Alle Kapitel von Rebirth and Contracted to the CEO : Kapitel 131 – Kapitel 140

Ethan's POVOut here silence filled the room, a thick sort of calm that money buys when only the biggest deals pass through. Walls lined with deep-colored wood, wide seats made of worn leather, glass stretching high where you could watch clouds drift above rooftops. Across from me, Mr. Hargrove stayed still - my go-to advisor since day one on all things Sterling, sorting details others wouldn’t touch. Time has passed but his role never shifted.Alone was how I arrived. Not a single helper in sight. Nobody guarding the door from within. What got said here stayed put - no stepping beyond the corners of this place.“I need to explore every legal avenue to delay the contract expiration,” I said without preamble, my voice low and steady. “The one-year marriage agreement with Sam. Find minor clauses, paperwork extensions, interpretation ambiguities - anything. Even a quiet injunction if necessary. I want time.”Back in his seat, Mr. Hargrove watched me from beh

Gwen's POVA corner of the city held a quiet fight inside four walls. The place where I stayed turned into something else entirely.Along the minibar, empty bottles stood in rows. Trash spilled out, filled with takeout boxes stacked too high. In the big mirror across the room, a woman stared back - sunken cheeks, untamed gaze, strands of hair breaking free around features that used to define me. That look once opened every door. Now it does nothing. Strength has drained away. What people listened to before now fades, moment by moment.What remained behind was just the need to even the score.There I was, parked at the desk, lid up, light spilling across my face from the machine. That file waited - my last move - the signed copy of our deal, crisp scan, each line sharp enough to cut. Twelve months spelled out clear, not a word blurred, names inked at the bottom like receipts. Passages stood out now, bolded by me earlier: time limit stamped upfront, money t

Sam's POVI stood where everyone could see me.Out of nowhere, that contract spread everywhere online. Still, I refused to let Gwen decide what people thought. Never again. Back then, I hid through endless dark hours while everyone else named who I was. Now? The telling belongs to me.Before sunrise, I reached out to Ethan’s public relations group. Less than sixty minutes later, we found ourselves inside the large meeting space of the property, devices powered up, hot drinks filling the air with steam. Next to me, Ethan stayed close, fingers sometimes grazing my hand beneath the surface - small moments passing without words. Pride simmered in his gaze, sharp and steady, while I guided the conversation forward.“We’re not denying the contract,” I said firmly, addressing the three senior PR executives. “That would make us look like we’re hiding something. We acknowledge it, reframe it, and redirect the conversation to str

Sam's POVFighting back was the only path left open.Out in the open now, that stolen agreement made our personal moments feel like a show. Not wanting people to think we were just two strangers ready to split after some kind of silent deal, Ethan and I chose instead to stand together - planned it carefully, showed up side by side where everyone could see.Fingers laced during fundraisersA glance held a moment too long when laughter slipped out. Smiles passed between them while questions hung in the airSnaps of tender moments fill the frames whenever lenses appear. Quiet closeness finds its way into photos without asking. Warm contact slips naturally into view through patient observing. Soft brushes between people linger where shutters click.Performance kicked it off.Stillness between us, filled only by run-throughs of glances, gestures, how close our bodies should stand. "Easy," they said. Not forced. Just right. My grin stayed light

Sam's POVA hush lay over the room, broken only by the soft drone of the laptop's cooling system while, out beyond the window, ocean swells pounded the rocks down below.Hours passed while I stayed wide awake, though Ethan slept soundly nearby. On my monitor glowed the main file - built from years of hurt, quiet endurance, and sharp decisions made in silence. All proof collected now lived inside it: money records flowing together, poison test results stacked beside them, Gwen’s messages pulled from hiding, Victor’s voice caught mid-admission, timestamps ticking through door sensors, video clips mined from unseen lenses.Yet a quiet gap remained inside.A single clue kept pulling me back - an erased file from the family's health records. Hidden far down, scrubbed clean by someone who knew what they were doing, though not flawless. After hours of poking at weak spots in the code, slipping past firewalls one wrong guess at a time, the data spille