Saved By The Billionaire

The Deal

Athanashia's POV

“I can explain.”

The words are like a knife to my gut. I can barely breathe as I stare into his eyes, the sharp sting of betrayal still fresh in my chest. The image of him—his hands on her, his d**k inside her—burns in my mind like a brand.

“You f*****g asshole!” I scream, my whole world crumbling right before my eyes. “You sick, f*****g animal!”

“Athie, please listen to me,” he says, pulling up his pants. His d**k has gone limp, and he’s struggling to keep a straight face. The sight disgusts me, and I want to punch him in the face for insulting me this way. I want to kick him for destroying our relationship, with his own stepmother nonetheless.

A few people start to peek inside the office, but he rushes over and slams the door shut, locking the three of us in the room. I’m sick to my stomach, and I feel like the walls are closing in on me. How could he do this to me? How could he possibly be having an affair with his own stepmother? The mere thought of it is so awful, that I don’t know what to do with myself.

Adrian turns back to face me once he locks the door, with his expression unreadable. He doesn't apologize, and he doesn’t even try to explain. Instead he just leans against the door and stares blankly at me, his face tightening like a man preparing for battle. And I could almost see a hint of relief on his face as he stares at me.

"You're not going to tell anyone about this," he says, his voice low but unyielding.

I flinch as if he’s just slapped me across the face, tears threatening to spill over. "Are you f*****g serious right now? Adrian, I—"

"Listen to me," he snaps, stepping closer. His tone softens as he moves, but it's the softness of a predator cornering his prey. "This isn't just about us, okay? If this gets out, it'll ruin everything—my career, our plans. Do you want that? Do you want to throw everything away?"

"You threw everything away," I snap, my voice trembling with anger. "Don't you dare try to make this my fault."

But he doesn't back down. His blue eyes that were once so charming and filled with love are cold now, and calculating. "We can get through this," he says, his hand reaching out to touch my arm but I pull away. "But only if you keep quiet. No one has to know."

I stare at him, a mix of disbelief and disgust swirling inside me. The man I thought I knew—the man I thought I loved—is a stranger now, someone who would rather protect his secrets than my heart.

For a moment, the room is silent except for the sound of my ragged breathing. Then, without another word, I push past him and try to wrench the door open. He doesn’t move, and he simply stands there and stares at me.

"Athie. Don't do something you'll regret."

“Adrian get the f**k out of my way!” I thunder. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to you anymore.”

“Sweetie,” Regina’s icy voice comes from behind me, “please have a seat.”

“f**k you!” I snap, whirling around to face her. “I always knew you were an awful woman, but I never knew you were capable of doing something as sick as this. You and your stepson are absolute garbage, and you will burn in hell for this.”

I don’t see the slap before it comes. My back is turned to Adrian, so I don’t know the exact moment he drives his hand against my face with so much force that I collapse to the ground, pain exploding all over my face. There’s a ringing in my ear, and I refuse to believe that he did this to me. I refuse to believe that Adrian would hit me. But when I look up at him, and I see the malice and resentment in his eyes, I know that he did it.

“Don’t you dare talk to her that way,” he roars. “I’ve tolerated you for long enough, Athanashia. But say one more hurtful word about Regina, and I will beat the crap out of you.”

I hear the words he’s saying, but I can’t understand them. All I can think about is the fact that he just slapped me, something which I never thought he was capable of doing. Adrian has never been a violent person, and he couldn’t even bring himself to hurt a fly. So how could he possibly do this?

I don’t even realise the moment tears start falling from my eyes. I place my palm on the spot where he slapped me, and my heart shatters into a million pieces. Everything I’ve ever thought I knew about our relationship was a lie. Nothing makes sense anymore, and I can’t wrap my head around it.

“Oh, she’s crying,” Regina says in mock pity. “I think you hit her too hard, sweetie.”

“She deserves it,” Adrian says before he walks past me and cups her chin. I stare in disgust as he kisses her, a soft moan coming from his throat as he ravages her lips. He kisses her passionately, lovingly, in a way he has never kissed me before. It’s like another slap across the face, and I want the earth to open up and swallow me whole. But I can do nothing except sit there and watch them, as his hand cups her breast and squeezes seductively.

“Stop!” I scream, the pain nearly suffocating me. “Please, just stop.”

Regina pulls away to stare at me, with an eyebrow raised mockingly. “Don’t be such a prude, honey,” she says. “It’s not like we’re doing anything that you and Adrian haven’t already done. He told me all about your s****l escapades, even before you two got engaged. And from the few moments he let me watch, you are definitely a freak in the sheets.”

I don’t even know how to feel, knowing that she must have watched us having s*x. The thought disgusts me beyond belief, and I feel like something is crawling over my body. How sick are they? How disgusting are they to actually enjoy this?

“We’re not the first ones to do this,” she says, while Adrian continues to kiss her neck, completely ignoring me. “How many boys do you know that aren’t attracted to their stepmothers? Some are even attracted to their own mothers. My baby boy is just acting out his urges, and I’m happy to indulge him. Adrian is a special man, and I don’t see why you alone should have him.”

“You’re a f*****g pig!” I spit, and Adrian turns to face me threateningly. Regina reaches out and holds him so he won’t attack me, and she laughs like she actually enjoys this.

“Here’s the thing, Athanashia,” she says. “We’ve actually been thinking about a way to deal with this situation for some time now. But since you’re here, let’s lay out all our cards on the table. First of all, Adrian doesn’t love you.”

He turns to face me as she says this, and a tiny part of me wishes that he will tell me it’s not true. As much as I hate him in this moment, I still want him to tell her she’s wrong, that the last five years have not all been for nothing.

“Take a good look at yourself,” he says coldly. “Why would I ever love someone like you?”

“Adrian—”

“I needed access to your mom’s connections,” he says. “Judge Walsh is a formidable woman, and I know that with her backing me up, I will have a greater chance at being elected as mayor of this great city. If I’m married to her daughter, it will only make things better. So where’s the harm in this?”

“Can you believe he came up with this plan all by himself?” Regina says proudly. “My brilliant baby boy. He’s always thinking ten steps ahead, and that’s why I love him.”

“I love you too, Regina,” he replies before kissing her once again, and I feel sick to my stomach when he does this. Do they not realise how twisted and pathetic this is? Do they not understand how sick it is? Why doesn’t this bother them?

“Well, what should we do with you now?” Regina says as they pull away. “I would have hoped that you would understand things and be a little bit more cooperative. This would all roll over smoothly if you would just go along with things. Adrian becomes the mayor, and maybe one day he even becomes a senator. Who knows where this might lead? You could also benefit from this. Don’t you want to live a good life? Don’t you want to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of? We’re trying not to dream too big, but this could even end up with both of you in the White House. Don’t you want to become the First Lady of this country one day? All it takes is a little cooperation on your part. You stay with him, while I…”

“Continue f*****g him in secret?” I spit in disgust.

“Exactly,” she smirks. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t get enough of him. I’m a woman with needs, and no one satisfies them like Adrian.”

He stops kissing her now, and he turns to face me. I don’t even know how to look at him anymore. But I never realised how ugly he looks until now. He’s like the devil in a man’s body, and I can’t believe I ever loved him. How could I have fallen for someone like this?

“I’m not a spiteful man, Athie,” he says. “We can pretend none of this happened, and we can just go back to normal. You get to remain in a secure relationship, we go on our romantic cruise where everyone will see us having a good time, and you come along with me on this journey to the White House.”

“You’re insane if you think I would ever go along with this,” I say. “I refuse to be a part of this insanity.”

“I was really hoping you wouldn’t say that,” he sighs. “See, the thing is, I’m willing to do anything to further my career. And if you stand in my way, I’ll have to eliminate you by any means necessary. You either go along with this, or the honourable Judge Walsh will unfortunately suffer a little… accident of sorts, and who knows whether she will survive it?”

Panic seizes me, and I leap to my feet and desperately rush towards him. All I can think about is my mother, and the thought of something happening to her is too terrible to even imagine.

“Adrian, you can’t do that,” I say. “Please, my mother did nothing wrong. You can’t hurt her. I’m begging you.”

He stares at me for a moment, then his gaze shifts to Regina. “What do you think?”

“If she’ll keep her mouth shut and help you achieve your goals, I don’t see why we need to harm her,” Regina says sweetly. “It all depends on Athanashia.”

It’s a humiliating thing, but there’s nothing I can do. I know how pathetic I must look in this moment, but I can’t do anything else. I have to go along with this, otherwise my mother will be in danger. I think about warning her somehow, but Adrian is smart. He will figure out if I do that, and he is capable of doing anything for the sake of his career. There’s nothing I can do, and the thought destroys me. I have to go along with this, and let him do whatever he wants.

“Fine,” I say, all the strength leaving my body. “Whatever you want, Adrian. You can do whatever you want. Please, just don’t hurt my mom.”

He leans forward and kisses the top of my head, then he smooths his hand over my back. “Good girl. You made the right choice.”

“See?” Regina chuckles behind me. “I told you she will comply. She just needed a little nudge in the right direction.”

“That’s good,” Adrian says sweetly. “Now, head back home like a good little girl and finish packing up. I’ll have someone submit the documents now, and we will leave on our romantic cruise in three days. Remember to pack something extra sexy. There will be a few journalists who will coincidentally end up on this cruise as well, so we need to give the people what they want. I don’t want to be seen with a woman who doesn’t look good.”

“She should wear something with a deep neckline,” Regina says. “Her boobs are big, and people love looking at women with big boobs. Remember to have her in bathing suits as much as possible.”

“Of course,” he says darkly. “Don’t worry about anything, mommy. I have it all planned out.”

I feel so useless and pathetic as I stand there and listen to them talking about me this way, but there’s nothing I can do. The only thought on my head is that nothing should happen to my mother. I cannot let anything happen to her, and I need to protect her from these evil people. I don’t know what to do, but I can’t do anything rash that will end up with my mom death or seriously hurt.

But words alone cannot begin to describe my heartbreak. Here stands the man I thought I loved, the one I was willing to spend the rest of my life with, and he stares past me like I’m invisible, like I mean nothing to him. There’s no love in his eyes, and he looks at me like I’m an animal, or some horrible stain on his clothes that he can’t wait to get rid of. I feel so awful as I stare at him, and I just want to break down and cry my heart out. But I can’t do that. I need to stay calm, and figure a way out of this horrible situation.

“So, do we have a deal?” Adrian asks, cupping my chin. “Do you think you can handle this?”

I nod silently, knowing that I’m going to cry if I say anything.

“Smart move,” he says. “Now go back home and finish packing up. I’ll be back by midnight.”

“Make that 2 am,” Regina says. “We still need to try that thing I told you about.”

He growls as he pushes past me and heads towards her, kissing her passionately as tears continue to fall down my cheeks.

“Shut the door on your way out,” he says. “We were doing something before you interrupted.”

I don’t even look at them as I leave the room, my heart breaking to pieces as I lean against the door once I’m outside. I pull off the ring on my finger and fling it across the floor, unable to hold back the tears now that I’m outside. The hopelessness of my situation dawns on me, and I know that there’s nothing I can do about it.

I have agreed to a deal with the devil, and there’s no way out of it.