Olivia's heart pounded in her chest as she and Ethan pushed through the double doors of the grand ballroom, trying to escape the onslaught of cameras and shouting voices. Reporters swarmed around them, their questions like bullets fired in rapid succession.
"Is it true? Was the marriage a business deal?"
"How long have you two been lying?"
"What will happen to the merger now?"
The noise was deafening, and every flash of a camera felt like a spotlight burning through her composure. Olivia gripped Ethan's hand tightly, her breaths coming in shallow gasps as they neared the exit. She could feel Ethan's tension beside her, his posture rigid with suppressed anger.
Just a few more steps, she told herself. A few more steps, and they'd be free of this nightmare. But deep down, Olivia knew it wasn't true. They couldn't run from this. No matter how fast they walked or how much distance they tried to put between themselves and the press, the damage had already been done.
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. Her hand tightened around Ethan's, pulling him to a halt as well.
"Olivia, we need to go," Ethan urged, his voice low and tense, but Olivia shook her head, her gaze fixed ahead, her pulse steadying as a strange clarity settled over her.
"No, Ethan," she said softly. "We can't run from this."
Ethan's eyes narrowed, confusion flickering across his face as he looked at her. But Olivia wasn't confused anymore. She was done hiding, done pretending. The world had already seen the contract—had already seen the deception. What was left now but the truth?
With a slow, deliberate movement, Olivia turned around to face the sea of reporters. The crowd was thick, their faces eager, eyes gleaming with the thrill of a story that had taken on a life of its own. Olivia's chest rose and fell as she squared her shoulders, her hand still wrapped around Ethan's.
"Ethan, trust me," she whispered, her voice just loud enough for him to hear. He looked at her, his jaw clenched, but after a long pause, he nodded.
Then, with her head held high, Olivia stepped forward, pulling Ethan with her, until they were fully exposed under the bright lights. The reporters surged forward, shouting questions over one another, but Olivia raised her hand, signaling for silence. It took a moment, but slowly, the noise subsided, and all eyes locked onto her.
"This... was never how we wanted this to happen," she began, her voice steady but charged with emotion. She could feel the weight of every gaze, every camera lens, and yet, in this moment, she felt strangely calm.
"Yes," she continued, "the marriage contract you've seen is real. It was drafted as a business arrangement, part of a strategy to strengthen our companies, to build a united front." Her words hung in the air, heavy with the gravity of her confession. "It started out as a deception, that much is true."
The crowd stirred, the murmurs starting again, but Olivia wasn't finished. She took a deep breath, meeting the eyes of the reporters with unwavering determination.
"But what none of you know," she said, her voice softening, "is that somewhere along the way, things changed. We changed."
She glanced at Ethan, her heart pounding not from fear but from the weight of the truth she was finally ready to share. "It started as a contract, as a strategy, but we didn't plan what came next. We didn't plan to actually fall for each other."
Ethan's eyes widened slightly as her words sank in. She could see the surprise and uncertainty in his expression, but she pressed on, her gaze never leaving his.
"What began as a business decision turned into something real—something I didn't expect and something that scared me more than any merger or deal ever could," Olivia admitted, her voice growing quieter, more intimate, as if this confession was meant not just for the room full of strangers, but for Ethan himself.
The reporters were silent now, hanging on every word, the air thick with tension and curiosity. Olivia let out a slow breath, her heart racing.
"Ethan," she said, her voice trembling just slightly, "you asked me once how I felt. You told me that you cared, and I didn't know how to respond. But now, standing here, I do."
Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She had to stay strong, had to say what she had been holding back for too long.
"I care about you, too. More than I ever thought I could. This may have started as a lie, but what's between us now... it's real. It's the truth."
Ethan stared at her, his eyes searching hers for any hint of doubt, but all he saw was sincerity. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Olivia stepped closer to him, her hands trembling slightly as she reached up to cup his face.
And then, without another word, Olivia kissed him.
The world seemed to freeze around them—the flashing cameras, the murmurs of the reporters, the weight of Alexander's revelation—all of it faded into the background as Olivia's lips met Ethan's. The kiss was gentle, tender, but filled with a depth of emotion that had been building for months. It was her answer to him, to the unspoken questions that had hung between them for so long.
When they finally pulled apart, the room was silent, the press too stunned to react immediately. Olivia's cheeks flushed, her breath shaky, but she didn't regret a single thing. She had said her truth. She had faced the storm head-on.
Ethan stared at her, his own expression a mix of surprise and something deeper—something that made her heart soar. Slowly, he brought his hand up to touch her cheek, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You don't know how long I've waited to hear that," he whispered.
Before Olivia could respond, the crowd erupted. Cameras flashed wildly, questions exploded from every corner of the room, but Olivia didn't hear any of it. All she could see, all she could feel, was Ethan.
They had started with deception, but they had ended with something more—something neither of them could deny any longer.
And as the world watched, Olivia Carter and Ethan Pierce stood side by side, united not just in business, but in something far more powerful.