Scandalous Marriage

Chapter 3

It had been three days since everything exploded. Three days of crying, hiding, and pretending that the world wasn’t watching me break into a million pieces. Storm Corp was on the verge of collapse, with investors pulling out faster than I could imagine. The board of directors held public meetings everyday. My name was now synonymous with scandal.

And as for me?

I was a walking disaster.

My face was red and swollen from crying nonstop. I hadn’t combed my hair and I looked a bloody mess.

I barely recognized myself anymore. The reserved, shy receptionist who knew every name at the front desk was now the face of a media circus. My reputation? Shot. My sister? Gone, after making it clear she didn’t care about the mess she’d created.

Then came Jordan’s call.

I hadn’t answered any of his messages. I couldn’t. What was there to say?

I summoned up the courage to pick up the phone.

But when his voice finally came through the phone, I felt my chest contract with fear.

“Serena, we need to talk,” he said, a tightness in his tone.

“Let’s meet, come to my office now. It's very important and urgent. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you but you’re not responding to my calls or texts”

The urgency in his voice was the first thing to make me reconsider. I didn’t want to see him. I didn’t want to see anyone. I couldn’t ignore the fact that Storm Corp’s downfall was happening on his watch. Which, for some reason, felt like my fault too.

I stood in front of the mirror, wiped my eyes one last time, and made the decision.

I had to go.

**********

When I walked into his office, Jordan was pacing, his suit jacket discarded roughly on the arm chair. He looked stressed. But then again, who wouldn’t be, with everything crashing down around us?

“You came,” he said, sounding almost relieved. Like he’d been waiting for me to show up.

“I didn’t have a choice,” I replied, folding my arms. “Everything’s falling apart. I’m not some... pawn in your corporate drama. This is bigger than us.”

“I know,” he said, stopping in front of me. His eyes met mine. “But there is one thing we can still do. Something that might save us both. That’s why I called.”

My heart skipped a beat. I mentally prepared myself for whatever was coming. He was the one who’d dragged me into this mess, after all. I was just a receptionist—his receptionist.

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice tight.

Jordan took a deep breath. “We’ve tried everything—releasing statements, offering apologies, putting out fires with the press. But it’s not enough. The investors are pulling out, and the media’s relentless. If we don’t fix this, Storm Corp could collapse. We could lose everything.”

“Everything?” I repeated. “Everything like my dignity, my career, my life?”

He flinched at the rawness in my voice, but he didn’t back down. “And you think I’m unaffected?! You think I’m the one who came out of this unscathed?!.. Hell, I’m even more affected by this than you could ever be. How the hell did those pictures got out there?!”

I didn’t answer. I wasn’t interested in playing the blame game anymore. It was too late for that.

“Then what?” I asked. “What’s left to do?”

He looked at me seriously. “We need to get married.”

He had dropped the bombshell.

My brain froze. My entire body stiffened.

“What?”

“Listen,” he said quickly, stepping closer. “I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. If we marry, publicly—immediately—it would fix the scandal. We’ll be able to control the narrative, take the pressure off you, off me, off the company. Investors will see it as a show of strength, not weakness. The press will back off. You’ll have a shield.”

“A shield? A marriage?” I stared at him, searching his face, trying to read something—anything. Was he serious?

“You’re asking me to marry you?” I almost laughed, but the pain in my chest stopped it. “Is that your solution? A quick fix?”

“I know it sounds insane, crazy even.” he said, running a hand through his hair, “but this isn’t just for the company. It’s for both of us. I’ve lost too much to let this collapse. You have too much at stake. I’m not going to watch this ruin me anymore than it already has.”

His words hit me like a punch. He was right. I had nothing left to lose. Nothing except my dignity, and I wasn’t sure how much of that I had left to hold onto anymore.

“This is your idea of fixing things?” I asked, my voice shaky. “A marriage?”

“Not just for appearances,” he said. “We can say we’ve been secretly together. People won’t question it. They’ll focus on the marriage—partnership.”

I shook my head, heart racing. “But—what about…..us? What about the truth?”

“Sometimes, Serena,” he said quietly, “The truth doesn’t matter. Not in business. Not right now. Right now, the only thing that matters is the company’s survival. And yours.”

I looked away, feeling like I was drowning in all the impossible decisions being forced on me. A marriage? To him?

“Why would you want to marry me?” I asked softly, feeling a lump in my throat.

Jordan was quiet for a long moment before he spoke again. “Because, despite everything, I don’t want to see you suffer anymore. You didn’t ask for any of this. I never should’ve—”

“Stop,” I interrupted, suddenly too exhausted to hear him apologize again. “I get it. We both screwed up. But I can’t pretend that we make any sense right now. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do anymore. What’s left for me to fight for?”

He sighed deeply. “This isn’t just about us anymore. It’s about saving everything. We have no other choice.”

I stared at him, torn between the temptation to walk away and the cold reality that I might not have the luxury of doing so.

I closed my eyes, letting out a shaky breath. “Okay. Let’s do it. I’ll marry you.”

Jordan’s face softened a little, but his eyes betrayed no relief. Only the weight of the decision we’d just made.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice low.

I nodded once, my stomach twisting into a knot. I wasn’t sure what I’d just agreed to, but it was too late to take it back now. My life, my reputation, everything was tied to this choice. And it felt like I’d just signed away my future on a piece of paper with nothing but my name.

There was no going back. Not for anytime soon.