CHAPTER ELEVEN – FALLOUT

The rain soaked their body all the way through.

Julian and Aiden were standing close, and you could see their breath mixing together as they moved apart. There was thunder in the distance, making a loud rumbling noise, but they didn't even react. They thought the worst was behind them, but Aiden had his doubts.

Julian still held the damp resignation letter in one hand. It sagged under the rain but didn’t tear. Like him—soaked, but holding.

“We should get inside,” Julian said quietly.

Aiden didn’t move. “And then what?”

“I go upstairs,” Julian replied. “And I tell them who I am.”

“You mean who you’ve been pretending not to be.”

Julian’s eyes looked intense, but he nodded. “Exactly that.”

He offered his hand. Aiden stared at it for a second too long before taking it.

They stepped into the lobby, side by side, and didn't say anything. The lights were so bright it felt like everything was okay again. Like nothing big hard just happened. But deep down they knew something had changed.

But it had.

Julian didn’t head for the elevators right away. Instead, he guided Aiden to a small, unused lounge on the second floor… empty now, but enclosed. Safe.

“I need you to wait here,” he said. “Please.”

“Why?” Aiden challenged. “I should be in that room too.”

“No,” Julian said firmly. “This isn’t your war. Not anymore.”

Aiden felt intense. “But it’s about me.”

Julian touched his arm. “It’s about us. But right now… I need to do this alone. Let me take the hit this time.”

Aiden searched his face. Then, slowly, nodded.

Julian hesitated. “Don’t leave?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Aiden said. “Not until I know how this ends.”

Julian nodded once, exhaled, and turned for the elevator.

As the doors closed, Aiden touched his lips, still feeling the sensation of the kiss. Still stunned that Julian had stopped him. Fought for him. Was willing to burn everything down.

But would the board listen?

Would Harold?

He sat down, heart drumming. Waiting was its own kind of torture.

—

Julian stood outside the boardroom, looking a mess. His suit was soaked and his hair was a mess too. For a VanDermere, he looked really bad. But in a way, it was kind of honest. He wasn't trying to hide how he felt or look perfect like he usually did.

Inside, muffled voices echoed.

He could make out his grandfather’s tone… low and hard like steel.

He straightened his shoulders and walked in without knocking.

The room silenced instantly.

The twelve people that were around the table all looked at him. Some were thinking ‘what's going on?’ and others were thinking ‘okay, let’s see what happens’. Harold VanDermere was at the front, his hands folded, and his eyes looked like he wasn’t happy.

“Julian,” Harold said, voice cool. “You’re late.”

“I was dealing with a leak,” Julian replied, crossing the threshold. “In more ways than one.”

The board exchanged glances.

“You mean this?” Harold said, lifting a printed image from the table.

Julian felt a knot in his stomach. He knew what was on the paper. It was a photo of him kissing Aiden in the elevator. It looked like something from a scandal sheet, all glossy and attention-grabbing.

Harold set it down. “We were just discussing damage control.”

Julian walked to the center of the room, dripping water on the carpet. “I don’t want damage control.”

“Then what do you want?” one of the board members asked—an older woman with sharp red nails and a sharper gaze.

“I want to end the speculation,” Julian said. “I want to end the lies.”

He paused. The weight of the moment pressed against him like a vise.

“My name is Julian VanDermere,” he continued. “And I’ve spent the last year working here under the name Julian Vince. Not because I wanted to deceive anyone—but because I needed to understand this company from the inside out. I needed to know if I deserved to be the next in line.”

Murmurs broke out around the room.

“And this?” Harold gestured again at the photo.

Julian stepped closer, voice calm. “That’s not a scandal. That’s me. With someone I care about. Someone I trust more than half the people in this room.”

“You jeopardized the company’s image,” another board member snapped. “You opened the door for blackmail.”

“No,” Julian said. “Whoever leaked that photo did. I didn’t make a mistake by loving someone. But you’ll make one if you try to silence me for it.”

Harold raised his eyebrows in shock. “You call this love?”

Julian’s voice didn’t waver. “Yes.”

The boardroom fell into a heavy silence.

Then Harold spoke again, quieter this time. “Do you know what this will cost you, Julian?”

“Yes,” Julian said. “And I’ll still stand by it.”

Another silence. This one… more colder.

Harold leaned back in his chair. “Step out.”

“What?”

“We’ll vote privately,” Harold said. “You’ll wait outside. And whatever the result is—you’ll abide by it.”

Julian looked around the table.

Each face is unreadable.

Except Harold’s.

His grandfather wasn’t angry anymore. He looked tired.

Julian turned and walked out without another word.

—

Back in the lounge, Aiden sat hunched forward, phone clutched in his palm but untouched.

Julian entered without warning.

“I did it.”

Aiden stood. “And?”

“They’re voting now.”

Julian sat down beside him, eyes distant. “I’ve never been more terrified in my life.”

“I thought you said you were ready for whatever came next.”

Julian turned to him. “I was. Until I realized losing this means I might not be able to protect you again.”

Aiden leaned in. “You’re not the only one who knows how to fight, you know.”

Julian almost smiled. “I guess I’m still learning how not to do it alone.”

Before Aiden could respond, a loud ping broke the moment.

Julian's phone lit up.

A message from Clarissa.

> “The vote is over. They want you back in the boardroom. Now.”

Julian stood slowly. His hands were trembling.

Aiden rose too. “Whatever happens in there…”

Julian didn’t let him finish.

He kissed him again.

Fierce. Fast. Like it might be their last.

Then he pulled back. “Wait here. I’ll come back for you.”

Julian disappeared through the doors once more.

Leaving Aiden alone again. Staring at the seconds ticking by.

Minutes passed.

Then ten.

Then fifteen.

Still no word.

Until finally, the door cracked open again.

Aiden looked up—

But it wasn’t Julian.

It was Clarissa.

Face pale. His eyebrows… drawn.

She walked up to him and said just three words:

“You should run.”