The Return of the Billionaire Heiress and Her Cold CEO

"You kissed me," Kylie said quietly.

It wasn't a question.

She stood in the doorway of Cole's private office dressed in tailored black, skin glowing under soft overhead lights, but her expression? It was unreadable. And that was worse than anger.

Cole didn't look up immediately.

He was behind his desk, eyes fixed on a report he wasn't reading.

"Yes," he said after a beat. "I did."

"And then I left."

He finally looked at her. "I noticed."

She took a step closer.

"Say it wasn't a mistake."

He met her gaze and for once, there was no defense in his eyes. No armor. Just something… fragile.

"It wasn't."

The silence that followed was sharp enough to bleed on.

But she didn't run this time.

She walked across the room, sat in the chair across from him, and crossed her legs.

He watched her.

Waited.

Like he knew what was coming next would change everything.

And it did.

Because she didn't speak of plans, or Sebastian, or the shell companies they'd traced back to the leak.

She said only:

"Do you remember the night my father changed the will?"

It was a memory neither of them liked to revisit.

But it lived between them anyway.

Cold and jagged and inescapable.

Two Years Ago – Collins Global

Jacinta Collins had walked into her father's private dining room, heart pounding under a silk dress, to hear her name on paper erased.

She hadn't cried.

Not then.

She'd smiled, nodded, excused herself with a grace she didn't feel.

And then she found Cole.

Alone.

In the hallway outside the boardroom.

Hands in his pockets, gaze unreadable.

Her voice had shaken anyway.

"You knew."

He didn't deny it.

Didn't even look surprised.

"Yes," he said.

The world tilted.

"You knew, and you didn't tell me?"

"It wasn't my place—"

"It was," she snapped. "You were supposed to be my—"

She'd stopped herself.

Because the word didn't feel right anymore.

And maybe it never had.

"I didn't know how to help you," Cole had said, quietly.

"And you chose not to try."

His silence said everything.

And her heart bruised by legacy, shattered by blood cracked clean down the center.

"Don't follow me," she'd whispered.

And then she'd disappeared.

Back in the present, Kylie didn't realize her hands were clenched until Cole reached for them.

Slow.

Gentle.

"I remember," he said.

"And you never said sorry."

He nodded. "Because I didn't think sorry would fix it."

"It wouldn't," she said. "But it would've mattered."

He looked away.

Then back.

"I'm sorry."

And somehow years too late, words too soft it still mattered.

Kylie closed her eyes for a moment.

"Why did you stay at Pioneer?"

He hesitated.

"Because someone had to."

"Because of the company?"

"No," he said, simply. "Because of you."

She blinked.

"What?"

"I thought if I stayed, one day you'd come back. And if you did, I wanted to be here to make sure no one erased you again."

Kylie's heart twisted.

"You didn't stop them the first time."

"I know," he whispered. "But I never stopped watching the door."

Neither of them spoke after that for a long time.

There was nothing left to say and somehow, everything.

The clock ticked.

The skyline darkened.

The city blurred behind glass.

And still, she didn't move.

"I need to show you something," he said finally.

She looked at him.

He opened a drawer and pulled out a file. Thick. Worn at the edges.

Kylie frowned.

"What is it?"

He slid it toward her.

She opened it slowly.

Inside were reports. Clippings. Internal notes.

And photos.

Of her.

Kylie stared.

"These are surveillance shots."

Cole nodded once.

"After you disappeared, Sebastian hired people to find you."

She swallowed.

"And you?"

"I beat them to it. Every time."

She stared at the papers.

"You've been tracking me?"

He nodded again.

"I wasn't going to let him find you first."

Her hands trembled slightly as she set the file down.

"And yet, you let me think you didn't care."

"I was afraid if you saw me too soon, you'd run again."

"Maybe I would have."

"I didn't want to lose you twice."

The confession gutted her.

Because it was too late.

Because it was just soon enough.

Because she didn't know how to carry this soft thing he kept offering her this regret that wasn't manipulative, this care that wasn't conditional.

Kylie rose slowly.

He did too.

And this time, when he reached for her, she didn't stop him.

She stepped into his arms.

Pressed her face to his chest.

And breathed.

It wasn't forgiveness.

Not yet.

But it was a beginning.

The next morning, she sat beside him in the boardroom.

Confident.

Steady.

Unshakable.

And when Sebastian's name came up again, she leaned forward and said:

"I'll speak with him."

Cole looked over sharply.

"You don't have to."

"I know," she said. "But I want to."

He studied her face.

And finally nodded.

That afternoon, she met Sebastian alone.

On a neutral ground in a private room with glass doors and no cameras.

He smiled when she entered.

"You look well," he said.

She sat across from him.

Calm and cold.

"You look like a man running out of cards."

He chuckled.

"You always had flair."

"And you always had a god complex."

He leaned forward.

"You still think you're going to win?"

She didn't blink.

"I don't think, Sebastian. I plan."

His smile faltered.

"I made you," he said, voice low.

She stood.

"No," she said. "You broke me. And now you'll learn what happens when a woman rebuilds herself without your permission."

She walked out without another word.

And didn't look back.

That night, Cole was waiting by the window when she returned.

He said nothing.

Just looked at her.

And when she crossed the room and took his hand without a word, he knew.

They weren't pretending anymore.

Whatever they were building?

It was real.

And this time it was theirs.