The Billionaire CEO Betrays his Wife: He wants her back-Chapter 116: The snake in the garden

The grand Anderson mansion had weathered its share of storms scandals, and lawsuits. But nothing... nothing could have prepared Bella Anderson for the hurricane that was Lucy.

It started with the gates swinging open and a hired cab dropping off two Louis Vuitton suitcases at the front steps.

Then came her

Strutting in like a victorious queen, wearing an ivory dress far too polished for someone allegedly "devastated" by family rejection, Lucy pushed the front door open without knocking and stood in the foyer like she owned the place.

"Excuse me?" Bella said, stepping into the hallway.

"Hi, future mother-in-law!" Lucy chirped. "I’m here to settle in. Ethan and I decided it’s time I start adjusting to the mansion now that I have Ethan’s baby growing right here, you know how it is."

Bella blinked. "What?"

"I’m carrying your grandchild," Lucy said, placing a dramatic hand over her belly. "I assumed you’d want us close. For bonding."

Bella scoffed. "You’re delusional."

Lucy’s smile turned sharp. "No. I’m pregnant. That makes me family now."

"Let me make something clear," Bella said, walking closer, eyes cold. "You are not family. Mara is our daughter-in-law. The only one this family will ever recognize."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Mara’s yesterday’s news. I’m the one carrying Ethan’s legacy. You’ll adjust."

"And you’ll adjust to leaving this house before I drag you by your fake eyelashes," Bella snapped.

But Lucy was already making her way upstairs to Ethan and Mara’s old bedroom.

Bella called Ethan.

"Lucy’s in your room."

Ethan’s voice was pure steel. "Get her out. I don’t care if you have to drag her."

And drag her, Bella did.

She stormed into the room, yanked Lucy by her carefully curled hair, and began pulling her toward the hallway, hurling insults in full Anderson rage mode.

"You think you can walk into my house and act like you belong?" Bella growled. "Not while I’m breathing!"

The maids and Morgan came running, trying to help untangle Lucy’s flailing arms. But Lucy wasn’t going down quietly. She reached into her bag, grabbed her phone—

And hit "Go Live."

"Oh, so this is how the Andersons treat a pregnant woman?" she said tearfully into the camera. "I’m carrying Ethan Anderson’s baby, and this is how his mother is treating me. Look at this! Abuse!"

Within seconds, the internet was in flames.

Hashtags: #AndersonScandal #EthanTheFather #WhoIsTheManInTheVideo

Celeb was trending, despite being completely uninvolved.

Someone even posted side-by-side clips of the sex tape and Ethan walking into court—speculating he was the man in the video.

Bella stood frozen. "This... vile, wicked—"

Just then, Vera and Valerie burst through the door.

"What the hell is going on?" Vera demanded.

"She’s streaming from the house," Morgan whispered.

Lucy looked up, still live, and smiled sweetly. "Hi, ladies. Hope you don’t mind—I took the room across from Ethan’s... for convenience."

–

Ethan saw the livestream while in his car.

He didn’t wait for his driver to park he jumped out and stormed through the front door, fists clenched.

"LUCY!" his voice thundered.

She was already in her room... her room—arranging perfumes and all range of creams and tossing her robe on the bed like she was at a spa.

"You’re insane," he hissed.

"I’m smart," she replied, calmly applying lip balm. "You want to fix your image? Then smile for the cameras and play nice. Or keep fighting me and lose everything then we both lose." He could barely breathe from the rage.

"You’re sick," he muttered. "And I will expose you." ƒгeewebnovёl.com

"Okay husband," Lucy said knowing Ethan couldn’t do anything to her now that the firm was in trouble, she took her time in prison to develop a full come back and she was just starting.

—-

Mara watched the live stream replay on her phone.

She stared at Lucy’s smug face, the familiar staircase in the background, and the view from the bedroom she had once called her own.

She threw the phone across the room. It hit the wall and shattered into pieces.

She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing.

"This isn’t my business anymore," she whispered.

But her heart said otherwise.

Because whether she liked it or not, her children would one day walk into that mansion. Into a home where Lucy now lived. Into a world where their father may have fathered another child with a woman, Mara couldn’t stand the sight of.

She curled into herself, unable to stop the tears. Not because she still loved Ethan maybe she does—but because this was the kind of betrayal that never stopped hurting.

And the worst part? She couldn’t escape it.

She would have to see Lucy.

Again and again.

And every time, it would remind her what it felt like to be replaced.

The silence in Mara’s room was too loud. Broken only by the occasional sound of wind brushing against the windows.

She sat on the floor, back against the couch, the broken remains of her phone still lying in the corner of the room.

She didn’t move when the door opened. She didn’t move when Steve stepped in, holding a bucket of ice cream like he was entering a battlefield instead of his sister’s room.

He spotted the phone first. Then the red-rimmed eyes. He said nothing, just walked over and sat next to her on the floor.

"I knew I would find you here."

She shrugged. "I didn’t feel like putting on a face."

Steve handed her a spoon. She took it in silence and cracked the ice cream bucket open. They sat like that for a minute, just scoping the ice cream.

Then he said gently, "I saw the livestream."

Her breath caught. "Of course you did. Everyone did."

"Lucy’s sick."

"Yeah," Mara said softly. "And all lunatics always find their way back into my life."

Steve turned to her, watching her carefully. "You okay?"

She shook her head slowly. "I wish I could say yes. I want to be over it. I want to feel nothing when I see Ethan or hear his name or think about Lucy in the house I used to make breakfast in."

She laughed bitterly. "I want to pretend this is just a PR mess or another tabloid story. But it’s not. It’s my life. And it’s falling apart. It has already,"

Steve didn’t speak. He let her unravel.

"He swore he didn’t sleep with her. And maybe he didn’t. But does it matter? The damage is done. She’s in his house. She’s... in my space. Claiming a child. And now I have to imagine my kids sharing a life with her in it. I can’t even protect them from her."

Her voice cracked at the end, and Steve instinctively pulled her into his arms. She didn’t resist. She buried her face in his chest and cried, letting it all pour out—the grief, the betrayal, the exhaustion.

"I gave him everything," she whispered. "Lots of love. I was still hoping you know that we could fix things. And for what?"

"For nothing," Steve said, kissing the top of her head. "For a man who didn’t know what he had until he lost it."

"I hate that I still care."

"That just means you’re human and I understand you." They have been over this again and again but new things keep happening making it impossible to let go.

They sat in silence for a long moment. Just breathing.

Then Steve pulled back and looked her in the eyes.

"Stef... you don’t have to be strong right now. You just have to get through today. And then tomorrow. And then the next."

She nodded slowly.

He smiled gently. "But when you’re ready... we’re getting your fire back. Because I know you. And you are not the woman who lets a snake-like Lucy win."

A weak smile pulled at her lips. "You’re right."

"I’m always right."

She rolled her eyes and leaned back into him again. "Thanks, Steve, I thought you would judge me for still caring about Ethan."

"Always, sis. I got you. And the moment Ethan decides he wants to act right—he better crawl, not walk, because I swear—"

"Steve."

"—I will knock the law and the light out of him."

She laughed—really laughed.

And for just a moment, she remembered what it felt like to be safe.

–

Lucy was lounging on the balcony of the Anderson mansion, sunglasses on, sipping orange juice like she was in a five-star resort completely unbothered by the chaos she had unleashed.

Her phone buzzed.

Celeb.

She stared at the name, rolled her eyes, and then answered on speaker.

"Told you never to call me?" she said, voice playful.

His voice came sharp and cold. "Lucy. Is the baby mine?"

She smirked. "What do you want, Celeb?"

"I want the truth. Because if Ethan finds out what you’re doing, you’re done. So, just tell me if I’m the father?"

Lucy sat up slowly. "You mean you messed up. And now you’re scared?"

"I’m not scared," he bit out. "I’m not ready to be a father. And if that baby’s mine... just get rid of it."

Her smile dropped.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me," Celeb said flatly. "You know how to handle things. But if Ethan abandons you and that baby, I swear—"

"You good-for-nothing, coward," Lucy snapped. "You think you can just walk away and expect me to clean up your mess?"

"Then clean it," Celeb said. "Keep my name out of your mouth, and I’ll stay out of yours."

The line went dead.

Lucy sat back in her chair, jaw clenched.

Now it was just her. Against everyone.