The CEO's Unwanted Bride

The Storm Before

Chapter 13 —

The photograph appeared online on a Thursday morning.

Mia saw it first — a gossip site, forwarded to her by a number she didn't recognize. The headline read: COLE CEO'S MYSTERY MARRIAGE — CONTRACT BRIDE OR COVER STORY?

Below it: a photograph of the original contract. Her father's signature. Ethan's company seal. Every detail legible.

Someone had leaked it.

She sat with her phone in her hands for a long moment, very still, the way she'd learned to be still when the ground shifted under her.

Then she called Ethan.

He picked up on the first ring. "I've seen it."

"Who leaked it?"

"I'm finding out." A pause. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She wasn't, entirely, but she would be. "What do we do?"

"Nothing," he said. "We don't react. Reacting confirms it matters."

"It does matter."

"I know." His voice was quieter. "But not for the reasons they think."

She understood what he meant. The contract had been real. The beginning had been transactional. But what was happening now — what had been building slowly in kitchens and pianos and 3 a.m. confessions — that was something no leaked document could touch.

By afternoon, the story had spread. By evening, reporters had gathered outside the building. Clara managed the calls. Ethan's PR team released a statement — brief, dignified, saying nothing.

Ethan came home at seven. He walked in, set his bag down, and looked at her.

"How bad is it?" she asked.

"Manageable."

"Sophia?"

Something moved in his eyes. "Possibly. We're looking into it."

Mia nodded slowly. She'd suspected since morning.

"What do you need from me?" she asked.

He crossed the room and stood in front of her. He reached out and tucked that familiar strand of hair behind her ear — a gesture that had become his, that she'd started to wait for without realizing it.

"Just this," he said. "Just you, here. Not running."

"I told you," she said quietly. "I'm not going anywhere."

Outside, the city buzzed with the story.

Inside, they ordered takeout, sat on the kitchen floor because the counter felt too formal, and watched something forgettable on his laptop.

She fell asleep against his shoulder at ten.

He didn't move for two hours.