Rebirth Of The Heiress And The Tycoon's Lover (Alina) novel Chapter 346

Chapter 346

AUTHOR’S POV

The plate in Darius’s hands was still warm when he stopped in front of Alina’s room.

He didn’t knock when he reached her door, he pushed it open with the plate balanced in his hands.

When he pushed the door open, he found her exactly where he expected, and yet somehow not.

Alina sat on the bed, legs crossed, hands resting limply in her lap, staring into space as though the world had stopped somewhere far beyond the walls of the mansion. She didn’t turn when he entered. She didn’t react at all.

Darius stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The sound was soft, deliberate.

He walked closer and set the plate down on the bedside table behind her.

“Alina,” he said, his voice firm but not loud. “Eat.”

She turned slowly.

For a brief, dangerous moment, her eyes softened.

She saw him then…not the man who had stood before cameras and announced her future like a business merger, not the man who barked orders and locked doors, but the father who once lifted her onto his shoulders so she could see fireworks better. The man who bought her ridiculous dresses when she was small because she smiled when they twirled. The man who used to say the world would bend if she ever asked it to.

She noticed the exhaustion etched into his face now. The shadows beneath his eyes. The tightness in his jaw. He looked older than she remembered. Smaller, somehow.

Pity flickered.

And then she remembered Cassian.

She remembered the press conference. The locked door. Her phone taken. Her choices stripped from her like something she had never earned.

The pity vanished.

Darius followed her gaze and mistook her silence for contemplation.

He nudged the plate slightly. “Eat.”

She rose from the bed instead.

Her movements were slow, controlled. She walked past him without a word and stopped at the window, staring out at the manicured gardens below like they belonged to another life entirely.

16:57 Sat, Dec 20 M

Chapter 346

Darius watched her back, she looked too thin now, her shoulders were drawn inward and something uneasy twisted in his chest. He exhaled sharply.

“Look at yourself,” he said, not unkindly. “You’ve barely eaten. You’re pale. You’re exhausted,”

She laughed softly.

It was a sound so empty it made him stiffen.

“And whose fault is that?” she asked.

Her voice was cold. Detached. Not raised, not trembling…just flat.

It frightened him more than screaming ever could.

Darius straightened. “Alina-”

“You don’t get to sound concerned,” she cut in, still facing the window. “Not after this.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “What I’m doing is for your own good. You may not see it now, but with time-”

“You know what I wish?” she interrupted.

Silence fell hard between them.

Darius didn’t answer. He waited, jaw clenched.

She turned slowly, finally facing him.

“I wish I was never brought back,” she said quietly. “I wish I had died.”

The words landed like glass shattering.

Darius’s breath hitched. “Enough.”

“No,” she said, voice sharpening. “I wish I was dead, because at least then I wouldn’t be standing here having my right to choose stripped away from me like it never mattered.”

“That’s enough!” he snapped, stepping forward. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do,” she shot back. “You might be forcing me to get married, but you cannot force me to eat.”

She reached for the plate and tossed it. Food hit the floor, scattering across the carpet.

Darius exploded.

“You are not a child!” he shouted. “Stop acting like one!”

“And you’re not my owner!” she screamed back. “I’m your daughter!”

16:57 Sat, Dec 20 M

Chapter 346

The shouting echoed through the room, spilling into the hallway.

“Bring another plate!” Darius barked toward the door.

Moments later, hurried footsteps approached. Laina and Damien rushed in just as a trembling maid entered with another plate.

“Darius, stop,” Luna pleaded, moving between them. “This isn’t helping.“.

“She will eat,” Darius said coldly. “She will not starve herself in my house.”

Alina laughed again, it was a bitter laugh.

The maid set the plate down with shaking hands.

Alina stepped forward, reaching for it with every intention of throwing it away.

Darius’s voice dropped, deadly calm.

“Think very carefully before you do that.”

She froze.

“If you continue to rebel,” he said, “I will make sure your fashion line…..Alinova, ceases to exist.”

The room went silent.

Alina turned to him slowly.

Her eyes were filled with something darker than rage. Hurt. Betrayal. Hatred braided together so tightly it stole her breath.

“You’re threatening me,” she said hoarsely, “with the one thing that matters most to me in the world.”

“I will threaten you with anything,” Darius replied, unflinching, “if it gets you to cooperate.”

Something inside her snapped.

Her face hardened completely.

“I wish,” she said clearly, “that it was you who died. Not Xander Stormvale.”

The words struck Darius like a physical blow.

He stumbled back half a step, it was so slight no one might notice, but inside, something cracked.

Luna gasped, a hand flying to her mouth as tears welled. Damien went rigid, eyes burning.

Alina felt the impact of her own words too, a sharp pain in her chest…but she buried it. Right now, hurting him was her only defense.

16:57 Sat, Dec 20 M

Chapter 346

Darius straightened slowly.

A mask slid over his face, smooth and emotionless.

“Eat.” he said.

Her hands trembled as she picked up the fork.

She ate.

Every bite tasted like ash.

Darius stayed until the plate was empty. Only then did he turn and leave.

Luna lingered, looking at her daughter with heartbreak written into every line of her face, but Alina met her gaze with indifference. Luna turned away, defeated.

Damien paused at the door, eyes searching Alina’s face, then left without a word.

Once the maid finished cleaning the mess and the door finally closed, Alina bolted for the ensuite.

She barely made it to the toilet before everything came back up.

“Darius…Darius, please,” Luna called as she hurried after him down the hall.

He didn’t slow down.

“Darius, listen to me,” she pleaded, her voice breaking. “You can’t keep doing this to her. You’re hurting her.”

He reached his study door, hand already on the handle.

“Darius,” she said again, softer now, desperate. “Just talk to me. Please.”

“Not now Lu,” he said, shutting the door in her face.

Inside, alone, Darius Evergreen leaned against his desk.

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