Rebirth: From Devoted Wife to Ice Queen CEO

Aria's pov

I blinked against the blinding light that hit my eyes the moment I opened them.

My eyes darted around the room, searching for confirmation, needing to make sure that what I was seeing wasn't just my imagination.

I clamped my hand over my mouth, eyes wide with disbelief. I took a step back, my body instinctively retreating like my subconscious was trying to protect me.

Music hummed softly in the air. I could hear elegant laughter and clinking champagne glasses that grounded me to the scene around me.

How? I remembered dying. How was it possible I was back at this exact moment?

Yet here I was, standing on the very stage that had marked the beginning of my downfall.

My breath caught as I looked around, heart pounding wildly against my ribs. My eyes went blank, like empty windows of a haunted house, as soon as I saw Adrian beside me, grinning.

It was like my mind was wrapped in cotton, softening the edges of reality. The last thing I remembered was pain, too much pain and blood. And my baby.

My hands trembled with held-back fury, fingers curling into tight fists, nails digging into my palms. The pain grounded me in the storm of my emotions. My skin crawled when Adrian touched my arm, with a microphone in his other hand.

I knew what he was about to do. Propose to me. I smirked. I definitely wasn't going to let history repeat itself.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he began, his voice smooth as always. "A year ago, I met an incredible woman who changed the meaning of life for me. She's beautiful, smart, intelligent, to name a few, and has stood by me through thick and thin. Her light, her laughter, her grace... made me believe in love." He grinned at me.

The crowd sighed in anticipation. My mouth went dry, my hatred a bitter taste I couldn't swallow. I felt a wave of nausea, a sick reaction to his presence.

"I think it's time we take things to the next step, my love," Adrian said, turning fully to face me now.

He slowly kneeled down and brought out a velvet box from his pocket. Everything was happening the same way it did before.

"So, Aria Lin, will you make..." he was saying when I interrupted.

"No," I sneered, staring down at him.

The ballroom fell into hushed silence. It was like the air had become solid, making each breath feel wrong.

"What?" Adrian asked, blinking like he hadn't heard me correctly.

The air cracked with tension as my jaw tightened, muscles twitching with every urge I was holding back to lash out. My eyes blazed with fury.

"I can't marry you," I answered, my tone ice cold.

"What are you talking about?" Adrian asked, his mouth open with disbelief written all over his face.

"I'm in love with someone else, so I can't marry you," I replied, raising my voice.

The silence after my words stretched on unnervingly long. It had a life of its own, like a living thing that filled every corner of the hall.

"That's not possible. Who?" he asked, shocked.

I didn't answer him. My eyes scanned the ballroom looking for an escape route. But just as I was about to give up, I saw him.

Ethan Lou, my assistant. He was standing at the edge of the hall with a tablet in his hands, looking directly at me.

We'd never gotten along. Ethan was my father's former assistant, but he made his opinions about me taking over as CEO very clear. He thought I was immature.

But Ethan Lou was real, not a liar, and definitely not a murderer. And he was someone I definitely wasn't in love with.

Before I could second-guess myself, I stepped off the stage. My heart rate increased and my breath came out in short gasps, but I didn't hesitate.

My heels clicked against the ballroom floor, each step cutting through the thick tension that had settled in the hall like a knife.

The silence was overwhelming, pressing in from all directions, as I stopped in front of him.

"Kiss me back, or we both lose everything," I whispered to him, my fingers curled around his collar.

Ethan's eyes widened, his jaw dropped as the whole ballroom stared, stunned.

"What do you think you're doing?" he whispered back, disbelief in his voice.

"Smile," I cut him off, fingers still gripping his collar. "And play along. Or tomorrow, you'll be jobless and in every gossip headline as the assistant who broke a CEO's heart."

I didn't give him a chance to reply. I just pulled him close by his collar and kissed him with everything I had.

Ethan froze against my lips for a heartbeat, but then his arms came up to rest on my waist.

The silence that followed was like a rubber band stretched to its limit, ready to snap at any moment. The quiet wrapped around us, muffling even the smallest sound.

The guests' jaws dropped, eyes widening in disbelief like a sudden jolt of electricity had shot through their veins, leaving them momentarily stunned.

The media went crazy, snapping pictures of every detail of our kiss.

I finally pulled away from Ethan and our eyes locked.

"What the hell was that?" Ethan whispered, half surprised and half angry.

But before I could respond, chaos erupted behind me.

"Aria!" my father's voice boomed.

I could feel the anger coming off Adrian as he stormed toward us in a fit of rage.

"What's the meaning of this?" Adrian spat. "How dare you try to humiliate me? In front of all these people... these investors, our families."

Before Adrian could blink, I spun around and slapped him. Hard.

My hands trembled with held-back fury, fingers curling into tight fists, nails digging into my palms. The pain grounded me in the storm of my emotions.

Adrian's shocked face was captured by all the cameras flashing wildly at the drama unfolding.

He raised his hand to slap me back... only for it to be caught mid-air.

My father didn't hesitate. His palm cracked across Adrian's face for the second time with a sharp, hard slap that made me flinch and the whole room gasp.

My mother clutched her pearls, her smile forced as she tried to hide her concern.

"You dare try to lay your filthy hands on my daughter?" Mr. Lin sneered down at him.

Adrian staggered back, too stunned to reply.

"Get. Out," my father barked. "Guards. Remove this piece of trash from my sight immediately."

Adrian's mother, who had been quiet this whole time, came forward.

"How dare you humiliate my son like this, Aria? After everything my son did for you!" Mrs. Wu cried out, her voice shaking with rage. "You haven't heard the last of the Wu family!"

If this had happened before, I would have been terrified hearing such a threat. But not anymore.

Adrian's mother had made my life hell, but I promised myself I would make them all pay for what they had put me through—starting with her precious son.

Two suited guards appeared, grabbing Adrian by the arms as he tried to protest.

"You don't understand... she's mine!" Adrian shouted, his eyes blazing murderously. "You think this is over, Aria? You think I'll let you go that easily?!" He snarled.

"She was never yours," my father replied, stepping in front of me protectively.

The guards dragged Adrian away, the hall buzzing with hushed excitement and disbelief.

I watched as Adrian was hauled out of the ballroom. I had to admit, it was satisfying to watch the arrogant bastard being dragged away like that.

Just as I was feeling triumphant, everything suddenly felt heavy. My legs gave out beneath me, and I started to collapse.

But strong arms caught me just in time, preventing me from hitting the marble floor.

As darkness crept in around the edges of my vision, I heard Ethan's voice, sounding concerned and confused.

"What the hell just happened?" he muttered, holding my unconscious form.