Reborn to Love Mr. Right – Episode 13
For several seconds, Arianna forgot the crowded ballroom and everyone watching them. Hayden stood before her alive and untouched by the grief she remembered from her final moments. He was younger than the man who had held her while she died, but his eyes carried the same restrained warmth. Seeing him reopened every regret she had buried beneath revenge.
“You came,” she said. The simple words trembled despite her effort to remain composed. Hayden glanced at the Taylor Foundation displays and explained that the corrected invitation had been impossible to misunderstand. He had come for her, not for Derek’s false promises.
Onstage, Derek repeated Hayden’s name into the microphone, attempting to reclaim his attention. Hayden did not turn. That public dismissal sent whispers through the guests and stripped another layer from Derek’s performance as host.
Arianna wanted to apologize for rejecting Hayden, but the ballroom was no place to explain emotions rooted in a life he had never lived. “I treated you unfairly the last time we spoke,” she said instead. “You didn’t deserve it.” Speaking the apology lifted none of her guilt, yet it marked the first honest step toward the future she had once thrown away. Hayden studied her as though the sincerity troubled him more than the insult ever had.
“Derek told you I wanted your father’s company,” Hayden replied. Arianna nodded. In the previous life, she had repeated that accusation without evidence and refused to hear his answer. Now she told him she no longer believed anything Derek said about another person’s motives.
Hayden’s guarded expression softened. He did not demand an explanation for her sudden change or use the apology to press his advantage. “Then we’ll begin with the truth,” he said. The offer carried the same patience that had followed her into death.
Derek descended from the stage and approached them with Ivy. He welcomed Hayden extravagantly, claiming their families had discussed a future partnership. Hayden corrected him in front of the nearest reporters: Scott Global had received an invitation from the Taylor Foundation and had no negotiations with Derek Davis.
Ivy tried to rescue the moment by praising Derek’s charitable vision. She described the gala as his personal project and Arianna as a last-minute supporter. Arianna gestured toward the legal host information displayed beneath every foundation banner. Facts required less effort than Ivy’s inventions.
The first presentation was scheduled to begin, and Arianna moved toward the stage. Hayden offered his arm, not as possession but support. She accepted it, aware of Derek watching them with undisguised fury.
At the microphone, Arianna welcomed the guests to the Taylor Future Leaders Scholarship launch. She explained that the foundation had funded the venue, catering, and program. Without mentioning Derek yet, she thanked everyone who had come expecting transparency about how charitable money would be used.
The word transparency made Derek stiffen. His secret charges were scheduled to appear later in the financial presentation. He whispered to Ivy, who slipped away from the front table while Arianna introduced the scholarship candidates.
Emmy joined Arianna near the stage stairs and reported seeing Ivy enter the audiovisual booth. Arianna asked the technician to verify the presentation files. Moments later, he returned pale and admitted that the main drive had been erased.
The ballroom screens went black. Derek seized the interruption, telling guests that Arianna had taken control too late to organize the event properly. His supporters laughed, relieved to have an explanation that preserved their assumptions. Ivy returned to his side wearing an innocent expression.
Arianna’s stomach tightened, but she refused to give Derek the panic he expected. The financial records existed in the Taylor office and on Donald’s secure server, yet retrieving them would delay the program long enough for Derek to dominate the evening. She had underestimated how quickly Ivy would sabotage her.
Hayden asked the technician which system controlled the screens. After a brief inspection, he called his security chief and requested access to the hotel’s automated backup. Scott Global used the same event platform, and every uploaded file had been mirrored off-site before deletion.
Within minutes, the screens returned. A recovered activity log appeared first, showing the exact time Ivy’s access badge entered the booth and deleted Arianna’s presentation. Gasps spread through the ballroom before the financial evidence even began.
Ivy claimed she had gone inside to help. The technician stated that no assistance had been requested and that she had ordered him out. Derek accused the hotel of fabricating records to satisfy Hayden, but the cameras had already captured Ivy’s frightened reaction.
Arianna looked at Hayden with gratitude. He had rescued the presentation without taking control away from her, just as he had once tried to save her life without asking for anything in return. “Thank you,” she said quietly. Hayden replied that she had done the difficult part by standing on the stage.
The first restored slide appeared behind Arianna. It displayed the Maple Grand contract, the Taylor account used for payment, and the custom decorations Derek had ordered under a false academic description. Every guest could now see the source of the luxury around them.
Derek moved toward the control booth, but Hayden stepped into his path. Arianna advanced to the next slide, revealing dozens of purchases made with her secondary card. At the bottom waited the largest entry of all—a supposed charitable donation Derek planned to announce as his own.
