THE BILLIONAIRE'S DYING HEART: HIS JILTED BRIDE

Chapter 3

Edra made it as far as the clinic doors before her legs stopped working.

"I can't," she whispered to Chloe. "I can't do it."

"Are you sure?"

Edra nodded.

"Then we won't."

That night, she called her parents. Her mother cried. Her father cursed Michael's name. But when the tears stopped, they said what she needed to hear.

"Come home. You're not doing this alone."

Two weeks later, Edra drove to her parents' house in Pasadena with everything she owned in her car. She would have her baby there. Quietly. Where nobody who mattered would ever know.

When she pulled into the driveway, the porch light was already on, even though it wasn’t quite dusk.

Her mother reached the car first, arms open, eyes shining. She pulled Edra into a hug so fierce it squeezed the air from her lungs. Edra buried her face in the crook of her mother’s shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of lavender hand cream and home.

Her father hung back a moment, arms crossed, jaw tight. Then he stepped forward and wrapped them both in his big, careful embrace, pressed a kiss to the top of Edra’s head. “Welcome home, kid,” he murmured, voice rough. “We’ve got you.”

Edra stood there between them on the driveway as the sky turned the soft gold of late afternoon, feeling, for the first time in months, like she could finally exhale. The future was still terrifying, still uncertain. But it wasn’t just hers to carry anymore.

————

Stella Reine came into the world screaming at 3:47 AM on a rainy April morning.

Edra held her daughter for the first time and understood what people meant when they said your heart could live outside your body. Dark hair. Tiny fists. Michael's blue eyes.

The first year was brutal in ways no one had warned Edra about. Sleepless nights blurred into one another, punctuated by the soft snuffles of a baby who refused to be put down for long.

Nights she'd wondered if she'd made the right choice. Her mother helped while Edra took online coding courses, desperately trying to keep her skills sharp.

"Mama," Stella said one morning, her first real word, and Edra cried right there at the breakfast table.

Then one night, after Stella fell asleep, Edra opened her laptop out of habit more than expectation.

An email notification glowed in the inbox.

Subject: Your Thesis Has Been Cited

Someone had cited her work in a new paper about neural network optimization.

Something sparked in her chest, a spark that felt like hope.

She stared at the screen for a long moment, then opened a new document and started writing. Her fingers hesitated at first, then, code flowed from them like it used to. Steadily, like a river remembering its path. Lines of logic, loops, functions. Nothing ground breaking, not yet. But it was hers.

————

"Stella, shoes on!"

Four-year-old Stella appeared with one shoe and a backpack. "Do I have to go to school?"

"Yes. Come on, baby." They'd been going at this every other morning since Stella turned four and felt she had an opinion about everything.

Their apartment was small but it was theirs. The job at DataSync wasn't glamorous but it was a start. Edra had been working tooth and nail. Publishing her works and keeping her skills horned.

At lunch, her phone rang. Unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Reine? This is Hudson Alba from Hayes Industries."

Edra's blood went cold. Hayes Industries. Michael's family company.

"I'm calling about the paper you published last month. The one on adaptive neural networks."

"I... what?"

"We're expanding our tech division. Your work is exactly what we're looking for. Would you be interested in discussing a position?"

Edra's hands shook. Hayes Industries. The company Michael was supposed to inherit. The company she should have spent the rest of her life avoiding.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she said carefully.

"Ms. Reine, I understand this might seem unexpected, but your work is impressive. We're prepared to offer you a senior developer position. Significant salary increase from your current role. Full benefits. This is a serious opportunity."

A senior position. At Hayes Industries.

She should say no. Should hang up and never think about this again.

But Stella needed new shoes. The apartment was too small. And Edra was tired of barely surviving.

That night, she stared at the offer letter. More than double her current salary. It would change everything.

But it was Michael's company.

"What do I do?" she asked Chloe over the phone.

"You take the job. You've earned this, Edra. Don't let him take anything else from you."

Edra looked at Stella sleeping in the next room. Four years old and she'd never even asked about her father. Edra had told her he was gone. That was all.

Edra typed her response.

‘Dear Mr. Alba,

I accept your offer.

Sincerely,

Edra Reine’

The job would mean long hours. It would mean Stella going back to live with her grandmother in Pasadena during the week. It would mean sacrificing time with her daughter to build the career time had stolen from her.

But it was the only way forward.

Two weeks later, Edra drove Stella back to her parents' house with a suitcase full of clothes and a heart full of guilt.

"Why can't I stay with you, Mommy?" Stella asked from the backseat.

"Because Mommy has to work really hard for a while. But you'll love staying with Grandma and Grandpa. And I'll come see you every weekend. I promise."

Stella's bottom lip trembled. "Every weekend?"

"Every single one."

It nearly killed her to drive away. To leave her daughter behind again. But this was temporary. This was for their future.

FIVE YEARS LATER - PRESENT DAY

Five years. That's what it had taken Edra Reine to get here.

At thirty-three, she was VP of Strategic Development at Hayes Industries and a major shareholder. The woman the board called when they needed problems solved.

She had clawed her way up through the ranks, managing critical projects and steering innovation. Leading three acquisitions that doubled the company’s valuation. When Chairman Hayes's health failed, she didn't step aside. She stepped in.

The board relied on her.

Trusted her.

Needed her.

She was exactly what she wanted to be.

She didn't need marriage.

She didn't need Michael Hayes.

Wherever the hell he had disappeared to.

Nobody at Hayes knew about Stella. Her daughter lived in Pasadena with her parents during the week. Edra drove out every weekend, but those worlds never touched.

It was safer that way.

Inside the Hayes Industries boardroom, a meeting was ending. Edra's proposal, the Neuro-Tech acquisition, had just passed with huge support. An ambitious project aimed at understanding the human brain with precision that could change medicine and AI forever.

The technology was expensive, the stakes were massive, but the board trusted her vision.

"With this winning vote, the motion passes," Edra announced calmly, authority in every word.

"Let the minutes show that this acquisition was achieved without using the Hayes family trust. A clear sign of the growth of our independent divisions."

"Ms. Reine, this is impressive work," one of the board members said. "If this pulls through, you'll have secured the company's future for the next decade. You make me proud to be part of Hayes Industries."

"Indeed. And I must say that if anyone tried to remove you now, they'd face an outright revolt. When can we begin implementation?" Another member added.

A genuine smile touched her lips. "Thank you. I appreciate the confidence. And, we're ready to move forward immediately. All we need is final approval and—"

The heavy oak door of the boardroom burst open.

"Hello, everyone!"

Silence slammed into the room.

Michael Hayes walked in.

Tall. Firm. Still carrying the devastating confidence that had once stolen her heart and shattered it in the same breath. Ten years had sharpened him, refined him into something harder, colder, breathtakingly handsome, and far more dangerous.

Edra's breath caught. Her face drained of color. The freezing chill from a decade ago returned, tightening painfully around her chest. Of all the people in the world—

Him.

She straightened, swallowed. Clamping down on the tremor in her legs, she lifted her chin with hard-earned dignity.

His cloudy blue eyes swept the room of shocked executives before settling on her. They lingered there, looking at the powerful woman she had become.

A familiar, mocking smirk curved his lips.

"I believe I'm not late," his voice carrying the full authority of the Hayes bloodline. "The heir has arrived. And I'm here to take over from my father."

Shock rippled through the boardroom.

At the far end of the table, one board member didn't look shocked. Voss Oswald leaned back, fingers laced, a faint, satisfied smile playing at the corners of his mouth—expression otherwise unreadable.

"Take over?" Mr. Thompson sputtered. "Mr. Hayes, your father's passing was barely two weeks ago. This transition—"

"—is happening now." Michael cut in, leaning against the empty chair at the head of the table. "The paperwork has been filed. Let's move to business."

He turned to her.

"Hello, Edra."

Ten years.

Ten years and this is the first thing he says to her? Anger rippled through Edra. She rounded the table slowly and stopped inches from him.

"Michael," she said coldly. "This boardroom is not a toy you can abandon and stroll back in to pick up when you feel like it."

She walked toward the head of the table, stopping just short of the CEO chair. "Votes have not been passed for a CEO in Hayes Industries."

Michael laughed softly, eyes sweeping over her. It felt like yesterday, her at twenty-three. Innocent, radiant, so sure about their wedding. He wished things had turned out differently, but maybe this was always how it had to end. His laughter faded.

"Ms. Reine, everyone here knows I am the next CEO of Hayes Industries," he said coldly.

"While you were still in school, struggling with capstone, I'd already secured two multimillion-dollar contracts for this company. At twenty-five, only a few years out of college. Imagine what ten more years have made me capable of. Do not test me."

He paused.

"Now, remind me again, why is Hayes acquiring Neuro-Tech?"

"A decade is a long time to expect blind trust, Mr. Hayes," Edra replied. "I demand proof of your current ability. Your years in exile, building a mysterious portfolio, do not automatically qualify you to run a global corporation. Your sudden return is opportunistic and insulting to those who stayed and grew Hayes Industries."

The softness drained from Michael's face, replaced by a hard scowl.

"Ms. Reine, should I assume your unresolved emotional baggage from a decade ago is clouding your judgment? You've grown comfortable wielding power in my father's absence. Consider your tenure and the majority shares you control under review, Edra. The honeymoon is over."

Michael didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. He was a man who meant every word he spoke.

The room went dead silent. The words struck Edra like burning coal. She swallowed, pulse hammering, rage burning beneath her skin.

"You speak of baggage, Michael? You are the baggage! And I have spent ten years cleaning up your messes!" She fired back. "The audacity to return and claim a company that you haven't lifted a finger to fix in ten years. You must think you own the entire earth."

She lifted her gaze to meet his, unflinching.

"You came back to claim a company, but what you've met is a game, and trust me, I have learned to win."

Her promise carried the fierce roar of a wounded lioness.

"What can I say? I am the bloodline, the qualified. And you are the inconvenient competition." He replied, dismissing her words with a confidence that bordered on arrogance.

Edra turned sharply to the board.

"I move for an immediate vote of no confidence in the self-proclaimed new CEO, citing a lack of current executive experience and failure to present a succession plan to this board."

Her voice sliced through the tension. Clean. Decisive.

Michael's eyes widened. Genuine shock flashed across his face. He had expected resistance, yes. But not this. Not immediately.

Before the board could react, he crossed the space between them. His hand shot out, fingers locking around her wrist. He spun her back to him with brutal precision. Two predators locked at the edge of violence.

"Walk out now," he growled, low and lethal, "or you lose more than just this vote. Walk out, or I begin auditing every one of your pet projects. Starting with Neuro-Tech. Don't test me, Edra. Not anymore."

Edra laughed, short and dry, as she tore her wrist free. She lifted her chin, her gaze level, merciless.

"Listen to me, Michael. My fears died ten years ago, thanks to you." Her lips curved into something glacial. "You'll lose everything. I will fight you and I won't stop until I see you broken."

She turned and walked out, heels striking the floor in steady, unshaken rhythm, leaving a boardroom frozen in her wake.

Michael didn't look away.

His breathing faltered as his eyes followed her. Her posture, her control, the unmistakable strength of the woman she had become. The possessive fire he'd buried for a decade stirred, then burned.

Hadn't she hurt him enough?

Hadn't she already destroyed him once?

Now she stood between him and what he believed was his by right.

He exhaled sharply, a dark chuckle slipping free.

He had sworn he would forgive her.

That he would quietly remove her from Hayes Industries.

That she would leave with her dignity intact.

But if Edra Reine wanted to play dirty—

He would meet her there.

He would make one thing clear.

No one reaches for his heart and walks away untouched.

Edra made it to the elevator before her hands started shaking.

She jabbed the button. The doors opened. She stepped inside.

Alone.

Her phone buzzed.

A text from her mom with a photo attachment.

Nine-year-old Stella grinning at the camera, gap-toothed and beautiful. The science project she'd built sitting in front of her. Michael's eyes staring back from her daughter's face.

Edra's hand trembled as she stared at the photo.

Then she deleted the notification.

Michael could never know.

The elevator descended. Edra leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

She had just declared war on Michael Hayes.

And he had no idea she was hiding his daughter.