The Return of the Billionaire Heiress and Her Cold CEO

"He held your hand," Cole said flatly. "In front of the press."

Kylie looked up from her tablet. Calm. Barefoot. Wearing one of his button-down shirts like she owned the air around her.

"I was steadying myself on the stairs," she replied.

"He touched you for ten seconds."

"You counted?"

"I always count when someone touches what's mine."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Say that again."

Cole paused.

His mouth opened slightly like the words had gotten ahead of him.

Then he looked away.

Kylie leaned back against the kitchen counter, lips curving into something bitter-sweet.

"Right," she said. "That's what I thought."

It started that morning.

The gala had ended with whispers.

Photos hit the press before midnight.

Kylie Reynolds seen with Ethan Sterling hand on back, matching grins, exit together.

Harmless on the surface.

But not in their world.

In Cole's world, ten seconds of skin meant a press frenzy and a shareholder panic.

In Kylie's world, it meant leverage.

And an opportunity she hadn't planned… but didn't regret.

She had barely slept.

Cole had slept even less.

She heard him pacing sometime around 3 a.m.

Again at 4.

By 5:30, the house smelled like dark roast and something heavier tension.

When Kylie walked into the kitchen wearing Cole's shirt not to provoke, but because it was the first thing she grabbed he was already on his third call.

"Damage control," he said without looking up.

She poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"No damage was done," she replied. "Unless your ego is bruised."

His gaze finally lifted.

There was something sharp in it.

Not anger.

Not yet.

But the edge of something he hadn't let himself feel before.

"You're enjoying this," he said quietly.

Kylie tilted her head. "What am I enjoying?"

"The way I'm reacting."

She didn't deny it.

Instead, she set her glass down carefully, walked across the room, and stopped inches from him.

"You want the truth?" she asked.

"Always."

"I didn't plan it," she said. "But when Ethan offered me his arm and I saw the cameras…"

She paused.

"…I didn't say no either."

Cole exhaled. Slowly.

Then nodded once. "Good to know."

He turned and walked out.

The coldness should've felt satisfying.

It didn't.

It felt like a door she hadn't meant to close clicking shut behind her.

Later that morning, she received a message from Victoria.

You're trending. Again.

And not because of your fashion this time.

Kylie smirked.

Then blocked the number.

By noon, she was at the Pioneer Tower.

Again.

Uninvited.

She walked past reception like a queen in exile daring anyone to stop her.

They didn't.

In the elevator, two interns whispered.

She let them.

They'd stop talking the moment she owned the building.

Cole wasn't in his office.

Neither was Victoria.

But Ethan was.

Waiting, apparently.

In the boardroom. With coffee and croissants.

"You're popular today," he said with a wink.

"I'm always popular," she replied.

He smiled. "But today, you're controversial."

She took a seat.

Let him pour her coffee.

Let him feel like he was winning.

Just a little.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Came to check on you. After all it's not every day the media re-anoints a lost heiress."

Kylie raised an eyebrow.

"Careful," she said. "You're almost being charming."

"I'm always charming," he said. "You just don't trust me yet."

"Yet," she repeated.

Ten minutes later, Cole walked in.

His entrance was silent.

But it felt like thunder.

Ethan stood immediately.

"Cole."

"Sterling."

"You left your wife unattended."

"She's not a pet."

Kylie sipped her coffee.

"I can make my own decisions," she said.

Cole's eyes flicked to hers.

"I'm aware," he said. "You made one last night."

She set her cup down slowly.

Ethan excused himself smart enough to know a storm when he saw one.

The moment the door closed, Cole said, "Do you know what the board asked me this morning?"

Kylie didn't respond.

"They asked me if our marriage was just for show."

"And what did you say?"

"I said it was none of their business."

She nodded. "Good answer."

He stepped closer.

His voice dropped.

"But you're making it their business."

Kylie crossed her arms.

"They're watching us, Cole. Judging me. Waiting for a crack. I gave them a distraction. That's all."

His eyes darkened.

"You think they'll be satisfied with a distraction?"

"I think they'll be satisfied with a scandal," she said. "As long as it doesn't involve you."

Cole looked at her like he wanted to say something else.

But didn't.

That afternoon, she found a package waiting in her suite.

Unmarked.

No card.

Inside was a USB.

And a note.

"Proof of what Sebastian took. You decide what to do with it."

Her fingers trembled slightly as she plugged it into her laptop.

It was a video.

A boardroom.

Her father.

Sebastian.

Cole's father.

And the lawyer who changed the will.

"I want everything protected," her father said.

"She's not ready," Sebastian replied. "Let me step in. Just temporarily."

"She's grieving," the lawyer said. "We can revise and reinstate later."

The rest was noise.

All Kylie could hear was her father's voice.

And Sebastian's smile.

She shut the laptop.

Hands shaking.

Her chest was tight, breath shallow.

She'd known.

But knowing and seeing were two different things.

And this?

This was confirmation.

She called Katherine.

Her voice cracked on the second ring.

"It's him," Kylie whispered. "He did it."

"I know," Katherine said. "And now you have proof."

"I don't know what to do with it."

"Give it to Cole."

Kylie hesitated.

"What if he already knows?"

"Then he's testing you."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then you'll find out what kind of man he really is."

That night, Cole came home late.

Loosened tie. Exhausted eyes.

But she was waiting.

Not in the living room.

Not in the kitchen.

But outside his bedroom door.

Laptop in hand.

"Watch this," she said.

He didn't ask questions.

Didn't ask where it came from.

Just watched.

And when the video ended, he looked at her.

Expression unreadable.

But his hand gripped the edge of the desk hard enough for his knuckles to turn white.

"I didn't know," he said.

And she believed him.

For once she believed him.

"Why would someone send this to you?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

She swallowed hard.

"Maybe someone wants us to use it."

Cole stepped closer.

"And maybe someone wants us to burn because of it."

The USB stayed on the desk.

Neither of them touched it again that night.

Instead, she sat beside him.

Shoulder to shoulder.

Neither reaching for the other.

But neither pulling away.

He looked over after a while.

"What happens if we leak it?"

"Sebastian burns."

"And if we wait?"

"He moves first."

Cole nodded.

Slowly.

Then looked at her again.

This time softer.

"We need to be careful."

Kylie smiled faintly.

"Careful's never been our thing."

Later, in the dark, he stood by the window with a drink in hand.

She leaned against the frame beside him.

And for the first time, the silence between them didn't hurt.

It just was.

"Tell me something true," she said.

He looked over. "Like what?"

"Anything."

He thought for a second.

Then:

"I knew you'd ruin everything the moment I saw you."

She smirked. "You didn't even know my real name."

"I didn't need to."

A beat.

Then she said, "Tell me something else."

He turned fully toward her now.

Eyes tired. But honest.

"I'm more afraid of you than I've ever been of anyone."

Kylie didn't flinch.

"Good," she whispered.

"Because I'm not afraid of you at all."