[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-reborn-heiress-strike-back":3,"chapter-the-reborn-heiress-strike-back-the-reborn-heiress-strike-back-chapter-22":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Reborn Heiress Strike Back",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1266463,1695,"Chapter 22 - No Way Back","the-reborn-heiress-strike-back-chapter-22",22,"\u003Cp>The bar was dim, elegant, and quiet—the kind of place where people whispered business deals or heartbreak, never both. Nadia sat alone at the far end, tucked into a booth lined with dark leather. A half-full glass of red wine sat untouched in front of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her red dress from earlier was creased now, wrinkled from hours of sitting and moving with no purpose. Her ponytail had loosened; stray strands framed her face, catching in the soft light from the hanging amber fixtures overhead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her phone buzzed once on the table. She didn’t bother checking it. She didn’t care who it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her mind was stuck somewhere else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You disgust me, Nadia.\" Chloe’s voice kept replaying, over and over, until it hurt more than the wine burned going down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She barely noticed when someone slid into the seat across from her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black leather jacket, dark jeans. Same stubble-shadowed jaw, same habit of showing up exactly when she didn’t know if she wanted him there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t say anything at first. His hand rested on the table between them, near the untouched wine glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I figured I’d find you here,\" Ryan said finally, voice low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nadia’s eyes flicked up to meet his. They were tired, lined faintly with mascara smudges she hadn’t bothered to fix.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t want company tonight,\" she said quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan shrugged once, unbothered. \"Doesn’t mean you don’t need it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her mouth twitched—half a smile, or maybe half an insult. She couldn’t tell anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan leaned back against the booth seat, eyes steady on her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How bad was it?\" he asked after a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nadia didn’t pretend not to know what he meant. Her fingers brushed lightly around the rim of her glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I went to see her,\" Nadia said slowly. \"Chloe.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan’s brow furrowed slightly but he didn’t interrupt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I thought maybe...\" Nadia’s voice caught. She swallowed and pushed on. \"I thought if I said it to her face, it wouldn’t feel so... ugly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan didn’t move. His expression was neutral, but focused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She told me to go to hell,\" Nadia said simply, her voice flat, like she wasn’t sure if it was a joke or not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan exhaled quietly, rubbing the back of his neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She really said that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nadia nodded once, glancing down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She said I disgusted her. Said my perfume made her sick.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan let out a slow breath but didn’t say anything. What could he say?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nadia’s voice dropped lower now, barely audible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t blame her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nadia...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I betrayed her, Ryan,\" she said sharply now, eyes flicking up, glimmering wet but holding. \"And not just her. I betrayed myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her words hung in the air between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan didn’t rush to fill the silence. He just watched her like he always did—carefully, quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know what I was thinking,\" Nadia went on, voice softening again. \"We thought we could just... what? Hide forever?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan’s jaw flexed slightly, but he didn’t answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nadia gave a bitter, breathy laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chloe always made me feel small. But not like that. Never like that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan’s hand moved toward her glass, fingers brushing it away from her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maybe you’ve had enough tonight,\" he said quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nadia didn’t fight him on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, she just sat there, staring past him toward the quiet bar’s entrance. Someone in a gray suit walked in. She didn’t care who. Didn’t care about anything except the strange, heavy emptiness sitting under her ribs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan leaned back again, studying her quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What now?\" he asked after a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nadia’s mouth pressed into a thin line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know,\" she admitted. \"I really don’t.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You going back to the company?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She gave a slow shake of her head. \"No. I couldn’t walk in there even if I wanted to.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan’s expression flickered—something close to guilt, something close to relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I meant what I said,\" Nadia added, voice quieter now. \"I don’t blame her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan’s gaze dropped to the table between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I guess that makes two of us,\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nadia glanced up again, her eyes catching his. And for the first time all night, her voice didn’t shake when she spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I think I need to figure out who I am without all this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan didn’t smile. But he didn’t look away either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Probably not a bad idea.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They sat there in silence again, the weight of everything neither of them could take back thick in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, Nadia pushed her chair back slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I should go,\" she said softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan stood too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll walk you out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nadia hesitated just for a second. Then nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Together, they stepped out into the evening air. The city buzzed faintly in the distance—cars, footsteps, life that kept moving whether or not they were ready for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, Nadia paused near the curb, arms folding lightly around herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan stood beside her, hands tucked into his jacket pockets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You want me to call you a ride?\" he asked quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nadia shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No. I’ll figure it out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan’s voice dropped a little lower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nadia...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glanced over at him one last time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not asking for anything,\" he added quickly. \"I just... I don’t know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know,\" she said simply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another pause. Another breath between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Nadia gave him a tired, quiet smile. Not a happy one. But something closer to peace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Take care of yourself, Ryan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with that, she turned and walked down the street. One step at a time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not fast. Not running.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just moving forward.\u003C\u002Fp>",928,"2026-06-05T16:26:33.508Z",1,"novelbin.me","a8b6bc14bf2fddf766edeaaf710c7658da988f087b6b46611845492557356913","the-reborn-heiress-strike-back-chapter-23","the-reborn-heiress-strike-back-chapter-21",88,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-reborn-heiress-strike-back-cover.jpg"]