Semua Bab Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire: Bab 21 - Bab 30

(Ava)Paige nods slowly. “That’s what the cards say. The path you take… it changes everything. And once it’s chosen, there’s no going back.”I flinch. “I will always choose Lila. I have too.”“This isn’t just choosing your daughter over your husband. Zach is your soulmate. Yours forever in eternity. Breaking that bond will mean every lifetime you will have to suffer having a soul destined to be alone.”“Can I avoid it?”Paige shrugs. “That moment is coming. This isn’t about right or wrong. It’s about what you’re willing to sacrifice. What you’re willing to fight for. I don’t know how it will end.”I don’t speak.“I’m going to draw cards on Sienna now. You ready?”I nod.Paige pulls another card slowly, as if she already knows what it’s going to be. She flips it, and the second I see it, my skin prickles.The Moon. Reversed.“That’s Sienna,” she says flatly. “Of course it is.”The image on the card is eerie, even upright, but upside down, it’s worse. The shadowy wolves, the crawling cr

(Zach)She doesn’t say the word. Doesn’t tell me to go.Which is all the permission I need.The second she doesn’t push me away, I’m on her. My hands find her waist and I slam my mouth to hers like I’ve been starving for it—and I have. I’ve been starving for her since the second she started pulling away.I can never get enough of her. I want her tenderness and I want her anger just as much. I want all the fire and frustration she’s taken out on me for days. I want her fury, her confusion, her heartbreak.I want it all, because it means she’s still here.I have no clue what she's holding inside, what she’s holding back from me. But I want to feel every bit of it. I need it.She tastes like rage and cinnamon chai and a dream I’ve been chasing since the day I said I do.She moans into my mouth, gripping the front of my shirt. I press her back against the kitchen counter, lifting her up onto the edge without breaking the kiss. She gasps when I wedge myself between her knees.“You

(Sienna)I should feel triumphant. Instead, I’m seething.Zach was supposed to leave for Tokyo this afternoon. Leave her here, both angry with each other. Both doubting. That was the plan. My plan. I saw to it myself—helped his assistant rearrange his itinerary, confirmed his car pickup, even made sure the right press outlets would spot him at the airport.But he didn’t go straight there. He went to her.I followed him. I told myself it was just to be sure. To see him off. But when his SUV turned toward his mansion estate, I knew I’d failed. Again.He didn’t even hesitate at the gate.He just went in.Now, back in my own mansion, I rip the earrings from my lobes and toss them onto the glass tray on my vanity. I’d gotten ready for the cocktail hour with the board, but I wasn’t in the mood.My staff avoids my eyes as I storm through the living room.“Miss Sinclair,” says the housekeeper softly. “Your mother called earlier. They’ll be here in twenty.”Of course they will.I pace li

(Zach)The Tokyo skyline glows outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, but all I see in my mind is a hospital room three time zones away.Kai’s in there. I’m here. Still wearing the same suit I flew in with. Still pretending like this deal matters more than what’s happening back home.It doesn’t. But I can’t walk away. Not from this. Not with my father breathing down my neck. Not with everything cracking beneath the surface.Across the conference table, another exec launches into licensing terms like it’s a game of chess. Vincent, my CFO, nods like he’s tracking every move. I should be.But my brain hasn’t caught up since Ava picked up the phone and said, in that quiet voice she uses when she’s afraid and pretending not to be, “Are you okay, Zach?”She is literally the only person to ask me that and really care about the answer.I’m not.Vincent turns toward me. “Zach, you want to weigh in on the licensing schedule?”I glance at the numbers on the screen. My mind grabs the first safe c

(Ava)My phone buzzes just after I’ve cleared the kitchen bench. I’m still thinking about Kai, about how pale he looked earlier this morning.It’s eleven in the morning now. Have the doctors been to see him?Kai had Aplastic Anemia in the past time. Is it that again? Should I say something?Zach’s name flashes across the screen. Oh, at last. I answer.“Hey.”“Hey,” he says. It’s softer than I expect. “You home?”“Yeah. Lila’s with Paige. I’ve just been... regrouping. Going over my planner so I can fit in all my internships and classes. How’s Kai?”“The doctors did rounds. They’re sending Kai home.”My chest loosens a little. “That’s good.”“They’re still watching him, though. They said if anything else happens, they’ll start running tests—immune panels, marrow checks. I hate the thought of him having something serious.”My stomach turns. I sit down at the counter. “You must be so worried.”I know what it’s like to lose a child. But the marrow donation wasn’t the thing that killed Lil