Chapter 21 Do you dare?

Chapter 21 Do you dare?
The hottest gossip was how the biggest rivals in entertainment, Rowan Hale and Adrian Cole were secretly married.

Everyone was reposting faster than the time it took them to read the entire post. It was the number one trending topic for all the wrongest reasons.

Fans were dissecting every interaction between them to look for clues they’d missed in the beginning. 

Anti-fans were calling Adrian disgusting for being a gold digger and holding onto Rowan like a leech.

‘I can’t believe the fooled us all, they were going home to bump dicks together after every award night’.

‘I knew there was something sus about the two. They could never take their eyes away from each other’.

‘There’s no fucking way those two can stand each other’.

‘I hate their guts’.

‘They look so cute together, their fans are going to die from an overdose of cuteness’.

‘What if the movie is their soft launch?’.

Rowan paced the office as he waited for his father to finish with his meeting in the conference room.

Mr. Hale had called immediately when the news broke out and asked to see Rowan. He wanted to talk about how to handle the situation.

Rowan already knew he wasn’t going to like whatever his father had in mind. Most of all, his mind kept drifting back to the way Adrian had choked him with his own tie back in the closet.

It had to be that fierce look Adrian always wore that made Rowan want to tick him off every time.

Unlike Rowan, he was the type to show whatever he felt. His expression was always so transparent.

This was why Rowan had been totally crushed when Adrian cried out for his mother the previous night.

He’d never heard his voice so raw and broken like in that moment.

It made Rowan want to know what had happened to Adrian in the past. He’d never seen that part of him that was drowning in darkness before.

Granted it had been too much to handle and the guilt had eaten him. And just like Adrian said, he’d bottled before he could wake up.

The door to the office opened and pulled Rowan out of his thoughts. 

His father walked in, his face a mirrored canvas of his son’s. 

Blank. 

Not even betraying a single thought that was in his head. That put Rowan on edge, dealing with his father was usually the most tedious thing he had to do.

“What’s the status?” Mr. Hale asked as he sat behind his huge mahogany desk. He flipped through the files on his desk.

“It’s still trending, and the original post has hit a couple million views since it was posted. We’ve been unable to locate the account user.”

“There’s no need to locate them, they’ve done us a huge favor. The investors are happy with the post, they now believe the marriage wasn’t a facade. We should be able to proceed with the project.”

Of course. 

The only thing Mr. Hale cared about was his business.

He finally stopped what he was doing and looked at Rowan. “All you have to do is go public with the street rat. I know he’s not your ideal partner but we have to make sacrifices for what we want.”

To show his father any form of emotion was to lay all his cards bare in front of the old man. He’d learned that when he was a kid.

Emotion was weakness.

Control was strength.

Rowan pulled his famous blank expression over his face, wishing he could punch the man in the face.

“We can’t go public with the marriage. It will affect our careers, especially Adrian’s.”

The only sign that Mr. Hale was angry was the slight twitch of his fingers. “I don’t care about that boy or your flimsy career. I’ve told you a thousand times, the company first, before me and you.”

“We gave Adrian our word before the wedding, we can’t go back on it now.” Rowan chose not to comment on how the one thing he’d worked so hard on, all by himself, had been reduced to a flimsy career.

“Oh, for crying out loud. Can’t you do as you’re asked for once? There was no contract regarding that, there won’t be any real consequences. I need you to use your head, Rowan. You have it for a reason.”

Rowan didn’t care what his father said, he’d never hurt Adrian like that. He knew how much his career meant to him.

“I’ll handle it,” Rowan finally replied. “About stepping down—”

“When the time is right. If there’s nothing else.”

“Silas said you don’t want me coming into the office anymore,” Rowan pressed. “Did I do something wrong?” He gagged in his head when the question slipped out. 

How much more pathetic could he be in front of his father?

“It doesn’t matter. You’ll have your hands full with the press by the time you announce your marriage with Arnold."

Rowan tried to keep his tone void of the anger he felt. “Adrian. His name is Adrian.”

He left the office after that.

The old fox!

Rowan already knew taking over the company wouldn’t be as easy as his father had laid out.

“We need ties with the Harrington family. Get married to their daughter, together our families will launch the new project. After that you’ll take over the company, it’s time for me to retire.”

Those were his father’s words. 

And he’d foolishly believed them.

If he had the company then it meant he’d finally be free of his father, and he could do as he wished. But it seemed now that the old man wasn’t willing to step down without a fight. 

Rowan dialed Silas the moment he was out of the building.

“I want the agency to make an official statement that the certificate is false,” he told Silas, immediately getting the car waiting for him.

“But Mr. Hale said—”

“Forget what my father said. It’s my marriage not his. I want all the articles suppressed, threaten to sue while you’re at it.”

“The chairman won’t be happy. It already gave instructions to—”

“Are you on my side or my father’s side?”

Silas sighed heavily. “Adrian’s side. I’ll do as you’ve said, but you should go find him. I know he acts tough all the time, but…he’s the one taking the brunt of the scandal. You should look after him.”

Rowan groaned. “You don’t need to teach me how to do my job as a husband.”

“It does seem like you’re lacking in that department. About Rose…”

Rowan’s grip on the phone tightened. “I’ll handle it.”