The Billionaire's Betrayal

ALICE

I couldn’t help the smile that broke on my face upon seeing Kieran and Jenny. These two happened to be my favorite people on earth apart from my immediate family.

There was just something so sweet about them that I could forget my worries while I was around them.

“Hi, Alice,” Jenny greeted me with a hug before handing me a gift-wrapped box.

“This is for Gideon. I don’t know if he’ll like what I got him, but this is the best I could do. What can you possibly get for the man who has everything, right?”

“Thank you, and don’t worry, whatever it is, I’m sure Gideon will love it,” I assured her.

Though Gideon would’ve thrown this gift aside a few years ago, he was different now. He appreciated everything given to him by someone else.

“Where is he, by the way?” Jenny asked, taking a seat on the sofa.

“He is probably standing in front of the mirror, praising himself, because he knows we’re not going to do it,” Kieran said, amusement sparkling in his bright eyes.

How this man could joke all the time, I would never understand. I was so bad at making jokes that Kieran’s attempt at comedy always seemed like a hidden talent.

“That is not true,” I said while shaking my head, suppressing my urge to laugh out loud. I couldn’t do it for the sole reason that Gideon’s father was present, sitting on the love seat.

“I bet you fifty quid that’s exactly what he’s up to, little mushroom. And the only reason you’re here and not with him is because he likes to worship himself in private.

“I mean, the world worshipping him isn’t enough, he has to feed his ego himself as well.”

He shook his head like he couldn’t believe he had Gideon for a brother.

“You are exaggerating. He’s just getting ready. It’s his thirtieth birthday, after all, give him a break. Even if he is practicing a speech, let him do it.”

That came from Jenny who seemed to have gotten comfortable on the sofa.

“See? This is exactly what I’m talking about; everybody supports him and practically worships the ground he walks on, and you guys don’t even want me to put a stop to that?”

If there was someone with a dramatic bone in his body it was Kieran Maslow. The man knew how to grab the audience’s attention and make them have a good time.

If Brenton possessed similar traits, then I wouldn’t be so afraid to go near him, but as it was, he was still pretty frosty toward me, and it was best if I stayed away from him.

“You’re just jealous you’re not in his position,” Jenny teased him as he flopped onto the sofa next to her.

“Careful, strawberry, teasing me might just get you in trouble.”

I wasn’t sure if Kieran meant for his words to reach my ears, but reach they did, and I couldn’t help but swallow a ball of discomfort and look away just as Jenny blushed a deep shade of red.

Yeah, I really was not meant to hear that.

“Uncle Keean!!” Jack shouted, followed by Lily as they ran toward Kieran who was ready to wrap his arms around them and settle them down on his lap.

I quickly ran my eyes over Lily and Jack, making sure their clothes weren’t dirty, before looking around for Abioye who was standing next to me, holding onto the skirt of my dress, which fell just a little above my knees.

“Abioye, why are you not going to greet your uncle Kieran and uncle Brenton?” I asked while running a hand over his head.

“Let Jack and Lily have their turn. I can go later,” he said, but I could see the longing on his face as he waited to be held by his uncle.

“Abioye, come here.” The sound of Brenton’s voice had me tensing up. What did he want with Abioye? Was he intending to say something nasty to him?

Brenton is never going to be nasty to a child, and you know it.

Yes, my inner voice was correct. Brenton would never hurt a child, and with that belief, I gave my son a reassuring smile and nodded for him to go to his uncle.

“How are you, Uncle Brenton?” Abioye asked, being as polite as he could be.

“I’m well, thank you. I have a surprise for you,” Brenton replied before giving Abioye a big box wrapped in Tom and Jerry wrapping paper.

“For me?” Abioye looked at Brenton, then at me, then back at Brenton before resting his gaze on the box.

“Only for you. No sharing with your younger siblings,” Brenton told him.

“Can I open it?” This time Abioye looked at me for permission, but he got the response from Brenton.

“Of course. I want you to see what I got you.”

By now, both Jack and Lily had their eyes glued to the gift box, and if Kieran hadn’t been holding them, I was sure they would’ve run and taken the box from Abioye, and Abioye being the sweet child that he was would’ve surrendered the box without a fight.

With small yet determined fingers, Abioye tried to tear the wrapping but was unable to, leaving Brenton to take the box from him and remove the wrapping paper, revealing the present inside.

“Oh! So many books!” Abioye exclaimed as his eyes widened in wonder seeing the stack of books shrink-wrapped in front of him. “How did you know?”

Abioye was young, but seeing Nico constantly reading had turned him into a reader. Instead of asking for toys, he asked us to buy him books, and Gideon was only too happy to oblige.

I could tell he was proud of Abioye for being a smart child, and he wanted Jack and Lily to follow in his footsteps.

“I’m your uncle, so I have to be as smart as you,” Brenton said, ruffling Abioye’s hair, which only made him smile more as his attention was once again stolen by his new books.

“Thank you, Uncle Brenton. You’re the best!”

“It’s my birthday, so why is everybody else getting presents but me?” I turned to see Gideon standing at the threshold of the main lounge, looking absolutely mouthwatering.

He wore a navy suit, which matched the color of my dress, with a white shirt and a red tie. The suit fitted him to perfection, accentuating the muscles I knew tasted delicious.

The wicked thought had me blushing, and I hoped no one realized where my thoughts had currently drifted off to.

“Don’t pout, Gideon; it doesn’t suit you,” Kieran chastised, which only made Gideon’s scowl deepen.

“We actually have a really nice birthday present for you, but we have to wait until everybody is here before revealing it.”

“It better be good. It’s been three years that I haven’t received anything from you for my birthday, and you should be ashamed of yourself,” Gideon complained, winding an arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him.

“Oh, you’re going to love it,” Kieran replied. Beside him, Brenton snickered and shook his head as if laughing at a private joke.

“Don’t tell me you people started the party without me.” Elizabeth, with her husband Henry and her children, sauntered in wearing a maroon dress with gold accents.

“Oh no, we wouldn’t dare,” Kieran drawled with a roll of his eyes, causing Elizabeth to huff in indignation.

“Good. Now come on, Alice, I’ll help you set the table. Come, Jenny,” Elizabeth stated before turning around and walking out of the lounge, leaving Jenny and me hastily following after her.

“What did you get for him?” I asked Jenny once we were in the kitchen and away from the curious men.

“A suit. It’s not Armani, but it’s the one I could afford,” she answered, looking at her feet, and I realized she was feeling self-conscious.

“I’m sure Gideon will love it.”

“Yes, we all know that he’s going to love it; the question is, did you manage to keep him away from the news today?” Lizzy asked me.

“I did my best, and believe me, it was quite difficult. You do know the first thing Gideon does upon waking up is check the news, right? It was cruel to put me up to this task,” I complained as I piled food on the serving dishes.

“There was no one else who could do this, you know that,” Jenny said.

“Exactly. You’re the only one who has the power to distract Gideon and keep him that way for quite some time, otherwise that man makes sure to keep his eyes and ears open for even the most insignificant of rumors,” Lizzy agreed.

“I know. I’m just saying it wasn’t easy.”

“But I bet it was fun.” Jenny waggled her eyebrows with a knowing grin on her face, which instantly had me blushing and sputtering, which had them both bursting into laughter.

“Come on, we better get the food out before the men start growling like a bunch of cavemen,” Lizzy said as we all grabbed a dish of food and quickly went to the dining room to set the table.

“The food will be enough for everyone, right?” Jenny asked while looking at the feast set out on the table.

“Of course. The kids don’t eat much, so that leaves us adults. And I did cook extra in case we run out,” I answered just as the men came strolling in.

“Can you just tell me what the big news is? Dad, why are you not saying anything?” Gideon said as he took his place on his father’s right, who sat at the head of the table.

“I think we can tell him now,” Brian Maslow stated with a smile on his face.

“All right, Gideon, are you ready?” Brenton asked as he glanced at Kieran, who looked like it was taking everything in him not to burst out laughing.

Seriously, I did not understand why these two were laughing. The news was big, and for someone like Gideon, this news would be very important.

“Do I have to pull your tongue out? Tell me,” he all but growled.

“Okay, here it is.” With those words, Kieran handed Gideon the latest copy of Forbes. “Congratulations, you have been featured in the Thirty Under Thirty most successful people in the world.”

The happiness that lit up Gideon’s face brought tears to my eyes. Taking the magazine from Kieran, he flipped through until he found the list and ran his eyes over the glossy pages before locking his eyes with mine.

“Did you know about this?” he asked me.

I nodded. “I’m sorry for not telling you earlier, but we decided to surprise you, so I had to keep my mouth shut.”

He flashed me a grin before turning his attention back to the list. “You both have been featured as well.”

“Yeah, but we are like in the tens and twenties.” At this, Kieran burst out laughing, followed by Brenton, which had us all looking at them in confusion.

“What’s so funny?” Nico chimed in.

“Yeah, why are you two laughing?” Gideon questioned.

“Because you are number two!” Kieran guffawed.

“You would think Gideon Maslow, the wealthiest tycoon in the world, would be number one, but no, you are number two,” Brenton clarified.

The light in Gideon’s eyes faded as he looked at the list once again, and a scowl replaced the smile that had my heart soaring just a minute ago.

“Impossible.” He glared at the magazine as if expecting it to burst into flames at any moment.

“It’s all right, brother, you can’t expect to be number one all the time,” Kieran said.

“Of course, I’m supposed to be number one. Who the hell can be better than me?”

“According to Forbes, probably the guy who is listed as number one.” Brenton smirked.

“Declan Pierce,” Gideon grumbled.

“Wait? Is it the same Declan Pierce who was your biggest rival in university?” Lizzy asked as she took a spoonful of rice.

“Of course, the one and only. The bastard is always poking his nose in my business,” he replied.

“Well, it seems he’s pretty good at it because he has taken your spot as number one. He must know all your secrets as Pierce Inc. seems to be doing better than us in the Middle East,” Brenton said.

“Does the world even know that he cheated off me during the exams?”

I hated that Gideon’s mood was ruined. It was his birthday today, he should be the happiest man, but instead, he was fuming over a stupid list, which didn’t even mean anything in the grand scheme of things.

You know how competitive Gideon is. He works hard, and he deserves the number one spot.~

I knew why he was feeling so dejected. I just wished I could help him in some way.

Gideon’s happiness was directly linked to mine, and if my husband was not happy, then me looking for happiness was an exercise in futility.

“Son, the world does not care about what happened in university. The world only cares about what it sees. You can be the smartest person in the world, but if the world does not see that, then no one knows.

“Pierce Inc. might be doing better in some parts of the world, but we just need to do better, and I’m sure you’ll be able to do that,” his father said.

Gideon sighed. “I know. I just need to work harder.”

How much harder does he need to work? He barely has time for his kids.

It was while I was chewing over my thoughts that the sound of cell phones pinging reverberated through the dining hall.

I watched as everybody pulled out their phones, and me being the curious person that I was, leaned forward so I could see what Gideon was looking at.

Only I was unable to see because his big hand was covering most of the screen.

“Uh-oh, it gets worse,” Kieran said, causing my heart to somersault up to my throat.

What was happening?

“What the fuck?!” Brenton swore.

“Language please,” I admonished, glancing at the kids to see them looking at us with curious eyes.

“Uncle Brenton said a bad word,” Abioye said.

“Not now, kids,” Henry, Lizzy’s husband, said.

“What’s going on?” I finally asked. Why was nobody telling me anything?

“Kieran? What is it?” Jenny asked, mirroring my look of confusion.

“It’s impossible. It’s not true!” Kieran exclaimed, rage filling his eyes as he looked at his older brother who had gotten pale beside me.

Having had enough of the silence, I did the only thing I could and snatched the phone from Gideon to see what had ruined our entire evening.

My heart shuddered to a screeching halt as my mouth dried when I saw the Google Alert that brought my husband’s world crashing down.

I blinked a few times, hoping my eyes were deceiving me, but no matter what I did, the bold words remained unchanged.

—Gideon Maslow: World’s Biggest Tycoon or the World’s Biggest Fraud?—

—Maslow Earning Money or Embezzling It?—

—Maslow the Saint or the Thief?—

No, no, this could not be possible. How could they do this? The whole world knew Gideon, so how could they post something like this? Did they not realize this could ruin his entire reputation?

But no matter how much I tried to deny it, I couldn’t unsee the words that were telling the whole world that my husband, Gideon Maslow, had been accused of embezzling money.