THE BILLIONAIRE'S BETRAYAL: Married To My Ex's Brother
"I GAVE HIM MY LOYALTY. HE LEFT ME TO ROT."
He promised to save her. Instead, he let her take the fall. River was his loyal PA, his fiancée, his secret keeper. But when the crimes Rowan Kane committed came to light, it was she who took the fall and he left her behind bars to rot. The day she walks free, she's in labor with his child. And just two days later, she receives the final blow: He's marrying her best friend. Betrayed. Alone. Furious.
River vows revenge. But fate sends her someone unexpected: Killian Kane, her ex's older brother-once discarded, now powerful and hell-bent on reclaiming what was stolen from him. Including revenge. Including her. He offers River a contract marriage: two years of pretending, plotting, and rising to the top together. But in the shadows of vengeance, something real begins to bloom. Love wasn't part of the plan. But neither was war. Will revenge bring them the justice they crave or awaken a passion neither of them is ready for?
Chapters
Share
Chapter 4
River's POV
~One Year Later~
I woke up again, breathless, my skin warm and tingling, my heart racing like I had just run a mile. The dream was the same one I'd been having all week-Killian, close to me, his voice low and soft in my ear.
His hands on my waist, his lips brushing against mine. It was so vivid that I could almost feel it, like a memory instead of a dream. I turned my face into the pillow and groaned.
This was getting ridiculous. I was beginning to see him even when I closed my eyes. I couldn't explain it...this constant heat that followed me everywhere, creeping into my thoughts, making it impossible to think of anything else.
But today wasn't the day to get lost in daydreams. Today was important. I had a big meeting at the firm...my chance to pitch a proposal that could shift our entire strategy.
I needed to stay focused and grounded. I slipped out of bed, trying to shake the fog out of my mind, and headed downstairs to get a cup of coffee, hoping it would steady my nerves.
But the moment I stepped into the kitchen, I froze.
Killian was standing by the counter, a towel wrapped low around his waist, water still dripping from his hair, sliding down his chest.
His back was half-turned, muscles shifting with every small movement. His body was all smooth strength...broad shoulders, firm chest, and toned arms. I'd seen him dressed up, casual, or even in gym clothes, but never like this.
Never just skin, fresh from a shower, steam still curling around him like mist. I stared before I could stop myself, my breath catching in my throat. My cheeks burnt, and my whole body felt warm.
I didn't mean to look, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. My gaze dropped to the line of his hip, where the towel barely hung on, and I felt something stir deep inside me. I imagined what it would feel like to touch him, to feel his skin against mine.
A sudden shiver ran through me, uninvited and unstoppable.
And then he turned.
Our eyes met, and I froze like a deer caught in headlights. "Do you need anything?" he asked, voice calm, low, and kind...but there was something behind it, a quiet knowing, like maybe he had seen me looking.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to speak. "I came to get a cup... of coffee," I said, stumbling over the words like I had suddenly forgotten how to form them.
"I know how tense you are. Big day," he said gently, walking toward the machine. "Just sit. I'll make you one."
I nodded and walked stiffly to the dining table, lowering myself into the chair like I didn't trust my knees to hold me. It had been a year and 6 months with Killian now, and everything about him had been steady and safe.
He never crossed the line. Never made me feel uncomfortable. We had boundaries, clear ones. Separate rooms. Respect. Space. But he was there when I needed him. Always. He took Alora out with us on weekends.
He kept every promise in the contract. But now I couldn't stop wondering what it would feel like if we ever stepped outside those lines, maybe just a one-time thing.
"Don't be tense, River. You can do this. We've come a long way, and this is the time to take back what we've always wanted," Killian said, his voice calm and steady, like it always was when I needed it most.
He placed the cup of coffee in front of me, and as he leaned in, his body came so close I could feel the warmth from his skin and the faint scent of his cologne mixed with soap still clinging to him.
For a moment, I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around him, to stay there and forget everything else. Sometimes I felt like he did it on purpose...getting too close, being too gentle...like he wanted to see how much I could take before I gave in.
I let out a small laugh before I could stop myself. "What is it?" he asked, raising a brow like he had no idea what he was doing.
"It's nothing, Killian," I said, trying to hold back the smile tugging at my lips. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, and then just like that, he turned and left the room.
I stared after him, letting out a quiet breath. "He only made things worse by doing that," I muttered, then drank up my coffee and headed upstairs. After a warm shower, I stepped into the new red dress I had picked out for today.
It was sleek and form-fitting, with a high neckline and long sleeves, the fabric smooth and rich against my skin. It hugged my waist and flared slightly at the knees, elegant but bold...exactly how I needed to feel today.
Standing in front of the mirror, I packed my red hair into a bun and then I took a deep breath. "You can do this, River," I whispered, then left the room. I stopped by Alora's room. The nanny was already with her, and I leaned down to kiss her soft cheek.
"Mommy will be back soon," I whispered. As I walked out, I glanced back at the life I'd rebuilt-brick by quiet brick, with Killian by my side.
I didn't know what the day would bring, but I knew this much: I wasn't the woman they left behind.
Not anymore.
Through a close friend, Killian secured me the position at Derma's Groups, one of New York's top firms, and I'd climbed fast, proving myself again and again. Now, I was one of the board representatives for major strategic decisions.
Today, we were pitching for a high-value global merger...one that could change everything. And what made it even more thrilling was that Chitox Groups, Rowan's firm, was also in the running.
This wasn't just business. This was the beginning of the end for him. And the beginning of everything for me. I stepped out of the house and walked straight to my black SUV car.
I opened the door, slid into the driver's seat, and shut it behind me with a sharp thud. One glance in the mirror, one long breath, and I hit the gas. The city rushed by, but my mind was already at the office.
A few minutes later, I pulled into the office lot and stepped out. I stood still for a second, my chest rising slowly as I tried to breathe the nerves away.
I straightened my shoulders and walked in. Inside, the receptionist gave me a bright smile. "Good morning, Mrs River." I gave a small nod and kept walking, barely hearing the greetings around me.
My eyes locked on the elevator doors ahead like they were the only thing that mattered. I stepped inside, and right then, my phone buzzed. I looked down. 'Board meeting starts in 10 minutes.'
Perfect. Just enough time to remind myself why I couldn't afford to lose. My mind drifted where it always went when I didn't want it to...Rowan. I hadn't seen him in a year and 6 months, and I was sure he'd send someone.
He never faced his messes. "Rowan! The son of a bitch," I muttered, half-laughing to myself. "Too dumb to pitch his idea himself." Just before the elevator doors closed, I caught a shadow in my periphery. Then a voice, sharp as a blade.
"Who did you just call a son of a bitch?" My whole body locked up. My breath stopped.
No. It couldn't be.
Slowly, I looked up-and there he was.
Rowan.
The man who betrayed me. The man who watched me fall and never looked back. His eyes met mine, and for a second, something flickered in them. Shock? Regret? I couldn't tell.
He took off his sunglasses slowly, like he couldn't believe it either. My throat was dry, but I forced the words out. He stepped inside just as the elevator doors closed behind him.
I didn't blink. I didn't flinch.
"Do I... know you?" I asked, voice calm and cold. He stared at me, completely still. Like I had slapped him without lifting a hand. And as the elevator climbed, so did the silence.
Rowan stood beside me, a little too close, like he wanted to make sure I felt the weight of his presence. He hadn't changed much...still sharp in his suit, still smug in that quiet, arrogant way.
"Well," he said, finally breaking the silence, his voice low and thick with mockery. "I have to admit, I didn't expect to see you here... not after everything that happened."
I kept my eyes forward, jaw tight, refusing to give him the reaction he wanted. He chuckled under his breath. "Still pretending to be strong, huh? Still trying to act like you belong in this world."
I turned my head slightly. "I do belong here. Just like you. Maybe even more." Rowan scoffed. "You think one little board seat makes you powerful? Please, River."
"You were nothing before me, and you're even less now. You're just trying to stay afloat in a game you don't understand." I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palm.
"You ruined me," I said quietly. "You left me to rot while you moved on like it meant nothing." He leaned in closer, voice dripping with venom.
"Because it meant nothing. You were the weak link."
"I did what I had to do, and you... well, you got what you deserved." I blinked, forcing the tears back. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"You really think you'll win this deal?" He went on, laughing. "You think they'll give that contract to a woman fresh out of a scandal, one with a prison record and a broken reputation?"
"You're a joke, River. You always were." The elevator dinged, and the doors slowly slid open. I straightened my back, stepped out, and turned to look at him one last time.
"We'll see who's laughing when this is over."
You may also like
9.2
After catching my fiancé cheating with my adoptive sister, I broke off our engagement on the spot.
In retaliation, my abusive adoptive parents sold me to Kaelen Knight, the Lycan King, to clear our pack's debts.
He was rumored to be a ruthless, reclusive monster who had been horribly crippled in a fire centuries ago.
To ensure my absolute ruin, my sister planted fake love letters to my ex in my luggage and anonymously destroyed my university scholarship, cutting off my only escape route to the human world.
"A wolfless whore. You planned to drug me," Kaelen sneered, looking at the fake evidence with absolute disgust.
Believing I was a spy, my new husband had his guards throw me into the freezing woods with the Dire Wolves, leaving me to survive the night alone.
I was just a broken, wolfless Omega, entirely at the mercy of a cruel, powerless Lycan and a family that wanted me dead.
But I was wrong about him being powerless.
One night, I accidentally saw him rise from his wheelchair, his tall frame radiating an overwhelming, lethal aura.
He wasn't crippled at all.
The secret I thought was my shield was actually a loaded gun pointed at my head. Trapped with a terrifying predator, I had to stop playing the victim and fight for my life.
8.1
My husband, Alpha Kaeden, once looked at me with adoration. But after he brought Clemmie home, his eyes turned cold, glazed over by the "herbal tea" she fed him.
Now, I lay chained to a steel table in the dungeon, the smell of my own burning flesh filling the air.
Kaeden stood over me, indifferent to my screams. He ordered the guards to electrocute me through silver cuffs—the poison of our kind—even though he knew I was carrying his pup.
But torture wasn't the end goal. I froze when I heard the doctor’s question.
"The transplant carries risks, Alpha. Taking a heart from a living donor..."
Clemmie didn't just want my husband; she wanted my heart to cure her "sickness" and steal my White Wolf power.
I waited for Kaeden to refuse. Instead, he rubbed his temples and delivered my death sentence.
"Harvest the heart. Dispose of the rest."
"And the fetus?" the doctor asked.
"Incinerate it."
Those words killed me faster than the silver. I died on the operating table that night, my heart flatlining for three minutes to stage my death.
Kaeden thinks I am ash in a jar. He thinks he saved his mistress.
But when I opened my eyes in the safe house, they weren't brown anymore. They were glowing silver.
Beside me, my daughter slept, alive and radiating ancient power.
The weak Luna is dead. The White Wolf has risen.
And I am going home to take back my pack.
8.9
I lay on a mildewed mattress in a run-down motel, my body trembling from withdrawal. Once the most feared "Gossip Queen" in Hollywood, I was now a forty-three-year-old ghost staring at a cracked mirror, waiting for the end.
The door clicked open, and Brittany Potts stepped in, looking immaculate in a beige trench coat that cost more than my life. She didn't come to help; she tossed a waiver of marital assets onto my bed and handed me a cup of coffee laced with something that smelled like bitter almonds.
She laughed, telling me my husband, Bennet, was already in the Bahamas celebrating my death. I froze when I saw the sapphire pendant around her neck—my mother’s necklace, which had vanished the day she died. As the poison began to burn through my chest, Brittany leaned in and whispered her final secret: she was the one who cut the brake lines on the car that killed my father when we were teenagers.
My entire life had been a lie. The pills, the scandal, the bankruptcy—it was all a masterpiece of betrayal orchestrated by the two people I trusted most. I died on that filthy floor, suffocating on my own rage and the taste of chemicals, praying for a single chance to make them pay.
But when I opened my eyes, the pain was gone. I was sitting in my old bedroom, the morning sun shining on a calendar that read September 15, 2024. My mother’s voice, warm and alive, called me for breakfast from downstairs. I was eighteen again, back in my senior year at Crestview Academy, and the monsters who destroyed me were still pretending to be my friends. This time, I’m the one who holds the shears.
9.5
Seven words
9.5
Mara Vance never expected her life to shatter in an instant. But one late-night message-seven careless words never meant for her-exposes the truth her fiancé thought he'd buried.
"She won't suspect anything tonight."
Betrayal should have broken her.
Instead, it sharpened her.
While Marcus scrambles to keep his perfect image intact, Mara begins a quiet, calculated unraveling of everything he cherishes. Not loud. Not messy. No screaming, no scenes. Just a slow, elegant destruction designed to make him question his reputation... his future... and eventually, his sanity.
As old loyalties shift and hidden secrets crawl into the light, Mara discovers that revenge isn't a moment-it's a strategy. And the sweetest payback is the kind no one sees coming until it's far too late.
Seven words ended her trust.
Now seven thousand unspoken plans will end his world.
A tense, intoxicating story of love turned weapon-where the real damage is done in silence.
9.4
I was standing in the center of the gallery, holding a glass of expensive champagne, when the screens behind me flickered and my life ended.
It was supposed to be an art unveiling, but the monitors shifted to fake footage of me handing evidence to the FBI.
My fiancé, Ethan, looked at me like I was a sick dog that needed to be put down.
My father slapped me across the face in front of everyone, disowning me to save his own skin.
That was when Luca Vitti, the city’s most dangerous man, stepped in.
He cleared the room and took my hand.
I thought he was saving me.
I didn't realize he was just collecting a new pet.
I was locked in his estate, isolated and terrified.
Then, my healthy mother suddenly "died" of pneumonia in a Vitti clinic.
Days later, I saw Luca’s frail stepsister, Clara, breathing easily for the first time in her life.
She had my mother’s lungs.
I became nothing more than a breeding vessel.
When I fell pregnant, I overheard Luca and Ethan planning my death.
"Once the kid is cut out, she's a loose end," Luca had said.
They were going to kill me and give my son to the woman who stole my mother's breath.
I couldn't let that happen.
So, I staged a tragedy.
I induced labor in secret, hid my living son, and placed a fake corpse in the crib with a note: The Vitti Legacy.
I escaped while they mourned.
Five years later, Luca finally found the doctor’s confession.
He learned that Clara had orchestrated everything.
He opened the velvet box I left behind and realized it was empty.
Now, he knows I didn't kill his son.
I saved him from becoming a monster like his father.
7.7
"There's no way to kill Alpha Penking."
"Maybe there's one, make sure he has absolute power, never bows to anyone but will crawl to her feet each time she wants it."
Amelia's first life ended when she was ten-when the most notorious Alpha in New York took everything her father owned and killed him.
As if that wasn't enough, he coerced her father into selling his only daughter before death claimed him.
Fifteen years later, Amelia survives as a prostitute, her past buried beneath layers of control, routine, and silence. She lives for two things only: keeping her younger brother alive and nursing the revenge that never died. Every alpha is just a body. Every night is calculated. Her life is controlled-until the night she sleeps with him.
The same man who ruined her life.
Alpha Penking-feared, untouchable, merciless-without her knowing who he truly is.
Yet, her world shatters again.
Because Penking knows her.
Because he watched her grow in the shadows.
Because he knows her real name.
Because he is the one who ruined her and owned her.
Because he serves her a contract that doesn't ask-it commands.
A contract where she belongs to him.
For months.
For life.
No bargain.
No gain.
Trapped between hatred and a bond she never consented to, Amelia begins counting the only freedom she has left-ten ways to kill Alpha Penking. But revenge grows complicated when obsession turns mutual, when power bleeds into possession, and when an impossible consequence binds them forever.
Because the man she plans to kill now owns her body...
And the child growing inside her might decide who survives.