Reborn To Love My Paranoid Billionaire

The freezing Atlantic wind whipped Audrey Hayes's hair across her face, stinging her eyes like tiny glass shards.

She stood on the very edge of the yacht's deck. Behind her was the churning, black abyss of international waters. In front of her were three heavily tattooed mercenaries, their massive frames blocking any hope of escape.

The lead thug stepped forward. He slapped a heavy metal pipe against his open palm. The sharp, rhythmic smack forced Audrey to take another step back. Her spine hit the fragile, waist-high safety railing. The cold metal bit through her thin silk dress.

Audrey looked down at the violent, dark waves crashing against the hull. Her stomach twisted into a tight, painful knot. The sheer terror of imminent death paralyzed her limbs. Her breathing turned into rapid, shallow gasps.

Then, a harsh crackle of static broke through the howling wind.

The thug held up a burner phone on speaker. Carl Santos's voice echoed from the cheap speaker. It was a voice Audrey had loved, a voice she had ruined her marriage for.

"Finish the job cleanly. No bodies, no evidence," Carl ordered. His tone was as casual as if he were ordering a coffee.

A high-pitched giggle sounded in the background of the call. Celina Hayes. Audrey's own cousin.

The sound sliced through Audrey's chest like a physical blade. Her lungs seized. She couldn't draw in air.

"Make sure you get that diamond bracelet off her wrist before you toss her," another voice chimed in. Jasmin Parsons. Her supposed best friend. "It's gaudy, but it'll pawn for a fortune. We have a trust fund payout to celebrate!"

The sheer weight of the triple betrayal hit Audrey with the force of a physical blow. Her knees buckled. She slumped slightly against the freezing metal railing. Her hands gripped the cold steel so hard her knuckles turned bone-white.

The lead thug didn't wait any longer. He lunged forward. The metal pipe swung in a vicious, deadly arc, aimed directly at her temple. He wanted to knock her unconscious before throwing her over.

A sudden, explosive burst of pure adrenaline flooded Audrey's veins. It wasn't fear anymore. It was pure, unadulterated hatred.

She dropped her weight, dodging the swing by a fraction of an inch. The heavy pipe smashed into the safety railing instead. The metal groaned and snapped under the immense force.

Knowing she was dead either way, Audrey refused to give them the satisfaction of a clean kill. She didn't scream. She simply leaned back into the void and let gravity take her.

She threw herself backward over the broken railing.

Audrey free-fell through the icy air. The wind roared in her ears, deafening and absolute. Her mind flashed with rapid, chaotic images of her ruined life. The arguments. The screaming matches. The blind trust she placed in snakes.

She hit the freezing ocean surface with bone-shattering force.

The impact forced every ounce of air from her lungs instantly. It felt like hitting solid concrete. Saltwater rushed violently into her nose and mouth. The paralyzing cold caused her muscles to lock up completely. She couldn't move her arms. She couldn't kick her legs.

Sinking rapidly into the crushing darkness, Audrey forced her eyes open. The distant, blurry lights of the yacht faded away above her.

Her lungs burned with a desperate, agonizing need for oxygen. Her chest convulsed. But she clenched her jaw shut, refusing to swallow the seawater just yet.

In her final moments of fading consciousness, a single image cut through the darkness.

Barrett Kensington.

She saw his sharp jawline. His dark, intense eyes. The cold, desperate look on his face the last time she told him she hated him. A profound, suffocating wave of regret washed over her, heavier than the ocean itself.

Audrey mentally swore a blood oath. If she ever got another chance, if the universe granted her one more breath, she would tear Carl, Celina, and Jasmin apart piece by piece.

The lack of oxygen finally overcame her brain. Her vision tunneled into absolute, suffocating blackness.

Then, the sensation of freezing water suddenly vanished.

It was replaced by an overwhelming, stifling wave of intense physical heat.

Audrey's lungs expanded violently. She drew in a massive, ragged gasp of air. It wasn't freezing saltwater. It was dry, warm air, heavy with the scent of cedarwood and expensive mint.

She began coughing uncontrollably. Her throat burned raw. She expected to taste the bitter salt of the Atlantic, but she tasted mint toothpaste instead.

Her eyes snapped open. She struggled to adjust to the dim, warm light filtering through heavy velvet curtains.

A heavy, muscular weight pressed down on her wrists. They were pinned firmly against a soft, silk mattress.

Panic seized her. Her muscle memory was still fighting the ocean. Audrey thrashed her legs violently, expecting to kick water. Instead, her knees slammed into solid, warm, muscular thighs.

A low, furious growl sounded right next to her ear. The deep baritone sent a shiver of pure terror down her spine.

Audrey turned her head sharply. Her blurry vision finally focused.

She saw the sharp jawline. The blazing, dark eyes. Barrett Kensington.

Barrett leaned his weight fully onto her. His face was twisted in a terrifying mixture of rage and desperate possessiveness. His chest heaved against hers.

Audrey stopped struggling. Her brain short-circuited. She stared past his broad shoulders, recognizing the dark mahogany headboard. The heavy drapes. The master suite of the Kensington estate.

It was a place she hadn't stepped foot in for three years.

She looked down. She was wearing the exact same emerald silk nightgown she had torn during their most explosive fight years ago.

The impossible truth crashed down on her, stealing her breath away once more. She hadn't just survived. Her consciousness had been violently thrown back in time.