Ruin Me Mr CEO의 모든 챕터: 챕터 81 - 챕터 90

Rielle“Happy—” she started brightly, then stopped dead.Her eyes flicked from the cake to us; Zayden’s arms still loosely around my waist, my hands on his chest, our foreheads close enough that anyone could read the moment.I let go immediately, stepping back, turning fully toward her.On the top of the cake, in perfect cursive script: Happy Birthday Zay.I read it out loud without thinking. “Happy Birthday Zay…?”The words hung in the air, confused and small.I turned to him, brows drawn together. “It’s your birthday?”He opened his mouth, but Linda was already moving forward, smile bright and unbothered, like she hadn’t just walked into the middle of something intimate.“Happy birthday, Zay,” she sang softly, the tune light and familiar, like she’d done this a hundred times. Her eyes stayed on him only, as if I’d suddenly become part of the furniture.Zayden’s expression softened in a way that twisted something in my chest. He reached out and patted the top of her head; gentle, aff

RielleThe blindfold stayed on until the engine cut and I guided him inside.He let me take his hand.Let me lead him.Something Zayden Wolfe never lets anyone do.I’d picked a tiny rooftop restaurant tucked behind an old bookshop no sign, no menu outside. Just a single table for two under strings of warm bulbs, the city lights sprawling below us like spilled gold. A gentle wind. One waiter. Total privacy.He’d smiled when I removed the blindfold, that rare, unguarded smile meant only for me.We’d been eating maybe ten minutes linguine in lemon cream, the kind he once admitted he loved but never ordered when his phone buzzed on the table.He glanced at the screen, his brow twitching slightly.“Lucas,” he said, almost surprised.He answered.“Hey.”His voice was softer than it ever got in the office.“Yeah… thanks. I appreciate it.”A pause.He laughed low, tired.“No, I’m not working. Rielle dragged me out,” he said, tilting his head toward me. “Threatened to handcuff me to the chair

ZaydenIt’s been a month since my birthday.A month since Rielle turned what should have been just another painful day into something quiet and warm. She’s been the best thing in my life, steady, soft, fierce in all the ways I never knew I needed. She holds me through the nightmares when they come, doesn’t flinch when I wake up gasping, just pulls me close and whispers that I’m safe until the shaking stops. She calls me out when I overthink, kisses the doubt away before it can take root.Linda’s been by my side too, working late into the nights, helping me build the systems that will bury Dante the second he makes his next move. She’s sharp, relentless, loyal in a way that’s always felt like family. But Rielle and Linda… they don’t get along. There’s tension there I’ve tried to ignore, chalked up to clashing personalities.Rielle’s mentioned it more than once carefully that Linda’s feelings for me might run deeper than friendship. I brushed it off every time. Linda’s been in my life

RielleI had stepped out to grab Zayden’s usual black coffee with no sugar, just a splash of oat milk the way he’d started drinking it because of me—when I returned sooner than expected. The hallway was quiet, but as I approached his office door, raised voices leaked through the glass.I paused, hand on the handle.The door was already cracked open a few inches. I nudged it just enough to see inside without being noticed, then froze.Zayden was on his feet, back rigid, palms slammed flat on his desk. Across from him stood an older man…tall, silver-haired, impeccably suited. The resemblance was unmistakable: same sharp jaw, same storm-gray eyes. Father and son, no question.I should have closed the door. Given them privacy. Walked away.But I didn’t.I stayed half-hidden, coffee cups warm in my hands, heart already pounding.“Evelyn is in town,” the man was saying, voice calm but carrying. “Using the name Mira, from what I’ve heard.”My heart skipped; hard.Mira.The woman from the mal

RielleI drove home on autopilot, tears blurring the city lights into streaks of gold and red. By the time I stumbled through my apartment door, my chest felt like it was caving in.I kicked off my shoes, dropped my bag, and curled up on the couch with my phone. First I called Elsie…three times. Voicemail every time. Of course she’d be out with her new guy tonight.So I called the one person who always answered.Mom picked up on the second ring.“Rie? Baby, what’s wrong?”The sound of her voice undid me.I started crying ugly, hiccupping sobs I couldn’t hold back anymore.“Mom… I messed up. I messed everything up.”“Slow down, sweetheart. Breathe. Tell me what happened.”I tried. The words tumbled out in fragments.“I met his mom. Twice. And I didn’t even realize it was her. She was right there, talking to me, and I was too stupid to see it. She was using a different name Mira and I just… I thought it was a coincidence. I didn’t tell him. I didn’t put it together.”Mom made a soft, so