Reborn as the Discarded Fiancée of the Ruthless CEO

Chapter2

The Daughter Who Chose War

Elowen's POV

The silence in the ballroom was deafening. Every guest-starred at me like I'd grown a second head. Garrick's face had gone from purple to an alarming shade of white. Maribel's perfectly manicured nails dug into her champagne glass. Rowan stood frozen, his mouth slightly open.

"Proof?" Garrick finally managed. His voice was dangerously quiet. "What are you talking about?"

I pulled my phone from my clutch. My hands were steady. Strange, how calm I felt when my entire body should have been shaking.

"The Ashbourne Foundation," I said clearly, loud enough for everyone to hear. "The charity that's supposed to fund children's hospitals. Want to know where the money actually goes?"

"Elowen, stop this right now." Maribel's voice was sharp with panic.

I ignored her. "Offshore accounts. Shell companies. The foundation is a front for money laundering. And every single document is signed with my name."

Gasps erupted around the room. Garrick lunged toward me, but I stepped back.

"Don't touch me," I warned.

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Garrick's voice shook with barely controlled rage. "You're clearly having some kind of breakdown.."

"Am I?" I held up my phone. "Because I have copies of everything. The wire transfers. The falsified tax documents. The forged charity reports. All bearing my signature. Signatures I never actually gave."

Rowan moved closer. "Elowen, put the phone away. We can discuss this.."

"Like we discussed my engagement? Like we discussed using my name without my permission?" I looked at him, really looked at him. The man I'd loved once, in a sad, desperate way. "Did you ever see me as a person, Rowan? Or just a convenient signature?"

He flinched. Good.

"This is ridiculous," Maribel said, her voice rising. "Someone escorted her upstairs. She's obviously unwell."

"I'm perfectly well," I turned to address the crowd. "I'm also done being your scapegoat. Every illegal transaction this family has made for the past three years has been signed in my name. When everything falls apart, who do you think they'll blame?"

"Enough!" Garrick roared.

But I wasn't finished. "The Riverside Development Project. Remember that? The one that displaced two hundred families? The permits were forged. My name is on those permits. I never saw them. Never approved them."

A reporter in the back was frantically typing on his phone. Perfect. Seraphine suddenly burst into tears. "Elowen, why are you doing this? We're family. We love you."

I turned to her slowly. Sweet, innocent Seraphine. The real daughter. The one who watched me suffer and never lifted a finger.

"Love?" The word tasted bitter. "Is that what this is?"

"Of course it is." Tears streamed down her perfect face. "You're my sister. We all care about you. This engagement is for your own good.."

"Don't." My voice cut like glass. "Don't you dare pretend you care. You watched them use me. You watched them erase me. You said nothing."

"That's not fair.."

"Life isn't fair, Seraphine. You of all people should know that."

Maribel stepped forward, her face twisted with fury. "How dare you speak to her that way?" After we took you in. Fed you. Clothed you. Gave you everything.."

The slap came so fast I barely saw it. My head snapped to the side. Pain exploded across my cheek. The room went deadly silent.

I touched my face slowly, feeling the heat spreading. In my first life, this slap had come later, in private. It had broken something in me. Now, it feels different. Now, it feels like freedom. I looked at Maribel. "Thank you."

She blinked, confused. "What?"

"Thank you for showing everyone exactly who you are." I glanced around the room. "Did you all see that? Or should she do it again for the cameras?"

Multiple phones are out now, recording. Maribel's face drained of color.

"Everyone out," Garrick commanded. "This is a private family matter."

"No," I said firmly. "It's not. Not anymore."

But the guests were already leaving, whispering frantically to each other. The damage was done. By morning, this would be everywhere.

When the last guest left, Garrick turned on me with pure hatred in his eyes.

"You stupid, ungrateful girl. Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

"Yes," I said simply. "I've chosen myself."

Rowan grabbed my arm. "Elowen, listen to me. Whatever you think you know, you don't understand the full picture. Come with me. Let me explain.."

I wrenched my arm free. "Don't touch me. Ever again."

"You're making a mistake," he insisted. "Where will you go? What will you do? You have nothing without this family."

"I had nothing with this family." I pulled off the Ashbourne family ring, the one Maribel had given me the day they adopted me. The one I'd worn like a chain. "I was already nothing to you. At least now I'm free."

I dropped the ring on the marble floor. It clattered and rolled, the sound impossibly loud.

Maribel made a choking sound. "If you walk out that door, you are no longer an Ashbourne. You will have nothing. No money. No name. No future."

"Good," I said. "I never wanted to be an Ashbourne anyway."

I turned and walked toward the door. Every step felt lighter than the last.

"Elowen!" Seraphine called after me. "Please, don't do this. We can fix this. We can talk.."

I didn't look back. I pushed through the front doors and stepped into the night. Rain poured from the sky in sheets, soaking through my emerald dress within seconds. Cold water ran down my face, mixing with something hot on my cheeks.

I was crying. But I was also smiling. Thunder rumbled overhead. I stood on the steps of the Ashbourne estate, letting the rain wash over me. Behind me, I could hear shouting. Garrick's voice bellowing orders. Maribel shrieking about reputation.

I didn't care.

I started down the steps, toward the street, toward nothing and everything.

Then I saw it. A black luxury car across the street. The engine is running. Headlights cutting through the rain. Waiting.

My heart stuttered. The back door opened. Inside sat a man I recognized instantly. Even in the darkness, even through the rain, I knew that face. Sharp features. Dark eyes that seemed to see everything. The stranger who'd paid my hospital bills two years from now. The one who'd looked at me like I mattered.

Cassian Valecrest.

But how was he here? How did he know?

He looked at me with a calm intensity that made the world feel smaller, quieter, despite the storm.

"This time," he said, his voice carrying through the rain, "let me help you properly."

I stood frozen on the sidewalk. Water pooled around my feet. Behind me, the Ashbourne estate blazed with light and fury. Ahead of me, an open door and a stranger who'd shown me the only kindness I'd known.

In my first life, I'd died alone. In this life, I ha

d a choice. I took a breath. Then I stepped into the car.