The Crippled Billionaire's Revenge

Chapter 5

Ethan stood there, arms crossed, watching me with that infuriating smirk. The air between us crackled with tension.

With a sudden, vicious kick, he sent my wheelchair toppling. Pain exploded through my body, my breath hitching as cold sweat slicked my skin. But Ethan? He just stood there, that smug grin never leaving his face.

"Must be rough," he drawled, tilting his head. "Stuck in that chair while life passes you by. Some things never change, do they? Still pathetic."

He took a step closer, his voice dripping with false sympathy.

"Watching your wedding get snatched away, watching your wife raise my daughter… and you just have to take it. Honestly, it’s almost sad."

I gritted my teeth, trying to push myself up—but before I could, Ethan suddenly staggered, his balance betraying him as he tumbled down the stairs.

Lily was there in an instant, catching him effortlessly, as if she’d been waiting for this exact moment.

Her glare burned into me.

"Jack!" she snapped, voice sharp as glass. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Ethan was just coming to get me for dinner, and you attack him?"

Never mind that he’d provoked me. Never mind the taunts, the cruelty. Her words were knives, but I barely felt them. Her parents hovered nearby, their disapproval radiating like heat.

Then Sophia started wailing.

"Bad man! Bad man hurt Daddy!" she sobbed, clinging to Lily’s leg. "I don’t want him here! I want Daddy!"

Ethan leaned weakly against Lily, his expression a perfect mix of wounded innocence and quiet triumph as he met my eyes.

"I’m sorry, Jack," he murmured, voice barely audible. "I only said I’d stand in for you at the wedding. I didn’t mean for you to take it the wrong way..."

"Don’t be too hard on Jack," Lily cooed, stroking Ethan’s arm. Her tone was sweet, but her eyes were ice. "He didn’t mean to."

I stayed on the floor, my bitter laugh scraping my throat raw.

"Lily," I forced out. "Don’t you think you owe me an explanation? About the wedding? The accident? Her?"

For a heartbeat, she froze. Panic flickered in her eyes before she schooled her expression.

"Explain what?" she shot back. "You had an accident. What does that have to do with Ethan?"

She helped Ethan up, guiding him toward the door like they were actors in some twisted play.

"He’s doing you a favor by going in your place. And instead of thanking him, you lash out? Who even are you anymore?"

"Apologize to Ethan!" she demanded.

Before I could speak, her parents chimed in, their words laced with venom.

"You’re already broken, Jack," her father sneered. "Why not act like it? Who’d want a worthless man like you? Besides our daughter, of course."

Her mother smirked. "Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?"

"Enough," Lily’s father snapped. "Get Ethan to the hospital. We’re done here."

My fists clenched, nails biting into my palms hard enough to draw blood. But the pain was nothing compared to the hollow ache in my chest.

Lily didn’t look back as she left—Ethan in her arms, Sophia’s tiny hand clutched in hers.

And just like that, five years of love, trust, everything I’d built—gone. Reduced to ashes.

I dragged myself back into the wheelchair, every movement agony.

Then, without hesitation, I booked a flight.

For the day of the wedding.