My Billionaire Fiancé, You Don't Deserve Me

AURELIA

"I'm going to be honest with you, Aurelia. I don't have the intention of getting married to you."

The coffee cup slipped from my hand slightly, dropping onto the table. A few drops of the content slipped out as my lips shook.

"Wh...what?"

"I don't want you to be tricked into agreeing to love me," Theron, my supposed fiancé to whom I'd been engaged for five years, said calmly. I had always known he'd been a calm man, and maybe that was what made the punch in the gut deeper. The fact that he sat opposite me, in his suit and tie, so neatly fixed around his neck, made me feel a stirring in my stomach.

"Why are you telling me this now? When it's just three days to the wedding?"

"Because I'm not attending it."

The flat tone sent the stab deeper, slicing against my heart effortlessly. My fingers trembled slightly, and I folded them into fists.

"Theron, we've been dating for five years and...and," my voice shouldn't tremble, "you are just telling me you can't marry me. That doesn't make sense."

"It does," Theron said. "Logically, the fact that I am breaking up with you before the marriage is better than you coming into a loveless marriage itself."

Loveless.

My heart pounded recklessly against my ribcage, "Y...ou don't love me?"

"I tried to," his palm smoothly went over his dark brown hair, just like it did whenever he was frustrated, "but, Aurelia, no matter how I act, my heart knows the truth."

"And it took you five years to find that out?" My voice had gone slightly higher, pulling the attention of those at the nearest table. They glanced at us and then back to their food.

Theron's eyes narrowed. "I thought you knew."

"Thought I knew?" I repeated, pressure building at the back of my eyes. I blinked, trying to keep the tears out of my eyes, but how could I?

I've had a crush on Theron for years, ever since my family moved into the city the moment their business boomed and they became millionaires. When the news of the proposal came between our families, I'd been excited, rushing over to meet him. He hadn't looked too excited about the news, but he hadn't pushed me away.

He had been with me throughout the biggest milestones of my life: my high school graduation, my award-winning art in college, my 25th birthday had proudly been sponsored by him, with dandelions lining up the place...so why, why exactly was he saying this? Why had he done all of that if he wasn't interested in me, if he didn't love me?

"This is a joke, right?" My own voice sounded ridiculous even as I spoke. I knew Theron; he didn't do jokes. He had hardly smiled since the first day I knew him, to the extent that I could count how many times he had smiled in my presence on one palm. But still... I hoped Theron would say that there was a camera somewhere and all of this was a prewedding joke to make me laugh.

"Aurelia.." My name almost came out as a groan from his lips. The kind someone would say when their younger sister was acting out of character. "I'm being serious. This is not a joke."

"I wanted to tell you in time, because I won't be available for the wedding. I didn't want to leave you hanging on the altar," he spoke like he was doing me some kind of favour, by informing me just three days to the wedding that he wanted out.

"Where are you going?" I asked, a crooked smile tilted my lips as I stared at him. The pressure kept building up, and I swore to myself that I would disappear into the floor before I cried in front of Theron. He had never seen me cry before, because I thought that would upset him, but it was different this time. The reason I wasn't crying was that I wanted my pride intact even as I walked out of this building.

"On a vacation," Theron sipped out of his coffee, "it's been long overdue."

"I've never seen you on a vacation, Theron," I said. "But you are going on one when we are supposed to be getting married. Isn't that crazy to think?"

"I expected you to understand, Aurelia," he said in a dismissive tone, like my concerns meant nothing to him. "Don't drag this out."

"I'm not dragging anything out, Theron. I just didn't expect you to be this stupid and selfish!" I shot. "This can destroy the perfect image you have tried to keep clean all these years and my own love..." I trailed off, biting my tongue slightly.

Don't be stupid, you can't blackmail him into marrying you, Aurelia. He was right. Breaking this crazy situationship was better than getting married.

I grabbed my bag, getting up from my seat with more force than necessary.

"I need your help, Aurelia," Theron's voice came coolly.

I scoffed. "You are ridiculous. You broke up our engagement and expect me to help out? You must be sick in your head to do that."

"Please," his voice came again, making me freeze on my feet.

Even now...now when he had betrayed me so deeply, Theron still had control over my heart. Because how could I suddenly wrench out the heart I'd given years ago in just one day?

I bit my lower lip tightly before I asked the question. "What do you want?"

Just one thing, just this last thing. At least, I'll be able to pay for him fighting my bullies off when I was in high school. Maybe after doing this last thing, I would dare to take my heart back from him. And if I couldn't, then I would pull it out of me and cut off the cords... letting him hold it forever.

His throat bulged slightly as he swallowed. For the first time, Theron was nervous.

"Could you tell the press that you broke off the engagement?"

CHAPTER TWO

AURELIA

He must be kidding me.

I threw my shoes at the edge of the door as I flopped on the bed, blinking rapidly. My chest hurt, like it had been pulled out recklessly from the cords holding it. Like I had just been pulled away from my life support. He had been, just a few hours ago, when I'd delicately pulled out a yellow dress and black Mary Jane shoes just to impress him. I'd spent hours trying to pin my hair in different styles before I got into the car and drove out, but still, he hadn't even noticed any of that. Instead, he had just-

The ringing of my phone cut me off. I stared at the single love emoji before picking it, and suddenly, I had the urge to cry.

"Aurelia, are you okay?" Her voice came cheerfully from the other line. Maybe this was why everyone loved her, including me. Even in crazy situations, Mireya remained just like Theron; she wouldn't budge. Neither would she break down.

"Mireya," my voice shook as I turned my head into my pillow, "Theron is breaking off the marriage." The words came out muffled and inaudible.

"Huh, I didn't get that," Mireya said.

I raised my head from the bed. "Theron is breaking up with me, and he wants me to say I did it, so he can get the sympathy of everyone and keep his image clean before them. He doesn't even care about the fact that I'm still trying to get on the good side of mom and dad. If I said I wanted the breakup, wouldn't my life be even more ruined? He doesn't love me a single bit!" I poured the words out in a single breath, and by the time I was done talking, tears had already started running out of my eyes.

"Aurelia, are you crying?" Mireya asked, chuckling slightly.

"No, I'm not." I wiped my snort with the back of my hand. "And this is not funny."

"Who knows? Maybe Theron is just having cold feet. It's finally happening after dating for five years; he's probably scared."

I'd never seen Theron scared of anything, except for spiders. He had a phobia of them, but I didn't even know why. So why exactly would he get scared of walking down the aisle when he commanded board members?

"I know you, Aure. You have been in love with Theron since you were eight. Seventeen years down the line, and that hasn't changed. Are you seriously just going to let him go like that? You have been pursuing him all your life; what's one more race three days to your wedding, hmm?"

She was right. For seventeen years, I'd been consistent with loving Theron. I'd been shamelessly obsessed and chased after him. I knew he ate his steak medium-rare, no sauce, and salted only after cooking. He drank his coffee hot without sugar, ever. And that wasn't because he loved them. Grilled steak is fast and efficient for Theron, and coffee keeps him awake.

I flattened my lips. I didn't want to look like a chaser who had no limits, but Mireya was right. She was always right. A day of Theron's foolishness wouldn't destroy what I had for him for seventeen years.

"Mireya, I'll call you back."

"Don't tell me you are going there right away."

"I am."

I ended the call, wearing my flip-flop as I rushed down the stairs.

"Miss." The attendant lady, Madam Camila, called behind me, making me halt in my tracks.

"The new batch of cakes has been brought in for tasting."

I grabbed the cake from her hands, rushing out the front door. Theron's house was just right across mine, separated only by the tarred road of the estate. When we moved places years ago, Mom and Dad had thought it was a good thing we lived right next to Theron. It was a kind of connection that not anyone would get to live right next to one of the most powerful families in Los Angeles, and we had gotten it by luck.

My fingers paused on the doorbell for a second before I pressed it. A beautiful woman pulled the door open, her smile wide and elegant, Theron's mother.

"Mi querida," she called in Spanish, pulling me into a tight hug, "Come in."

"Mother," I stretched the hand holding the packet of cakes I'd just gotten from Madam Camila towards her, "Here, cakes."

"You are the only one who thinks fondly of me in this place. Theron and his father are the same, always busy with work. I can't wait for you both to get married." She said, pulling me to sit.

I smiled lightly, tilting my head towards the stairs. "Is Theron home yet?"

"Not yet, mi querida. But soon. I think in an hour. Why don't you talk with me as I make some pancakes?"

During the next hour, Mrs Draix and I made pancakes, which I made a mess of. Either the batter was too watery or I'd sprinkled too much salt. I couldn't simply concentrate, not until the front door opened. I rushed out of the kitchen, the rich sound of Mrs Draix's laughter accompanying me out.

Theron stood at the door, staring at me as if he had just seen a ghost. Shocking, right? It was, but I wouldn't believe a word of what he said about the breakup until he repeated it loud and clear.

"What are you doing here?" he raised his brows.

"Aurelia brought us some cakes," Mrs Draix's reply flowed out of the kitchen. Only if she knew it wasn't just about pancakes.

"Do you want to talk here," I summoned courage, "or in your room?"

Theron's eyes shifted towards the kitchen and back at me, "Follow me."

"You both should do nothing until your wedding night. It's just a few days away!"

Neither of us responded, and Theron didn't say a word even as he shut the door behind me. His room was a rich layer of navy blue and black with simple things in it: a wardrobe, a desk with lots of drawers, and a chair. He didn't stay home much, but he always made sure to be available every Friday to Saturday morning. Just like today.

"Are you better now?"

"When have I not been better?" His face creased handsomely as his brows furrowed against each other, filled with quiet discomfort. "Why exactly are you at my house?"

"I wanted to see you. To talk. I didn't think you meant what you said at the-"

His phone rang, interrupting us. Theron pulled it out from his pocket, stared at it, and turned it face down on the desk. And that was when I saw it, the ticket slated for his journey. Toronto, Canada.

"You are really going on a vacation?" I gulped, my eyes moving back to his face. "It wasn't cold feet?"

"Cold feet?" he raised his brows. "Aurelia, don't get me mad. I already informed you of my decision to cancel the wedding, and yet, you had the effrontery to show up here?"

"I just wanted to confirm-"

"There's nothing to confirm," his phone rang again, but he ignored it. "I'm informing my parents tonight, so inform yours too," he said flatly.

"What are you informing me?" The door pulled open as his mother stared between the two of us. "Aurelia, what's going on?"

Tears bit the back of my eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but a sob threatened to escape instead, so I shut it close. I should never have come here.

Theron's eyes locked with mine. "Aurelia wants a breakup," he announced.

Just like that, the love I had for seventeen years of my life was shattered.

AURELIA

"Are you out of your mind?" my mother shouted. "A breakup? Do you think...you have the right to break up with Theron? The marriage is just in three days, why exactly do you have to ruin things?"

I bit my lips, fisting my fingers into balls. My sister stood beside me, her eyes filled with all the warmth my parents had failed to give me.

"Find a way to fix all of these by tomorrow," my father said simply, without mincing words. To them, my only job was to get married to Theron and to help them out in expanding the business. I had no other purpose.

I wasn't like Mireya, who knew how to speak and draw partnerships, whose smile made even the hardest of hearts crack. I didn't have all A's during high school and college, and I most definitely didn't have the brains to get into Yale University. But Mireya had, and at a young age of 26, she had raked in more money than mom and dad had ever.

As for me, hope had been lost even before it began. I was the black sheep of my family, the one who ruined the beautiful family package. Maybe that was why I had chased after Theron religiously. The news of the marriage had at least made me feel some entitlement. If I wanted something, then marriage to Theron was proof that I could get it, but even that, I failed.

My fingers clenched and unclenched by my side.

"Why can't you be like Mireya?" Mom said, like she always does. Comparing me, trying to make me a better person by my sister's standards. Trying to fit me into a box that wasn't mine. She was the constant voice in my head that reminded me of the failure I had and will become.

"What does Mireya have to do with this? This is my marriage with Theron we are talking about." My tongue finally came loose.

My mother scoffed. "If Mireya had been the one to get married to Theron, she wouldn't have been stupid enough to break it...three days to the wedding."

"Did you ask me why? If I really broke up with Theron, aren't you supposed to ask why first instead of comparing me?" My voice shook. "You always do this. You treat me like I'm an outsider instead of your daughter. Even at this time, you are more worried about your legacy, your image, than me. Have you ever stopped to think of how I have felt all these years?"

I didn't know if it was sadness or anger...however, whatever emotion it was that was flowing through my veins was ruining me. By tomorrow, I would regret everything I said, so tonight, I wouldn't care. I'd spill it out.

"Why didn't you give birth to a child like Mireya if you love her so much? I never asked to be given birth to...you could have just dumped me in the trash when you knew I wouldn't be up to your standards!"

My father's palm connected with my face the moment the words left my lips. He had never slapped me before, no matter how much he'd been angry. But this time around, I guessed neither of us was in our right senses.

Behind him, at the threshold of the dining room, Madam Camila flinched. But I didn't feel anything. Not now. I've exhausted all that emotion of anger and incompetence. After all, I'd lost the only thing that kept me important to Hales: the marriage to Theron. Truthfully, somewhere inside me, I knew. That if it was Mireya who had the marriage proposal, she would have somehow managed to steal Theron's heart, and maybe that fact...hurt more than my parents' lashing.

"Aurelia..." my father's voice came. But I didn't let him finish, I turned up the stairs and ran into my room, banging the door behind me.

"Aurelia," Mireya's voice came behind the door as she knocked quietly on it, "Open up."

"Leave..." I said, pressing my head on the pillow. "I don't want to see you."

"I just want to talk," she said again.

If we spoke, I would get madder. I would think about how calm she was in this situation, while my own feelings were all over the place. I would wonder why I wasn't like her but like...this. A bubbly, happy princess who never seemed to care or get anything right, but deep inside, I was just a broken girl. The one bullied at high school, the one who went for drawing and art, because I couldn't keep up with business or food nutrition, the one who did not know what went on in my father's company. It had always been like that; I was always the clueless and unserious one. And even though Mireya was adopted sixteen years ago, she had outshone me in a matter of time. Just like that, I'd stopped being my parents' favorite, the Hales heiress, and everything that I should have. Just that way, I started to fight for my own rights in my family.

I loved Mireya too much, but I didn't want to be irrelevant. I didn't want to be an angry living bird.

Pressing my forehead into the pillow, the tears rushed out, muffled. I shouldn't cry, but I couldn't keep it pent up inside. So I cried, pouring out everything into my pillow.

~~

My eyes lazily peeled open the next morning. I groaned, pulling the curtains close to the shelf to block the rays of the sunlight that spilled into the room. It was morning already, and the sun was up, which meant everyone in my family was already awake. Yet again, I was the one black sheep that would spoil their perfect aesthetic.

I walked into the bathroom, pouring water over my face, highlighting the slight headache that had accompanied me when I woke up earlier. That was the reason I shouldn't cry; it seemed to tear apart every layer I had in me.

The dining room was quiet and empty when I walked downstairs.

I walked towards Madam Camila, "Where's mom and dad?"

"They went to the Draix's mansion this morning. They said they would be back soon, but it has been an hour already."

I bit the inner part of my lip slightly. They were trying to mend the relationship when they didn't even know the source. I imagined them begging for Theron to accept me back, no matter what mistake I had made. Consequence of not listening to your own daughter.

I turned, walking back up the stairs. Mireya's room door was slightly open, and I walked towards it.

"Mireya?" I called, getting into the room. Her table was right next to the door and on it-

My heart shattered into a million pieces as I stared at it. The same ticket. Same flight. Same location.

I blinked. What was going on?

Her phone vibrated next to it, and I stared at the contact. Theron Draix.

I slid green.

"I'll be leaving today, Mireya. The house is getting suffocating with mom pestering me about Aurelia. Your parents are here too, trying to shove her down my throat. I don't just understand why they keep crossing boundaries."

My throat burned. I tried to speak, but the words simply didn't form.

"The ticket is slated for Tuesday. Are you still coming? This is the time we have to explore the city."

I had thought Theron just didn't love me. Turns out, he was in love with my sister instead.

My lips parted. "Theron."

"Mireya, are you ok-" He paused. "Aurelia? Oh shit..."

The call ended, and the door pushed open. Mireya stared at me, her eyes shifting between me, her phone, and the ticket. "You found out."

"Yeah," I bit back a quiver, "I did."