Reborn From Ashes: The Obsessive CEO's Claim

Chapter 4

Word Count: 1143 | Released on: 27/05/2026

t, pulling her flush against him until there was no space left between them. The kiss deepened, transforming from her desperate declara

mpletely unraveled. "Am I dreaming, Aria?" he murmured, his long fingers gently tracing the elegant line of h

aned up and nipped his lower lip-a sharp, playful bite that brought a sudden gro

hed her even tighter against his chest. "If only you would stay this compliant," he murmured, hi

had scarred him. Reaching around his neck, she anchored herself to him completely. "I will," she promise

He scooped her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing. A

aving no room for argument. He carried her to the open door of

ind. Aria leaned her head against his shoulder, the rhythmic motion of the car soothing the fraye

opened directly into his penthouse, a sprawling space of minimalist design, dark w

eached into his jacket pocket and produced a small, black velvet box. Inside, nestled on a bed of satin, was a ring. It wasn't a diamond. It

first saw you," he confesse

thought she loved had been plotting her demise. The irony was a bitter pill. She held out

econd chance-it was too much. She leaned forward and kissed him again, no

ic, intoxicating pull. He leaned in, his lips brushing the shell of her ear as he murmured a low, velvety threat. "I am choosing to believ

ress flat against the firm, racing beat of his chest. "You talk as if I'm the dangerous one," she countered softly, her finger

is fingers migrated up to firmly cup her chin. His thumb stroked her lower lip with a possessive, almost manic fervor. "God help me, Aria,

ion. "Then lock me away," she whispered, her heart swellin

e. The kiss moved from the living room to the bedroom, clothes shedding along the way. She gave herself to

er, the sheets cool. A pang of disappointment hit her, a fleeting fear that it had all been a dream

angular, just like him. Urgent mee

the last of the graveyard chill in her soul. She drank the milk, the simple gestu

She looked down at the city sprawling below, a kingdom of steel and glass. She couldn

ng sheet of paper and a pen, and wrote her own n

glass of the window showed a woman she barely recognized. Her eyes were no

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.”