One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- - Chapter 38: Chapter 38
You are reading One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband ---, Chapter 38: Chapter 38. Read more chapters of One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband ---.
The headlines bled faster than the truth could keep up.
KINGSTON EMPIRE FRACTURES
DAMIEN’S DIRTY FAMILY SECRETS EXPOSED
GOLD DIGGER WIFE TO BLAME? ARIELLE’S SHADOWY PAST UNDER SCRUTINY
The media didn't need evidence. They needed a villain. And Arielle, once the Cinderella in the tabloids, had been cast overnight as the wicked queen.
The stock drop was swift—twelve percent in the first twenty-four hours, five more the next. Investors pulled out, partners paused mergers. Old board members fed whispers to financial blogs, twisting the knife.
And through it all, Arielle sat in silence, watching the storm rage with trembling hands and dry eyes.
“Don’t read them,” Damien said softly, taking her phone.
But she’d already read every word.
Gold digger. Homewrecker. Illegitimate heirs.
“I thought we were past this,” she whispered.
Damien sank beside her, cupping her face. “We’re not past it. We’re walking through it. And we’ll come out stronger.”
But she wasn’t so sure.
At Kingston Holdings HQ, the walls trembled with panic. PR teams scrambled, lawyers called emergency sessions, and staff walked on eggshells.
In the boardroom, Damien faced the storm head-on.
“No, I will not remove her from Kingston Futures,” he snapped. “No, I will not issue a public apology. She’s not the cause. She’s the anchor.”
“But public sentiment—”
“Can shift. If we fight the narrative.”
He leaned forward.
“And we fight it with truth.”
But the truth had a cost.
That evening, Arielle picked up Lily from school only to find a crude note slipped into her backpack.
"Your mommy stole daddy's company."
Her daughter asked what it meant.
Arielle couldn’t answer.
She just held her tighter.
In the privacy of their room, Arielle broke.
“I didn’t sign up for this,” she whispered through sobs. “I didn’t sign up to be hated by the world.”
Damien wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest.
“You signed up for me,” he said. “And I will protect you. Even from them.”
She looked up, face streaked with tears. “Then show them who we are.”
The next morning, Damien walked into a press conference with Arielle beside him.
“I’m not here to defend my wife,” he said, voice carrying.
“I’m here to defend the truth. She didn’t break this family. She saved it. She didn’t manipulate me. She grounded me. If you want to blame someone, blame me—for trusting blood over loyalty. But do not blame the woman who has carried this family, protected our children, and stood by me while others sold us out.”
The room erupted in questions.
But Damien had said what needed to be said.
And across the world, the narrative began to shift.
Slowly.
Painfully.
But surely.
KINGSTON EMPIRE FRACTURES
DAMIEN’S DIRTY FAMILY SECRETS EXPOSED
GOLD DIGGER WIFE TO BLAME? ARIELLE’S SHADOWY PAST UNDER SCRUTINY
The media didn't need evidence. They needed a villain. And Arielle, once the Cinderella in the tabloids, had been cast overnight as the wicked queen.
The stock drop was swift—twelve percent in the first twenty-four hours, five more the next. Investors pulled out, partners paused mergers. Old board members fed whispers to financial blogs, twisting the knife.
And through it all, Arielle sat in silence, watching the storm rage with trembling hands and dry eyes.
“Don’t read them,” Damien said softly, taking her phone.
But she’d already read every word.
Gold digger. Homewrecker. Illegitimate heirs.
“I thought we were past this,” she whispered.
Damien sank beside her, cupping her face. “We’re not past it. We’re walking through it. And we’ll come out stronger.”
But she wasn’t so sure.
At Kingston Holdings HQ, the walls trembled with panic. PR teams scrambled, lawyers called emergency sessions, and staff walked on eggshells.
In the boardroom, Damien faced the storm head-on.
“No, I will not remove her from Kingston Futures,” he snapped. “No, I will not issue a public apology. She’s not the cause. She’s the anchor.”
“But public sentiment—”
“Can shift. If we fight the narrative.”
He leaned forward.
“And we fight it with truth.”
But the truth had a cost.
That evening, Arielle picked up Lily from school only to find a crude note slipped into her backpack.
"Your mommy stole daddy's company."
Her daughter asked what it meant.
Arielle couldn’t answer.
She just held her tighter.
In the privacy of their room, Arielle broke.
“I didn’t sign up for this,” she whispered through sobs. “I didn’t sign up to be hated by the world.”
Damien wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest.
“You signed up for me,” he said. “And I will protect you. Even from them.”
She looked up, face streaked with tears. “Then show them who we are.”
The next morning, Damien walked into a press conference with Arielle beside him.
“I’m not here to defend my wife,” he said, voice carrying.
“I’m here to defend the truth. She didn’t break this family. She saved it. She didn’t manipulate me. She grounded me. If you want to blame someone, blame me—for trusting blood over loyalty. But do not blame the woman who has carried this family, protected our children, and stood by me while others sold us out.”
The room erupted in questions.
But Damien had said what needed to be said.
And across the world, the narrative began to shift.
Slowly.
Painfully.
But surely.
End of One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- Chapter 38. Continue reading Chapter 39 or return to One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- book page.