Ruining Both My Billionaire Husbands

To provide for my unborn child, I took a high-paying job I would have normally turned down: catching a cheater in the act.

The location was a luxury hotel downtown, hosting a high-profile wedding. I expected a routine surveillance gig. But when I saw my clients face, my heart skipped a beat. It was Zack, my ex-husband. Wed been divorced for five years.

Seeing him brought back the memory of that day five years agohim with his arm around his mistress, telling me hed finally found "the one." I couldn't help but let out a sharp, jagged laugh.

"Zack. Look at you. How does it feel to be on the other side? Is your 'true love' finally stabbing you in the back?"

He didn't flinch. Instead, he looked me up and down with a sneer of pure condescension. "You think this is funny? Five years later, and the great Elena is reduced to stalking hotel hallways for a paycheck. Seems like your new man isn't exactly a provider, is he?"

I smiled, lifting my left hand to catch the light on the simple silver band on my ring finger.

"I remarried a long time ago," I said, my voice steady. "Hes everything you aren'tloyal, devoted. And were about to have"

The words died in my throat.

Zack took a deliberate step back, revealing the massive floral display and the "Save the Date" billboard behind him.

The two people in the photo were faces I saw every time I closed my eyes.

One was Bianca, the woman he had cheated with five years agothe woman who had caused me to lose my first child.

The other was Parker. The man who had been in my bed last night. The man who had promised me a future.

...

The smile froze on my face, turning into a mask of stone. My vision blurred, the bright red "Forever Starts Today" banner searing into my retinas like a brand.

Zack watched me for three long seconds. Then, he barked out a laugh that felt like a slap.

"Wait... don't tell me. That broke loser you hooked up with? That was Parker?"

I couldn't breathe, let alone answer. My shoulders began to shake with a violent, uncontrollable tremor. I fumbled for my phone in my pocket, my fingers numb as I dialed Parkers number.

The first call went straight to voicemail.

The second was declined.

On the third try, he finally picked up.

Before I could get a single syllable out, his voice came throughclipped, hurried, and cold. "Im busy, Elena. I'll call you later."

But in the split second before the line went dead, I heard it. A womans voice in the background, soft and cooing.

"Honey, are you coming?"

The phone slipped from my palm, clattering onto the plush carpet. The tears came then, hot and sudden, spilling over like a broken dam.

It wasn't a mistake. It wasn't a misunderstanding. The man who was about to pledge his life to Bianca was the same man who told me he loved me this morning.

Zack clapped his hands together in mock applause. "God, you really are something. Two men, two betrayals. Your life is like a bad soap opera, Elena."

"Im done. The job is off," I choked out, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. "Ill refund your deposit."

I turned to run, but Zacks hand clamped around my wrist like a vice.

"Where are you going? Youre a professional at this, aren't you? Why not do it one more time for old time's sake?"

"Let go of me! I dont want your damn money!"

He pulled a checkbook from his pocket and tapped a signed check against my cheek. "Dont be a martyr. Biancas married into old money now; shell never have to worry about a bill again. And you? You look like youre one missed paycheck away from the street."

I went still.

The memories of five years ago rushed backthe cold, clinical feeling of a life stripped away. Back then, Zack had cheated on me with Bianca over and over. Every time I caught them, hed try to drown my dignity in designer bags and jewelry. Everyone told me to look the other way. Even my parents called me ungrateful. When I finally left him, I left with nothing.

I had been standing on the edge of the George Washington Bridge when Parker found me. He was the one who pulled me back. He was the one who healed me.

But five years of living hand-to-mouth had taught me a brutal lesson: pride doesn't pay the rent. Zack was right. Without this money, I couldn't afford the prenatal care I needed. I couldn't even afford to feed myself.

Seeing the defeat in my eyes, Zack gave a satisfied smirk. He patted my shoulder. "I knew I could count on you. You're the best in the business, after all."

I followed the crowd of guests into the grand ballroom. The air was thick with the scent of lilies and expensive perfume.

"Did you see the size of that diamond on Biancas finger?" a guest whispered near me.

"Its not 'Miss' anymore," another replied. "Its 'Mrs. Parker' now."

I looked up, dazed. In the center of the room, Bianca stood surrounded by a gaggle of admirers. She looked radiant, her smile shy and practiced.

"The ring is actually a bit too heavy," she laughed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I told him it was too much, but Parker insisted. He said I deserved the world."

I instinctively curled my fingers into my palm, hiding the nine-dollar silver band Id bought from a street vendor.

Someone teased, "So, why the rush? Is there a little one on the way?"

Biancas cheeks flushed a delicate pink. "Oh, stop. Parker is so old-fashioned. He always says that a man who doesn't wait until the wedding night isn't showing proper respect."

I felt the floor drop out from under me.

In our cramped, drafty studio apartment, Parker had been anything but "old-fashioned." He had been hungry, desperate, taking me again and again on that thin mattress. Even when I begged him to be careful, hed whisper into my ear that he couldn't help himself. That he loved me too much to stop.

Lies. Every single word was a lie.

Watching her standing there, a vision in white, a cold, sharp anger began to slice through my grief. It burned away the shame and the trembling.

The guests were lining up to present their gifts. When it was my turn, I didn't reach for an envelope or a box. I pulled a thin, folded piece of paper from my bag.

I stepped up to the bride-to-be.

"Congratulations, Bianca," I said. My voice was low, vibrating with a hidden frequency.

She looked at me, her eyes widening for a fraction of a second before the mask of the perfect bride slid back into place. "Elena? What are you doing here?"

I handed her the paper. It was my ultrasound results.

"Tell me, Bianca. Is ruining other people's lives a hobby, or do you actually get a commission for it?"

The room went silent. Every head turned.

"Did you know," I continued, my voice gaining strength, "that your 'respectful' fianc is already a husband and a father-to-be?"

Biancas expression froze. I expected panic. I expected the same frantic denial shed used five years ago when she sent me her sex tapes with Zack. I wanted to see her crumble.

But she didn't. After a few seconds of silence, a slow, cruel smile spread across her lips. She leaned in close, her breath smelling of expensive champagne.

"What a coincidence, Elena," she whispered. "It looks like were sharing a man. Again."

My heart plummeted. I stared at her, horrified. "You... you knew?"

Her eyes crinkled with genuine amusement. "Of course I knew. I knew you almost jumped off a bridge after Zack. I knew you were rotting away in that pathetic little rental. I even knew..."

Her smile widened. "I knew exactly how you tried to please him in bed. How desperate you were to keep him. He told me everything."

A wave of nausea hit me. I had to grab the edge of a table to keep from collapsing.

"Why do you think a man like Parker would ever look at someone as broken as you?" she sneered. "When we broke up years ago, he couldn't let go. He knew Zack had a 'crazy' ex-wife, and he was terrified you'd try to hurt me. He approached you to keep an eye on you. To keep me safe."

"Before he proposed to me, he confessed it all. But I didn't care. Because the money hes giving me? Its more than Zack ever dreamed of."

The world began to tilt. Memories Id suppressed came rushing back. The day Zack and Bianca went public, Parkerwho never drankhad come home wasted. He had been rough, punishing, demanding to know why Zack was better than him. The next morning, he had cried and apologized, saying he was just jealous.

I thought he was jealous of me.

He was jealous of the man who had Bianca.

"Bianca, who are you talking to?"

A familiar voice cut through the air. I didn't even have time to turn around before Bianca let out a sharp cry and threw herself backward, pushing me as she went.

I slammed into the corner of a table. A sharp, white-hot pain flared in my lower back.

Parker was there, dressed in a bespoke tuxedo, looking every bit the billionaire heir. He looked at me, and for a second, his face was a portrait of shock.

"Elena?"

The way he said my namethe familiar, soft cadencemade me burst into tears. I felt like a fool.

Parker rushed forward. But he didn't go to me. He knelt down and gathered Bianca into his arms, checking her for injuries. When he finally looked at me, his eyes were full of a cold, predatory warning.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Bianca clung to him, trembling. "Parker, thank God. She... shes always hated me. I was so scared she was going to"

"It's okay," Parker murmured, holding her tight. "Im here. No one is going to touch you."

He looked at the security guards and nodded. "Search her. See if she has a weapon."

I gasped, backing away as two large men grabbed my arms. "Parker! What are you doing? Tell them to stop!"

He didn't move. "Search her."

They pinned me down. They tore my bag away, spilling my life onto the marble floormy keys, my cheap lipstick, my prenatal vitamins. Then they started on my clothes. Rough, strange hands fumbled over my body, pulling at my coat, reaching for the hem of my dress.

Parker just watched.

When one of the guards reached for the zipper of my skirt, I screamed.

"Parker! Im pregnant! Im carrying your baby!"

The room fell into a deathly silence. Every eye in the ballroom was on me. Even Parkers mask of indifference cracked into a look of sheer disbelief.

I managed to wrench myself free and stood up, shaking. I grabbed the ultrasound photo from the floor and threw it at his feet.

"Look at it, Parker! Are you going to keep pretending now?"

He stared at the paper for a long moment. Then, he picked it up and slowly, methodically, tore it into tiny pieces.

A mocking smile curved his lips.

"Ma'am, I think you have the wrong father." He looked around at the guests. "Ive never seen this woman before in my life."

The room erupted.

"God, shes delusional."

"She probably saw him on the news and decided to try for a shakedown."

Then, a voice from the back: "Wait, isn't that Zacks crazy ex? The one who made that huge scene during their divorce?"

"Shes probably been working the streets. Now shes just looking for a payday for her mistake."

The insults hit me like stones. I looked at Parker. He was standing just a foot away, watching me spiral. He was waiting for me to have a breakdown. Waiting for me to prove to everyone that I was the "crazy" one.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood. Using the last shred of my dignity, I turned and walked out of that ballroom.

But as soon as I hit the hallway, I heard footsteps behind me. I tried to run, but a hand grabbed my shoulder and swung me around, slamming me against the wall.

"Elena!" Parkers voice was a low hiss of rage. "How dare you forge a medical report?"

"I didn't..."

"Stop lying!" he snapped. "I did my homework on you. I know you had a miscarriage after you left Zack. The doctors said it was impossible for you to conceive again!"

So that was it. That was why he felt he could use me without a second thought.

I wanted to laugh, but the tears came first. They hit his hand, and for a second, he flinched, as if they burned. He reached out to wipe them away, but I jerked my head back.

He sighed, his voice softening into that manipulative tone I once found so comforting. "Do you realize what you did wrong today?"

"What did I do wrong? I tried to tell the truth? I ruined your little party with your mistress?"

His eyes flashed. "Watch your mouth. She is my wife."

I let out a harsh laugh. "Shes a professional home-wrecker, Parker. Don't you know? Five years ago"

"Shut up! You were the other woman!"

I froze. "What... what did you just say?"

"The marriage license I gave you? It was a fake." He looked at me with pure, unadulterated coldness. "Bianca and I have been together since before you even met Zack. If he hadn't forced himself between us, we would have been married years ago."

My brain went numb.

The relationship.

The rings.

The "marriage."

It was all a ghost story.

"Then what was I, Parker? What was I to you?"

He looked at me, and for a fleeting moment, I saw something like pity in his eyes. "Bianca isn't like you. She isn't petty. Shell let you stay."

"If you behave yourself from now on, you can continue to"

"In your dreams!" I screamed. "I will never be his mistress!"

I tried to push past him, but he held me fast. As we struggled, my phone began to buzz in my pocket. Parker snatched it away. When he saw the caller ID, his face turned black with fury.

He hit 'answer.'

Zacks voice, oily and amused, came through the speaker. "Hey, baby. You didn't disappoint me."

"The rest of the money is in your account. So, what do you think? Ready to talk about us getting back together?"

Parker looked at the notification on the screena massive wire transfer that had just cleared. His voice was like ice.

"Elena. You really are a piece of work."

"Selling yourself to the man who ruined you... just for a check?"

I stopped fighting. I looked at him, unable to believe what I was hearing. "Is that really who you think I am?"

He sneered. "What else is there? I know exactly what youve been doing for money these last few years. Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

I saw my reflection in his eyesred-faced, haggard, my skin sallow from stress. In five years, I had gone from a socialite to this.

After the divorce, no reputable firm would hire me. But I didn't want Parker to have to work double shifts as a delivery driver to support us. So I cleaned houses. I scrubbed toilets. I kept the pregnancy a secret so he wouldn't worry about the extra mouth to feed. I took "honey trap" jobs just to put food on the table.

And to him, it made me "shameless."

A profound exhaustion washed over me. I didn't even have the energy to argue.

"Were done, Parker. I never want to see you again."

"Oh, so you're running back to Zack? Elena, you"

I swung my hand and slapped him as hard as I could. While he was stunned, I broke free and ran.

I cried the whole way home. My chest ached, and then, a dull throb started in my lower abdomen. I placed a hand over my stomach.

"Don't worry, baby," I whispered. "Mommys got you. We don't need them. I'll take care of you on my own."

I reached my apartment, exhausted, only to find my belongings scattered across the hallway. My landlord was waiting, his face twisted in disgust.

"Get out, you homewrecking trash! I don't want your kind in my building!"

Someone had leaked a video of the wedding scene online. It was edited, of courseshowing only me screaming like a lunatic, making it look like I was the one trying to steal Parker away.

I pulled out my phone, trembling, to check my bank balance. I needed a hotel. I needed a place to hide.

The balance was zero.

The money from the job, my meager savingseverything had been transferred out. Only Parker knew my passwords.

He had left one message in the app:

[You won't get a cent until you publicly apologize to Bianca and admit you're the mistress.]

I walked the streets like a ghost. Just like five years ago, I had nothing.

I followed the crowd across a busy intersection, moving like a marionette with its strings cut. Then, the roar of an engine tore through the air.

I looked up. A flash of reda high-end sports carstreaked toward me.

Crumpled. Thats the only word for how I felt as I hit the pavement.

A sharp, jagged pain blossomed in my gut. I felt something warm and wet spreading between my legs.

"My baby... someone help my baby..."

I sobbed, reaching out, but the crowd pulled back in a panic. No one stepped forward. No one touched the "crazy woman" bleeding on the asphalt.

As the world began to fade to gray, I saw a figure running toward me. Someone scooped me up into their arms.