One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- - Chapter 48: Chapter 48

The restaurant was candlelit opulence—a private dining hall atop one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city. Windows stretched from floor to ceiling, offering a view of a thousand glittering lives below. Inside, the room buzzed with low conversation and clinking cutlery, each table dressed like a royal banquet.
Damien Lancaster arrived in his usual armor—tailored black suit, polished shoes, and an expression that could shatter glass. Arielle walked beside him, wrapped in a deep burgundy gown that hugged her frame like liquid wine.
Tonight wasn’t about celebration. It was about territory.
The host led them to the far corner table, where Victor Grafton—the man whose tech conglomerate Damien had quietly warred with for years—was already waiting with two of his international board members.
Victor stood. “Damien. Arielle.”
His smile didn’t reach his eyes. Arielle could smell the rot behind the cologne.
“Victor,” Damien replied coolly.
They exchanged formalities, clinking glasses filled with a rare bourbon. The meal began. The air turned thicker with every course.
At first, it was just business.
Contracts. Mergers. Cross-market expansion.
Then Victor leaned forward, elbows on the table, his voice suddenly quieter—private, precise.
“There’s one final detail before we go forward,” he said, his gaze flicking to Arielle. “A matter of... public optics.”
Damien didn’t blink. “Speak plainly.”
Victor exhaled like he was about to do Damien a favor. “The internet’s had its fun. But investors don’t care about sympathy. They care about stability. Reputation. And your wife’s story... let’s say it’s not market-friendly.”
The air dropped ten degrees.
Arielle froze. Damien’s fork halted mid-air.
Victor continued, unaware of the inferno building behind Damien’s eyes. “We need you to sign a brief public distancing statement. Nothing permanent. Just enough to calm headlines. We push the narrative of 'family privacy,' downplay her involvement in the bakery, the school appearances, the speeches.”
He smiled. “You secure the merger. Everyone wins.”
Arielle’s throat tightened. The cut of humiliation was deep, sharp.
Damien said nothing.
Victor took that as interest. “It’s a small sacrifice. Public sentiment will blow over. But money?” He lifted his glass. “That’s eternal.”
The silence that followed was not just uncomfortable.
It was seismic.
Damien set down his fork.
Then he stood.
Slowly. Deliberately.
He walked behind Arielle’s chair, rested his hands on her shoulders, and spoke in a voice so calm it made Victor lean forward.
“You know what the difference is between you and me, Victor?”
Victor tilted his head. “I assume it’s not the billions.”
Damien smiled. But it wasn’t kind.
“I could lose every dime tomorrow and still sleep beside the woman I love.”
He leaned closer to Victor’s ear.
“You? You’d still be lying next to your accountant.”
Victor stiffened.
Damien raised his voice slightly, just enough for the entire room to hear. “I built my empire with her at my side. Not behind me. Not beneath me. Beside me.”
He looked at Arielle. “She’s not a liability. She’s the legacy.”
Then to Victor: “So if it’s between your deal and her dignity?”
Damien reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out the draft contract Victor had sent earlier, and without ceremony—ripped it clean down the center.
“You know where to shove this.”
Victor’s face drained.
Damien took Arielle’s hand and turned to leave. As they passed the stunned table, Arielle paused just long enough to look Victor in the eye.
“You almost made me believe I was the scandal. But really—you are.”
Back in the car, Arielle sat in silence for a long moment, heart thundering. Then she turned.
“Damien.”
He glanced over.
She kissed him—hard. Desperate. Fierce.
When they pulled apart, her eyes were wet.
“You didn’t have to choose me tonight.”
“I didn’t.” He cupped her face. “I chose us. And I’ll keep doing it. Every time.”
Outside, the city lights sparkled like a thousand versions of their story, retold in reflections, shadows, and stars.