Reborn To Love My Paranoid Billionaire

I ruined my marriage and abandoned my billionaire husband for the man I thought was my true love.

But instead of a romantic escape, I found myself cornered on the edge of a yacht by three mercenaries.

Through a burner phone on speaker, my lover casually ordered my murder.

"Finish the job cleanly. No bodies, no evidence."

In the background, my own cousin giggled. My supposed best friend chimed in, demanding they strip the diamond bracelet off my wrist before tossing me into the freezing waves. They were celebrating a massive trust fund payout built entirely on my death.

As I was brutally thrown into the churning black abyss, the freezing saltwater filled my lungs.

Sinking into the crushing darkness, I realized I had blindly trusted venomous snakes. My dying thought was of Barrett Kensington-the husband I had tortured with my rebellion, and the only man who truly loved me. If the universe granted me one more breath, I swore a blood oath to tear my betrayers apart piece by piece.

Then, the freezing water suddenly vanished, replaced by stifling heat.

I opened my eyes and found myself pinned against a silk mattress by a furious Barrett. I was back three years ago, on the exact night I first tried to escape him.

This time, instead of fighting him, I relaxed my wrists, looked into his paranoid eyes, and softly whispered.

"Hubby."

--

The freezing Atlantic wind whipped Audrey Hayes's hair, lashing it brutally against her face and stinging her eyes like tiny glass shards. But this was nothing compared to the ice freezing in her veins. Backed against the yacht's fragile railing, she stared dead at the three heavily tattooed mercenaries in front of her.

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

The lead thug held up a phone. "Is that dumb bitch dead yet? Hurry up and throw her to the sharks. I'm sick of pretending to love her." Carl Santos's voice echoed from the cheap speaker. It was the voice Audrey had once loved deeply, the voice she had ruined her own marriage for.

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

Immediately following, a sharp and sweet giggle chimed in the background: "Keep it down, babe, don't scare our baby." Celina Hayes. Audrey's own cousin.

The sound of their flirting sliced open Audrey's chest like a physical blade. Her lungs spasmed instantly, unable to draw in a single breath.

"Wait, don't just push her!" another eager, shrill voice interrupted. "She's wearing the 'Pink Star' diamond bracelet Barrett gave her! Chop off her hand if you have to, but get it! It's worth millions!" That was Jasmin Parsons. Her supposed best friend.

For these people, she had alienated her fiercely devoted husband, handing over her shares, luxury cars, and endless resources. She had single-handedly elevated Carl from a penniless nobody into a wealthy elite, while dressing Celina and Jasmin in head-to-toe designer labels.

But these ungrateful wolves, these parasites who had sucked her dry, had not only conceived a bastard child behind her back-they now wanted to chop off her hand for a final payout after draining every ounce of her worth!

The sheer weight of this triple betrayal hit Audrey like a physical sledgehammer. Her knees buckled, and she slumped weakly against the freezing metal railing. Her hands gripped the cold steel so hard her knuckles turned bone-white.

The lead thug drew a hunting knife, his greedy eyes locked on her wrist. "Hold her down. I'll take the hand."

"Don't touch me!" Audrey screamed, her eyes bloodshot. She would never give them the satisfaction, and she would never let them mutilate her body!

She stared dead into the phone's camera, burning the sound of their laughter into her soul. If she became a vengeful ghost, she swore she would drag them all down to hell!

Without a second of hesitation, she leaned back and threw herself over the railing.

Splash!

The freezing, pitch-black ocean swallowed her instantly. The massive impact nearly shattered her ribs, forcing every ounce of air from her lungs. Salty water violently rushed into her nose and throat. As she sank into the suffocating abyss, endless despair wrapped tightly around her.

In her final moments of fading consciousness, only one man's face broke through the absolute darkness. Barrett Kensington.

She saw his sharp jawline. His deep, intensely burning eyes. And 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.

Tears mixed with the freezing seawater, and her lungs burned like fire. Barrett, I'm so sorry... She swore a blood oath to the deep. If the heavens granted her one more breath, she would tear those traitors apart inch by inch! And then, she would spend the rest of her life loving him.

Darkness completely consumed her.

...

Then, the freezing seawater suddenly vanished.

It was replaced by a stifling, physical wave of intense heat. The air was heavy with the scent of cedarwood, expensive mint, and a faint trace of blood. Audrey's lungs expanded violently. She gasped for air, coughing uncontrollably as fresh oxygen rushed into her body.

"Look at me!" a low, furious roar exploded next to her ear.

Her wrists were pinned fiercely against a soft silk mattress. A heavy, muscle-coiled body suppressed her completely.

Audrey forced her eyes open. Her blurry vision gradually focused, revealing a sharp jawline and a pair of deep eyes burning with rage. Barrett Kensington.

Barrett pressed his entire weight onto her. His face twisted with a terrifying mixture of anger and desperate possessiveness. His chest heaved violently against hers.

"Am I that disgusting to you?!" Barrett's voice trembled, carrying a terrifying mix of rage and absolute heartbreak. He gripped her wrists tightly, his chest heaving. "You'd rather die? You'd rather kill yourself than stay in my house for one more night?!"

Audrey's brain short-circuited. She looked past his broad shoulders and recognized the dark mahogany headboard. The heavy drapes. This was the master suite of the Kensington estate.

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

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

The impossible truth crashed down on her like a boulder, stealing her breath away once more.

She was reborn, back to three years ago when everything could still be salvaged.

Pinned against the silk sheets, Audrey stared up at Barrett. Her mind struggled violently to process the sudden shift from the freezing, crushing ocean to the stifling heat of the bedroom.

Barrett tightened his grip on her wrists. His large hands clamped down like steel vises. His knuckles turned white from the strain. He interpreted her wide-eyed, gasping silence as stubborn, calculated defiance.

He leaned closer. His body heat radiated against her skin. His breath was hot against her cheek, smelling of mint and hard liquor.

"Were you really going to do it?" he demanded, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "Were you really going to jump out the second-story window to meet Carl?"

The mere mention of Carl's name sent a visceral jolt of nausea straight to Audrey's stomach. She remembered now. In the original timeline, just before the final argument that led to her leaving, she had been standing by that very window, tightly clutching the burner phone Carl had given her. The chilling sound of Carl's voice right before she died was still fresh, echoing in her ears.

Audrey violently shook her head side to side. She tried to deny the accusation, her long brunette hair tangling wildly on the silk pillow.

Barrett misinterpreted her head shake. He thought she was refusing to answer. His jaw muscles ticked visibly. His eyes darkened with possessiveness and terrifying fury, which was quickly replaced by endless defeat. The terrifying business tyrant now looked like an abandoned beast.

"Fine..." he whispered hoarsely, slowly loosening his grip. "If you really hate me that much... I'll let you go."

He tried to stand up and leave.

No! Before Barrett could fully straighten up, Audrey's survival instinct-and an overwhelming, soul-crushing wave of guilt-took over her sanity.

She lunged upward. She gently wrapped her hands around his large, rough palms, holding them back.

Barrett flinched violently. Facing her voluntary touch, his entire body went as rigid as iron. He tensed up, fully prepared for her to scratch his skin or bite him, just as she had done countless times in the past.

"Don't let me go..." Audrey took a deep, trembling breath. Her throat still felt raw from the phantom saltwater. She forced herself to speak, her voice coming out as a fragile, broken whisper. "Hubby."

The word tasted foreign on her tongue, yet it acted like a gunshot, shattering the heavy, suffocating silence of the bedroom.

Barrett froze completely. His dark eyes widened in absolute shock. The furious rage drained from his face in an instant, replaced by a profound, staggering disbelief that made him unsteady.

He stared dead at her lips. He watched her mouth, as if trying to verify that the word had actually come from her. His breathing suddenly became rapid and shallow.

"Hubby," Audrey repeated. This time, there was more conviction in her voice.

Her eyes welled up. Genuine tears, filled with profound regret, relief, and sorrow, completely blurred her vision.

A single, heavy tear escaped her eye. It tracked a hot path down her temple and soaked into the silk pillowcase, reflecting the dim light of the bedside lamp.

Barrett yanked his hands back as if her skin was made of burning coals. He stared at his own palms in utter confusion, his chest heaving.

"Brilliant acting," Barrett said. His voice was terrifyingly calm, though the tight muscles in his jaw twitched violently. "To help that pathetic loser escape, you're even willing to call me that?"

"No..." Audrey shook her head desperately. She closed the distance again, grabbing his large, slightly trembling hands tightly with both of hers. Tears spilled from her eyes as she looked up at him, her voice filled with agonizing regret. "I don't want to go with him. Hubby... I'm so sorry. I'm really not leaving."

That second "Hubby" and the tearful apology acted as a sledgehammer, completely shattering Barrett's forced calmness.

His heart, already battered and scarred, was instantly pushed to the absolute edge of madness. He wanted to believe her-he wanted to believe her so badly it was driving him insane! But his severe trauma screamed at him, warning that this was just another cruel, calculated trap.

He abruptly grabbed her wrist-his grip terrifyingly strong yet carefully avoiding her bones-and dragged her forcefully toward the wide-open window!

"You want to see him so badly?!" Barrett snarled, his eyes bloodshot as the freezing night wind whipped across their faces. "He's waiting right outside the gates! Go on! Jump! If you don't die from the fall, I swear I'll sign those damn divorce papers tonight!"

He was pushing her to the extreme. He was certain Audrey would now scream, cry, and yell Carl's name, just like she always did.

However, Audrey merely stared quietly into the pitch-black night. The biting cold wind felt exactly like the freezing water of the Atlantic. It was in that very ocean where Carl had casually ordered her execution.

A surge of intense, venomous hatred boiled in her veins. With a sudden, explosive burst of strength, she yanked her wrist out of Barrett's iron grip!

As Barrett watched in horror, fully believing she was actually going to jump, Audrey abruptly spun around. She grabbed the cheap burner phone sitting on the windowsill-the exact phone Carl had secretly given her for tonight's elopement.

Audrey raised the phone high, and right in front of Barrett's eyes, she hurled it out the window with every ounce of strength she had!

Smash! The phone shattered into a dozen pieces against the stone courtyard below, completely destroyed.

Barrett flinched, his pupils contracting violently.

Audrey turned back and slammed the window shut. She took a deliberate step toward him, staring directly into his shocked, defensive eyes. Her voice trembled, but it was filled with unwavering resolve: "I'm not jumping, and I'm not leaving. I don't want that piece of trash Carl. Barrett, I only want you."

A deathly silence fell over the bedroom.

In a fraction of a second, the thick ice in Barrett's eyes cracked. Audrey clearly caught a flash of desperate, starving yearning in his gaze. But the scars she had left on him were too deep, too painful.

It's a trap, his battered heart screamed. She was just acting. She wanted him to lower the estate's security.

Almost instantly, the expression on Barrett's face froze back to absolute zero. He took a massive step backward, drawing an unbridgeable chasm between them.

"You're wasting your time," Barrett said. His voice returned to absolute zero. The deadness in his tone hurt far more than his rage.

He turned the brass door handle. The mechanical click sounded incredibly loud in the tense, heavy silence of the bedroom.

Panic flared in Audrey's chest. She stepped forward quickly, her fingers grabbing the fabric of his sleeve.

"Please," Audrey begged, her voice carrying genuine panic. "Don't leave me alone tonight. Barrett, please."

Barrett stopped. He turned his head, looking at her desperate grip on his sleeve. His paranoid mind twisted her vulnerability into a tactic. He interpreted her panic as a fear that her grand escape plan was failing.

He violently jerked his arm, forcefully breaking free from her. Her fingers slipped off the wool fabric. His expression hardened into impenetrable stone.

"The perimeter guards have been doubled," Barrett issued his final, chilling warning. "Any attempt to leave this estate tonight will result in Carl's immediate, total financial ruin. I will crush his family by morning."

Audrey opened her mouth to protest. She wanted to scream that she didn't care if Carl burned in hell. She wanted to tell him to go ahead and destroy Carl.

But Barrett didn't give her the chance.

He took a step out into the brightly lit hallway. The harsh light cast a long, dark shadow into the dim bedroom, cutting right across Audrey's feet.

He pulled the heavy oak door shut behind him. The dull thud carried a sickening sense of finality.

Audrey stood frozen. Then, she heard it. The distinct, heavy metallic scrape of the deadbolt sliding into the lock from the outside.

He had completely sealed her inside the master suite.

Audrey rushed to the door. She pressed her palms flat against the cool, smooth wood. She pressed her ear to the door, listening to his heavy, measured footsteps fading down the long hallway until there was only silence.

Her legs gave out. Audrey slid down the smooth wooden door, slumping onto the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest.

The reality of this monumental task pressed heavily onto her shoulders like a mountain. Words were entirely useless against Barrett's trauma. She was the one who had traumatized him. She had to prove her loyalty through undeniable, practical actions.

Audrey pushed herself up from the floor. She wiped away a stray tear with the back of her hand. Her expression shifted from sorrow to cold, hard determination.

She turned her gaze toward the massive walk-in closet on the other side of the room. She decided that her first action must be to erase the physical evidence of her past rebellion.