Her Rebirth.-Chapter 109

Mason wanted to run away, run far away from his gaze, but he couldn’t, not with many of those who had just bragged about him watching so intently, waiting for him to make a move, to respond.

His lips trembled slightly as he parted them to speak.

"Kai," Mason tried again, chuckling nervously. "You’ve really outdone yourself tonight." He turned to Amelia, who was watching his shameful display quietly. "My little princess Amelia, you look stunning. And your entrance—my God, you’ve got the whole hall talking. Truly, you’ve brought us nothing but honor tonight."

Kai said nothing.

His hand on Amelia’s waist rubbed it playfully, his thoughts reeling on other things, and his eyes didn’t so much as blink as he regarded Mason like one might regard an irritating fly.

Mason’s smile wavered at the silence. His gaze flickered briefly to Amelia, who stood poised and composed beside Kai, her expression unreadable.

A beat passed.

Then another.

Mason’s throat dried, his earlier confidence withering under the weight of their stare.

Clearing his throat, Mason chuckled again, though it was obviously forced. "Ahem, well there are a few people here who would love to meet you. Investors, old family friends. Perhaps, Amelia, you could—" He turned to her, his voice sharpening slightly. "Introduce your fiancé to them?"

Amelia looked at him, her face a cool porcelain mask. There was no warmth in her gaze when she answered, no regard for the one who stood before her.

"I’m not interested, Father," she answered plainly.

Mason’s face darkened. Had he fallen so low that even Amelia disregarded him? A rush of pent-up rage flowed in him, making him slowly lose sight of rationality. He stepped closer to her, lowering his voice just enough to be threatening while still wearing a false smile for the onlookers.

"Stop being stubborn," he hissed. "Do you think you’re above your family now? Do your duty and bring him over. Now."

When Amelia didn’t move, didn’t even flinch, Mason’s hand twitched at his side as though he was seconds away from grabbing her arm.

"Amelia—!"

The threat was cut short.

Kai moved.

He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t even step between them dramatically.

All he did was turn his gaze slightly, shifting his full attention to Mason, and in a voice low enough to be polite but cold enough to freeze the blood in one’s veins, he said:

"Touch her, and you’ll leave this place with broken fingers."

The words weren’t a warning, not a threat. They were just pure facts. A reaction to an action.

Mason froze mid-motion, his hand half-lifted and trembling faintly. His mouth opened and closed soundlessly like a fish gasping for air. He couldn’t breathe—no, he didn’t dare breathe... or he would die, he would truly die.

Kai didn’t look away. His stare was relentless, daring him to try.

After a long, heavy pause, Mason lowered his hand, chuckling awkwardly in a pitiful attempt to brush it off. "O-of course. I was merely... teasing her. You know how it is, family banter and all that."

Kai’s expression didn’t change. It was as if Mason no longer existed.

He looked down at Amelia instead, his hand brushing gently across the small of her back and murmured something too low for Mason to hear.

Amelia gave him the faintest smile, her ears visibly turning pink.

Then, together, they turned away toward the group he had been speaking to, effectively ending the exchange. A dismissive gesture, but Mason knew what it meant.

You’re not needed here.

Not as a father.

Not as anything.

Mason stood there humiliated, sweating, and shivering in fear.

Behind him, he could hear the mocking whispers of those who had just surrounded him to seek his favour a few moments ago, but he didn’t care.

Not after he just felt like he had escaped death.

Then he heard a quiet clicking up to him and he turned.

"You fool," Eve hissed. She had never insulted Mason before, as she always put on that perfect, understanding persona, but now, she couldn’t even give two shits. "Do you even realize what you’ve done?"

He had shattered the little dignity they had left. Tomorrow, she was definitely going to be the topic of gossip among the women—how her husband had pretended to be in good relations with Amelia, how the child they had once tagged wild was now standing above them all, and how Mason had seemingly begged, requesting favour from the CEO of a company that was just three years old.

Mason’s brows knitted in irritation at her tone.

"What are you on about now, Eve?"

Eve’s lips curled into a sneer.

"You don’t know?"

She stepped closer, her voice dropping even further.

"You paraded yourself like some proud father, pretending Amelia’s achievements were your doing. As if everything between you is just fine. Even when you had the worst relationship with her."

Mason’s face darkened.

"She is my daughter," he snapped. "I raised her. I poured money and time into her. Without me, she would have been nothing."

Eve scoffed, disgust flashing across her face.

"Heh, and every chance you got you called her a disappointment, a disgrace, often poured out your anger on her. Not that I am innocent or anything but you—"

She jabbed a finger in the air toward Kai and Amelia, still standing at the center of attention.

"—you foolishly think that after all that happened, she would still act like an obedient daughter. You are ridiculous. Now, not only have you disgraced yourself, you’ve dragged me into it too. Staying quietly by the corner would have just been fine. In fact, if you had any shame, from the moment you saw her, we would have left this damn event quietly!"

Mason’s face twisted with fury. His hand shot up about to strike her, then they trembled slightly, but they never fell.

In the end, he only grunted, a harsh, animalistic sound of frustration, before clenching his fist and lowering it.

Without a word, he turned on his heel and stormed away, shoving past a few startled guests, with an obviously bruised ego.

Eve stood rooted to the spot, watching him go with cold, bitter eyes.

"Fool," she muttered again, more to herself than anyone else.

She needed a divorce. At least she could still get half the property before things got ruined further.

--

In the far corner of the hall, Hera Blackwood stood rigid, clutching her clutch bag so tightly her knuckles whitened. Beside her, Dan Blackwood nursed a drink, his face twisted with disbelief. Ace Blackwood, wide-eyed and disbelieving, leaned in slightly, his

"I can’t believe it," Ace muttered, eyes pinned on Kai who stood surrounded by a circle of the city’s most powerful elites. "Kai... he’s the CEO of ED Technologies? When did he have the time to build a company like that?"

Hera’s lips thinned into a hard, angry line. Her mind raced back, flashes of the years when she had sent Kai abroad under the pretense of education flickered in her eyes.

"Maybe it was then," she said coldly. "When we thought he was out of the picture, busy rotting away where he belonged."

Ace’s tone grew almost hopeful. "Isn’t this a good thing? If Kai is leading ED Technologies, he could help us rebuild the Blackwood family. He’s still our blood."

Hera let out a humorless laugh, sharp and slicing.

"Don’t be a fool, Ace. Kai wouldn’t lift a finger to help us."

Her voice dropped, her eyes filled with calculation, trying to pin facts together. "In fact, he might be the one behind our downfall."

Dan scoffed, shaking his head like Hera had said something ridiculous.

"Impossible," he said, waving a dismissive hand. "ED Technologies is big, sure, but it’s still a baby compared to the Blackwood and Cosgrove empires. We’re talking nearly a century of power."

Hera shot him a scornful look.

"Power that no longer exists," she sneered.

"Look around you, Dan. Look at the people fawning over him. The Blackwoods are a joke now. Our stocks have plummeted. Our influence is crumbling. And who’s standing at the center of it all?"

Dan’s face twitched in irritation, but he pressed on, trying to reason it out. "Look at it logically. ED Technologies has only existed for what—three years? The Blackwoods and Cosgroves have been standing for almost a century. You’re telling me a company that barely just rose up could tear down two empires overnight?"

Hera continued, her voice low and cutting,

"It’s not hard to connect the dots. The timing. The precision. Our humiliation was orchestrated. And who would have better motive, better opportunity?"

As she spoke, her gaze locked, almost like fate willed it, with Kai’s across the crowded room.

He was speaking to several high-ranking figures, Amelia tucked elegantly at his side. Kai’s mouth curved into a slow smile.

The smile he gave wasn’t warm. It was a subtle tilt of his lips, a glint in his eyes that sent an involuntary shiver down Hera’s spine. Not mockery. Not arrogance. Just an unspoken certainty. You already lost.

They watched as Kai said something softly to the people around him, eliciting nods and understanding smiles. Excusing himself, he turned, leading Amelia with him across the hall towards them.

As he approached, the air seemed to tighten around them.

He stopped just a few steps away, tilting his head slightly.

"Father." His eyes slid to Dan without warmth.

"Brother." A flick of a glance toward Ace.

Finally, his gaze settled coldly on Hera.

"Mother..."

Hera felt her heart thud once against her ribs.

"It’s been a long time."