All Chapters of Reclaiming His Bride: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Orion's POV The moment Ava walked out, the room felt like it had lost all oxygen. Chloe's nails dug into my arm. I almost winced but kept my gaze on the doorway where Ava had vanished, her scent—sharp, luxurious, with a hint of jasmine—still lingering."What now?" Chloe’s voice, tight and venomous, snapped me back.My mind raced, replaying Ava’s words. The lawyer... the fortune... charity. This wasn’t in the plan. We’d meticulously orchestrated her downfall, using every bit of her vulnerability to manipulate her. She was supposed to crumble, not come back stronger—this wasn’t how it was supposed to end."She’s bluffing," I said, more to convince myself than Chloe. But deep down, I knew Ava had a weapon we hadn’t anticipated: resolve.Chloe stepped back, pacing, her hands in her hair, tugging at the knots. "Bluffing? Orion, did she look like she was bluffing? She made the call. She’s got control of everything."The realization crept up like ice water. If Ava had set her terms in place

Ava's POV The echoes of his proposal vibrated through the conference room, but I barely heard the gasps, the whispers, the rustle of shocked disbelief. I focused on one thing—Orion, still kneeling, his expression a mask of barely concealed rage and confusion. It would have been easy to admire him then, the proud man forced to bow before me, but I had long learned to discard softness when it came to him. Being soft made me foolish once. I wouldn’t make that mistake again."Stand up, Orion," I said coolly, a touch of amusement in my voice. "You’re embarrassing yourself."He didn’t move at first. The muscles in his jaw tensed, and I knew I had struck deep. My words had cut him like a blade, and part of me savored it. There was a time when I had been the one on my knees, begging for scraps of his mercy. Now, the roles were reversed, and the taste of power was heady.Slowly, he rose, pocketing the ring with a measured, almost casual motion that hid the storm raging within him. His eyes

Orion's POVThe roar of blood in my ears was deafening as I marched out of the building, each step driven by a pulse of fury. Ava’s rejection replayed in my mind, a relentless loop of her cold, unyielding stare and the quiet venom in her words. She’d humiliated me. In front of everyone. The council, the advisors, everyone who mattered—and everyone who thrived on weakness.I wrenched open the car door and slid in, the leather seat creaking under the pressure of my weight. Chloe was already there, her eyes bright with a mix of expectation and wariness. She reached for my hand, but I pulled away, staring out the window instead.“So… how did it go?” she asked, her voice light but hiding the edge of something sharper.“What do you think?” I bit out, barely containing my rage. “She made a spectacle of it. Rejected me in front of everyone!”Chloe’s lips twisted into a sneer. “She always had a flair for drama. Did you really expect her to fall at your feet?”I turned to her, my eyes blazing.

Chloe's POVMorning light crept through the heavy drapes, casting a pale glow over the room. I had been by Orion’s side for three years, and every day was a battle fought with carefully measured moves. My entire life had been bent toward one goal: to stay at his side and keep anyone, especially Ava, from ruining what I’d built. The sacrifices I made were too many to count, and all of them had one thing in common—they were for him. For us.People thought Orion’s strength was unshakeable, but they didn’t see what lay beneath. Only I did. I was the one who kept him from crumbling when he faked his own death to escape Ava's clutches. It was all my idea—a genius ruse that severed the ties binding him to a life he despised. The power he wielded now was, in no small part, because of me. And he was mine. I made sure of it. I had him twisted around my fingers, not through force, but through devotion. When he looked at me, he saw the woman who pulled him from the brink, who knew his darkest

Orion's POV The heavy door slammed shut behind me, the echo bouncing through the hallway. Ava's mocking laughter still echoed in my ears, burning like a taunt I couldn't shake. My breath came in ragged gasps, each one fueling the storm that raged within me. She’d played me—again—and I hated her for it, just as much as I hated myself for falling into her web.I blame my father for this. For giving her so much leverage and now, she thinks she's some hot shot?But hatred wasn’t enough. I needed action. Control. She thought she could keep me on edge, dancing to the tune of her whims, but I would show her just how wrong she was. There was more than one way to win a war. The corridors felt narrow, closing in around me, as I stormed past the security guard—his earlier defiance barely registering now. He was nothing. Just another piece on a board I needed to rearrange.I took the elevator down to the garage, the metallic walls reflecting a grim version of myself—a man standing on the edge