Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Raffael

~~~

I looked at her in disbelief. She had just slapped me for saying the kiss was a mistake. I took a deep breath.

“Look, I don’t know how those pictures and videos got out.”

“I don’t want to hear any of that. Get rid of them before tomorrow. Grandpa shouldn’t find out about it.” She said then went to the bathroom to freshen up.

She was right. I picked up my phone and called Tori.

“Have you seen the news?” I asked.

“Yes, the media is brutal, the headlines are crazy.”

“That’s not what this is about. I don’t think we should see each other for now.”

“But-” She tried to complain.

I interrupted her. “But nothing. I’ll call you when everything dies down.” I let out before hanging up the phone.

One of the guards called me and told me there were reporters outside the gate.

I looked at the CCTV and sure enough, there were many reporters outside the gate.

I ordered the guards to get rid of them and send them away.

I was about to go to the office. I didn’t move around with security but I had to.

I got to the office and there was the same number of reporters outside. They blocked the entrances so I had a hard time reaching the underground parking.

I had to just come down at the main gate. I stepped out of the car and the reporters flashed their cameras at me asking different questions.

“Are you Camilla getting divorced?”

“Are you getting back together with your ex-girlfriend?”

“There’s trouble in paradise right?”

I ignored the questions as I moved through them with my security blocking them from getting to me.

I went up to my office.

“How’s it going?”

“It’s not good. I was able to remove the articles and delete the pictures but people are still talking about it.”

I leaned back in my chair taking deep breaths at intervals.

“And sir, the shareholders are requesting a meeting. Stocks are dropping overnight.”

“What!” I shot up from my seat. “This is bad.”

“The PR team wants to hold a press conference so you can address the rumors.”

I didn’t want to address anything because they weren’t rumors. We were actually getting divorced.

“You’re meeting with the shareholders by 10am tomorrow.”

“I’ve heard. You can go now.” I waved him off.

I did some work in the office. Making calls to some of the younger shareholders and assuring them that they shouldn’t worry. Tomorrow was going to be brutal. Those shareholders were not nice.

I went back home but I didn’t sleep in the same room as Camilla. I slept in one of the guest rooms I always slept in whenever we fought.

The next morning, I got ready to go to the office. When I got downstairs to have breakfast, Camilla was already there having her breakfast.

“Good morning,” I said as I sat down.

She didn’t give me a reply and continued eating her food.

One of the staff brought my food for me and I started eating too.

She was almost down with her food when she said, “Grandpa called, he wants us to go to his house after you meet with the shareholders.”

“How did you know I have a meeting with the shareholders?”

She didn’t give me a reply and went back to her food. The chairman must have found out about what was going on.

I quickly finished my food and got in the car. The drive was long and quiet and I spent my time reading through some documents:

We got to the office in no time and I got ready for my meeting.

By 10, all the shareholders were already sitting waiting for me.

I walked into the room and the meeting commenced. The older shareholders had a lot to say about what was going on on the news.

The news that I and Camilla were getting a divorce was affecting the value of our stocks badly. I knew this would happen if we announced we were getting divorced.

After all, her grandfather was the reason our company was able to bounce back after almost going bankrupt.

They believed that if we were getting divorced, her grandfather would pull out all his investments and sell his shares. As one of the biggest companies in the city of Newyork, everyone was sucking up to him.

I assured them that I would clear everything up at the press conference next week and that the pictures were fake and AI-generated.

They didn’t fully trust me but with the help of some people who were on my side, I was able to convince them.

After the meeting ended, I stopped by the house to pick Camilla up to go to the chairman’s house.

We got to his house and exited the car.

“Don’t tell him you gave me divorce papers. He shouldn’t even know that you thought about getting divorced. Tell him you’re going to make everything right at the press conference.” She said as we were walking to the main door.

She still wasn’t thinking about signing the papers. I needed this divorce to go smoothly but I fucked it up by allowing those pictures and videos to hit the internet.

I shouldn’t have met with Tori that night. I should have gone through with the divorce first before doing anything else.