Chapter 10 - The Real Foundation
We started dating quietly.
No paparazzi. No grand public announcements.
Just Sunday morning pancakes in my small kitchen.
Just Marcus Cole sitting on a cheap rug, building block towers with Lily.
He didn't try to buy my love with diamonds or cars.
He bought my love by being present.
By showing up to Lily’s ballet recitals.
By listening to me complain about shipping delays over dinner.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't fighting the world alone.
But the world doesn't like quiet happiness.
A tabloid got a hold of a picture.
Billionaire Cole Dating His Former Cleaning Lady!
The internet exploded.
Comments rolled in. Mean, vicious comments.
Gold-digger. Opportunist.
I tried to ignore it, but the whispers at work grew louder.
One morning, I found a cruel note left on my desk.
I locked myself in the bathroom and cried.
I was strong, but I wasn't made of steel.
That afternoon, I walked into Marcus’s office.
“I need to resign,” I said, placing an envelope on his desk.
Marcus stopped typing.
He looked at the envelope, then up at me.
“No.”
“Marcus, please. The rumors. It’s affecting the company. It’s affecting Lily.”
He stood up.
He didn't walk around the desk. He just pointed at my chair.
“Sit down, Maya.”
“Marcus, I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
He picked up the resignation letter and ripped it in half.
Then he threw it in the trash.
“You earned your position here. You tripled our efficiency in the European sector. If anyone has a problem with you, they can leave.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It is exactly that simple.”
He walked over and pulled me into his arms.
“I am not letting you go, Maya. Not to Vanessa, not to the tabloids, not to anyone.”
I buried my face in his chest.
May you like
I knew the storm wasn't over.
But in his arms, I knew I could weather it.
