All Chapters of Reborn: Married to Your Greatest Enemy: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

RAYA​"Dylan is going to lose his mind," Vivienne said, carefully adjusting the heavy lace train. "Absolutely lose it!"​I smiled at my reflection in the three-way mirror. A flush rose to my cheeks as I looked at myself in the wedding dress. It was perfect. The silk hugged my waist exactly right, flowing out into a breathtaking, royal train. I could already picture Dylan standing at the end of the altar, looking at me with that intense, devoted stare he had given me for the last seven years."Do you think it’s too soon to get the dress? The wedding is still months away," I asked. I bit my lip nervously. "Do I seem too eager? Or too desperate?"​"Nonsense, darling," Vivienne said, patting my shoulder. "We need to be prepared. It is going to be the wedding of the century. Everything needs to be perfect, and perfection needs time."​I breathed out a sigh of relief. Dylan and I were that couple. The one people pointed at in crowded rooms. Loving him was as natural to me as breathing. I wa

RAYA​Xavier didn't say another word to me in the ballroom. He simply turned and walked toward a private set of double doors at the back.​I had to hurry just to keep up with his long strides. The moment we stepped through, two massive security guards closed the doors behind us, completely cutting off the noise of the crowd.​The hallway was dimly lit and quiet, leading straight into his private office.​The heavy door clicked shut behind me.​Before I could even take a breath, Xavier turned. In one swift movement, he crossed the room. His massive frame loomed over me, backing me up until the heels of my shoes hit the wall. He didn't touch me, but he stood so close I could feel the heat radiating off his chest. His dark eyes locked onto mine.​"You called my private number," Xavier said, his voice a low, rough baritone. "You skipped your shop, ran fifteen minutes late, and now you're standing in my office. What do you want, Raya?"​My heart was hammering against my ribs, the sheer siz

RAYA​The smoke was thick, burning the back of my throat. I was four years old again, running through the blazing hallways and my mother’s voice screaming for me to never look back. Then the dream shifted, and suddenly I was dying on that dark, rainy road in my first life, with Xavier’s voice echoing in my ears.​I woke up gasping, my heart hammering against my ribs.​I sat up in the massive, unfamiliar bed of Xavier's guest room, covered in a cold sweat. My throat felt too dry. The clock on the nightstand read that it was three in the morning.​Realizing I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, I wrapped my silk robe tightly around myself and quietly left the room, heading down the dimly lit hallway to the kitchen to get a glass of water.​I stopped at the entrance.​Xavier was there. He had clearly just gotten home. His suit jacket was gone, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and the top buttons of his white shirt were undone. He was leaning against the counter, downing a glas

RAYA Sophie's hand was still frozen on the receiver when the boutique's front doors opened. Nobody waited to be announced. Victor walked in first, in a charcoal suit, then the board members trailed behind him. Margaret came next, dressed in white as if she were posing for a photo. Keila trailed behind her, arms crossed, already smirking. Last through the door was an older man with glasses whom I didn't know, a leather folder tucked under his arm. "Raya, darling." Margaret's voice carried across the whole boutique, loud enough for the board to hear every word. "We're so glad we caught you. We were worried sick." "Worried," I said. "Is that what we're calling seven board members storming my store before nine in the morning?" Victor nodded at the man with the folder. He stepped forward and opened it as though he were in a courtroom. "Dr. Nash," Victor said. "He conducted an emergency evaluation last night, following your episode." Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Twenty-four h

RAYAHe picked up on the first ring."Marco called Nadia an hour ago," Xavier said, before I'd gotten a single word out. "I already know about the guarantee."I stood there with the phone against my ear, momentarily furious that I'd spent the last twenty minutes rehearsing how to explain a crisis he'd apparently known about before I did."How much," he said, "and who else needs to hear it?"He skipped straight past are you okay and what happened, like Marco's shipment was already just a number waiting to be solved."Enough that Marco's partners want your name on the contract," I said. "Not mine. Yours specifically."He paused, just long enough that I knew he was already deciding something."That's fine," he said. "But if my name's going on it, understand something. It doesn't go on quietly. I don't guarantee things I don't have opinions about.""I don't need you running my company, Xavier. I need a guarantee, not a coup.""And what does 'opinions' mean, exactly?" I asked, before he co