Lahat ng Kabanata ng Reborn: Married to Your Greatest Enemy: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

RAYAThe SUV didn't slow down turning onto the driveway. Rain hit the windows hard, tires spraying gravel as we came through the gates.Two security cars were already parked across the courtyard, lights flashing red and blue against the stone.My heart was pounding. "Xavier—""Stay in the car.""Like hell I am," I said, grabbing his arm.He looked back at me, and whatever he saw on my face made him stop arguing. He took my hand instead and pulled me out into the rain with him.Vance met us halfway to the door, soaked through."Someone got onto the grounds," he said. "We caught it on camera, chased them off before they reached the house. But they left something on the porch."A single sheet of paper sat weighted down by a stone. No box, no theater. Xavier picked it up, read it, and handed it to me without a word.You took everything today. Enjoy it while it lasts.No signature. It didn't need one."Victor," I said."He's got nothing left to protect," Xavier said. "That's when men like

RAYAXavier didn't have a proper kitchen staff at the estate the way he did at the penthouse, which meant we ended up in the actual kitchen, standing on opposite sides of an island counter like two people who had never once cooked anything in their lives."I can make eggs," I said, eyeing the pan he'd set out. "I'm not promising they'll be good eggs.""Lower the bar further. I can make toast." He said it completely straight-faced, which somehow made it funnier. "That's the extent of it.""A billionaire who can't cook. Groundbreaking.""I've had people for that.""Not today, apparently."He almost smiled at that, cracking an egg into the pan with more confidence than the situation probably warranted. It hit the surface wrong and half of it ran straight for the burner.I laughed before I could stop myself."Don't," he said, not looking up."I didn't say anything.""You were about to.""I was absolutely about to."He scraped the mess into the trash with the same flat focus he gave contra

RAYADinner was served in the small breakfast alcove off the main kitchen, a quiet, low-lit space with a curved bay window looking out over the rain-slicked courtyard.The estate staff had slipped in and out while we were in the projection room, leaving a spread of roasted chicken, seared vegetables, and a bottle of dark red wine on the table before disappearing back into the service wing.Xavier pulled out my chair without a word, his hand brushing briefly against the back of my shoulder as I sat down. The touch was quick, almost accidental, but the heat of it lingered long after he walked around to sit opposite me.He poured two glasses of wine, setting one down beside my plate."So that movie," I said, picking up my fork. "You told me it was a classic. It had a man talking to a volleyball for forty minutes.""It's considered a classic.""By whom?""People with better taste than you, apparently.""I have excellent taste. I picked you, didn't I." I said it lightly, mostly to see what

​RAYA​The boardroom was vast, quiet, and cold.​Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over the skyline of Verimont, but inside, all twelve seats around the polished rosewood table were filled by the primary shareholders of Sinclair Gems. These were the men and women who had spent the last five years turning a blind eye to Victor’s reckless expansion, content to collect their quarterly dividends while my family’s legacy was hollowed out from the inside.​When Xavier and I walked through the double mahogany doors, every eye in the room locked onto us.​"Raya," Derek Lance—the oldest board member and a long-time ally of my father—stood up slowly, clearing his throat. "We weren't expecting you to attend in person today."​"I wouldn't miss it, Derek," I said calmly.​Xavier pulled out the high-backed leather chair at the head of the table—the seat Victor had occupied for a decade—and held it for me. I sat down, smoothing the fabric of my trousers. Xavier remained standing directly to my ri

​RAYA​Elina Kwart’s eyes flicked from Xavier’s unyielding face to mine, her sharp lips curving into a thin, brittle smile. She slowly leaned back in her high leather chair, setting her crystal glass onto the desk with meticulous precision.​"Always so dramatic, Xavier," Elina said, her voice smooth, dripping with artificial warmth. "I send a friendly reminder to your lovely wife about your past business practices, and you storm into my building like an invading army."​"It wasn't a friendly reminder, Elina," I said, stepping up to the edge of her desk beside Xavier. I kept my voice entirely steady, my hand holding firm in my husband's grip. "It was a cheap scare tactic sent from your driver’s burner phone."​Elina’s gaze locked onto mine, a flicker of genuine surprise passing through her cold eyes before she quickly masked it. She hadn't expected me to stand beside him, calm and armed with facts, instead of cowering behind his shadow.​"A driver’s phone?" Elina echoed, waving a dismi