Summer’s Reprisal

Set Up

Just after their tense meeting about the forced marriage clause, both Summer and

Damien are exploring ways to avoid marrying, but there’s no way out. Their

companies are both gaining momentum — Summer’s biotech firm just secured a

major patent, and Damien’s company is preparing for a game-changing IPO.

They still hate each other. But they can’t stop watching each other, either.

The city skyline glowed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Damien Vale’s

office, but today, the lights outside felt dim compared to the storm inside.

Damien sat behind his massive mahogany desk, the usual calm of his office

replaced by a rare tension he didn’t like. His laptop was open, multiple tabs

flashing news sites — all of them screaming the same message:

“Billionaire Exes Back Together? Secret Marriage, Corporate Collusion, and

the Merger Nobody Saw Coming.”

• Is the couple secretly rekindling their relationship.

• Or using their wedding fallout to manipulate public sympathy, and

• Using their respective companies in an illegal merger scheme.

The SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) launches a formal

investigation into both companies. Stock prices begin to dip. Investors panic.

Their lawyers deliver the same message:

“If you two don’t appear in full public unity — engaged, in love, and actively

planning the wedding, you’ll be indicted for fraud, lose your boards and possibly

face criminal charges.”

He should have seen it coming.

The world loved a comeback story. Even better when it came with a scandal.

Damien’s jaw tightened. He definitely hadn’t expected her to make the market

react like this.

Without a knock, the door opened. That was only ever done by one person.

“Looks like the market isn’t thrilled about our little reunion,” said a familiar voice

behind him. Adrian. Damien’s longtime friend and COO, leaned against the

doorway with his hands crossed and a hint of amusement in his eyes that said I

know you hate this, but I’m still going to make you talk about it.

"I wouldn't call it a reunion." Damien mumbled while skimming through the

headlines. "This situation is a mess. Every newspaper in the city is publishing a

speculative feature about us, analysts are on the edge, and stock values are

rapidly dropping. They are gorging themselves. #RunawayGroom is making a

comeback.

Adrian raised his eyebrows. “Is it you, or is it truly chaos?"

Damien stared at him with piercing eyes. "Don’t start. Right now I don’t need

commentary from my friend.”

Adrian chuckled softly, but his tone became solemn. “I’m serious, you know it as

much as I do that the media loves drama. The market is driven by headlines, not

reasoning. Summer Bennet walking back into your life is one of the headlines

that makes the investors disturbed. That dip? It will only last a short time if we

handle this properly.

Damien rubbed his temple, the pressure weighing down on him. “Temporary?

Three percent drop in ten minutes is hardly temporary in corporate terms. This

is no longer a rumor”.

“She’s not the same girl from a year ago”. Adrian reminded him. She’s smart,

ruthless, and she knows exactly how to play the boardroom game. That’s why

this is dangerous.”

A second voice followed, lighter, edged with amusement. Zayn strolled in.

“Good morning, sunshine. Or scandal king, if I may?”

Adrian groaned. “Please don’t start”.

Zayn ignored him and dropped to the seat across Damien’s desk. “So….how’s it feel to be

the media’s favorite love story again? I’m seeing posts of you two everywhere. One of

them literally says ‘love hurts — but SEC investigations hurt worse.’”

Ignoring him, Damien observed the curve of the stock graph dip in smooth red

arcs

Damien leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing at Summer’s smiling face in

the stock of photos attached to the articles — poised, confident, untouchable.

The woman he’d abandoned had returned. Not broken. Not fragile. More

powerful than before.

“Great now everyone’s challenging me.”

Adrian speaks calmly. “Let’s start with the damage control plan.”

Damien exhaled. “Get me her schedule for the week. And prep damage -control

team”.

Adrian smirked. “This is going to be fun.”

Damien’s eyes lingered on the skyline exhaled slowly. “Fun,” he muttered

darkly, “is not the word I’d use when she’s involved.”

Zayn chimed in. “The public believes you and Summer are in this together,

cooking up some insider-trading soap opera. That’s not good for optics. But”.

He leaned forward, grin widening. “…it’s also not unsalvageable”.

Adrian nodded. “He’s right. The board wants you to show unity. If you don’t,

the SEC’s going to tear through our books until they find something that fits

their narrative. The legal teams all say the same thing; you and Summer need

to perform like you’re back together. Joint interviews, public appearances,

maybe even a pre-wedding photo op”.

Damien looked at him, expression unreadable.

“You’re suggesting I fake an engagement”.

Adrian didn’t flinch. “I’m suggesting you control the story before it controls you.

Zayn lifted a brow. “Think of it like PR. Lean into the scandal. Make them believe

it’s love, not collision”.

Damien gave a short, humorless laugh. “Love? You think anyone’s buying that

after all what’s happened?”.

Adrian shrugged. “They don’t need to believe it’s real. They just need to believe

it’s profitable.”

The three of them stayed in silence for a moment, the screens filling the pause

with a relentless cycle of Serena’s name, his name, and the bright red

word MERGER between them like a curse. Comments, trending tags, snippets

from financial bloggers and gossip accounts alike. Their language mixed business

with melodrama.

‘Power couple restored?’

‘If the merger fails, at least the wedding won’t.’

‘Rumor says they never really broke up.’

Damien’s mouth flattened. “Delete every article referencing this.”

“That’s not possible,” Adrian said evenly. “It’s everywhere.”

Zayn. “Dude, you can’t erase the internet”.

Damien. “No distractions then. We confront it directly”.

Adrian blinked. “You want to hold a briefing?”

Damien. “I’ll speak to the board in private, then issue a statement through PR.

Short. Controlled.”

Zayn gave a short laugh. “Controlled—sure. Because that always works when

feelings are involved”.

Damien remained silent. The question hovered, unanswered but understood.

Then the intercom buzzed. His assistant’s voice came through, strained with

nervousness.

uh—situation.”

“Mr. Vale, CNBC is requesting comment. They’re running a live panel about the—

Damien pressed the button. “Stay silent about it”.

“Yes, sir.”

He released the switch and leaned back, closing his eyes for a brief second.

Behind his lids he saw the image still looping on the monitors—Summer in silver,

smiling for cameras she didn’t need. Every network had chosen the same picture.

The calm before the storm.

Adrian finally broke the stillness. “Look, the board doesn’t need you to fight

her. They need you to lead. The sooner you step out of this tabloid haze, the

faster the numbers follow.”

Damien looked out the windows, at the skyline blurring in the heat.

“Leadership isn’t performance”.

“Tell that to your shareholders”. Zayn said.