The Billionaire Son-in-Law's Revenge

Every mistress knows the cardinal rule: never make a scene in front of the legitimate spouse.

Unfortunately, the boy toy my wife kept on a leash hadn't read the rulebook. He didn't just wear my wedding ring—he paraded it. Fingers interlaced with my wife's, he strutted into the family banquet like he owned the place.

Someone in the crowd whispered a warning. Damien Blackwood didn't care. He raised his hand, letting the light catch the gold band. My band.

"He's just a kept man," Damien sneered, voice carrying over the music. "A gold digger climbing the social ladder. President Gilbert gave this ring to me. Whoever she favors is the true treasure. Samuel? A loser. A useless artifact. Recycle him—no one else wants him."

Beside me, my mother swayed. Color drained from her face as rage threatened to send her to the floor.

I caught her arm. "Easy," I murmured, voice flat.

"Samuel..."

"There's no true love in a marriage alliance between wealthy families." My tone stayed clinical. "She lacks propriety. Bringing a gigolo to a family banquet is a fatal error. She'll pay for this with a pound of flesh."

"But the scandal... the Gilberts are powerful..."

"Gossip is wind." My eyes narrowed on Amelia laughing with her lover. "It can't topple billions in assets. If their daughter isn't fit to lead, then I, the son-in-law, will take the reins."

——

My mother stared, searching my face for the boy who'd worshipped Amelia Gilbert ten years ago. That boy was gone. In his place stood a man with ice in his veins.

The hall buzzed. Probing gazes pricked like needles. The guests were vultures, waiting for me to charge forward, throw a punch, ruin the evening.

I didn't give them the satisfaction.

"Only what you hold in your hand is real," I told my mother. "Go to the back lounge. Rest."

She read the absolute lack of sorrow in my eyes and exhaled. "As long as you have a plan. I believe in you, Samuel."

As she turned to leave, I shifted focus. Amelia was already walking toward me, arm hooked through Damien's.

He stopped in front of me, extending the hand bearing my wedding ring. A smirk played on his lips.

"Hello, guest."

Silence swept through the hall. Every head turned.

This was Old Mr. Gilbert's private banquet. Everyone here was family or inner circle. They all knew I'd been married to Amelia for ten years. I wasn't a guest—I was a member of the Gilbert family.

Amelia's lip curled. She glanced at my retreating mother, then back at me.

"Mom," she called out, eyes fixed on my face. "This is the new secretary I hired. No matter how grand the occasion, he never gets stage fright. Bold, isn't he?" She laughed, sharp and cruel. "He really has some nerve, showing his face here."

My mother froze. She hadn't expected this level of absurdity—flaunting a lover in front of her own mother-in-law was a declaration of war.

The temperature in my eyes dropped to zero. "Amelia Gilbert. That's enough."

I could tolerate her foolishness in private. Her stupidity was a tool I could use to consolidate power. But I wouldn't let her humiliate my mother—the woman who'd treated Amelia like her own daughter for a decade.

Amelia didn't flinch. She looked at my mother with disdain.

"I heard Samuel's father also hired quite a few 'secretaries' back then," she said, voice dripping venom. "Caused a massive uproar. Almost divorced you, didn't he? But don't worry, Mother. I won't be that messy. As long as Samuel is obedient, he'll always be the live-in son-in-law of the Gilbert family."

My jaw tightened. My father's infidelity was the scar on my mother's heart that never healed. The shadow that darkened my entire childhood.

Ten years ago, when the Gilbert family faced bankruptcy, I'd married in. I brought a betrothal gift worth hundreds of millions, saving them from ruin.

I did it because I loved her.

Now she used my father's sins and my status as a punchline.

The last embers of affection turned to ash.

Damien stepped between my mother and me, breaking the tension with a playful, mocking blink.

"Just be obedient," he chirped. "Like a pug. Woof woof."

Amelia giggled, stroking his hand. "Naughty."

The crowd's shock morphed into contempt. Pitying, scornful gazes shifted to me.

"Samuel Matthews is pathetic," someone whispered. "Must be suffocating to be a son-in-law like that."

"Son-in-law?" Another scoffed. "Looks like he's about to be replaced."