The Architect Who Rose From Ashes

I died of a broken heart while my fiancé, Kade, was busy comforting his "best friend" over a cold.

When I opened my eyes, I was back at our engagement party, ten years in the past.

I didn't hesitate. I took off the ring and called it quits.

But Kyla wasn't letting go that easily. She deliberately ate a peanut cookie, faking a severe reaction to frame me.

Kade didn't ask questions. He looked at me with pure hatred.

"You monster! You knew she was allergic!"

He even blamed me for his driver's sudden heart attack, screaming that I was a murderer who deserved to be ruined.

I didn't defend myself. I didn't cry.

I simply boarded a plane to London and vanished from his life.

Thirteen years later, I returned as a world-renowned architect.

Kade, who had finally uncovered the truth and spent a decade in silent penance, fell to his knees begging for a second chance.

I looked at the man who had once been my world and smiled coldly.

"I forgive you, Kade. But the Harper who loved you is dead. You killed her yourself."

Chapter 1

Harper Merritt POV:

The last thing I remembered was the sterile white of a hospital ceiling, the faint, rhythmic beeping of machines, and the crushing weight in my chest. A stress-induced heart condition, they'd said. Kade wasn' t there. He was with Kyla Horn, comforting her over some minor sniffle while I slipped away, alone. Now, the overwhelming scent of lilies and expensive champagne assaulted my senses. My eyes fluttered open.

Crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead, reflecting off polished marble floors. A murmur of well-dressed guests filled the grand ballroom, their laughter a dull thrum in my ears. The world spun for a second, then snapped into sharp focus. This wasn' t a hospital. This was the Rivera family mansion. This was my engagement party. My engagement party to Kade Rivera. Ten years ago.

My breath hitched. This was real. I was here, in my twenty-fifth year, clutching a glass of lukewarm champagne, standing beside the man who would break my heart and unknowingly cause my death. He hadn't changed. Not yet. His jaw was still too sharp, his eyes a shade too condescending when he glanced my way, his smile a practiced, empty gesture.

"Darling, you look a little pale," Kade murmured, his voice a low rumble. He wasn't looking at me. His gaze was fixed across the room, where Kyla Horn, draped in emerald green silk, was laughing a little too loudly with a group of socialites. That familiar pang, sharp and unwelcome, twisted in my gut. Even now, on our engagement night, his true love was elsewhere.

I swallowed, the champagne suddenly tasting like ash. "I'm fine, Kade," I managed, my voice surprisingly steady. Fine. The word was a lie I had lived for ten years. But not anymore. Not this time.

Kade finally turned to me, a flicker of irritation in his blue eyes. "Are you sure? You've been quiet all evening. Is this about Kyla?" He leaned in, his tone dropping, a hint of accusation. "I only spoke to her for a few minutes. You know how she gets. A little dramatic."

A bitter laugh threatened to escape me, but I bit it back. Dramatic? She was a master manipulator, and he, my soon-to-be husband, was her most loyal puppet. A decade of my life, wasted. My dreams, sacrificed. My heart, shattered into irreparable pieces. All for a man who saw my devotion as a given, and Kyla's theatrics as genuine distress.

"No, Kade," I said, my voice gaining strength, each word a carefully placed brick in the wall I was building between us. "It's not about Kyla. It's about us." I took a deep breath, the scent of lilies suddenly suffocating. "I can't do this."

His brow furrowed, a slow anger building in his eyes. He probably thought this was a game, a bid for attention. "Harper, what are you talking about? Everyone's here. This is our engagement party."

"It's not going to be," I stated, my hand reaching for the diamond solitaire on my finger. It glinted under the chandeliers, a symbol of a future that would never be mine. Or rather, a future I would never again allow myself to be trapped in. "I'm calling off the engagement."

The ballroom, a moment ago filled with polite chatter, seemed to fall silent. Kade' s face went slack with shock, quickly replaced by indignation. "You're humiliating me," he hissed, his grip tightening on my arm, his fingers digging into my skin. "What is this, Harper? A ploy? Because I was talking to Kyla earlier?"

"It's not a ploy, Kade," I said, pulling my arm free. I slipped the ring off my finger, its cold weight feeling alien in my palm. "It's a decision." I held it out to him, watching his eyes widen as he stared at the glittering stone, then at my resolute face. "I'm accepting the job in London."

He scoffed, a short, sharp sound. "The architecture firm? The one you turned down for me?" His voice dripped with disbelief. "You're serious?"

"Completely," I affirmed. "I'm leaving. Soon."

A venomous glint entered his eyes. He snatched the ring from my hand, his face contorted with barely restrained fury. "Fine," he bit out, his voice low and dangerous. "If that's what you want, Harper. Go. I don't care." He glanced across the room, his gaze landing on Kyla. A smirk, cruel and triumphant, touched his lips. "In fact, Kyla always wanted to see the Blue Moon meteor shower from the yacht. Looks like she's available."

My heart, which should have ached, felt strangely hollow. The "Blue Moon" trip. Our trip. The meteor shower I had planned for months. He was replacing me, instantly, effortlessly. Just like he always had, and always would.

A strange calm settled over me. This was it. The breaking point. The freedom. I simply nodded, a ghost of a smile touching my lips. "I wish you both a pleasant trip, Kade." Then I turned, walking away from the flashing cameras, the stunned guests, and the man who was once my entire world. I walked towards the grand staircase, leaving the sound of his angry whispers and Kyla's sudden, triumphant laugh behind me. My heart was strangely light, a new, exhilarating beat echoing in my chest. No more. The old Harper was truly gone.