Reborn From Ashes: The Obsessive CEO's Claim

Author: Xiaoxiao Yunduoer

Chapter 1

Word Count: 945 | Released on: 27/05/2026

edes' engine. The glittering skyline of Manhattan had dissolved behind them, replaced by the skeletal remains of

s smile was the same one that had convinced her to leave her small Pennsylvania town, the one that promised a future as bright as the diamond h

e loosening in her stomach. He was rig

The windows were dark, like vacant eyes. Ethan came around and opened h

the center of the vast, empty space, illuminated by a weak overhead bulb. On it were two cha

a glass. His eyes were intense,

n. She clinked her glass against his. "To us." She took a generous sip

ross her tongue. A wave of dizziness washed over her, so s

e of the table for support. Her finger

y a chillingly flat, indifferent expression

ard on her lower lip. The sharp, coppery taste of her own blood was a grou

ring a stunning Carolina Herrera dress-the one Aria had pointed out in a magazine last week, saying it would b

asked, her voice drip

r in a way that made her stomach clench with a primal fear. The trap was sprung. She saw it all w

er. "Ethan, we're getting engaged.

"Oh, you poor, stupid thing. Ethan was never yours. He's always been with

forward, to claw that smug look off her sister's face, but her legs were leaden

earing from her throat. Her brothe

rs, painted a blood-red, gripping Aria's chin. The pre

in Seraphina's eyes-a triumphant, ugly

him?" she breathed,

om. "He found out some things he wasn't supposed to. About us. So, he

world didn't just crack; it disintegrated into dust. A scream of pure, anima

s calling your name until the end, you know

less despair. The thugs started to close in, their leering

s grasping hand. Her back slammed into something hard and cold. A large metal drum. It tipped, and a cl

e saw it. Lying a few feet away, discarded by

d clear, pierced throu

ng alone. This wasn't a proposal. It was a funera

Chapter End

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Reborn From Ashes: The Obsessive CEO's Claim

Xiaoxiao Yunduoer Modern

“My fiancé took me to an abandoned warehouse for what he called a private surprise proposal. There was no ring. Only champagne laced with drugs, my adoptive sister stepping out of the shadows, and the sound of them laughing while I collapsed at their feet. Ethan told me I had never been his choice. I was only the obedient foster daughter the family needed for a merger. Seraphina was the woman he loved. The woman he had always loved. Then he told me my brother Julian was dead because of him. A staged truck accident. A convenient tragedy. One less person standing between them and everything they wanted. By the time the truth finally sank in, the warehouse was soaked in gasoline, my body was failing, and the family I had spent my life trying to please had already buried me in their minds. So I stopped begging. I struck a lighter. If they wanted a funeral, I would give them one. The flames took the warehouse, my sister, and me with it. Then I opened my eyes. I was back in my bedroom. Seven days before the betrayal. Seven days before Ethan would try to murder me. Seven days before everyone who had used me would learn that the girl they buried had come back wrong. My phone rang. Hayes Decker. The ruthless Wall Street billionaire. The man powerful families feared, banks obeyed, and enemies disappeared beneath. The man whose obsessive marriage proposal I had once laughed off because I thought Ethan was my future. This time, I answered. His voice was cold, possessive, and dangerously calm. "Marry me, Aria." In my last life, I called him insane. In this one, I smiled. "Yes," I said. "Come get me right now." I was not running to him for love. I was choosing the only monster in New York terrifying enough to help me destroy the ones who killed me. But Hayes Decker did not want a temporary alliance. He wanted me. Body, soul, name, future. And the most dangerous part? The longer he burned the world for me, the harder it became to remember that I had only meant to use him.”