BOUND BY HIS BROKEN VOWS

THE VOTE

The boardroom felt like a battlefield.

Adrian walked in wearing his armor, a tailored black suit, shoulders squared, eyes sharp with lethal focus. The weight of every camera, every shareholder, every hostile glance pressed down, but he moved as if the empire already bent to his will.

Elena wasn’t supposed to be there. He had begged her to stay home.

But she couldn’t.

Hidden behind the tinted glass of the observation room, she clutched her chest and watched, her heart thundering with every step he took.

This wasn’t just a meeting. This was war.

The chairman cleared his throat, his voice heavy with self-importance. “Adrian Blackthorn, this board has convened to address the crisis you’ve brought upon this company. We have evidence of moral misconduct, negligence, and behavior that has directly damaged shareholder confidence.”

Adrian’s jaw flexed, but his voice was steady. “You mean my marriage.”

Murmurs rippled through the room.

One of the older members sneered. “Call it what it is—an affair. A scandal with a woman unfit for this position. Blackthorn Enterprises was built on legacy and reputation. You’ve tarnished both.”

Elena’s throat closed. Unfit. That was how they saw her.

But Adrian only leaned forward, his hands braced on the table. “My private life is not up for debate. My wife is not up for debate. What’s at stake here is whether you value truth over rumor, loyalty over greed.”

The chairman’s lips thinned. “Enough speeches. The vote is simple: either you end this distraction, or we end your tenure. Effective immediately.”

A hush fell. Pens poised over papers. Fingers hovered over electronic ballots.

And then,

Adrian straightened, his voice like a blade. “You can strip me of my title. You can tear my name from the company letterhead. But you will never strip me of my loyalty to Elena. She is my wife. She is my choice. And if this company cannot stand on integrity, then it deserves to fall.”

The room erupted—outrage, whispers, the shuffling of papers.

Elena’s hands trembled against the glass. He wasn’t just defending her. He was risking everything—publicly, irreversibly—for her.

One by one, the votes lit up on the boardroom screen.

Yes. Yes. Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes.

Her heart sank with every “yes.”

“Mr. Blackthorn retains his position by one vote.”

The words cut through the chaos like lightning.

Gasps filled the room. The chairman’s face paled. Adrian didn’t flinch.

He had survived. By a thread.

But when his eyes flicked up, almost instinctively, Elena knew—he had don

e it for her. And nothing would ever be the same again.