The Contract Bride

Chapter 16: The Damage

Lena stared at the screen, her mind blank. Words like *sabotage*, *sleeping her way in*, and *fake marriage* echoed in her ears. The article had gone live less than an hour ago—and already, her name was trending for all the wrong reasons.

Damien paced the living room, phone pressed to his ear, voice low and sharp as he spoke with his PR team. She caught phrases like “damage control,” “targeted smear,” and “contain it fast.”

She felt sick.

The worst part wasn’t the invasion of privacy. It was the doubt. The way the media twisted their story and cast her as some manipulative opportunist.

She didn’t care what the world thought.

But she cared what Damien thought.

When he finally hung up, he turned to her with a controlled expression. Too calm. Too polished. The CEO mask was firmly in place.

“They’re spinning it as a scandal,” he said. “Some are suggesting you used our marriage to gain influence. That your connection to your father’s collapse was part of a long game.”

“That’s insane.”

“I know. But optics are powerful.” He paused. “My team is drafting a statement—”

“I don’t want you to defend me like I’m your employee.”

“You’re not.”

“Then treat me like a partner.” She stood tall despite the trembling in her limbs. “We’re in this together, remember?”

Damien’s mask cracked just a little. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

She crossed to the window, watching the city move far below. “You think this is Cross again?”

“Definitely. He wants to humiliate us. Discredit you. Undermine me.”

“What can we do?”

“We fight back,” Damien said. “We stay united. The story only has power if we let it.”

“But what if your board thinks differently? What if they pressure you to—”

“They won’t,” he said firmly. “They know better than to try and control me.”

Still, Lena’s heart raced. She’d built a life on quiet independence, not scandal and media warfare.

Now, she was the headline.

The door buzzed.

Damien’s brow furrowed. He went to check the security screen.

“It’s my lawyer,” he said. “And yours.”

“Mine?”

“I figured you’d need one. You’re being painted as a criminal, Lena. We need to be ready for anything.”

She nodded slowly.

The game had changed.

It was no longer about a contract. Or a slow-burning love story.

This was war.

And she had no intention of losing.