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Home / Romance / Savage Reborn: Dumped Him to Marry the Billionaire / Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Lahat ng Kabanata ng Savage Reborn: Dumped Him to Marry the Billionaire: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

150 Kabanata

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Cold AsphaltGravity was a monster, and it was pulling at her ankles."Don't struggle, Vespera. You'll only make it messy."Lysander Thorne’s voice was smooth, cultured, and terrifyingly calm. His hand was a vice around her throat, the only thing keeping her from plummeting forty stories to the neon-lit grid of Aethelgard City below.The wind roared in her ears, whipping her hair across her face, blinding her. Her heels scrambled for purchase on the slippery ledge of the penthouse balcony, finding nothing but empty air."Lysander, please!" The plea scraped out of her crushed windpipe. "The company... I built it for you! The IPO launches tomorrow!""Exactly." Lysander leaned closer. The scent of bergamot and expensive cigars filled her nose—the smell of the man she had loved for five years. The smell of her executioner. "The IPO launches tomorrow. The stock will skyrocket. And a grieving widower polls significantly better with the shareholders than a divorced husband."V

Chapter 2

The crushed cigar band sat in Vespera’s palm like a golden bullet casing.Bergamot and tobacco. The scent was faint, but to Vespera, it screamed. It was evidence that the timeline she had returned to wasn't clean. It was already infected by the corruption of the future.*Knock. Knock. Knock.*The sound was less a request for entry and more a declaration of invasion.Vespera’s fist closed over the cigar band, hiding it instantly. She didn't need to guess who was behind the door. The aggressive rhythm was a signature."Vespera! Open this door immediately! We are on a schedule!"Mrs. Thorne.In her past life, Vespera would have scrambled to open the door, apologizing for the delay, desperate to please the woman who had "rescued" her from the orphanage. She would have been the grateful ward, the obedient dog.Vespera walked to the door, her bare feet silent on the plush carpet. She unlocked it and pulled it open, her face a mask of bored indifference.Mrs. Thorne stood there, a whirlwind

Chapter 3

The Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Aethelgard smelled of money.It was a specific scent—a blend of vintage champagne, imported orchids, and the nervous sweat of billionaires trying to out-leverage each other.Lysander Thorne stood at the center of the stage, bathing in the spotlight. He checked his Patek Philippe watch for the third time in a minute. The diamond-encrusted bezel caught the light, flashing a prism of arrogance across the front row."She’s late," Elara whispered, standing just out of the main spotlight’s glare. She wore the emerald silk gown Mrs. Thorne had promised would outshine everyone. Her hand rested protectively over her flat stomach—the cradle of the lie that would destroy Vespera."Vespera is always late," Lysander murmured, swirling his scotch. "She probably tripped over her own feet trying to put on earrings. It doesn't matter. The board is here. The press is here. Once she signs the engagement papers and the asset transfer, she can disappear back into the attic

Chapter 4

The silence in the ballroom was heavy enough to crush bone.Vespera’s hands were still planted on the armrests of Cyprian Hale’s chair, trapping him in a cage of red silk and desperation. She could feel the heat radiating off him—a furnace burning beneath the icy exterior of his tuxedo.Cyprian didn't blink. His storm-grey eyes, flecked with shards of silver, bored into hers. He didn't look at her cleavage, or her legs, or the dress that was scandalizing half the city. He looked straight at the intelligence behind her mismatched eyes."Lost, little bird?" he asked softly. His voice was a low rumble, audible only to her. "The golden cage is that way. I think your owner is calling for you.""I don't have an owner," Vespera whispered, leaning in closer until she could smell the oak and smoke of his whiskey. "And I'm not lost. I'm defecting."Cyprian’s lips quirked. It wasn't a smile. It was the look of a wolf finding a wounded rabbit in its den."Defecting? To me?" He swirled his glass,

Chapter 5

The moment Cyprian claimed her, the ballroom detonated.Camera flashes erupted like stroboscopic lightning, blinding Vespera. The polite murmur of the elite shattered into a roar of questions, accusations, and the frantic tapping of gossip columnists on their phones."Move," Cyprian commanded.He didn't wait for her to agree. He clamped his hand onto her hip—a grip of iron—and propelled her toward the exit. He moved with the unstoppable momentum of a tank, his broad shoulders clearing a path through the stunned crowd."Vespera! Get back here!"The scream tore through the noise. Lysander.Vespera turned her head. Lysander was shoving his way through the guests, his face a mask of purple rage. The Golden Boy was tarnished, and he looked ready to kill."You can't leave with him!" Lysander shrieked, knocking a waiter’s tray of champagne to the floor. Glass shattered. "He’s a monster! Vespera!"He lunged, his hand reaching for Vespera’s trailing red silk.He never reached her.A shadow mat

Chapter 6

The sound of the pen scratching against the paper was louder than a scream.*Scritch. Scratch. Stop.*It was 2:15 AM. The city of Aethelgard slept below them, a sprawling carpet of darkness and distant streetlights, but in the penthouse office of the Hale Fortress, the lights were blindingly bright."Clause 14, Section B," the lawyer droned. He was a thin, gray man named Silas who looked like he had been awake since the previous century. "In the event of a dissolution of marriage within the first five years, the party of the second part—Miss Vane—waives all rights to the Hale estate, including but not limited to real estate, stock options, and liquid assets."Silas paused, looking at Vespera over the rim of his spectacles. He expected a fight. He expected the gold digger to unsheathe her claws.Vespera sat in the leather chair opposite Cyprian’s massive desk. She was still wearing the red dress, but the adrenaline that had fueled her at the gala was evaporating, leaving her cold and b

Chapter 7: The Fortress

Waking up in the Thorne Estate had always felt like waking up in a museum—dusty, old, and smelling of decay.Waking up in Cyprian Hale’s home felt like waking up inside a microchip.Vespera opened her eyes. The ceiling above her wasn't plaster or wood; it was a seamless expanse of smart-glass, currently tinted to a soft, morning gray to filter the sunrise. The walls were burnished steel and raw concrete. The furniture was sleek, black, and dangerously sharp.It didn't look like a home. It looked like a weapon storage facility that happened to have a bed.Vespera sat up, the silk sheets pooling around her waist. A shiver raked down her spine. The air in the room was aggressively cold—the kind of artificial chill that kept servers from overheating."Status," she muttered, rubbing her bare arms.She scanned the room. No photos. No personal clutter. Just expensive minimalism.The door hissed open. It didn't squeak on hinges; it slid into the wall like a Star Trek prop.Oryn filled the doo

Chapter 8

**THE WHORE OF AETHELGARD: HOW THE THORNE WARD STOLE THE BILLIONAIRE.****FROM CHARITY CASE TO SHE-DEVIL: VESPERA VANE’S BETRAYAL.****IS CYPRIAN HALE THE VICTIM OF A HONEY TRAP?**The headlines scrolled across the sixty-inch holographic display in the kitchen, each one nastier than the last. Vespera’s face—pixelated and blown up from the gala footage—was plastered on every news network in Neo-Veridia."They didn't get my good side," Vespera murmured, taking a bite of dry toast.She sat at the long marble island in the Fortress’s kitchen. The room was bathed in the cold morning light that filtered through the smart-glass.Cyprian stood on the other side of the island, leaning against the counter. He held a tablet, his thumb swiping through the toxicity with rhythmic precision. He wore a simple black t-shirt that stretched across his chest, exposing the ink on his forearms. He looked dangerous, domestic, and amused."They’re calling you a gold digger," Cyprian noted, reading a comment

Chapter 9

The iron gates of the Thorne Estate loomed like the jaws of a beast, shut tight against the world."Turn around," the voice crackled through the intercom. "Mr. Thorne has barred entry to all unauthorized vehicles."Inside the armored limousine, Vespera watched the red light of the security camera blink. It was the same camera she had installed three years ago to keep paparazzi out. Now, it was being used to keep her away from her own life."They aren't going to let us in," Vespera said, staring at the wrought iron spikes. "Lysander knows I'm coming for the hard drive. He’s locking down the fortress."Cyprian didn't look concerned. He looked bored."A gate is only a barrier if you respect the person who locked it," he murmured.He tapped the partition. The limo stopped.Cyprian opened the door and stepped out into the afternoon sun. He adjusted his cufflinks, buttoned his suit jacket, and walked toward the guard booth.He moved with a deceptive lethargy. To an observer, he looked like

Chapter 10

The word *vasectomy* hung in the air like a poisonous vapor.For three seconds, the only sound in the drawing room was the ticking of the grandfather clock and the sharp intake of breath from Mrs. Thorne.Then, chaos."That’s a lie!" Lysander roared, his face turning a shade of plum that clashed with the curtains. "She’s lying! I never had surgery! My swimmers are perfectly fine!""Is that so?" Vespera asked, arching an eyebrow. She took a casual step toward the fireplace, inspecting a porcelain vase as if she were at an auction. "Then explain the charge on the company Amex three years ago. July 14th. Five thousand dollars to the 'Mens’ Wellness Clinic' on 5th Avenue. Dr. Arrington. Urology."Lysander froze.Vespera saw the memory flicker behind his eyes. She knew exactly what that charge was. He had contracted a rather embarrassing infection from a stripper during his bachelor party—the one he swore he never had. He had paid out of pocket to keep it off the insurance records so Vespe

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