Reborn From Ashes: The Obsessive CEO's Claim

Chapter 3

Word Count: 1115 | Released on: 27/05/2026

life and death, an image su

man whose cold presence could freeze a boardroom. But the way he had looked at her was anything but cold. It was a l

outside the burning warehouse. A roar of pure anguish that didn't belong to the controlled, em

nsciousness finally gave way, si

t, insistent glow pressing against

e Foster estate. She shot up, her heart hammering against her ribs. She look

lock on her nightstand glowed with the date. It was a week

d come

llision that sent a spike of pain through her skull. She stumbled into the adjoining bathroom and stared chimn

asn't a dream. She was real. She was back. The relief was

ity counter. The screen lit up with a

s De

sal of marriage. Consumed by her love for Ethan and repulsed by what she saw as Hayes's suf

cage and more like a shield. The memory of his anguished scream e

she picked up the

d-deep, controlled, yet with an underc

t was a command. A plea

er lungs. She closed her eyes, and with a voice hoarse with tears and a thi

It stretched for a full ten seconds. When he finally spoke, the engineered c

ugh it sounded dangerously close to

bright. "I said yes, Hayes. I want to b

gh cutting through his words. "Is this a new game to protect your precious Ethan? Because let me warn you-even if this i

"It's not a lie," she whispered, her voice trembling with the ghost of a thousand

a fierce, possessive finality. "You are mi

d, her voice gaining strength. "I

cker emerged from the back seat. He was taller than she remembered, dressed in a perfectly tailored dark suit that seemed to absorb the m

d screamed her name outside a burning building. The man who had offere

athing, and alive-unmarred by the horrific flames of her past life-sent a painful throb through h

hem. She didn't care about decorum or the sharp, calculating look in his eyes. She reached ou

into the dark depths of his gaze. "I'm not g

ntensity that bordered on manic. "I love you so damn much, Aria," he muttered, his voice dropping to a harsh, broken whisper. "And you've alw

ed her arms around his neck,

d second chances. A promise. A declar

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.”