I Married My Ex's Billionaire Father
Chapter 71: Betrayed

Chapter 71: Betrayed

Lyse waited till she heard Levi leave her door before finally taking a deep breath, she was too enraged to cry. She was mad at herself for thinking that she could make it work with Levi, she was mad at herself for throwing herself at him just because he was kind to her.

When the house had settled and everyone had seemed to have retired to their rooms. Lyse crept out of her room and snuck out of the room, taking great care to not make noise. She slipped out of the house through the garden door, her heart heavy with sorrow.

She could not bear to stay in the same house as Levi, not after what she had seen. She got out and walked down the street where she got into the taxi she had ordered.

She leaned back in the seat and looked out the window, her eyes dull and unhappy, her thoughts going back to the picture of Levi with that supermodel in his arms, kissing. As distracted as she was, she did not catch the driver who kept glancing at her through the mirror.

And when they got to her stop and she got down, she did not notice that the car did not drive off immediately but waited until she disappeared into the apartment building.

Lyse went up to James’ apartment which was a haven that was so familiar, that she immediately felt some respite when James came to the door and pulled her in. It was the one place where she could be herself, without any pretense or judgment.

He immediately positioned her on a sofa and disappeared into the kitchen, before coming back with tea for them both. Lyse poured her heart out to him and at last the tears came, streaming down her face like a waterfall. While he listened patiently, offering her tissues, comfort and understanding.

"I can’t believe that I thought that he was a good guy, James," she sobbed. "I thought he was different from the perception that people had of him. I thought he actually cared."

James pulled her into a tight hug. "I know, Lyse. I know. It feels like a terrible betrayal."

"I feel so stupid," she confessed. "After he went through all that just to save me from Max, I thought that maybe he actually liked me. But then I saw those pictures... It was like a punch to the gut."

"You can’t blame yourself, Lyse. You did not deserve this in the least. He is the one who messed up."

Lyse wiped her tears. "I just don’t understand it. Why would he do this? He went from my arms into another woman’s arms."

James went bug eyed when he heard her words. "Wait, did you?"

Lyse hung her head in shame and James came closer to her and hugged her again.

"You have nothing to feel ashamed about, you are a beautiful woman and he is an attractive man living in close quarters, it’s natural that it happened." He consoled her.

"It still does not change how stupid I feel, I just threw myself at him." Lyse cried and James continued to pat her back.

He shrugged. "You know, maybe he is just a jerk. Or maybe there is something else going on. Have you considered the possibility that he was set up?"

Lyse raised red rimmed eyes and looked at James. "No, I don’t think so. He looked like he was having a very good time with his tongue up her throat." She said vehemently.

"You never know, Lyse. People can be deceptive." James said, "I mean, even if he was not thinking about you. It would not look good for him to be caught cheating when he just got married."

"Maybe he thought that he had gone somewhere private enough that no one would catch them." Lyse argued stubbornly.

James felt otherwise, but decided against voicing his opinion. His loyalty was first to Lyse, she needed him to give her support at that moment. However, something still struck him as weird.

Why would Levi go through the trouble of getting a wife for the duration of just a few months, then cheat on her openly? Didn’t it just make sense for him to go to some secret lover’s nest somewhere and have his relationship?

Also, why did he go through all that trouble to look for Lyse after she had been kidnapped, then bring her back home safely if he wanted to sleep around? Something was seriously wrong but he could not place his finger on it.

"I mean, it was Freaking Anya Pavati!" Lyse yelped again.

"She is not that hot." James said dismissively and Lyse stared at him as if he had sprouted an ear on his forehead.

"What do you mean she is not that hot?" Lyse asked in exasperation. "That woman is a top ten supermodel, the biggest designers beg to have her for their runway shows."

James rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she is gorgeous and all that but she has not got soul. Levi downgraded going for her." He said loyally.

Lyse chuckled self deprecating. "Yeah, he definitely downgraded going for the supermodel instead of the bastard."

James sighed and stood up and rested his hands akimbo. "That is it! We need something stronger than tea."

Then he disappeared into the kitchen while Lyse thought about the last time she had gotten drunk and how that had gotten her into trouble. For a moment her thoughts turned to the strange call she had gotten just before the crazy Max had kidnapped her.

Then James came back and he poured her some wine. They sat in silence for a while, the only sound the soft ticking of the clock. Lyse became lost in her thoughts, replaying the events of the past few day. She could not believe that she had started to trust Levi, that was the reason she was so mad.

Soon they fell asleep on the couch then in the morning, a noise outside woke Lyse up. She looked around in confusion for a minute and rubbed her eyes, then the same noise caught her attention.

She got up and peered out the window, her heart pounding. She could see a cluster of paparazzi gathered outside the apartment, their cameras flashing as they waited.

"Oh no," Lyse whispered, her face paling. "How did they find out I was here?"

James who was just waking up joined her to look out of the window and gasped.