SECOND CHANCE A Runaway Bride

One Night With My Billionaire Boss

Nathaniel Stone

I woke up on silk sheets that smelled of expensive cedar and cold sandalwood, a world away from my cramped apartment in Brooklyn. Beside me lay Ezra Gardner—my boss, the billionaire CEO of Gardner Holdings, and the man who could end my career with a snap of his fingers. He didn’t offer an apology for the night before; instead, he looked at me with terrifying clarity and proposed a cold, calculated business arrangement. "Marriage. It stabilizes the board and solves the PR crisis before it begins." He dressed me in archival Chanel and sent me home in his Maybach, but my life was already falling apart. My boyfriend, Irving, claimed he had passed out early, yet his location data placed him at my best friend’s apartment until three in the morning. When I tried to run, I realized Ezra was already ten steps ahead, tracking my movements and uncovering the secret I’d spent twenty years hiding: my connection to the powerful Senator Grimes. I was trapped between a CEO who treated me like a line item on a quarterly report and a boyfriend who had been using me while sleeping with my closest friend. I felt like a pawn in a game I didn't understand, wondering why a man like Ezra would walk up forty flights of stairs on a broken leg just to make sure I was safe. "Showtime, Mrs. Gardner." Standing on the red carpet in a gown that cost more than my life, I watched my cheating ex-boyfriend’s face turn pale as Ezra claimed me in front of the world. I wasn't just an assistant anymore; I was a weapon, and it was time to burn their world down.

Romance Revenge Celebrities Drama

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LAURA'S POV.

The realization came slowly, like faint light seeping through a gap in a thick curtain. My head was heavy, like being hit by a thousand hammers at once. It felt like my body was shrouded in fog, moving was difficult, let alone opening my eyes. But that sound... the monotonous buzzing of the machine, the hurried footsteps, the antiseptic scent that stabbed my nose-I knew I was in a hospital.

I try to open my eyes, though they feel heavy as stone. The blinding white light makes me squint, but I manage to see the pure white ceiling. The monitor next to me beeps softly, showing a steady heart rate.

I'm alive.

Why am I alive?

The last memory I have is of the accident. The car that went off at a crazy speed. The sound of metal crashing down. The excruciating pain, piercing to the bone. Then everything went dark. I was sure I was dead. But this?

I turned my head slowly, examining my surroundings. A strange feeling tingled at the bottom of my stomach, as if something was wrong. Then the door opened, and someone walked in. A woman whose face felt familiar-my mother. She smiled, her eyes glazed over like she had just cried.

"Laura! Thank goodness you're awake!" She hugged me carefully, as if I could break at any moment.

"Mom..." my voice was hoarse, almost inaudible. "I... I had an accident..."

Her face changed, full of confusion. "What are you talking about? You're fine, dear. Today's the big day, remember? Your engagement day with Galen!"

Those words had me transfixed.

Engagement? With Galen?

That's impossible. Galen and I got engaged five years ago. I remember that day very well. The pastel blue dress I wore, the little diamond ring on my ring finger, the nervous smile on Galen's face as he asked me to marry him. But it was all in the past. Our relationship ended two years later. And then the accident...

"Mom, what year is it?" I asked, my voice shaky.

My mom chuckled, as if my question was a joke. "It's 2020, dear. What's wrong with you?"

The year 2020. No way. That was five years ago.

I gripped the blanket, my breath coming in short gasps. What is this? A dream? An illusion? Or... reincarnation?

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