Rising From Betrayal: The New Billionaire's Love

An hour ago, a sudden conflict between a wife and a mistress had landed Amelie Hughes in the emergency room.

Now, she was sitting on a chair outside the ward, a sharp pain shooting up her arm.

The sleeve of her white silk shirt was completely torn, revealing several red scratches welling with blood, the pain blurring the edges of her vision.

Hasty footsteps echoed from the end of the hallway. She looked up, and into her view came her husband of three years, Elon Hayes.

Amelie was about to speak, but didn't know what to say.

Elon's handsome face was clouded with anxiety, but he rushed to a bench at the other end of the hall where a woman was sobbing.

Jasmine Craft, a model she'd seen on the cover of a business magazine, and the very person who had suddenly attacked and scratched her just now.

A standard socialite-in-training, with fake breasts and facial features full of traces of plastic surgery. It was said that she had unclear scandals with many rich heirs before, and even dated several men at the same time...

Elon knelt, gently cupping Jasmine's face in his hands. His voice was more cautious than Amelie had ever heard it.

"Jasmine, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? The baby... is the baby okay?"

Amelie's heart gave a violent jolt; there was such a thing?

Where did the baby come from?

Elon had obviously been diagnosed with infertility a long time ago, so in their three years of marriage, they didn't have a child at all.

At this moment, the word "baby" coming out of his mouth was simply dark humor.

Jasmine's crying hitched as she saw Amelie watching, then she shot Amelie a look of pure triumph, defiantly placing a protective hand on her stomach.

"Elon, I was so scared," she wailed. "She pushed me! She said she was going to kill our child!"

Elon whipped his head around, his once-warm eyes now as cold as frost, filled with undisguised condemnation.

"Amelie! Have you lost your mind? Don't you know she's pregnant?"

Amelie looked at them coldly and rolled her eyes, not wanting to argue anymore.

Jasmine nestled into Elon's embrace, looking over the man's shoulder directly at Amelie, and silently mouthed a vicious provocation: "Mrs. Hayes, your position will be mine very soon."

A nurse approached, her expression professionally detached. "Ms. Hughes, your arm needs to be treated."

Amelie straightened her back and followed the nurse toward the treatment room.

Elon's voice sounded behind her, not offering concern for her, but reassurance for Jasmine: "Don't be afraid. I'm here. I'll handle everything."

Inside the treatment room, a doctor used tweezers to pull a fragment of a fake fingernail from one of the cuts. The sting was sharp, and Amelie gripped the edge of the examination table, feeling as if the flesh of her wound was being torn out along with the fragment. Blood flowed freely, and she was in so much pain she almost passed out.

The doctor looked at her with a flicker of sympathy. "That's an acrylic nail. Whoever attacked you really meant it. Do you want to file a police report?"

Amelie pressed her pale, chapped lips together tightly, swallowed back a cry of pain, and finally shook her head. Never air your dirty laundry in public, this was the rule of the Hayes family, and even more so, the last bit of dignity she left for Elon.

After her arm was bandaged, she walked out of the treatment room. She saw Elon helping Jasmine up, preparing to take her for a detailed obstetrics exam.

As Jasmine passed Amelie, she repeated her old trick and "accidentally" stumbled, crying out and falling against Elon.

Elon caught her, holding her tightly in his arms, then turned his head and glared at Amelie: "Can't you just stay away from her?"

"She is pregnant with our child now. If there's an accident, how are you going to make up for it?"

Onlookers in the hallway started to whisper and point fingers at Amelie.

Amelie couldn't be bothered to explain, just watching that pair of despicable couple leaning on each other walk away with a posture bordering on disdain.

She pulled out her phone and scrolled to the first name in her contacts.

The call connected, and a bright, energetic voice answered, "Amelie? What's wrong? You don't sound right."

A sob caught in Amelie's throat. She could only manage one word. "Sienna..." She took a deep breath, and tilted her head back to force back the tears that instantly welled up in her eyes.

Everything that happened today lingered in her mind, making her feel disgusted.

But she knew that this child was either a conspiracy or a lie.

The noise of the emergency room faded into a distant hum. She only felt a soul-deep nausea.

Her marriage was a carefully designed scam, and she was the fool who had believed it.

She wiped her face. The tears eventually stopped; crying was for victims. And she would not be a victim.

She pushed herself up, looked at the bandage on her arm, and made up her mind. "You want to frame me, I will definitely make you pay!"

Amelie sat on the edge of the bed in the VIP room, looking out the window.

Just then, the door opened, and Elon Hayes walked in, wearing a mask of guilt.

He walked to her bedside and reached for her hand. She flinched away, pulling her hand back.

Elon sighed, launching into his usual script of emotional manipulation. "Amelie, I know you're upset. Jasmine and I... it was a mistake. I had too much to drink."

Amelie finally looked at him, her eyes filled with undisguised mockery. "A mistake? A mistake that got her pregnant with your child?"

Elon's expression tightened for a second before he replaced it with a look of profound sorrow. "It was for my parents. You know how much they want an heir, and we've been married for three years..."

In the eyes of Elon's parents, the blame for this childless marriage fell entirely on her.

Amelie smiled bitterly: "So, you found a surrogate? Elon, you truly are a devoted son to the Hayes family."

His face hardened. "I never wanted to hurt you. I'll make it up to you, Amelie. Just accept this child, and you will still be Mrs. Hayes."

Amelie looked at the man before her, feeling increasingly disgusted: "You think too highly of yourself, and too little of me."

A soft knock sounded at the door, but before anyone could answer, Jasmine pushed it open and walked in, holding a thermal soup container.

She ignored Amelie, walking straight to Elon's side. "Elon, I made you some soup," she cooed, deliberately showcasing her role as a caring partner. "The doctor said you need to rest."

Elon frowned but didn't push her away. Jasmine placed the container on the bedside table, sizing up Amelie.

She stroked her stomach and smiled sweetly at Amelie. "Sister, I know this is hard for you to accept right now. But for the sake of the Hayes family bloodline, I hope you can be more understanding."

Elon tried to mediate. "Jasmine, you should go. I need to talk to Amelie."

But Jasmine's eyes immediately filled with tears. "I'm just worried about you... And I wanted to explain to my sister. I'm not trying to break up your family. I just want a name for my child."

She turned to Amelie, her expression a perfect picture of innocence, "After all, this child is the sole heir to the Hayes family."

A lie, declared with such righteous conviction, was a direct insult to her intelligence.

Amelie fixed her gaze on Jasmine's stomach, and she spoke each word with chilling precision: "Is that so? Are you certain he's the Hayes family heir?"

Jasmine's triumphant expression flickered, but she quickly composed herself.

Jasmine puffed out her chest. "Of course! I have Elon's love as proof!"

Amelie's gaze shifted from Jasmine to Elon, "Elon, is this your choice?"

Caught between the two women, Elon chose the lie that promised him an heir. He remained silent.

And his silence was the only answer Amelie needed.

Her heart, which had already been fractured, now turned to dust.

She threw back the covers, put on her shoes, and got up to leave.

Elon moved to block her. "Where are you going?"

Amelie looked at him, "To get some fresh air. Somewhere without liars and whores."

Jasmine shrieked, "Who are you calling a whore?"

Amelie gave her a dismissive glance, not bothering to waste another word on her.

Just as she opened the door, she bumped into someone head-on.

Brennen Howell, his tall frame filling the space.

His deep blue eyes swept over the three people in the room, finally landing on Amelie's defiant face.

Elon frowned, annoyed by this uninvited intrusion. "Who are you?"

Brennen ignored him. He walked directly to Amelie's side. "Sienna sent me. Are you okay?"

It took Amelie a moment to place him. This was her best friend Sienna's older brother, Brennen Howell. She'd met him once, years ago at a party, but barely remembered him.

Jasmine, seeing another handsome, powerful man defending Amelie, interjected jealously, "Who are you? This is a family matter!"

Brennen's gaze fell on her, cold and dismissive, the authority in his stare making Jasmine instinctively shut her mouth.

Jasmine gritted her teeth viciously, feeling entirely stripped of her dignity. She figured that since Amelie was already injured, she might as well deliberately provoke her emotions to make her suffer even more.

Taking a step forward, Jasmine sneered viciously, "A woman who can't bear children is like a hen that can't lay eggs, it's just annoying to look at."

Expecting her words to sting, she was met instead with Amelie's cold sneer. Unhurriedly, Amelie pulled out her phone and hit play. A recording of Jasmine's earlier triumphant boasting instantly filled the room:

"After all, my child is the sole heir to the Hayes family."

Realizing Amelie had secretly recorded her, Jasmine and Elon's faces went pale.

Amelie walked toward Jasmine, who instinctively backed away, hiding behind Elon.

"You like to declare your sovereignty, don't you?" Amelie's voice was quiet but carried a crushing weight. "Let me help you repeat it."

As Jasmine stared in horror, Amelie raised her hand.

Crack.

The sound of the slap was sharp and loud, echoing through the cold room.

Jasmine clutched her cheek, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Elon stood frozen for a moment, then snapped out of his shock. With a roar of rage, he lunged forward, shoving Amelie hard. "You dare hit her!"

Amelie lost her balance and stumbled backward.

Elon was still not satisfied; he took a few steps forward and raised his fist, wanting to punch her directly.

Fortunately, instead of falling onto the cold, hard floor, she fell into a solid, warm embrace.

Brennen had caught her, pulling her behind him and shielding her.

He fixed Elon with a cold stare, "Mr. Hayes, laying a hand on a lady seems to be in poor taste."

Elon looked at the imposing Brennen, and then at the weeping Jasmine.

He helped Jasmine to her feet, spitting at Amelie. "You just wait, Amelie! We are not done!"

"If anything happens to her child, I will never let you get away with it!"

The room fell silent, leaving only Amelie and Brennen in an awkward quiet.

Amelie pulled away from his hold, murmuring in a low voice, "Thank you."

Brennen let his hand drop, stuffing it back into his pocket, resuming his lazy posture. "Sienna would kill me if I watched her best friend get bullied right under my nose."

Amelie didn't respond, the outburst had drained all her energy, and a wave of dizziness washed over her.

Brennen's brow furrowed. He stepped forward and steadied her by the arm. "What did the doctor say?"

His touch made her body tense, but she was too weak to pull away.

"Superficial wounds," she said softly. "And low blood sugar."

Without another word, Brennen took out his phone and dialed a number. "Send a patient-appropriate dinner to VIP room three at the central hospital. Immediately." His tone left no room for argument.

He hung up and looked at her. "Until your friend gets here, I'm watching you."

Amelie wanted to refuse, but looking into those eyes, she found she couldn't, and just nodded silently.