REBORN TO RUIN HIM, CROWNED BEYOND HIS REACH

Chapter 4Who the Hell Is She?!

Elara’s POV

Five Years Later…

The ballroom buzzed with quiet power.

People at this level didn’t need volume to dominate a room.

Every handshake carried strategy, every smile hid calculation and every conversation was worth millions.

And tonight? Every eye kept drifting back to me.

“Ms. Virelli,” a silver-haired investor beside me said with a laugh, “your presence alone just changed the mood of this entire summit.”

I glanced at him calmly, swirling the champagne in my glass. “That tends to happen.”

He laughed harder, though uncertainty still lingered in his eyes. Most people never knew whether I was joking anymore.

I preferred it that way. Beside me, Matteo checked his watch discreetly.

“Your next meeting starts in ten minutes,” he reminded quietly.

I nodded, then the ballroom doors opened. Most people didn’t notice the shift immediately.

I did.

The atmosphere changed subtly. Five years later, and I would still recognize that presence anywhere.

Matteo leaned slightly closer. “Dominic Ashford just arrived.”

Of course he did. Right on time. I lifted my glass and took a slow sip, letting the moment settle instead of reacting to it.

In my first life, I would have searched for him the second he entered a room, waited for him to notice me.

Now? I made men like Dominic wait for me.

“Send them to the conference room,” I said calmly before turning away without another glance back.

The conference room was silent when I entered. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city skyline, glowing beneath the night lights.

I walked toward the head of the table and sat down smoothly, opening the file Matteo had prepared earlier.

I barely looked at the numbers. Numbers were predictable, but people weren’t.

A moment later, the door opened and Matteo stepped inside first. “Mr. Ashford and Ms. Laurent have arrived.”

I closed the file slowly. “Send them in.”

The door opened again, but I didn’t look up immediately.

“Mr. Ashford,” Matteo greeted professionally.

“Mr. Rinaldi.”

Dominic’s voice remained exactly the same, cold.

“And you must be Ms. Laurent.”

Isabella’s voice followed smoothly. “It’s a pleasure.”

Of course it was. People like Isabella worshipped rooms filled with power.

Dominic spoke again. “I heard the Virelli heiress would be attending personally.”

I almost smiled. There it was. Business first, as always.

“I’ve actually met her before,” Isabella said quickly.

A lie and an obvious one. But lying had always come naturally to her.

“Oh?” Dominic asked. I could already picture the polite smile on his face without even looking.

“Yes,” Isabella continued smoothly. “At a private event. She’s… impressive.”

Of course she would say that. People feared what they couldn’t control.

I closed the file in front of me as the sharp sound cut through the room instantly, then silence followed.

I looked up. Dominic saw me first and for the first time in five years, his composure shattered.

“Elara?”

My name left his lips slowly like he wasn’t completely sure it was real.

Beside him, Isabella froze. The confidence drained from her face so quickly it was almost amusing. Neither of them moved and neither of them spoke.

They just stared.

Good. Let them stare because the woman sitting in front of them no longer looked anything like the Elara Quinn they once destroyed. Five years had changed everything.

The soft desperation in my eyes was gone. What replaced it was something colder.

Dominic’s brows slowly pulled together. “What are you doing here?”

The question sounded ridiculous even to him.

I remained silent as his eyes swept across the room before returning to me again, then realization hit hard.

“You came back?” His voice lowered slightly. “For this?”

His jaw tightened subtly. “Or did you finally realize leaving me was a mistake?”

I said nothing and somehow, my silence affected him more than words could have.

“You should save yourself the effort,” he continued, colder now. “I’m not interested in rekindling the past.”

Beside him, Isabella visibly relaxed. Still clinging possessively to his arm like she had already won.

Then Dominic added. “And I don’t take back things I’ve already discarded.”

Discarded? The word almost made me laugh. Instead, I rose slowly from my seat.

I walked toward him calmly, one step at a time, until I stopped directly in front of him, close enough to see the tension gathering beneath his composure and enough to notice the way his eyes stayed fixed on my face.

I knew he was studying me and comparing me to the woman he remembered. Trying to understand what happened to her.

I tilted my head slightly, then I extended my hand toward him gracefully. “Mr. Ashford,” I said smoothly.

A smile touched my lips. “We’ve never been properly introduced.”

His eyes darkened instantly because for the first time since meeting me Dominic Ashford realized he no longer knew who I was.