Her Rebirth.

The morning sun filtered through the curtains, landing softly on Kai’s face, stirring him from sleep. His lashes fluttered as his eyes blinked open, a low yawn escaping his lips. The haze of sleep slowly cleared, and his gaze drifted to the woman curled beside him.

Amelia lay peacefully, her breathing even, her bare shoulder exposed above the sheets, revealing the red marks that adorned her skin. It was a clear testament that she was his, just as he was hers.

A satisfied smile formed at his lips.

"Good morning, butterfly," he murmured, his voice low and filled with warmth.

Her lashes trembled before her eyes opened, meeting his. At that moment, the memories from the previous night rushed in and she registered the intimacy of their position and the lingering soreness from the night before. A blush bloomed across her cheeks.

He just kept going and going... Agghhh.

Kai chuckled, his eyes filled with amusement. "You’re remembering, aren’t you?"

She gave him a half-hearted glare and buried her face in the pillow.

"Oh no, don’t hide now," he teased, reaching over to gently cup her flushed cheeks and squish them lightly. "You’re too cute when you’re embarrassed."

Amelia swatted his hand away with a small laugh, only for his phone to start buzzing on the nightstand.

Kai’s smile faded instantly.

He glanced at the screen, irritation flashing in his eyes. "Tch. Of all the times..."

Still, he answered. "Yes?"

"Are you alone?" came the familiar voice of Song Yue.

Kai’s jaw tightened. "No. And I’d prefer not to be disturbed right now."

There was a pause. "I want to meet the girl."

Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly. "No."

"I have something to give her," Song Yue said calmly. "It belonged to your mother."

Kai froze.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then, he exhaled slowly, the hand gripping the phone curling slightly.

"...Fine," he said at last, his voice flat.

"Come soon, kid," came the quiet reply before the call disconnected.

Kai stared at the screen for a second longer before setting the phone down with a sigh.

Amelia shifted beside him. "What is it?"

Kai turned to her, brushing a strand of hair from her face. His expression was calm, but deep in his eyes, one could see he was deeply worried.

"I think..." he said slowly, "it’s time I took you to meet my grandfather."

Amelia’s brows lifted in surprise.

He leaned in, pressing a kiss to her temple, his voice quiet against her skin. "And show you who I really am."

---

Recommended Song: "Middle of Love" by Picture This

"I may need to take a leave for about two weeks," Amelia said as she twirled a pen.

Damien looked up from the papers on his desk, brows lifting faintly. "That’s quite a long time. May I ask why?"

Amelia hesitated. "It’s for... personal reasons."

There was a pause.

Damien’s gaze dropped, as if by instinct, to her hands then he froze. His eyes captured the ruby ring now adorned on her left ring finger.

As if noticing his gaze, her fingers, which had been idly toying with the pen, stopped moving. The air in the room shifted. Slowly, his lips curled into a smile, a sorrowful one, and his eyes darkened slightly.

So that’s how it is, he thought, the corners of his mind bitter with irony. They really are in love, aren’t they?

A second passed before he spoke again, trying to keep his voice steady despite the pain that had settled in his chest. "Alright. Just make sure you inform HR."

Amelia gave a grateful nod. "Thank you, Damien." Then she turned and left.

Damien watched her retreating figure, her steps getting quieter as she moved further away from him. She opened the door, and his hand reached out faintly, almost as if to stop her then the door shut quietly behind her.

His hand dropped lifelessly to the desk and a slow exhale escaped his lips. He leaned back in his chair, pressing his fingers to his temple as if to steady the ache building behind his eyes.

"Of course," he murmured to no one, his voice, though quiet, was loud with bitterness. "What else did I expect?"

---

Damien never believed in love. Not truly. Not when he’d grown up watching his father parade mistresses in and out of their lives while his mother smiled hollowly at galas, pretending everything was fine. He had seen his mother’s eyes go from ones filled with hope, hope that her husband would one day change, to one that no longer cared and instead became filled with ambition that her son would become the next heir.

Marriage had always seemed like a gilded cage, polished on the outside, rotting on the inside. Besides, he had seen the marriages of those all around him; they were beautiful coffins, weren’t they? So when his mother arranged blind dates with various heiresses and socialites, he smiled politely, showed up out of duty, and left with no intention of ever calling back.

If he could, he would have remained single for the rest of his life.

But then she walked in, Amelia Cosgrove. With a bad reputation in the elite world for her brashness and crude behavior, and rumors that clung to her like a second skin. Yet when she stepped into his office that day, claiming to be his new assistant, everything changed.

He found himself slowly keeping to memory how her lips curved into the softest smile, how her brow furrowed in concentration when she sketched at her desk, the way her voice always seemed to pull him back when the weight of work became too much. She advised him gently, sometimes teased him with dry, sarcastic humor, and without knowing when or how... she became the brightest part of his day.

It crept in slowly, this longing. Not the obsessive kind, but a deep yearning to build a quiet life beside her. To hear her voice in the mornings. To share meals and silence. To be with her.

But some things, no matter how much you want them, are not yours to have.

She belonged to someone else.