REBORN TO BREAK HIS HEART

PAST LIES, PRESENT CONSEQUENCES.

Claire spent most of the morning pacing the length of Ethan’s penthouse like a ghost with nowhere to haunt.

Everything about the space was precise, sterile, and cold. The furniture was designer. The surfaces sparkled. The air smelled faintly of cedar and distance. And yet, not a single photograph existed. No frames. No memories. No warmth.

He had erased her from this place before she ever stepped foot in it.

She sat at the edge of the cream leather couch, eyes trained on the skyline outside. Her fingers tapped restlessly against her thigh. She hadn’t touched the food he left.

She couldn’t.

Eating would mean accepting his hospitality.

And accepting his hospitality meant accepting the fact that she had fallen so far… she had nowhere else to turn.

⸻

At noon, the door buzzed.

Claire jumped.

She hesitated, then walked to the panel. The screen showed a delivery man holding a package, a clipboard in hand.

She opened the door.

“Delivery for Mr. Cole,” the man said, holding out a sleek black box with no branding.

“He’s not home,” she replied, but accepted it anyway. “You can leave it with me.”

“Got it. Sign here.”

She scribbled her name, closed the door, and set the box on the counter.

Curiosity tugged at her.

Ethan didn’t seem like the kind of man to receive surprises.

With trembling hands, she lifted the lid.

Inside were legal documents. A contract. Heavy, crisp paper with cold black ink. The letterhead read:

Reed Holdings Legal Affairs Division.

Her stomach dropped.

Logan’s family.

She pulled out the pages and read.

And with every line, her blood went colder.

“The Reed-Bennett Property Exchange… effective after marriage…”

“Ownership rights… transferred under Clause 14…”

“Inheritance override granted by spousal consent…”

Claire’s fingers trembled. Her eyes blurred with rage.

This was the proof.

This was the deal Logan and her father had arranged behind her back. This was what Sabrina must’ve known. Her mother’s inheritance wasn’t protected by love. It was leveraged for power.

And they needed Claire to marry Logan for it to work.

No marriage?

No transfer.

That’s why they were so desperate.

That’s why they let her fall into their trap.

Her head spun.

She dropped the papers onto the counter and stepped back, heart hammering.

This wasn’t just betrayal.

This was theft.

⸻

The door clicked.

Ethan stepped in, suit jacket slung over his shoulder, tie loosened, phone in hand.

He froze the moment he saw her—standing pale-faced in the kitchen, surrounded by open documents.

His eyes narrowed. “You opened my delivery?”

Claire looked up slowly. “You knew.”

His expression didn’t change.

“You knew what Logan was doing,” she said. “You knew the moment I walked away from that wedding, I’d become a threat to him. And you’ve had this proof the whole time.”

He said nothing.

“You could’ve shown me. You could’ve told me. Why didn’t you?”

Ethan walked over, setting his jacket on the bar stool. “Because it’s not my job to fix your life.”

Claire flinched. “But you had this—”

“And what would you have done with it, Claire?” he snapped, finally facing her full-on. “Run to your father? Cry to Sabrina? You weren’t ready to see it.”

“I’m ready now.”

“Good,” he said flatly. “Then take it. Use it. Burn them down if you want. But don’t expect me to be your firestarter.”

Claire stepped forward, frustration boiling. “Why are you so angry at me for finally trying to make things right?”

“Because you only try when you’re broken,” Ethan hissed. “You don’t come back until you’re bleeding.”

The words hit her like ice water.

She stared at him.

And for the first time, she saw it—not just anger, not just coldness.

Pain.

Deep. Raw. Caged behind control.

“I was in love with you,” he said, quieter now. “For years. And you never even looked at me. And when you did? You chose him.”

Claire’s voice broke. “I made the wrong choice.”

“Yeah,” Ethan muttered. “And I paid for it.”

He turned away, walking toward his room.

Claire stared at the documents on the counter—proof of betrayal. Power. Leverage.

And then she looked at Ethan’s retreating back.

He didn’t slam the door this time.

He just closed it gently.

Which, somehow, hurt more.