I Married The CEO To Save My Sister

Chapter 3: The Press Conference

Linda had never been to a press conference before.

And she definitely had never been to one as someone’s wife.

“Smile,” Brian muttered as the car door opened. “But not too much. You look desperate when you smile too much.”

Linda wanted to snap at him. Instead, she fixed her face into something neutral. Something wife-like.

The dress the stylist picked for her was white. Elegant. Expensive. It probably cost more than her monthly salary at the old boutique.

“Mrs. Adeyemi,” a photographer shouted the second she stepped out. “Over here! Look this way!”

Mrs. Adeyemi.

The name hit her again. Like a wave.

Brian’s hand found the small of her back. His touch was warm through the thin fabric of her dress. He guided her up the steps of Adeyemi Tower like they’d been doing it for years.

Like they were actually in love.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Brian began, his voice smooth and commanding. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice.”

Cameras flashed. Reporters scribbled. The room was packed.

Linda stood beside him, her hand resting lightly on his arm like the PR team told her to. Don’t grip. Don’t shake. Look proud.

“My wife and I decided to keep things private,” Brian continued. “But we didn’t want to hide our happiness from the people who’ve supported Adeyemi Group.”

Happiness.

Linda almost laughed. She bit the inside of her cheek instead.

A reporter from the front row stood up. “Mr. Adeyemi! Can you tell us how you two met?”

Brian glanced at Linda. For half a second, his mask slipped. Panic? No. Calculation.

“We met at a charity gala,” he said smoothly. “Linda was volunteering. I was... donating. She called me out for writing a check and leaving. Said if I cared, I should stay and help.”

That was a lie. A good one.

Linda felt all eyes turn to her. “Is that true, Mrs. Adeyemi?”

She swallowed. Her throat was dry. “Y-yes,” she said. Her voice came out softer than she wanted. “He stayed. For three hours. Helping serve food.”

Another lie. But she said it like she meant it.

Brian squeezed her arm once. Approval.

“Next question,” he said before anyone else could speak.

“Mr. Adeyemi, sources say this marriage happened very fast. Only two weeks of dating. Is it a PR stunt for the upcoming merger?”

The room went quiet.

Linda’s heart stopped.

Brian didn’t even blink. “My marriage is not a PR stunt,” he said, his tone dropping 10 degrees. “It’s my personal life. And I’d appreciate if we kept it that way.”

Ouch.

The reporter sat down quickly.

For the next 20 minutes, it was all business. Merger questions. Stock questions. Then finally, the last question.

“Mrs. Adeyemi, what are you most excited about in this new chapter of your life?”

Linda hadn’t prepared for this. Brian hadn’t told her she’d have to talk.

She looked at him. He gave her the smallest nod.

She cleared her throat. “I’m... excited to build a home,” she said. “To support my husband. And to... give back.”

Her voice shook on the last part. But she smiled. A real one this time. Small, but real.

Because Tolu was getting better. Because of him.

Cameras flashed again.

“Thank you,” Brian said. “That’s all for today.”

The moment they were back in the car, the air changed.

Brian let go of her arm immediately. The warmth disappeared.

“You did fine,” he said, staring out the window. “For a first time.”

“Thanks,” Linda whispered.

Silence. Lagos traffic outside.

Then his phone buzzed. He looked at it and frowned.

“The board loved it,” he said. “Stock is up 3%.”

So that was it. That was what this was about.

Linda nodded. “I’m glad I could help.”

Brian turned to her. Really looked at her for the first time today. “You looked nervous.”

“I was nervous.”

“You hid it well.” A pause. “Most people would have cracked.”

Linda didn’t know what to say to that. So she said nothing.

When they got back to the mansion, Brian walked straight to his office. No goodbye. No “good job.” Just gone.

The housekeeper, Mama Nkechi, met Linda in the hallway.

“You did well, Ma,” she said softly. “Mr. Brian hasn’t brought anyone here in years. Not like this.”

Linda forced a smile. “Thank you, Mama.”

Upstairs in her room, Linda kicked off the heels and collapsed on the bed. Her feet hurt. Her face hurt from smiling.

Her phone buzzed.

*Unknown Number: Saw you on TV. You looked beautiful. - B*

Linda stared at the message.

B.

Brian.

Her husband.

She didn’t reply.

Instead she opened her gallery and looked at the last photo she had of Tolu before the hospital. Both of them laughing, hair in braids, no makeup, no dresses, no lies.

Just sisters.

Twelve months.

She could do twelve months.

Right?

Downstairs, Brian poured himself a drink. He rewatched the press conference clip on his tablet.

Paused it on Linda’s smile.

Something twisted in his chest. Something he didn’t like.

He closed the tablet.

“Just business,” he muttered to himself. “Nothing more.”

But his hand was still holding the glass a little too tight.

Back in his office, Brian loosened his tie. The press conference replay was still running on his laptop.

He watched Linda answer that last question. Her voice shook, but she didn’t look away from the cameras.

Most women would have cried. Most would have run.

But not her.

Brian took a sip of whiskey and frowned. Why did that bother him?

“Just business,” he told himself again. “It’s all just business.”

But the image of her small, real smile wouldn’t leave his head.