Chapter 34 - The Fallout
Chapter 34 - The Fallout
The world didn’t wait for explanations.
By the time Damian had carried Serena out of the theater, her limp frame tucked protectively against his chest, the night was already ablaze. Every corner of the street outside the venue swarmed with flashing lights and shouting reporters, their microphones jabbing forward like weapons.
“Mr. Wolfe, is your marriage a sham?”
“Damian, will Wolfe Enterprises survive this scandal?”
“Serena, did you marry him for money?”
Each question pierced like a dagger, loud, relentless, cruel. Serena buried her face into Damian’s chest, her body trembling violently. She couldn’t stand to see the cameras. Couldn’t stand the sea of eyes hungry for her humiliation.
“Back off!” Damian roared, his voice cutting through the chaos like thunder. Security pushed through the mob, forming a barrier, but the damage was already done.
By the time they reached the car, Serena’s tears had already soaked Damian’s shirt. He held her tighter, his jaw a mask of fury as the door slammed shut behind them. The outside noise dulled, but Serena could still hear the echo of her own voice—the confession Isla had twisted into a dagger—bouncing inside her skull.
He’ll never love me. I’ll never belong in his world. I’m drowning.
Her own words, used against her.
“I—I didn’t mean—” Serena choked, her voice raw. “She cornered me, Damian. She—”
He pulled her closer, forcing her to look up at him. His eyes blazed with something more dangerous than rage. “I know. Don’t you dare think for a second that I believe her over you.”
Her lips trembled, searching for belief in his gaze. “But the world does.”
Damian didn’t answer. His silence said what she already feared.
\---
Back at the penthouse, the fallout struck like a hurricane.
Every screen they passed screamed headlines in bold letters:
“Wolfe Marriage a Lie? Serena Hayes Caught on Tape.”
“Damian Wolfe’s Empire Crumbling Under Scandal.”
“Gold-Digger Bride Admits She’ll Never Belong.”
By the time they stepped into the elevator, Serena’s legs nearly gave out. Damian’s hand on her lower back was the only thing holding her upright.
When the doors opened, Lydia was waiting, phone pressed to her ear, her expression pale but steady. She hung up the moment she saw them.
“It’s everywhere,” she said, voice grim. “The board is already calling an emergency meeting. Investors are panicking. Social media is—” She glanced at Serena, hesitated. “Brutal.”
Serena flinched. Damian’s glare silenced Lydia instantly.
“Tell them I’ll deal with it tomorrow,” Damian growled. “Right now, I’m dealing with her.”
Lydia nodded, retreating without another word.
\---
Inside the penthouse, Serena finally broke. She sank onto the edge of the couch, her hands shaking so violently she could barely clasp them together.
“I warned you,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “From the start, I said I didn’t belong in your world. And now… now the whole world knows it too.”
Damian knelt in front of her, his hands gripping hers with an intensity that forced her to meet his eyes.
“Listen to me. Isla doesn’t win. Not like this. You don’t let her define you. You don’t let her rewrite your truth.”
Serena’s chest tightened. “But everyone heard me. Those were my words, Damian. How do you fight a truth that sounds like a lie?”
He exhaled sharply, his gaze flicking away for a second, like he was already strategizing. Then his eyes snapped back to hers.
“We fight it by telling the world our truth,” he said. “Together.”
Her breath caught. “You mean—”
“Yes. Tomorrow morning. A press conference. We go out there, and we tell them everything.”
Serena’s stomach plummeted. The thought of facing that mob again made her chest seize. “Damian, I—I can’t. I won’t survive another circus. They’ll tear me apart.”
His grip on her hands softened. His voice dropped. “Not if I’m standing beside you.”
\---
The hours dragged through the night. Damian stayed by her side, pacing like a caged lion when she tried to rest, storming into the study to bark orders at Lydia, then returning to check on her again and again.
Serena barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she heard Isla’s voice in her head, saw the blinding flashes of cameras, felt the weight of the world’s judgment.
By dawn, she looked at her reflection in the mirror and barely recognized herself. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face pale, but beneath the exhaustion burned something harder. Resolve.
If Damian was willing to risk everything for her, she couldn’t hide in the shadows anymore.
\---
The press conference was scheduled for noon. By eleven, the streets outside Wolfe Enterprises were swarmed with cameras, reporters, and protestors. The scandal had spread like wildfire; people carried signs, some mocking her, others condemning Damian.
Inside the building, tension stretched tight as wire. Lydia stood by with a stack of notes, but Damian waved them away. “We don’t script this. They’ll smell it if we do.”
He glanced at Serena, his gaze steady, anchoring. “Are you ready?”
Her heart pounded, but she nodded. “With you.”
His lips curved into the faintest ghost of a smile. “Good.”
The doors opened. Together, they stepped into the blinding lights.
The roar of questions slammed into them instantly.
“Damian, is your marriage a sham?”
“Serena, are you a fraud?”
“Do you love her, or was this just business?”
Serena’s knees wobbled, but Damian’s hand pressed against her back, steadying her. He stepped up to the microphone first, his voice cutting through the chaos.
“My wife and I are here to answer every question. But let me be clear—neither of us will be silenced by manipulation or lies.”
The crowd erupted again. Serena swallowed hard, then stepped forward, her voice quivering but resolute.
“My name is Serena Hayes Wolfe,” she began. “And I am not a fraud. Yes, I said those words you heard. I said them in fear, in a moment when I doubted myself. But what Isla Moreau didn’t play for you were the words that came after—”
Her voice cracked, but she pushed forward, staring into the sea of cameras. “—the words where I said I’d fight anyway. That no matter how small I felt, I wouldn’t give up.”
For a moment, silence rippled through the room. Then the shouting resumed, harsher, sharper:
“Are you saying Isla faked the recording?”
“Damian, are you still CEO after this scandal?”
“Serena, do you even love him?”
That last question cut like a blade. Serena froze, her throat closing. Cameras leaned closer, waiting for her to falter.
And then, before she could answer, Isla’s voice rang out from the back of the room.
“Don’t waste your breath, darling. We all know the truth.”
Every head snapped toward her. Isla stood tall, immaculate, flanked by reporters she’d clearly hand-fed. Her smile was poisonous, her timing perfect.
“Because if you won’t tell them the truth, Serena,” Isla purred, stepping closer, “then I will.”
\---