My Corporate Affair

Chapter Twenty

The next morning, I drove to my parents’ house, my fingers tightening around the steering wheel the closer I got. I hadn’t responded to my mother’s text the night before. I hadn’t needed to, her tone had been enough to ruin what was left of my night. And even now, I wasn’t sure if I was going to talk or just listen and walk out.

The estate gate opened smoothly, the guards giving their usual nods. The place was just as I remembered. Cold and grand. Too grand. The kind of place that looked more like a museum than a home.

As soon as I stepped into the living room, there she was. My mother, impeccably dressed in a cream silk blouse and pearls, seated as if she’d been expecting a royal guest. Her lips tightened the moment she saw me.

“Elliot,” she said, her voice sharp and cool. “You’re finally here.”

I didn’t respond right away. I just dropped my keys on the side table and sat down across from her.

“Let’s not pretend this is a surprise visit,” I said. “You wanted to talk. I’m here. So, talk.”

She didn’t waste a second.

“I got a message from Louis,” she said, crossing one leg over the other. “The photos from Milan, someone is threatening to release them. Again. Elliot, how long will I keep cleaning up after your mistakes?”

I leaned back, jaw tight. “They’re old photos, Mother. I was twenty-four.”

“And that’s supposed to excuse you? Twenty-four isn’t a child!” she snapped. “You were reckless. Parties, women, scandals...”

“I know what I did,” I cut in, my voice rising before I pulled it back. “I was naive. I was trying to run from everything you and Dad shoved down my throat.”

She raised a brow. “So now it’s our fault?”

“I didn’t say that.” I stood, walking a few steps away, then turned to face her. “I said I made mistakes. I admit that. But no one gets to use them against me forever. I’ve grown. I’ve changed. You don’t see it because you only look at who I used to be.”

“You wouldn’t have had to ‘run’ if you just followed the path laid out for you,” she said bitterly. “You had everything. Money, opportunity, the company. But no, you wanted to find yourself in nightclubs and tabloids.”

I laughed dryly. “You mean I didn’t want to marry Victoria and live out the life you designed for me?”

Her face twitched. “Victoria is a good match. She comes from a respectable family....”

“And I’m not a business deal,” I cut in. “I’m your son. Not your puppet.”

The room fell silent. She looked at me for a long moment, her expression unreadable.

“I just want what’s best for you,” she finally said, quietly.

“No, you want what’s best for you,” I replied. “And I’m tired. I’m tired of pretending I’m still that reckless boy who needs saving. I’ve taken responsibility. I’ve built something. But I can’t do this your way anymore.”

She didn’t reply. And maybe that was the first time I’d actually won an argument in this house.

I grabbed my keys, turned toward the door.

“I’m not running anymore, Mother. But I’m also not living a life that isn’t mine.”

And with that, I walked out.

As I sat in the driver’s seat, the car door slamming shut behind me, I leaned my head back against the headrest. The silence inside the car was deafening, but it felt different than the silence in my parents’ house. It was… mine. No judgment. No expectations.

The engine rumbled to life as I started the car, but my hands were trembling slightly, the grip on the steering wheel tighter than usual. I wasn’t sure what it was, the heat of the argument, the tension that had been building up for so long, or the overwhelming release of finally saying something, anything, that felt true to me.

But as I drove through the roads of the estate, my eyes stinging with tears, I couldn’t hold it back anymore.

The tears came unexpectedly, hot and bitter, but they felt like a purge. A relief. I gripped the wheel tighter, my knuckles going white as the weight of it all settled in. For so many years, I had kept it all in, my regrets, my anger, my exhaustion with the expectations of being who they wanted me to be.

It felt good, though. Good to have finally spoken up. I wasn’t sure if I was angry or sad or something else entirely, but in that moment, I didn’t care. I was just… me. A man who had spent too long trying to please everyone else. Now, there was no one in the car to judge me, no one in my head to criticize every word I spoke. It was just me, free, for a moment.

I took a deep breath, wiping my eyes as I let the tears flow. And for the first time in a long while, I felt lighter. A weight had been lifted, not because of what I’d said, but because I had finally said it. And that alone was enough.

Sophie....

It had been a few days since the last time I saw Elliot. We hadn’t discussed the project with the team, and I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy. My thoughts kept drifting back to him. Why hadn’t he reached out? Was he okay? Or maybe, was I overthinking everything again?

I pulled myself together and decided to ask Mia. She had always been the one to know things, after all, she worked closely with Elliot too.

“Mia, do you know when we’re meeting with boss about the project?” I asked, trying to keep my tone casual as I walked over to her desk.

She looked up from her computer, a slight frown creasing her forehead. “I actually don’t know. I haven’t heard anything either. Maybe he’s just caught up with something?”

I nodded, but the feeling of unease only grew. It wasn’t like Elliot to leave things hanging for this long, especially with something as important as the project we’d been working on. Had something happened? Did I do something wrong?

“Okay,” I said, forcing a smile. “Thanks for letting me know.”

Mia gave me a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry. He’ll get in touch when he’s ready. You know how he is.”

I smiled back, but I couldn’t shake off the worry that settled deep in my chest.

The next day at work, something strange was happening....

The office felt different today.

It started with a whisper… then grew into low murmurs, then quiet gasps. People gathered in little groups, staring at their phones, glancing around as if confirming what they saw was real. I tried to focus on my screen, but the tension in the air was impossible to ignore. Something had happened, something big.

I looked around for Mia, but her desk was empty. Before I could search further, I almost bumped into James in the hallway. His face was pale, his brows furrowed in worry.

“James,” I said, stopping him, “what’s going on? Why is everyone acting weird?”

He hesitated, then sighed and pulled out his phone. “You haven’t seen it?”

“Seen what?”

He handed me the phone without another word. The screen showed a paused video. My heart skipped a beat.

I pressed play.

There he was....Elliot.

In some club, dim lights flashing around him, drink in hand, laughing, arms around two girls. The camera wasn’t shaky. It was clear. Too clear. One moment he was whispering something to one of them, and the next… he was kissing her. Then the other.

My stomach dropped.

I blinked, trying to make sense of what I was seeing, but the video just kept looping, over and over. I returned the phone to James, my fingers slightly trembling.

“Where did this come from?” I asked, though I already knew what the answer would be.

“Leaked this morning,” he said quietly. “It’s all over the internet. It’s… not looking good.”

I nodded, swallowing hard, then turned and walked slowly back to my desk.

Everything felt surreal. The same man who had comforted me just days ago, the one who spoke so gently and told me not to let the noise get to me...this was the same person? I didn’t know what to think. My chest was tight, and my thoughts were all over the place.

We weren’t close, not really. But still… seeing him like that shook me more than I wanted to admit.

People kept whispering, sneaking glances at me like I was somehow part of the story. I wasn’t, but I couldn’t stop the feeling growing in my chest....that ache of disappointment mixed with confusion.

I turned back to my screen, willing myself to focus, but the image from that video wouldn’t leave my mind.