One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- - Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Damien stood in front of the boardroom table like a man ready for war.
The floor-to-ceiling windows of Kingston Holdings’ top floor cast golden light over the sleek marble table, the polished hardwood, the elite men and women who once pledged loyalty. Now, some of them whispered in corners, shared looks too subtle to miss. His father had warned him once—power doesn’t rot from outside. It rots from within.
And Damien could smell the decay.
The agenda was set. The coup was ready.
“Before we begin,” Thomas Greaves said smoothly, “I propose a pre-vote on restructuring Kingston Holdings’ executive division.”
A woman to his left nodded. Another passed a sealed envelope forward.
Arielle sat in the visitor’s gallery, silent but watching. Her gaze flicked between the players, reading the undercurrents with sharp precision.
Damien didn’t blink.
He opened the envelope. Inside—an official petition signed by four board members. Four out of twelve. Not enough to remove him.
But enough to spark the fire.
“Interesting,” Damien said coolly. “And what, exactly, are we restructuring?”
Thomas offered a thin smile. “We believe the CEO has become… emotionally compromised. His personal affairs have created instability in the market. This division needs steady leadership.”
“You mean you,” Damien said.
Thomas didn’t deny it.
“I mean someone with a clear separation between heart and hand.”
Arielle stood.
Every eye turned.
“May I speak?” she asked.
Damien nodded, and the board murmured.
She walked forward. “I am Damien’s wife. But I’m also a founder of Kingston Futures. And a mother to his heirs. If your concern is legacy, then look at the numbers. Since our public declaration, investment in family-tech, education equity, and clean urban infrastructure has tripled.”
She looked at each one of them.
“You can keep playing kings and saboteurs. But this company? It’s already evolved. We’re not in the business of pleasing predators anymore.”
A hush settled like thunder before the storm.
Damien took the cue. His voice rose firm and razor-sharp.
“I will not step down. I will not sell. And I will not apologize for building a life as strong as this empire.”
He turned to Thomas.
“You’ve been here a long time. But loyalty is not tenure. It’s action.”
He tapped the table. “I move to dismiss Thomas Greaves on the basis of unethical conduct and conflict of interest. I have emails. I have tapes. And I’ve already filed with the SEC.”
Thomas’s smile vanished.
One by one, hands rose. Not all. But enough.
Enough to sever the rot.
The meeting adjourned in silence. No gloating. Just tension peeled away like a scab. Damien exited the boardroom and found Arielle waiting in the corridor.
He didn’t speak. Just pulled her close, forehead pressed to hers.
“They won’t stop,” she whispered.
“No,” he said. “But neither will we.”
And deep inside the building, as Thomas’s keycard was deactivated, another figure stepped into the shadows.
There was still one card left unplayed.
The marriage license.