Chapter Six: Breaking Point
631 Words
Alina stared at the city below from the towering penthouse window, the weight of everything pressing down like the concrete jungle beneath her feet. The charade was unraveling faster than she could control. Each whispered rumor, each pointed look, was a chisel scraping away at the fragile mask she wore.
Her secret wasn’t safe anymore.
---
That morning, Damien was already gone when she woke. A terse note lay on the bedside table:
Board meeting at 10. Be prepared.
Alina swallowed the lump in her throat. Prepared? How do you prepare to face a storm you didn’t cause?
She dressed carefully, each layer a shield against the hostile world she was about to face.
---
At the boardroom, tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Executives exchanged cold glances as Damien strode in, commanding the room’s attention.
He didn’t mince words. “The rumors surrounding my marriage are baseless. We have a contract, and that contract will be honored.”
A hand shot up—Elaine’s. Her voice was icy, deliberate. “Mr. Cross, contracts don’t shield us from public perception. The shareholders demand transparency.”
Damien’s glare froze her mid-sentence. “And they’ll get it when the time is right.”
The room erupted in murmurs.
---
Alina sat quietly, watching the war unfold. She was a pawn, a shield, and perhaps—an unexpected piece in a dangerous game.
After the meeting, Damien’s icy exterior cracked just slightly.
“You handled yourself well.”
“Thanks. But it’s not enough.”
He nodded, eyes dark. “We need to control the narrative before it controls us.”
---
Days blurred into a relentless routine of media appearances, strategic interviews, and careful smiles. Alina was pushed to her limits, the pregnancy symptoms growing more challenging to hide.
One afternoon, during a charity event, she felt a sudden wave of dizziness. A supportive hand steadied her—it was Damien.
“Are you alright?” His voice was laced with concern.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, but the tremble in her voice betrayed her.
---
That night, in the solitude of the penthouse, Alina’s resolve faltered. The stress was breaking her.
She poured a glass of water, her hands shaking.
A knock at the door startled her. Damien entered quietly, holding a small package.
“I thought you might need this.”
Inside was a carefully curated care kit—ginger candies, vitamins, even a heartfelt note.
For the first time, Alina felt something shift between them.
---
But the peace was short-lived.
Elaine’s schemes escalated. Rumors leaked to the press, painting Alina as an opportunist—a gold-digger threatening the Cross empire.
Damien confronted his stepmother in a private office, fury blazing.
“This ends now.”
Elaine smiled coldly. “Or it’s only just beginning.”
---
Alina was caught in the crossfire. The press hounded her every move. Social media erupted with speculation. Friends distanced themselves.
One evening, her phone buzzed with a threatening message:
“Stay out of the Cross family business, or else.”
Fear prickled down her spine, but she refused to back down.
---
Determined to fight, Alina reached out to an old friend—a skilled PR strategist known for salvaging shattered reputations.
Together, they crafted a plan to reclaim the narrative.
---
Meanwhile, Damien made a surprising move—he publicly acknowledged their marriage in a bold interview, shutting down rumors with undeniable proof.
The media frenzy momentarily subsided, but the battle was far from over.
---
As Chapter Six closes, Alina and Damien stand united, their fragile alliance forged in fire.
They knew the road ahead was treacherous, but for the first
time, they faced it not as contract partners, but as something more complicated—something real.
- Writer
