Reborn: The Billionaire Second Chance Bride

MIA'S POVDad doesn't speak to me for the rest of the day. He sends me home with a curt text that says "You've embarrassed the family enough."I drive to my apartment in silence, and the whole way I replay Ethan Black's words. "You're lying." Like he could see straight through me to the pathetic truth underneath.Jason is waiting outside my building with flowers. Red roses, my favorite. Except they're not really my favorite—I just told him that once and he never bothered to learn otherwise."Happy birthday, beautiful." He pulls me into a hug that smells like expensive cologne and lies.I know what happens next. I let him inside. We order takeout. He stays over and tomorrow morning Lily will text asking how my night was, fishing for details she'll use later."Actually, I'm really tired, Jason. Can we reschedule?"His smile falters. "But it's your birthday. I took off work early for this."The guilt rises automatically, trained into me like a reflex. "I know, I'm sorry, I just—""Is thi

MIA'S POVMonday morning I arrive at Black Industries at seven fifty-five AM. The building is glass and steel, intimidating in a way our family's old brick headquarters could never be. Security directs me to the forty-second floor where a woman with perfect posture and a severe bun waits by the elevator."Miss Carter. I'm Victoria Hayes, Mr. Black's executive assistant. Follow me."She walks fast. I struggle to keep up in heels Mom insisted I wear to "look professional." Victoria leads me past rows of people working in silent concentration until we reach a corner office with floor-to-ceiling windows.Ethan sits behind a massive desk, reading something on his tablet. He doesn't look up."You're early. Trying to impress me?""You said eight. It's seven fifty-eight.""I said eight. Most people interpret that as arriving at seven thirty to prepare." He finally looks at me. "Sit."I sit. Victoria remains standing by the door like a guard."Your job is simple. You tell me everything about C

MIA'S POVI sleep better than I have in years. Maybe in two lifetimes.There's something wrong with that. My sister just cried in my apartment and I stood there, dry-eyed, and watched her go. I should feel guilty. I've been feeling guilty about Lily since before I knew how to spell her name.Instead I wake up at six AM, make coffee the way I actually like it, with no sugar, no cream, and sit by my window watching the city start its morning.My phone has forty-two notifications. I ignore all of them.I arrive at Black Industries at seven twenty. The security guard at the front desk is different from yesterday, a younger man who checks my badge twice and looks uncertain."Miss Carter. Mr. Black said to tell you….""Good morning," I say, and walk past him to the elevator.It's a small thing. But I didn't wait to be given permission.The forty-second floor is already busy when I arrive. People moving fast, voices low, energy tight in a way that feels different from yesterday. I find Victo

MIA’S POVI don’t go home. Instead, I sit in my car in the parking garage across the street from my apartment building. I stare at the steering wheel like it might give me answers.Thirty thousand dollars. That’s what I owe Ethan now. That's ten thousand less than yesterday. I didn’t even know what I had done to earn it.My phone buzzes. Mom. I let it ring. Then it buzzes again. Lily. Then Jason. I turn the phone face down on the passenger seat. For the first time since I woke up on my twentieth birthday, I don’t answer any of them.The silence feels strange. It’s like stepping outside during a storm and realizing the rain stopped hours ago.I reach my apartment at seven. The hallway outside my door smells like burnt toast. Inside, the apartment is quiet too quiet. Lily didn’t come back. For a moment, I wonder if she cried in the hallway after she left. That thought used to destroy me. Now it just sits there, dull and distant.I lock the door. Then I check the windows, the bat

MIA’S POVDarkness fills my apartment. Complete. Total.The kind that makes the air feel heavier.“Ethan?”“I’m here.”His voice through the phone is the only thing anchoring me right now.“What do you mean someone cut the power?”“I mean exactly that.”My throat tightens.“Like… a blackout?”“No.”His answer is immediate.“Then what?” “The rest of the block still has electricity.”Ice slides down my spine.“So you’re saying”“Your building specifically lost power.” My pulse starts racing.“That’s not normal.”“No.”I move slowly toward the window. Outside, the streetlights are still on. Cars are still passing.The building across from mine glows with warm yellow windows.But my apartment building, dark with an eerie feeling that matched my fearEvery floor.Every window.“Ethan…”“I see it.”Of course he does. He’s probably watching through twenty different cameras.“Should I leave?”“No.”My stomach drops.“No?”“Stay inside.”“Why?”Another pause.Then he says quietly,“Because some