My Rebirth: A Billionaire's Sweet Vow

osal was gone, but so was her smug satisfaction. A strange sense of calm settled over me

ut beneath it, a steel resolve began to form. I had a meeting tomorrow. A meeting that,

alone commanded respect, fear, and awe. He was a force of nature,

ord rehearsed. I would not give him a reason to d

my reflection, silencing the nagging doubts in my head. When I finall

ce after hours. As I approached my car, a faint, rhythmic thuddin

I s

ng violently. My breath hitched. The familiar lines of the vehicle,

o late. Through the barely cracked window, I caught a glimpse. Genevieve. Her head thrown back, her

ile rising in my throat. This was the man I had almo

ed into a triumphant, mocking smirk. She leaned in closer to Christian, pulling his head down, her lips devouring h

actically ran to my car. My hands fumbled with the keys

n behind me. Then anothe

tificially sweet, carried across the concrete. "What a

eled, his shirt askew, loo

erse, backing out of the space with a screech of tires. As I drove past them, Christian stood t

d image. I found myself in the children's section, a small smile touching my lips. My nephew, Thomas

that felt more like a museum than a home. Christian's car was already

ows of the porch, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He l

e surprisingly soft. "We nee

ighter. "There's nothing

ng mix of satisfaction and condescension. "For me?" he purred, reaching out to t

It's not for you." My voice

aying hard to get." He exhaled a plume of smoke, then looked at me, his eyes cold. "Listen, about this morning... what you saw... it meant nothin

front. Hayden Innovations needs this merger. And you... you need me. Just play along. Be my fiancée. We'll make it publicly official again. And in private..." He lean

. He was offering me a golden cage, a life built on lies and his

t to make an enemy of me. And you certainly don't want to hurt Genevieve. She' s fragile, unlike you. She wouldn' t

lked into the house, leaving me standing there,

r exposing their sordid affair?

e, built on sand and deceit, would soon crumble. And I, the wom

iles. My father, caught between his ambition for the merger and his weak affection for Genevieve, looked particularly uncomfortable. Then I

na," he said, his voice strained, "that seat is reserved. You know where you belong." He

The air crackled with tension. I could feel the familiar irrita

e cut through the silence. "I