All Chapters of Rebirth and Contracted to the CEO : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Sam's POVUpstairs, the library stood quiet, a space I didn’t have to share. It belonged more to me than anywhere else on the grounds.Sunlight slipped through tall windows, brushing past rose bushes outside and washing over shelves made of dark wood. The carpet, thick and patterned, soaked up patches of glow while specks of dust swirled above it - busy, quiet things caught midair. A long table stood centered, built from polished red-brown timber, where I rested with papers stacked in uneven piles: numbers, dates, meeting notes from years ago. One blank sheet waited inside a notebook, edge crisp, untouched by ink.Reading didn’t bring me joy back then.I was hunting.Far beneath what first crossed my mind, Gwen was woven into that family’s life. She belonged there long before I could see it.Out here by the hallway just now, her talking drifted through - she was mid-call with Mrs. Evelyn. Not loud, that voice of hers, more like skipping over

Ethan's POVThe air in the hall held shadows, light from the mounted lamps softened like breath on glass. Going to my study made sense. So did heading for the couch - still my bed some nights. Yet there I stood, near the little library’s door, fingers close to the knob without touching it, just hearing what waited inside.A dim light creeps under the doorway. Inside, just one lamp hums to life.The door creaked as I eased it forward. A sliver of light cut across the floor.A sliver of blue lit Sam’s cheek as she held still at the wooden table. Not leaning, just upright, with the tablet standing like a shield before her. Her gaze stayed locked - forehead tight, eyes slicing across lines of text. One hand moved down the screen slow, while the other jotted now and then onto paper nearby. Light shifted when she turned a page.Not at all who I pictured when imagining that shaky, bright-eyed woman waiting by the altar. She stood there calm, steady, diffe

Sam's POVEvenings here always held some sound, yet by six thirty each morning, stillness nearly won.Through dim hallways I went, everyone else still under blankets. Dark pants on me. A loose gray top made of something kind. Not one name brand showing. Nothing shiny to prove my last name meant anything. Shoes silent. Pulse steady. The way back wasn’t about being seen - it was staying when others assumed you’d vanished.I started small.Deliberately small.Mrs. Hargrove, who ran the housekeeping staff, stood inside the linen closet smoothing out clean sheets like she was aligning them for inspection. Though her back faced me, a tightness in her posture gave her away - one learns it slowly, when effort goes unnoticed too long.There I stood, at the entrance. Suddenly still.“Good morning, Mrs. Hargrove.”Facing around, a flash of shock crossed her features until she settled them into calm composure.

Sam's POVFinding me once more, Ethan showed up that night. The hour was late when he appeared again.A piece of paper sat on my lap, one of those official-looking printouts from earlier - just something to make it seem like I was busy. Right then, the space between us changed. The door opened without warning. That silence at the entrance meant only one thing - he already knew someone hadn’t told him everything.“Sam.”It wasn’t loud, his voice - steady on the surface. Yet something sharp waited just below. I noticed it right away.Up I glanced, a quiet grin on my face - the kind shaped slowly through recent days.“Yes?”Back pressed to the wood, he clicked the latch shut. Arms folded tight across his chest.“You were out again today. Downtown. And last week too. You come back smelling like coffee that doesn’t come from this house. You disappear for hours with no explanation. I asked you what you were doing in the library the other night. You said ‘reading.’”Forward he moved, one pac

Sam's POVOver by the staircase, the group gathered where executives normally debate company futures. This time, though, dark wood furniture lined up neatly down the center, filled with glass jugs that caught glimmers from outside. Each chair held a stiff notebook, waiting. Bright morning rays cut across the floor, sharp enough to show every speck of dust in the air. The usual silence of power gave way to hushed voices swapping seating charts.I arrived early.It had nothing to do with fear. That wasn’t the reason.For that edge a good spot gives.Facing the spot Gwen’d pick, I took the chair opposite. Light hit her features, not me - my spine against the glass made sure. Little things like that. Sharp slivers of planning. Made a difference.One by one, they arrived. First came two top-level board directors. Then Mrs. Evelyn’s aide slipped through the door. A marketer followed, quiet on their heels. Last of all appeared Gwen, stepping inside