Ashes Of Love; The Billionaire's Payback

The first time Kael Arden met Edward Langston, he thought it had to be some kind of mistake.

The man didn't look like he belonged on the street. But life doesn't care what you look like. It can break you down little by little-through heartbreak, betrayal, and loss-until you're nothing like the person you used to be.

Kael had been that person once. Now he was just a man sleeping under bridges, doing odd jobs for change, and trying to forget a last name that used to mean something.

That morning, he saw an older man stumble.

Sharp suit. Silver cane. Skin pale and tight with illness. People walked right past him-eyes on their phones, faces blank. Even the valet looked and turned away.

But Kael didn't hesitate.

He caught the man just before he hit the ground and helped him to a bench.

"You alright, sir?"

The man grimaced, one hand on his chest. "Just a dizzy spell. It'll pass."

Kael stayed with him. Waited until his breathing steadied. Then he spent the last of his money on a bottle of water and handed it over without a word.

The man studied him for a long time.

"You're not from the streets."

Kael gave a half-smile. "That obvious?"

"Only in your eyes."

That afternoon, a black car pulled up outside the shelter where Kael was sitting. A suited driver stepped out.

"Mr. Langston would like to speak with you."

---

Kael had never seen anything like the Langston estate.

Massive columns. Cold marble floors that echoed underfoot. A chandelier that looked like frozen fire. It all felt like a dream you weren't meant to touch.

Edward was waiting by the fire, a blanket over his knees, a brandy in hand. He gestured Kael closer.

"I asked around," he said.

Kael tensed. "And what did you find?"

Edward smiled faintly. "A story that doesn't scare me. You remind me of someone I used to be."

Kael arched his brow. "This where you offer me a job?"

"Something like that."

He nodded toward the doorway. A young woman stepped in.

She was tall, graceful. Long chestnut hair and guarded gray eyes-like she'd learned how to hide her feelings just to survive.

"My granddaughter," Edward said. "Selene."

She didn't say much. Just looked at Kael. Not cold, but cautious.

"I brought you here," Edward went on, "because I want you to marry her."

The room fell silent.

Kael laughed. "You're serious?"

Edward nodded. "I'm dying. And this family is falling apart. Selene needs someone who won't bow to pressure. I saw how you helped me without knowing who I was. That kind of man is rare."

Kael turned to Selene. "What about what she wants?"

She looked surprised. Then gave the smallest smile. "That's a first."

"What is?"

"Someone asking me what I want."

She didn't give an answer, but her silence said enough.

Kael looked back at Edward. "I don't know what this is supposed to be. But I'm not a puppet. And I'm not here to fix your regrets."

Edward's voice stayed calm. "I'm not asking you to save us. I'm offering you the chance to rebuild yourself."

---

Later that evening, Selene found Kael in the garden behind the estate.

She walked barefoot, heels dangling from her fingers. "It wasn't my idea," she said quietly.

"I figured."

"My mom wants me to marry Damien Wycliffe. His family's rich enough to buy this city twice over."

"And you?"

"I don't care about money. But I'm tired of being told who I'm supposed to love."

Kael watched her closely. "You don't even know me."

She met his gaze. "That's true. But when I saw you, my heart didn't say no."

He smiled. "Best compliment I've had in years."

She smiled too. And for the first time in a long while, something stirred between them-quiet, fragile, and real.

By the end of the week, Kael was living in the guesthouse at the edge of the estate.

Selene wasn't warm exactly, but she wasn't cold either. They started talking-safe topics at first. Music. Books. The sound of rain.

He learned she played piano late at night when she couldn't sleep.

She learned he used to dream of designing buildings-back when his life still had direction.

He didn't talk about the pain. She didn't ask. Not yet.

But something was growing.

---

Not everyone in the Langston home was thrilled.

"This is ridiculous," Evelyn snapped, slamming her teacup on the table. "You want her to marry some stray off the street?"

Edward didn't even look up. "He's worth more than you realize."

Her lips tightened. "We lost everything when your company went under. You think love will fix it?"

"It's not about money," Selene said, stepping into the room.

Her brother scoffed. "It's always about money. You think feelings will pay the mortgage?"

Evelyn turned to Selene. "Damien Wycliffe's offer is still on the table."

"And the price?" Selene asked.

"You marry him."

Selene folded her arms. "I won't do it."

"Then watch this family fall apart."

Selene's voice didn't shake. "Let it."

---

That same night, Damien Wycliffe learned Kael Arden's name.

He was lounging in a velvet booth at an exclusive club, sipping cognac like water. A Langston family friend tried to ease the blow.

"It's just Edward being sentimental. He's not thinking clearly."

Damien didn't answer. His jaw tightened.

"She'll come to her senses," the man said. "You're still her best bet."

Damien lit a cigarette, eyes narrowing. "I want to meet him."

---

Two days later, Kael got an invitation to a "private meeting."

He wore his cleanest shirt-borrowed from Edward-and stepped onto a downtown rooftop.

Damien was already there, sharp in a navy suit, gold cufflinks gleaming.

"You're late," he said smoothly.

Kael didn't reply.

"Wine?" Damien offered.

"No thanks."

"Alright then." He leaned back, cool and confident. "Let's not pretend. Selene was supposed to marry me. A man with power. With legacy."

Kael met his gaze. "If she chooses you, I'll step aside. But not because you say so."

Damien's smile didn't reach his eyes. He opened his briefcase and slid a check across the table.

Kael looked at it. So many zeroes, his heart skipped.

"All yours. Just walk away."

Kael stood slowly. "You really believe everyone has a price."

"They do," Damien said.

Kael crumpled the check in his hand. "Then you've only met desperate men. I'm not one of them."

He walked away.

---

That night, Kael didn't notice the car trailing him. Didn't see the man by the gate. Didn't hear the words whispered into the phone:

"Make it look like an accident."

He took the long way back, under flickering street lights, the city humming low in the distance. Damien's voice still echoed in his mind-but not with fear. With certainty.

Men like that didn't bluff.

At the gate, something felt... wrong.

Too late.

A hand grabbed him. Another hit to the back of his head.

Blood. Pain.

Darkness.

---

He woke up choking on dirt.

Cold. Cramped. The smell of earth thick in his throat.

His hands were bound-loosely. They thought he was dead.

They buried him alive.

But the grave was shallow.

And Kael Arden was not the kind of man who stayed down.

He clawed through the soil, his fingers raw, lungs burning-until he hit the air.

And then he rose.

---

He didn't know how long he lay there, bleeding, broken, barely breathing.

But fate intervened.

A black sedan slowed nearby. The window rolled down.

"God in heaven..." a woman whispered.

She stepped out-older, regal, her silver hair pinned back, eyes sharp as glass.

Vivienne Hale.

A legend in the world of finance. Retired now. Hidden, but never powerless.

She took one look at Kael-and made a decision.

"Help him into the car," she told her driver. "He's mine now."

---

Vivienne's home wasn't warm. It was steel and stone. A fortress for someone who'd been betrayed too many times.

Kael hovered between life and death for days. She stayed. She waited.

When he opened his eyes, she was there-with soup, silence, and patience.

Eventually, he told her his story.

And she told him hers.

She had no heirs. No children. Just a legacy-and an instinct for potential.

"I'll teach you," she said one night. "Not because I pity you. But because you have the fire to start over."

Kael's voice was barely a whisper. "I'm going back. For her."

Vivienne smiled. "Then let's get started."

---

Three Years Later

The city glowed beneath him as Kael stood on the rooftop of a hotel he now partly owned.

He wore black. Calm, lethal, unstoppable.

He was back.

But this wasn't about revenge.

It was about Selene.

He had spent years building everything from ashes. With Vivienne's guidance. With his own pain.

And he had returned to find out the Langstons had declared him dead.

Selene had searched for months.

And then... she'd given up.

Edward was fading. Her family was desperate. They pushed her toward Damien.

The wedding was three days away.

Kael had three nights to rewrite everything.

And one final chance to win back the only woman he'd ever loved.