Chapter Thirteen: Under the Spotlight
1080 Words
Few days have passed since Ethan and Clara closed the deal...
The hotel suite was quiet in a way that felt unreal.
Outside, the city buzzed with early morning traffic. Inside, everything was still—too still. Clara stood by the window, her hands folded in front of her, staring down at the street fifteen floors below. Cars moved like dots. People hurried without knowing what would happen in less than an hour.
Behind her, a stylist adjusted the collar of her cream blazer.
“You’re all set,” the woman said softly. “We’ll just touch up your hair once more before you head down.”
Clara nodded. “Thank you.”
The stylist stepped away.
The door opened, and her future husband, Ethan Cole, enters the room.
He wore a simple dark suit, no tie. His hair was neat, but not overly styled. He looked calm, but Clara knew him well enough now to notice the tension in his shoulders.
“You’re early,” she said without turning.
“I didn’t want you to be alone with your thoughts for too long,” he replied.
She gave a bland laugh. “Too late.”
He walked to stand beside her.
“They’ve already gathered downstairs,” he said. “Press. Board members. A few partners.”
“And the world,” she added.
“Not yet,” he said. “Just the beginning of it.”
She finally looked at him.
“You can still call it off,” she said.
“So can you.”
They held each other’s gaze.
“This is the last door,” she said. “Once we step through, we don’t get the same silence back.”
“I know.”
She hesitated. “You’re really okay with this?”
“With standing beside you?” he asked.
“With being part of something that isn’t love.”
He thought for a moment.
“I’m okay with building something honest,” he said. “Even if it starts differently than people expect.”
She nodded slowly.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Mr. Cole? Ms. Monroe?” A voice from outside. “We’re ready when you are.”
Clara’s breath caught.
Ethan extended his hand.
“Not as a performance,” he said. “As a choice.”
She stared at his hand for a moment.
Then placed hers in it.
“Just don’t forget the rules,” she said.
He gave a small smile. “I will never forget.”
“Only what we agree to,” Clara said.
They stepped into the hallway together.
Downstairs, the ballroom had been transformed into a press hall. Rows of chairs faced a small stage. Cameras were already set up. A low hum of voices filled the space.
When Ethan and Clara entered, the room quieted.
Every head turned, and there were whispers while looking at Clara.
“Is that her?”
“That’s Clara Monroe.”
“She is really the future Mrs. Ethan Cole?”
Clara felt the weight of every gaze. Her spine straightened on instinct.
Ethan leaned slightly toward her.
“Breathe,” he murmured. “They don’t own you.”
She exhaled slowly.
They walked to the stage, and a moderator is assisting them.
“Good morning,” the moderator said. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice. Mr. Ethan Cole and Ms. Clara Monroe will make a brief statement.”
Ethan stepped forward first.
“Thank you for being here,” he said. “We’ll keep this simple.”
He glanced at Clara.
“We’ve chosen to move forward together,” he continued. “In life and in partnership.”
Murmurs spread across the room.
Clara took a step closer.
“This decision is personal,” she said. “And intentional. We ask that it be respected.”
A reporter raised a hand immediately.
“Mr. Cole, when did this begin?”
Ethan answered calmly. “Recently.”
“Was this unexpected?”
“For some,” he said. “Not for us.”
Another voice. “Ms. Monroe, does this have anything to do with your foundation’s financial situation?”
Clara’s jaw tightened slightly.
“Our engagement is not a transaction,” she said clearly. “My work remains independent. As does his.”
Ethan nodded beside her.
A third reporter asked, “Is this a love story?”
“It’s our story,” Ethan answered, in a confident tone.
Cameras started flashing, and the questions didn’t stop.
“Are wedding plans already underway?”
“Will there be a public ceremony?”
“Is this the beginning of a merger between Cole Enterprises and the Monroe Cultural Foundation?”
The room pulsed with curiosity. Every reporter leaned forward, hungry for angles, meanings, hidden motives.
Ethan raised a hand.
“There will be no corporate merger,” he said. “Our work remains separate. Clara’s foundation will continue to operate under her leadership.”
Clara glanced at him, just briefly. He was honoring every condition without being reminded.
“Are you both happy?”
Clara didn’t look at the audience. She looked at Ethan.
"Yes, we are both elated by our engagement." Ethan answered for her.
The moderator stepped forward. “We’ll take two more questions.”
“Mr. Cole,” a woman called out, “you’ve been known as one of the most independent figures in American business. Why marriage now?”
Ethan’s answer was calm.
"Because I've finally found my match."
The moderator nodded. “This ends the press conference of Mr. Ethan Cole and Clara Monroe... Thank you, everyone.”
The cameras continued flashing again as Ethan offered Clara his arm.
She took it, and they walked off the stage together.
Clara let out a long breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
“Well,” she said, “that’s done.”
Ethan gave a small laugh. “You handled that better than most politicians.”
“I wasn’t lying,” she said.
“Neither was I.”
They stood in silence for a moment.
“You okay?” Ethan asked.
“I feel like I just stepped into someone else’s life,” Clara admitted.
“They don’t need to,” Ethan replied.
As Clara watches Ethan talk to his people after the press conference, she is hoping that she made a right decision, and being the future Mrs. Ethan Cole is worth the risk to save Monroe Cultural Foundation...
- Writer
