Bound To The Cold Tycoon

14 : The Scandal

Amelia hadn’t expected the storm to come so quickly.

It was only two days after the disastrous boardroom encounter when her phone buzzed relentlessly with notifications. At first, she ignored them—until she caught the look on the maid’s face as she hurried past with a newspaper in hand.

Amelia froze. “What is it?”

The maid hesitated, then handed her the paper. The headline screamed across the front page:

“Mrs. Stone Caught in Secret Rendezvous – Has the Tycoon’s Bride Already Betrayed Him?”

Her stomach dropped. Beneath the headline was a grainy photograph—Amelia at the café where she had met Clara. The angle made it look like she was leaning close, whispering intimately to a man. But Amelia knew the truth: it was the waiter who had served her that day, captured in a carefully staged shot.

Her hands trembled. Clara had set this up.

Before she could gather her thoughts, the door to the library opened. Alexander stood there, holding his own copy of the paper. His expression was unreadable, his eyes cold as steel.

“Care to explain?” His voice was low, dangerously calm.

Amelia’s chest tightened. “It’s not what it looks like. That picture—it’s Clara. She staged it.”

He stepped closer, the newspaper crumpling in his fist. “You expect me to believe that?”

Anger sparked inside her. “You should. Because it’s the truth. Or have you already decided I’m guilty, simply because it’s easier than trusting me?”

His jaw clenched. For a moment, silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken words.

Finally, he tossed the paper onto the desk, his gaze burning into hers. “Trust is not given, Amelia. It’s earned. And right now, the world believes you’ve betrayed me.”

Her eyes stung, but she refused to cry. “Then let me prove them wrong. Stand with me—just once—and I’ll clear my name.”

For the briefest second, something flickered in his expression—doubt, conflict, maybe even belief. But just as quickly, the mask slammed back into place.

“You have twenty-four hours,” he said coldly. “Prove it. Or this marriage is over.”

Amelia’s breath hitched. His words cut deep, sharper than Clara’s lies ever could. But beneath the ache, determination burned brighter.

She wouldn’t let Clara win. She wouldn’t let Alexander walk away—not when she was starting to see the man beneath the ice.

Even if it meant going to war.