All Chapters of The Billionaire I Rejected Is My Boss: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

For several seconds after the call ended, I simply stared at my phone. The screen had gone dark. The conversation was over. Yet somehow the office felt different. Smaller. Heavier. As though the air itself had changed. Across from me, Ava remained silent. Not because she didn’t have questions. Because she did. Hundreds of them. The same ones currently tearing through my head. “Caroline Hayes.” Saying the name aloud made it feel real. Too real. Ava leaned forward slightly. “What are you going to do?” A reasonable question. One I should have had an answer for. Instead— “I don’t know.” The admission surprised both of us. Because I always knew. That was my thing. The plan. The solution. The next move. But this? This wasn’t business. This wasn’t strategy. This was thirty-three years of missing answers suddenly calling my phone. And I had no idea what to do with that. Ava studied me carefully. Then reached across the desk and covered my hand with hers. Warm

I didn’t remember driving home. At some point, I left the restaurant. At some point, I got into my car. At some point, I made it back to the city. The details were blurry. My mind was somewhere else entirely. Twenty letters. Twenty chances. Twenty opportunities stolen before I even knew they existed. I sat inside my office long after sunset, staring at the skyline through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The city glittered below. Alive. Busy. Unaware. Meanwhile my entire life seemed to be rearranging itself piece by piece. A soft knock interrupted the silence. I didn’t answer. The door opened anyway. Only one person ignored my lack of permission. Ava. She stepped inside carefully. The moment her eyes found mine, her expression softened. “Bad day?” I laughed quietly. The sound lacked humor. “That’s one way to describe it.” Without another word, she crossed the room and sat beside me on the couch. Not across from me. Beside me. Close enough for our shoulders to

The cemetery was quieter than I remembered. Maybe because I hadn’t visited in months. Maybe because silence felt different now. Heavier. More noticeable. Or maybe it was because I wasn’t coming here as the same person who had left. The gravel path crunched beneath my shoes as I walked. Slowly. Deliberately. Rain clouds drifted across the afternoon sky, turning everything soft and gray. The kind of weather my mother used to love. She always said sunny days were overrated. I never understood that. Until now. Eventually, I reached her grave. And stopped. The headstone looked exactly the same. Of course it did. Life had changed. I had changed. But this place remained untouched. Unmoving. The inscription stared back at me. Beloved Wife. Beloved Mother. Forever Loved. A familiar ache settled inside my chest. Not new. Not surprising. Just familiar. For a long moment, I simply stood there. Hands in my pockets. Looking at the woman who had raised me. The woman

Three days after lunch with Caroline, Ethan was still pretending he wasn’t planning something. I knew because every time I asked what was going on, he gave me the same suspiciously innocent smile. The one that usually meant trouble. Unfortunately, nobody else was any better. Rachel had been acting strangely all week. And every time I walked into a room, conversations seemed to stop. Which was never a good sign. By six o’clock, I was regretting every decision that had led to this moment. Including agreeing to family dinner. Including answering Rachel’s calls. And possibly including falling in love with Ethan Blackwood. “You’re staring at the mirror again.” I looked over my shoulder. Ethan stood near the apartment door adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. Looking entirely too calm. Which was suspicious. “I’m mentally preparing.” “For dinner?” “For my family.” A faint smile appeared. “Should I be worried?” “Yes.” The answer came immediately. Without hesitation. His a

I never imagined a dining table could make me nervous. Not a boardroom. Not a crowded ballroom. Not even the media attention that had followed Ethan for months. A dining table. Yet as I stood beside Ethan outside the private room of one of the city’s most exclusive restaurants, my stomach felt suspiciously unstable. Beside me, Ethan looked calm. Infuriatingly calm. “You’re enjoying this.” His mouth twitched. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “Liar.” “I prefer selectively truthful.” I rolled my eyes. Unfortunately, my nervousness eased slightly. That was Ethan’s gift. Somehow, he always knew exactly when to make me laugh. Even when I didn’t want to. Especially when I didn’t want to. His hand found mine. Warm. Steady. “You ready?” No. Absolutely not. But when I looked at him, I smiled anyway. “Yes.” And together, we walked inside. The room was already occupied. Rachel sat beside Dad. Lila sat beside Adrian. Nathan Blackwood stood near the window