaze flicked to Lacey, who still played the victim in Craig's arms. "No matter how much pain she's in, it's nothing compared to what she owes me. She deserves every bit of it."

Valerie let the bitterness she had long buried pour out, her voice cold and sharp as ice. She stared at the father and daughter before her with detached indifference. The resentment that had festered for years surfaced now, cutting through the tension like a blade.

For eighteen years, Craig had turned his back on Valerie, choosing instead to coddle and protect his another daughter all the time.

Valerie had once longed for his attention, had once dreamed of a father's love. But now, standing before Craig, she realized she no longer craved it.

Her gaze flickered to Javier, who stood frozen in place. He seemed to feel the weight of her contempt and, without realizing it, took several steps back. His lips quivered, but he couldn't summon the courage to speak.

The cowardice that Valerie now saw so clearly disgusted her. How could she have been so blind? How had she ever fallen for such a weak, spineless man?

Craig's face twisted in anger, his nostrils flaring as his gaze bore into her. "You spoiled brat! What right do you have to criticize me?" he roared, his voice trembling with fury.

"How dare you speak to me like that? Do you not care about your mother anymore?" Craig's voice boomed, but beneath the anger was something darker-malice flickering in his eyes.

Valerie froze, her heart pounding as a wave of panic surged through her. "My mother? What do you mean? What did you do to her?" she shouted, her voice hoarse, the bloodshot rage clear in her eyes.

Craig's lips twisted into a smug sneer. "Calm down. I just took her out of the hospital," he replied, his words deliberately slow, savoring the control they gave him.

Valerie's entire body trembled, the fury inside her threatening to explode.

Her mother-her one anchor in this twisted world. She had dedicated her life to saving her, shifting from mechanical engineering to studying medicine just to find a way to heal her after the accident.

She had poured everything-time, money, energy-into building a medical research institute, making real progress in her mother's treatment.

And now, Craig was dangling her mother's life as leverage.

Seeing the effect his words had on her, Craig snorted softly, the rage that had contorted his face moments earlier fading. In its place, a thin, calculating smile appeared, cold and triumphant.

"Jonathan Holt had a car accident," Craig said coldly, his eyes narrowing. "I can't have Lacey marry and care for a vegetable all her life. But since you've already disgraced yourself with some man, you can take her place and do something useful for the Brown family."

Valerie's mind reeled.

Jonathan Holt? The head of the Holt Group? A car accident?

How had such a major incident gone unnoticed?

But her thoughts quickly shifted. None of this mattered right now-not Jonathan, not the marriage.

The only thing that mattered was her mother.

"Let my mother go or you're not getting anything from me," Valerie growled through gritted teeth, her voice hoarse but filled with dangerous resolve. Each word sent a shiver down the spine of anyone listening.

Craig's sneer deepened, his gaze sharp and cold. He removed his glasses with deliberate slowness, wiping them as though he had all the time in the world.

"Excuse me? You're in no position to negotiate with me," he replied, his voice calm yet laced with menace. "Tomorrow, someone will take you to meet with the Holt family. If you want to see your mother again, you'll do as I say. Otherwise, don't blame me for the consequences."

His words were like a slap, cold and brutal. He didn't even flinch as he glanced at Valerie's trembling, furious figure. She was his own daughter, but to him, she was little more than a pawn.

Instead, Craig turned his attention to Lacey, pulling out a first-aid kit to carefully tend to her injured finger. His touch was gentle, his expression full of fatherly concern.

The tender scene was a dagger to Valerie's heart. The sight of Craig doting on Lacey while using her own mother as leverage made the pain unbearable.

But she couldn't afford to let the pain consume her. For her mother's sake, Valerie had no choice. Swallowing her rage, she had to agree-for now.

Even if it meant getting involved with the Holt family-she had no other choice.

"Fine. I agree. Now get out," Valerie screamed and her fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Her lips, dry and cracked, pressed into a thin line, and her eyes burned with cold determination.

She would comply for now. But once she had her mother safe, she would make sure every score was settled-past and present.

After they finally left, Valerie wasted no time. She dressed quickly, ready to leave this suffocating place.

But just as she was about to head out, something caught her eye, making her stop cold.

On the bedside table was a cufflink-gold-plated, its design unmistakable. A crescent moon with intricate hollow patterns.

Her creation.

Her heart skipped a beat. Years ago, a mysterious client had commissioned this piece from her for an astronomical price. A hundred million dollars.

She had poured her soul into it, designing it not only as an exquisite accessory but as a tool- equipped with a GPS locator and a hidden lifesaving mechanism. Only one had ever been made.

How had it ended up there?

Valerie's breathing grew shallow, her mind racing.

Whoever owned this cufflink wasn't someone to be taken lightly. She couldn't afford to attract unwanted attention, not now.

She picked it up, her fingers trembling only slightly as she retrieved a thin silver needle from her bag.

With practiced ease, she manipulated the cufflink, a sharp click echoing through the room as she disabled the tracking function.

For now, she would avoid whatever trouble came with this.

But deep down, she knew this was no coincidence.