The Architect Who Rose From Ashes

Merri

e step towards a future unburdened by Kade. Sleep wouldn't come. My mind raced with the events of the evening. Kade' s fury, Kyl

rose, I glanced at my phone. A message from Glennie. "Be careful, Harper. Call us when you la

ailed prenuptial agreement (just in case my past self had somehow signed something silly), and a formal termination of all business ties with Rivera Enterprises. My

uch he disliked the lawyers who handled his family's affairs. He saw them as rigid and outdated. This new knowledge was a weapon. I had subtly changed the details of my divorce

had stopped Kade from getting married to me, I had left Kyla to deal with her own allergic reaction, and now, I was leaving fo

eafening, rattling the frame. It was Kade. He was here. My heart, de

the fear, replacing it with a col

ge. His eyes, usually a cool blue, were now blazing with an inferno of a

ed at me, grabbing my shoulders with a bone-crushing grip. His fingers dug into my f

efusing to flinch. "I've done

Humiliating me, running away. But this? This is beyond sick, Harper!" His voice dropped, raw with venom. "Kyla...

t as Kyla had planned. And just as Kade

ng edge. "My father's chauffeur, Mr. Henderson. He had a heart attack. After he

e and a treat for me as a child. He was dead? In my previous life, Mr. Henderson had lived a long, quiet life, retiring t

ing? To kill people just to get what you want?" He accused me of killing him, of planning it all. The

inor dramatics. I remembered the years of subtle slights, the constant feeling of being less than

into mine. "You're a monster, Harper. A cold-hearted, calculating monster. I knew you we

his accusations, left me hollow. He saw me as a villain, a vengeful ex, plotting and scheming. He saw nothing of t

ded myself. It's about you.

backward, hitting my luggage with a dull thud. The shock of the impact

strange mix of grief and hatred. "And when I come back, Harper, you'd better be gone. If I

force that the entire suite vibrated. The sound echoed through the silent

ead throbbed. Tears welled in my eyes, not for Kade, not for the lost engagement, but for Mr. Henderson, an innocent casualty of a

ysmal opinion of me, and there was nothing I could say or do to change it. This was the final, undeniable truth.

was dead. This Harper, the one with the memories of a wasted decade and a stress-induced heart condition, knew better. Some misunderst