CRUSHED BY MY EX, LOVED BY A BILLIONAIRE

Pak!

The loud sound of a hand striking a cheek so hard brought the room under an instant silence as everyone’s breath caught at the moment, with all eyes turning to the direction from which the sound came.

Right at that moment, a short gasp escaped Elise, who was standing there with her right hand touching her cheek while staring in shock at the woman who was standing in front of her with anger oozing out of her.

“I heard Ashley signed money out of the foundation, but you said that it shouldn’t be given to her anymore!” Clementine, also known as Mrs. Sanders, and the matriarch of the family, raged imperiously, as she shot a dangerous look at Elise, who was standing there, still processing the slap she had just been given.

Elise, who was still not over the shock, struggled to answer immediately, as she let her hand fall from her cheek and straightened up as if nothing had happened, “We are low on budget for this year’s quarterly…..”

“Shut up!” Clementine’s shriek tore through the air, startling the hovering maids as they immediately averted their eyes, while frantically polishing and dusting vases, praying that greater havoc would not wreck the mansion that morning.

“Your job is to balance the ledgers and keep the foundation funded!” Clementine stepped closer, her breath fanning hot against Elise’s skin, “You are a lowly servant here, Elise. You have absolutely no right to make executive decisions regarding my daughter’s allowance!”

At that moment, Elise struggled to keep her composure, as her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, and her veins pulsed with indignation.

“Yes, ma’am,” she mouthed softly, and right then the double glass doors to the living room swung open as Harry Sanders walked in, his presence instantly radiating a cold, intimidating aura.

He was a breathtakingly handsome man who possessed the sharp, symmetrical features of a high-fashion model, but the sight of him only made Elise’s stomach turn with deep disgust. He was her husband.

“What is going on here?” he demanded from no one in particular as his eyes swept over his mother’s furious face and Elise’s reddened cheek.

Looking at him, Elise’s mind involuntarily flashed back to how she had ended up trapped in this toxic family. She had been a brilliant, model student, a young girl from the slums who had been lifted out of obscurity and wretchedness by a full scholarship from the foundation belonging to their massive conglomerate, DSA Holdings.

Grateful for the opportunity to attend a top school without paying a penny and even receiving an allowance, she devoted her entire life to studying, eventually scoring the highest grade in the country on a notoriously brutal professional accounting certification exam.

That massive achievement instantly gave their conglomerate priceless PR, and sent their stock prices soaring, while they rode the wave of their ‘philanthropic success story.’ The girl they helped.

Old Mr. Rafael Sanders had immediately taken her under his wing and turned her into the glowing, beautiful face of the DSA Foundation so that she could draw in wealthy global sponsors for the foundation. As soon as she graduated from college, the old man had requested that she marry his first son, Harry Sanders.

Although she hated the idea, she was unable to refuse because, after all, the opportunity from their conglomerate changed her life completely.

And since then, Elise has been the one working fourteen-hour days tirelessly, while managing the family’s affairs and their sprawling businesses, going far beyond the duties of a traditional daughter-in-law.

“Why did you not sign them?” Harry turned to her, his tone demanding an answer as he broke through her momentary reverie.

“I will do that,” Elise said simply, offering him no real answer or explanation, and glancing down at her luxury wristwatch right at that moment, she realized she would be late for the executive board meeting if she stayed a second longer.

“I will sign the authorization from the office,” she added, and without waiting for permission, she turned on her heel to leave the room immediately.

“That foolish being! See.. see.. How she walked out on me!” Clementine spluttered in rage behind her, “We need to clip her wings! Because she is in charge of the company now, she thinks she has authority!” The old lady muttered furiously.

Elise did not hear anything again as she completely tuned out every sound and just strutted out of the mansion. Already waiting outside was her secretary, Kayla, who was holding the rear door of the car open, and the moment she settled into the seat, the car zoomed off.

Leaning her head back against the headrest, Elise closed her eyes while trying to catch her breath and stop the trembling in her limbs, “Give me my schedule,” she rasped.

The assistant immediately opened her tablet, already listing out her endless tasks for the day, “You have a meeting with the executives by 8:00 AM, and by ten, you have the financial audit for the DSA Foundation. At noon, the supply chain review for DSA Beauté cosmetics. Then at three, a fabric inspection at the manufacturing plant for the DSA luxury apparel line…”

“Hold on,” Elise told her when her phone began to ring, as she pulled it out of her bag to see who was calling.

It was an unknown number, and anticipating a business call, she swooped across the screen and pressed the device to her ear.

Instantly, the shrill, toxic voice of her so-called mother filled her ear as the woman began cursing hard with fury.

“I know you blocked my number, you ungrateful bitch!” she screamed through the phone, “You have blocked our credit cards, have you not?! You are a very horrible daughter who deserves hell!” She cursed so much and threw so many insults that Elise couldn’t take it anymore, so she hung up immediately and blocked the number.

Forcing a tight smile on her face to mask the pain, she stared out the window as she thought of how miserable her life had been because she had never been lucky with family.

The Maybach finally arrived at the company, and Elise threw herself into her work like a woman possessed as soon as she got to her office. She moved restlessly throughout the afternoon and evening with her assistant, from the high-tech chemical labs of the cosmetics division to the textile factories on the outskirts of the city, to the main corporate offices, while monitoring everything closely.

They were incredibly close to launching their newest fragrance set, and everything had to be perfect.

Elise worked till late at night and was completely exhausted, and she barely had breakfast or lunch the entire day. By the time she was on her way back to the mansion, the night was pitch black.

As the car drove through the gates, she peered through the tinted window, and all she could see was how the estate looked gloomy under the pale moonlight that cast long, suffocating shadows over the manicured lawns. Just being here made it hard to breathe.

The car stopped, and she alighted, adjusting her outfit before she strutted inside.

In the grand dining room, Clementine, Ashley, and Asher, Harry’s younger brother, were laughing and chatting gaily, while having a luxury dinner, and Elise knew she was invisible to them unless they needed her to sign out money.

Ditching the idea of dinner, she chose to bypass their hypocrisy entirely, as she headed straight for the private elevator, taking it directly up to the second floor.

Closing the door gently behind her, she stepped into her bedroom, a stunning, luxurious haven of ivory and gold situated directly opposite Harry’s own. Exhausted to her bones, she kicked off her designer heels and began unbuttoning her blazer, desperate to instantly wash off the muck of the day.

Click.

The sudden sound of the door handle turning made her freeze, and her head turned fast to the direction of the door that swung open, as she watched Harry step into the room so casually, as if he had been waiting for her, which was totally unlikely.

Since the very beginning of their arranged marriage, they had lived by a strict, unspoken code of separate rooms, separate lives, and distance behind closed doors. So he had no business in her space.

Unmoved by her shock, Harry began to approach Elise with his eyes locked onto hers, and she felt a feeling of deep disgust rise within her, just from seeing him, but she forced herself to hide it, keeping her expression blank.

Regretting so hard why she hadn’t locked the door the moment she walked in, she asked calmly, “What are you doing here?”

Rather than answering immediately, Harry began to move closer to where she was standing, with a sinister smile playing on his lips. As soon as he was standing in front of her, he reached out and touched her cheeks.

Elise instantly flinched away from his hand, “Don’t touch me!” she snapped coldly, “What do you want?!”

“You are my wife,” he suddenly said, his eyes scanning her face, and Elise stared at him when he said that, like he had suddenly gone mentally deranged because there had been a strict mutual agreement between them since the very night they got married.

On their first night, she had looked him in the eye and asked him if he loved her, and he had plainly said no, knowing fully well it was just an arranged marriage orchestrated by his father.

In response, Elise had told him that she didn’t love him either and that she could never have sexual relations with a man she didn’t love. He had been deeply shocked and disappointed back then, but he pretended like he didn’t care.

However, his compliance did not last. A few months later, he had stumbled home drunk and tried to force himself on her. To defend herself, Elise had shattered a heavy bedside lamp stool over his arm, breaking it, and that very night, she demanded separate rooms, which had finally sealed the reality of their marriage.

“How will we be married and not have sex?” Harry muttered, his eyes darkening as he stepped into her space again.

Deeply disgusted that he had still not given up after all these years, Elise refused to waste her breath and just turned away, ready to walk out of his sight and leave the room.

But suddenly, Harry lunged forward and grabbed her wrist with terrifying force, his fingers digging deep into her flesh.

“You always act so pure!” he hissed fiercely, “Is that why you are avoiding me? Because you are out there sleeping with someone else? Are you cheating on me?!”

“And how is that your concern?!” Elise snapped with fury as she snatched her hand forcefully out of his grip with all her might. “If that suits you, then believe it! After all, you’re sleeping with other women too!” She hissed and stormed out of his sight.

Watching her walk out on him, Harry lost his temper and mind completely at her indignation as he reached out and aggressively grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling her backward with a vicious jerk.

“You disrespectful, cheap little brat!” he sneered directly into her face, his grip tightening until her scalp burned, “Look around you! Everything you have is because of my family! Thanks to us, a low-life charity case like you gets to live a great life!”

“Are you insane?!” Elise used her strength to yank her hair out of his grip by kicking his leg so hard as she shouted at the top of her lungs, “And I have worked for every single penny for five years now like a dog!” She instantly sidled away, her heart beating fast, then she realized that it was not going to end simply with a conversation that night.

“I built the foundation of your brands and managed the growth while you reaped the benefits. I have fulfilled every obligation, and I owe this family nothing more!” She yelled, her eyes tactically looking around and searching for what she could use to defend herself and get away from that room.

As she quickly sighted the dresser stool and tried to pick it up, Harry came from behind her instantly and grabbed her as he violently threw her against the wall. The impact knocked the wind out of her, and she coughed violently, gasping for air as she tried to stand up fast.

But before Elise could regain her balance, Harry pinned her hard against the wall, his hands moving to choke her as he began simultaneously trying to tear her clothes.

“Harry, stop!”’she screamed fearfully, but he was not listening.

Scared out of her life at the crazy look on his face, Elise gathered every ounce of strength left in her body. She pushed him away so hard that he stumbled backward and fell heavily against the wooden drawer.

Before he could get back up, she lunged for her dressing table and picked up a sharp pair of scissors. She held them tightly in front of her, her breathing ragged and her chest heaving as she pointed the sharp blades directly at him.

“If you come any closer, I will stab you!” she warned, her voice trembling but deadly serious as she gazed repulsively at the man she had spent four years serving.

“And from now, I am done!” she said with anger, “I am divorcing you, Harry Sanders.”