Reborn From Ashes, Found A Love

I sacrificed my dream career for my fiancé, only to find him cheating with his older investor-a betrayal that led to my mother's death. He reached a new level of cruelty when he dumped my mother's ashes in the trash and conspired to have my wedding dress disintegrate off my body at the altar. I vanished for five years, building a new life with a new family, but now he's found us-and just saved my daughter's life to force his way back in.

Chapter 1

Amira Osborne POV:

The end of my world didn't arrive with a bang, but with the soft thud of a cardboard box on my doorstep.

It was a sleek, black box, the kind that held expensive things I' d never buy for myself. I bent down, my brows furrowing at the shipping label. The address was mine, the apartment I shared with my fiancé, Carter. But the name printed in crisp, elegant font was Francine Powers.

Before I could process the confusion, a silver convertible pulled up to the curb. Francine herself unfolded from the driver' s seat, all sharp angles and expensive perfume. She was Carter' s biggest potential investor, a venture capitalist in her late fifties with a reputation for being ruthless in the boardroom and, apparently, careless with her online shopping.

"Amira, darling, you' re a lifesaver," she called out, her voice smooth as aged whiskey. She gestured to the box. "That' s mine. Silly me, I must have put in the wrong address. Carter' s been helping me set up a new tech suite, and your address must have auto-filled. You know how it is."

I nodded, forcing a smile that felt tight on my face. "No problem, Francine."

She took the box, her perfectly manicured fingers brushing against mine. The interaction felt... off. It was a feeling I' d been having a lot lately, a low hum of anxiety I couldn' t quite place.

I shook it off as I walked back inside. Carter was on the verge of securing the funding that would save his startup. My job was to be supportive, not paranoid.

My phone buzzed on the kitchen counter. It was a notification from our joint bank account. My heart didn't just sink; it plummeted, a stone dropping into an icy abyss.

Transaction Alert: The Grand Corinth Hotel - $472.58. Minibar Purchase: Dom Pérignon, Silk Blindfold.

My breath hitched. We were supposed to be saving every penny for the wedding and for Carter' s business. A four-hundred-dollar hotel charge was unthinkable.

There was only one person who had access to that card besides me.

The string that had been holding me together for months finally snapped. It wasn't a loud, violent break, but a quiet, clean severing that left me feeling hollowed out.

I grabbed my keys, my hands shaking so badly I could barely fit the key into the ignition. The drive to the Grand Corinth was a blur of red lights and the frantic thumping of my own heart against my ribs.

At the front desk, I kept my voice steady, a feat of acting I didn' t know I was capable of. "Hi, I' m here to get a key for my fiancé' s room. Carter Wolfe. He said he' d leave my name at the desk."

The clerk, a young man with a bored expression, tapped at his keyboard. "Yes, Ms. Osborne. Room 1208." He slid a keycard across the polished counter without looking up.

The elevator ride felt like an eternity. Each floor dinged with agonizing slowness. By the time I reached the twelfth floor, my palms were slick with sweat. The hallway was carpeted, swallowing the sound of my footsteps as I approached 1208.

I didn' t need the keycard.

I could hear them through the door. A woman' s low, throaty laugh, followed by Carter' s deeper chuckle. The sounds were intimate, laced with a familiarity that made my stomach churn.

"You' re incredible, Francine," Carter' s voice purred, thick with a tone he hadn' t used with me in years. "Absolutely incredible."

"And you, my boy," Francine' s voice was unmistakable, "are a very quick learner."

The name hit me like a physical blow. Francine. The woman whose package had been on my porch an hour ago. The woman Carter was supposed to be courting for business, not... this.

A wave of nausea washed over me, hot and acidic. I stumbled back from the door, pressing a hand to my mouth to stifle a gag.

A memory flared in my mind, sharp and unwelcome. A few weeks ago, I' d glanced at Carter' s laptop and seen his search history. "Powerful older women." "Matronly fetish." At the time, I' d dismissed it as a weird pop-up ad or a random click. Now, the memory solidified into a horrifying truth.

Then came Carter' s voice again, dripping with a casual cruelty that was somehow worse than the moans. "Don' t worry about Amira. She' s just... convenient. Loyal, like a puppy. She' ll be right there waiting when I get home."

The air rushed out of my lungs. My vision blurred with tears of pure, unadulterated humiliation. I looked down at the diamond on my left hand, the one he' d slid onto my finger eight months ago in a haze of promises and whispered futures. Eight years. I had given him eight years of my life. I' d shelved a prestigious AI ethics fellowship at a top tech firm-a dream I' d worked my entire life for-to support him and his struggling startup.

I remembered all the times Francine had called him, needing "urgent help" with some minor tech issue. The weekends he' d spent at her estate, "networking." The time he' d canceled our anniversary dinner because Francine had a last-minute "investor crisis."

He' d even left me alone with a 102-degree fever once because Francine' s new smart-home system was on the fritz.

My fingers, numb and clumsy, worked at the engagement ring. It was tight, clinging to my finger like a shackle. With a final, painful tug, I wrenched it free.

Just then, my phone rang, vibrating against the keycard in my hand. The name on the screen made my heart ache with a different kind of pain. Arjun Cortez. My former university mentor.

"Amira?" his voice was kind, respectful-everything Carter' s was not. "Sorry to bother you. I know you said you weren' t interested, but the lead developer on the Chimera project just dropped out. The fellowship... it' s still open. If you reconsider, the spot is yours. We' d need you to start immediately."

Tears streamed down my face, hot and silent. I leaned my forehead against the cool wood of the hotel room door. Inside, I could hear Francine laughing again.

"Yes," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Yes, Arjun. I' ll take it. I am so, so sorry for how I left things before."

I remembered the day I' d told him I was turning down the fellowship to support Carter. The disappointment in his eyes had been a physical thing. He had invested so much in me, believed in my talent. And I had thrown it all away for a man who thought of me as a convenient puppy. Carter' s startup had taken all my savings, and my decision had nearly given my mentor a heart attack.

"Don' t be sorry, Amira. We' re just glad to have you back," Arjun said, his relief palpable. "You know the terms, though. It' s a five-year commitment. High-security, completely off-grid. No contact with the outside world once you' re in."

"I understand," I said, a strange sense of calm settling over the wreckage of my heart. "I accept."

I ended the call and slid the engagement ring into my pocket. I turned and walked away from that door, away from the life I had built, away from the man I had loved. I didn' t run. I walked, each step deliberate, carrying me further from the humiliation and closer to the life I should have chosen all along.

The tears didn' t stop until I pulled into our driveway. He was already there. Carter' s car was parked, and the front door was ajar.

He stood in the living room, a smug look on his face that quickly morphed into confusion when he saw my expression.

I didn' t waste time. The question clawed its way out of my throat, raw and ragged. "Did you ever love me, Carter? Not even for a second?"

His face hardened. The charm vanished, replaced by a familiar annoyance. "What the hell are you talking about, Amira? Don' t start this. I had a long day of meetings."

"Meetings?" I laughed, a broken, ugly sound. "Is that what you call it?"

Just then, the front door opened wider, and Francine stepped inside, a picture of faux concern. "Is everything alright? I heard shouting."

Carter' s entire demeanor shifted. He softened, his focus immediately snapping to her. "It' s nothing, Francine. Amira' s just being... emotional."

He moved towards her, a subtle, protective gesture that made my last shred of hope wither and die.

After a moment, he escorted a supposedly flustered Francine out, promising to handle me. When he was gone, she turned back to me, her mask of concern dropping to reveal a cold, triumphant smirk. "You should learn your place, dear."

My voice was ice. "Don' t worry, Auntie. I' ve learned."

Her smirk faltered. Then, in a move so shocking it took my breath away, she raised her hand and slapped her own face. Hard. The sound cracked through the quiet apartment.

Carter came running back in, his eyes wide. He saw Francine' s red cheek, the tears welling in her eyes, and then he looked at me. His expression turned thunderous.

"What the hell did you do?" he snarled, advancing on me. He grabbed my wrist, his grip like iron. "You will apologize to her. Now."