Billionaire's Reborn Wife

On the fourth floor of a building in the older districts of Austin. Stella Biber sat on the bed in a small bedroom, her hands supporting her head. There were a few strands of hair scattered across her forehead, shrouding the complex emotions in her eyes. It was the third day since her rebirth, and she had thought that she was dreaming. However, the slap on her face earlier, and the burning sensation it brought told her otherwise. Click! The bedroom door opened. Her mother, Elena Biber appeared at the door, holding a bowl of oat porridge. She asked with a smile, "Stella, you ate so little for breakfast. Aren't you hungry?" Stella raised her head slowly. She stared profoundly at Elena as if wanting to see through Elena's thoughts… This was the woman Stella had known as her Mom for the past 30 years. "I noticed that Ray and her classmate didn't look happy when they left just now. Did you get into an argument with them?" Wasn’t that obvious? Stella could even see the red fingerprint marks on her face reflected in Elena's eyes. Stella's eyes flickered slightly before she moved her gaze. Then, she shook her head expressionlessly and answered, "Nope." "I’m relieved then. The Benz Family just called and said that Edward could free up 15 minutes of his time in the afternoon to meet us. He's a busy man. Hence, we should be there earlier." After beating around the bush and being unusually concerned about Stella, Elena finally revealed her real purpose of coming to her room. It was then that Stella finally recalled her arranged marriage. This had been arranged by Stella's grandmother before she passed away. Edward Benz's grandfather had even given them an heirloom brooch to vouch for the engagement. In the past few years, the Biber family had always been poor. However, Elena wasn't that bothered by it. She had always been looking forward to Stella’s graduation so that the arranged marriage with the Benz family could be completed. Once Stella was married to a man from the Benz Family, which was the most powerful family in Austin, Elena would be extremely content. Unfortunately. On this day eight years ago, Edward had deliberately scheduled an appointment to meet them. However, his objective of meeting them was to cancel the engagement. Stella lowered her gaze to hide the coldness in eyes. Then, she replied, "Okay." Stella had always been sensible and obedient. And hence, she was relenting on this day too. However, from their conversation, Elena inevitably felt that Stella seemed more distant than before. Hence, Elena observed Stella more closely. However, she couldn't tell what was wrong just by looking at Stella's expression. Nevertheless, Elena dispelled her doubts and stood up from the bed. "You should start dressing up then." "Alright." After Elena was done, she put down the bowl of oat porridge and left. "Please have some tea while you wait. Mr. Benz is having a video conference right now. You might need to wait for another ten minutes." In the CEO's office, Edward's assistant, Bruce Lee, served Elena and Stella a cup of hot tea each. Elena's gaze fell upon Bruce's wristwatch. Elena had worked as a housekeeper for a wealthy family. Hence, she could recognize watches from the top luxury brands. "This watch you are wearing is quite expensive. Do they pay you well here?" Bruce straightened up and replied humbly, "Well, we are paid fairly well, but it's also mainly because Mr. Benz takes care of his employees very well." Elena smiled at him, picked up her teacup, and turned to speak to Stella in a low voice. "You should tell Edward later that you want to work at his company. The pay here must be high." She did not speak loudly, but Bruce was standing right next to her. Hence, he could hear everything she said clearly. Stella lowered her eyes and did not respond. After drinking five cups of tea, the office door finally swung open. Elena was almost about to doze off on the sofa. Edward was dressed in a neat black suit. He was extraordinarily handsome, and his figure was even more attractive than that of the male models in magazines. Stella gazed at Edward and realized that he completely resembled the man who had taken her virginity a month ago. She had been drunk that night, and lust overwhelmed her... That night, neither of them had seen each other's faces clearly. In her past life, only when Edward came looking for her with her bracelet did Stella realize that it was he who slept with her that night. However, Stella was already married to someone else by that time. In Stella's memory, all of her misfortunes started from that fateful night. Therefore, she did not have a good impression of this man. Edward stood at the door. His charming gaze swept across the office for a moment before he walked in. As Edward walked in, Bruce approached him and reported, "Mr. Benz, these ladies are from the Biber Family." "I don't think this is our agreed meeting time..." Edward raised his hand and looked at his watch. His voice was cold but pleasant. "They came early." Bruce took Edward's suit jacket and hung it up. Their conversation woke Elena up. She then got up from the sofa and exclaimed happily, "Mr. Benz, it's been difficult to get an appointment with you. I called your office almost every week, and I finally got to meet you." She didn't forget to introduce Stella. "This is my daughter, Stella Biber." When Edward's gaze fell on her, Stella immediately looked away indifferently. Unlike Elena, Stella remained seated on the sofa. Edward glanced at her and sat down at his desk. "I'm quite preoccupied with work. Please excuse me." Elena smiled and replied, "It's okay. It must be hard work for you to manage such a huge company. Although a career is important, you should take care of your health also. After all, health is wealth." Elena was trying hard to suck up to Edward. She was completely unlike her usual self. "Well, I've actually invited you both over to talk about the engagement." Edward gradually looked away, and brought up the topic. "Yes, we have been thinking about it too. Stella just graduated from university. Both of you can get married at any time. When will you be free for our families to meet?" Elena was very excited that Edward took the initiative to mention the engagement. She couldn't wait to decide on a wedding date. Edward's charming lips curled into a sneer. His gaze swept across Elena’s face, and he uttered slowly, "There's no need for our families to meet. Besides, I'm busy with work. I won't have the time." "Are you saying that we should decide on the date without meeting up?" The joy on Elena's face faded a little. Alas, Stella was engaged to a son of the Benz Family, who had more than half of Austin's economy under their control. Hence, Elena could only comply. At this moment, Stella's cold yet pleasant voice chimed in, "Mom, Mr. Benz is saying that he doesn't have time to get married. He was tactfully expressing that he wants to cancel the engagement." Elena was flustered. She turned to look at Edward and asked, "Cancel the engagement? Why though?" "Today's society encourages freedom to choose a spouse, and arranged marriages have long been out of favour. Besides, the Benz family is extremely wealthy. Given their status, I'm not even worthy of even marrying one of their employees, let alone Mr. Benz himself." Edward had used these words to humiliate Stella when he broke off the engagement in her past life. Hence, she regurgitated the exact words to him. After that, she stood up and took off the heirloom brooch on her shirt as she walked over. She stopped at Edward's desk and placed the brooch in front of him expressionlessly. "I'll return this to you. Do you need me to sign an agreement to cancel the engagement formally?" Given Stella's actions, Edward could only stare at her. He frowned and then glanced at Bruce, signaling for him to come over. Bruce brought over two copies of an agreement, to formally dismiss the engagement. Edward had already signed the agreements. Without hesitation, Stella picked up the pen and signed on them too. Edward gazed at her deeply and reminded her, "You may request for some compensation. As long as it's not too much, I am willing to oblige." "There's no need for compensation. After all, we mutually agreed to cancel it. No one is at fault here." Stella met his gaze. With that, the agreement had been signed. Noticing that Stella had no intention of leaving, Edward politely asked her, "Can I help you with anything else?" "Since we will no longer be related, shouldn't you return my things to me too?" asked Stella. Edward looked at her in silence for a while before responding, "I don't remember taking anything from you." Back then, the Benz Family did not take any token from the Biber Family when they agreed on the arranged marriage. Stella had a cold smile on her face. "Mr. Benz, you are truly a forgetful busy man. A month ago, in the presidential suite on the eighth floor of Heaven Villa… You took my bracelet." After Stella disclosed this, Bruce, who was holding the agreement, began trembling. He then turned to look at her. If Edward hadn't asked Bruce to investigate the woman who entered his suite that night, Bruce would not even have known that Edward had stayed at Heaven Villa that night. "It can't be a coincidence, can it?" Edward's face darkened. He smiled coldly and replied, "It seems like you've put in a lot of effort just to marry me." "I'm sorry, but I really have no intentions of marrying you. If you ever get married, I will give you my blessings! So, please just return the bracelet to me." Saying all this with a smile, Stella then reached out towards him.. Edward's gaze was frigid. He replied, "I've thrown the bracelet away. Should I pay you for it?" In her previous life, when Edward brought the bracelet to Stella, it had seemed newer than when she first bought it. Stella wouldn't have believed that it was hers if it weren't for the words she had carved on it. Now, he said he had thrown it away, and she found it unbelievable. "The bracelet isn't expensive, but it's a gift that I bought for myself when I turned 18. It's meaningful to me. Mr. Benz, you couldn't be saying this deliberately so that you can keep it to yourself, could you?" Edward stared at her silently before uttering, "Do I look like I have nothing else better to do?" She stared at him with a dubious look. Indeed. Stella had even gone through something as mind-boggling as a rebirth. Hence, it was also possible for Edward to have changed his mind and thrown the bracelet away. Realizing this, Stella withdrew her hand, and her gaze darkened. "It's just a common bracelet. Forget it." After that, she turned around and left. Elena wanted to say something, but she was at a loss for words, as Stella had already exited the office. Therefore, Elena grabbed her bag and left with her. …... In the taxi on their journey home, Elena finally came to her senses and asked, "Why did you break off the engagement so easily? You should at least request for both our families to talk about it before you make this decision." "Edward doesn't want to marry me. Even if the Benz Family threatened him with a knife on his neck, he still won't marry me." Stella's claims were founded. In her previous life, Edward had not gotten married even after Stella's death. Although she was right, Elena was still unwilling to break off the engagement. "Then, you should at least ask for some compensation. The Benz Family is so rich. It's definitely easy for them to fork out about a hundred thousand dollars. That way, we'd also lead a better life!" Stella was taken aback. She turned to glance at Elena and asked, "Compensation? A compensation would only make sense if he owed us something. What does he owe us?" Stella had never spoken to Elena so loudly before. Elena was taken aback and frowned unhappily. "Stella, how could you talk back to me like this? If I hadn't given birth to you and Ray, would I have become like this? Is it wrong for me to ask for some money? Am I not doing this for our family's good?" Stella stared steadily at Elena. Stella really couldn't fathom how Elena could mention giving birth to her without even flinching. "Stop the car!" The driver was not sure what had happened between Stella and Elena. Hence, he complied and parked by the roadside. Stella opened the car door and got off without hesitation. Elena was also furious now. She ignored Stella and asked the driver to drive off. Stella had alighted on a tall bridge, and the Austin River flowed beneath. She stood on the bridge as the cold breeze blew across the scarf around her face. As the wind blew, she finally calmed down.