Reborn to Love Mr. Right – Episode 14
The ballroom fell silent as the donation appeared on every screen. Derek had prepared to pledge one hundred thousand dollars to the school scholarship fund in the Davis family name. The transfer, however, came directly from Arianna’s personal account. Even the processing fee had been charged to her card. Beneath the amount sat his draft announcement, praising the Davis family’s tradition of generosity as if inherited honor could be manufactured with stolen funds.
Parents who had praised Derek’s generosity began rereading the slide. Students checked the photographs they had taken of his invitations, comparing his claims with the evidence before them. A few deleted flattering posts they had uploaded only minutes earlier, hoping to distance themselves from the deception. The glamorous heir they admired was becoming a boy who donated someone else’s money for applause, and no confident smile could reverse what the records showed.
Derek forced a laugh and called the transfer a gift from his girlfriend. He insisted Arianna had approved the donation weeks earlier and was only objecting because they had argued. His explanation relied on the old assumption that everything belonging to Arianna automatically became his once she loved him. The defense might have worked if Arianna had not brought the authorization records and invited witnesses capable of reading them.
“A gift requires the owner’s consent,” she said. The next slide showed Derek logging into her account after midnight and bypassing an approval request with a saved password. Donald’s security team had traced the device to Jeff’s apartment. A timestamp proved Arianna had been attending an away volleyball practice when the approval was entered, eliminating Derek’s last plausible excuse.
Ivy accused Arianna of spying on Derek. Emmy answered from the front row that investigating stolen money was not spying. Several students agreed, their loyalty shifting now that defending Derek made them look foolish.
Derek turned toward Arianna with injured disbelief. “After everything we’ve shared, you’re going to call me a thief?” His voice carried through the microphone. Arianna remembered how often he used their history to erase the present.
“No,” she replied. “The records call you a thief. I’m only letting people read them.” The distinction drew murmurs of approval. Hayden remained near the stage, watching Derek closely in case humiliation turned into violence.
The hotel manager approached Ivy and requested payment for the couture gown she wore. Its charge had been reversed when the Taylor family froze Derek’s cards. Ivy looked to Derek, but he had no money capable of covering the bill.
“Arianna bought it for me,” Ivy claimed. Arianna asked her to produce a message, receipt, or witness proving that gift. Ivy could offer only the assumption that Derek had permission to spend whatever he wanted.
The manager informed Ivy that the dress must be returned after the event or paid for immediately. Laughter rippled through the younger guests. Ivy’s face reddened as the gown that had symbolized victory became evidence of dependence.
Derek reached for the presentation remote. Hayden caught his wrist before he could take it from Arianna. The movement was controlled, but the warning in Hayden’s eyes stopped Derek from trying again. “You have had enough opportunities to speak,” Hayden said.
Arianna continued through the charges: restaurants where Derek took Ivy, gifts he claimed were school materials, and hotel rooms booked under false project names. She omitted private details that served no purpose. Her goal was not spectacle alone, but a documented end to his access.
The ballroom doors opened as Donald Taylor entered with two attorneys. His arrival changed the gathering from a school scandal into an official reckoning. Jeff followed several steps behind, pale and furious after being ordered to attend.
Donald took the microphone and confirmed that Arianna had not approved the purchases. He announced that every secondary account connected to Derek was closed and that the Taylor family would seek repayment for unauthorized charges. The scholarship donation would remain, but it would be credited to its real source.
Derek looked toward Jeff, searching for a story that might protect them both. Jeff claimed his son believed Arianna had granted permanent permission. Donald asked whether that belief also authorized abandoning his daughter and impersonating her family’s status.
Reporters moved closer. Jeff realized that defending Derek could expose his own role, so he blamed the purchases on youthful confusion. Derek stared at his father with the same disbelief Jeff had shown outside the mansion. Their alliance began breaking under the pressure of consequences.
Ivy attempted to leave, but the hotel manager blocked her path until she signed a repayment agreement for the gown. Guests who once followed her now stepped aside. Without Arianna’s money and Derek’s borrowed prestige, Ivy discovered how little influence she possessed.
Derek abandoned charm entirely. He accused Arianna of using Hayden to humiliate him because she could not tolerate being rejected. The claim sounded hollow after the financial evidence, yet the hatred in his voice exposed what politeness had concealed.
Arianna faced him from the stage. “You didn’t reject me,” she said. “You tried to consume my life piece by piece. I simply stopped feeding you.” Derek lunged toward the stairs, but Donald’s security guards moved between them.
As they escorted Derek from the ballroom, he twisted free long enough to issue a final warning. “You think taking back your money makes you safe?” he shouted. “Ask your precious Hayden what happens when someone loses control on a dark road.”
