All Chapters of Reborn To Break His Heart : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

76 Chapters

Chapter 21: The Fall Before the Crash

The boardroom was silent except for the ticking clock on the far wall. Ethan sat at the head of the long glass table, his fingers pressed together beneath his chin. Around him, faces he once trusted shifted with unease.“Mr. Blackwood,” one of the directors finally spoke, voice tight. “The investors are pulling out. The Hartwell deal is gone. And with the recent leak…”“Enough,” Ethan cut in, his tone like steel cracking.He looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes, tie loosened, the weight of too many sleepless nights pressing down on his shoulders. Since that night with Aria, everything started slipping.He had tried to focus on work, but every line of text blurred into her name, every empty room echoed her voice.Now, it seemed even the empire he had built brick by brick, dollar by dollar was crumbling with her absence.Selena stood by the window, dressed in crimson, arms folded. “You should have listened to me, Ethan. Aria was always a liability.”His head snapped toward her.

Chapter 22: The End of Ethan Blackwood

The morning after the accident, the world moved on too quickly, and too easily. News anchors announced Ethan Blackwood’s death with polished voices and practiced sympathy. “A tragic loss…” “A business giant gone too soon…” “A visionary, a leader, a legacy.” To them, he was a headline. To Aria, he was a storm she survived. She sat in the dim glow of her living room television, wrapped in silence. Her coffee had gone cold in her hands, untouched. Ryan stood near the window, watching her carefully. “Aria,” he said softly, “you haven’t spoken since morning.” She didn’t look up. “What am I supposed to say?” He exhaled. “His lawyer called. Ethan… he left something for you.” Her fingers tightened around the mug. “I don’t want anything from him, Ryan. Not after everything.” “I understand.” He hesitated. “But maybe it’s not about wanting. Maybe it’s about… closure.” Aria laughed bitterly. “Closure? With Ethan? He never gave me that in life.” Ryan crossed the room and sat beside h

Chapter 23: The Man Who Holds the Empire

Morning sunlight spilled across Aria’s office like molten gold, but she felt none of its warmth. She stood frozen with her phone pressed to her ear as Ryan’s words echoed through her mind. “Damian Cross… he bought the remaining shares of Blackwood Holdings.” “Say that again,” Aria demanded quietly. Ryan exhaled sharply. She could already picture him pacing outside her door. “Aria, he didn’t just buy them, he acquired everything. Overnight. The board is calling him the new Blackwood.” Her stomach tightened. “That’s impossible. Blackwood Holdings is destroyed. What would he want with the ruins of a collapsing empire?” “That’s what I hold on to.” Papers shuffled loudly. “He issued a statement this morning.” Aria moved to her desk, fingers trembling slightly as she opened her laptop. A breaking headline flashed instantly: **Damian Cross Acquires Blackwood Holdings: “Every empire deserves a second chance.”** Her breath caught. She clicked on the video embedded beneath the headline.

Chapter 24: The Man who won't leg go

The office was silent after Damian’s message, but Aria’s heartbeat wasn’t.It thudded softly, steadily, like a reminder that she was still alive… while Ethan wasn’t.She leaned back in her chair, staring at the city lights below. They glittered like broken promises.A knock sounded on her office door.Aria didn’t look up. “I said I’m not taking any more..”“It’s me.”Damian’s voice.She froze.How was he here already?The door opened and Damian stepped inside, closing it gently behind him. He looked exactly as he had in the afternoon. Immaculate suit, unreadable eyes, presence like a storm that didn’t need thunder to announce itself.Aria exhaled slowly. “You could’ve texted.”“I did,” he replied, walking closer. “You didn’t answer.”“And barging into my office is the next logical step?”“For me? Yes.”She glared at him. “You can’t do that. You can’t just walk in whenever you like.”“I don’t do that with everyone,” he said quietly.Her breath caught.She pushed up from her seat, needi

Chapter 25: The Last Word of Ethan Blackwood

The law firm’s conference room felt colder than any place Aria had stepped into since the funeral. Not because of the temperature, but because of the silence.Heavy and expectant.Margaret Blackwood sat at the end of the polished table, a silk handkerchief balled tightly in her fist. Her eyes were red but dry… like she had run out of tears. A few Blackwood executives lingered in stiff black suits, whispering in somber tones.And Aria sat alone in the middle, her back straight, hands clasped on her lap.Composed. Controlled. Untouchable.Ryan leaned close to her. “You don’t have to stay for this.”“I do,” she whispered. “I want to know what he left behind.”What he left for her.The door opened.The lawyer walked in, a gray-haired man with sympathetic eyes. He placed a thick envelope on the table. “Ethan’s will” Then cleared his throat.“Thank you for coming. As you know, Mr. Ethan Blackwood prepared this document four months before his passing.”Aria’s breath caught.Four months? Th

Chapter 26: A dangerous partnership

Aria Whitmore sat at her office desk, the city lights below reflecting in the glass wall. Blackwood Holdings’ new ownership under Damian Cross had shifted everything. She could feel the weight of it, a subtle pressure crawling up her spine, and yet… there was a thrill in it too. Ryan leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. “You’ve been staring at that skyline for thirty minutes. I’m starting to worry you’ve forgotten how to breathe.” Aria didn’t look at him. “I’m thinking.” “That’s your polite way of saying you’re panicking,” he said dryly. “I’m not panicking,” she said sharply. “I’m calculating.” Ryan raised an eyebrow. “Calculating or scheming?” “Both,” she muttered, eyes scanning the city. Every deal, every failure, every victory it all passed before her mind’s eye. She had survived Ethan. She had watched his empire crumble and had chosen not to save him this time. Now, she was in control. Ryan exhaled, then softened. “Just… be careful. Damian Cross isn’t a man who

Chapter: 27 The Pressure Tightens

Aria barely slept.Her mind kept replaying the Sterling negotiation every question, every counter-attack, every moment she felt her voice shake then steady itself. She kept hearing Damian’s last words from the phone call:“Tomorrow, we will see if Blackwood Holdings can rise again under your hand.”It sounded like a test. It was a test.By morning, she was already in her office before the sun rose. The city outside looked washed out, the streets quiet, the world still waking up. But inside her, everything was loud.Her phone rang again. Ryan.She sighed. “Ryan, please don’t tell me there’s another emergency.”“There is,” Ryan said. “And it’s… big. You need to see this.”“Just tell me.”“No. You need to see it with your own eyes.”Aria grabbed her bag and marched out, heels clicking sharply against the marble floor as she approached the conference room. When she stepped inside, Ryan held out a tablet.“Sterling released a public statement at 7 a.m.,” he said.Aria took the tablet. Her

CHAPTER 28: A Crack in the Armor

The moment Aria stepped out of the elevator and into the executive hallway, she felt the tension before she even saw it.Whispers.Phones being tucked away.Sideways glances.Something had shifted overnight.Her statement had detonated through the company like a small explosion loud, bright, unavoidable. And now everyone was waiting for the fallout.Including Damian.Aria pushed open the glass doors to the boardroom. Every senior executive was seated already, their eyes snapping toward her at once. A few nodded stiffly. Others looked wary. Some simply watched.But only one person’s gaze made her heartbeat stumble.Damian sat at the head of the long polished table, suit flawless, expression unreadable. He didn’t stand when she entered. He didn’t even blink. He just watched her walk toward her seat, slow and deliberate, like he was studying every heartbeat in her chest.“Good morning,” Aria said, forcing her voice steady.A few murmured greetings.Damian didn’t speak.She took her seat,

CHAPTER 29: Rumors Begin

The whispers didn’t stop.They multiplied.By the time Aria stepped out of the boardroom and into the hallway, the sound followed her like a shadow soft, sharp, slicing through the air.“…did you see—?”“…he never looks at anyone like that”“…tell me why she’s suddenly leading strategies”“…favorite. She’s definitely his favorite…”Aria kept walking.Her heels clicked against the marble floor steady, calm, completely unbothered on the outside. But inside, her pulse was doing a jittery dance she refused to acknowledge.She didn’t look back at the boardroom.She didn’t have to.She could still feel Damian’s gaze on her, heavy and unblinking, even after the doors had closed. The echo of his voice still lingered too:“We are stronger when we strike together.”Her chest tightened.She hated how those words stuck to her skin like heat.Ryan hurried toward her from his office. “Wow,” he whispered, falling into step beside her. “You made history today.”“Don’t start,” Aria muttered.“Start wh

Chapter 30: Selena Returns

The boardroom was quiet, the hum of the city below faint through the glass walls. Aria had just finished reviewing her latest projections with her team when the door flung open.Selena stormed in, heels clicking aggressively against the polished floor. “This is ridiculous!” she shouted, eyes blazing. “Blackwood Holdings has no right to move forward without recognizing my claim. Ethan’s shares belong to me!”A stunned silence followed. Aria’s team froze mid-note, pencils suspended in midair. Even the executives who had whispered behind her back paused, eyes widening.Damian, seated at the head of the table, didn’t rise. He didn’t blink. His gaze, dark and unwavering, swept over Selena like a blade. “Selena,” he said slowly, his voice low, calm but every word carried the weight of steel. “Sit down.”Selena’s jaw flexed, fury flashing. “I will not sit! Ethan’s estate and his shares are mine! I am his widow!”Aria stayed seated at her corner of the table, hands folded, watching. Her pulse

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