Wife!
Everyone was utterly dumbfounded …
No one was prepared for it. Hence, they found it hard to react.
They couldn't bring themselves to believe it. Not because marriage was an outworldly concept, but because, over the years, no one had ever heard of Aiden Winslow getting involved with anyone.
Many won —from top models to wealthy socialites —had tried to throw themselves at his feet, yet Aiden had never spared them so much as a fleeting glance.
How else could they now bring themselves to believe that he was … suddenly married?
This was too … unbelievable.
No one spoke, but silent glances were exchanged across the room.
After a brief pause, soone mustered the courage to ask.
"President Winslow … did you get married?"
Although only one person had voiced the question, everyone in the room held their breath, waiting for his answer.
Aiden leisurely shifted his gaze towards the speaker and rely grunted.
"Yes, I am happily married."
Cough!
Emyr, who stood beside, rely choked on his breath. He never knew such a casual way of dropping a bombshell existed until today.
If anyone had doubted their ears before, Aiden's words left no oroom of misinterpretation now.
And yet … the shock remained.
The board mbers gaped at each other, still struggling to process the revelation.
Among them, Mr. Dickens was no different. His face twisted in disbelief as Aiden's words sank in. But unlike the others, his surprise didn't last long. It was soon replaced by sheer, unbridled rage.
"You have grown audacious, young lad," Mr. Dickens spat, his voice laced with indignation. "Not only have you kept all of us in the dark about your marriage, but you dared to threaten today. Did you forget who I am?"
Aiden watched him, leaning back in his chair, a faint smirk playing at his lips.
"Do I have to know soone to threaten them?" he asked lazily, his tone dripping with amusent.
"You —"
Mr. Dickens saw red.
Standing abruptly, he slamd his hand against the polished mahogany table, letting the force echo throughout the silent boardroom.
"I am David Dickens," he bellowed, his chest heaving. "One of the oldest mbers of this board! Even your father had to bow to in respect."
Silence.
Aiden's expression darkened in an instant. His once-playful amusent vanished, replaced by an icy, suffocating aura.
"Unfortunately … I am not him."
His voice was calm, yet the underlying nace in it sent shivers down the spines of everyone present.
A heavy silence weighed over the room.
Mr. Dickens faltered. For a mont, he forgot how to breathe.
"You can take your seat now," Aiden said, his gaze, now void of all warmth, locked onto him like a predator staring down its prey.
Intimidated, Mr. Dickens had no choice but to sit back on his chair.
Once the room was back to silence, Aiden rose to his feet.
His movents were slow and deliberate, exuding a quiet majesty that instantly commanded attention. The mont he stood, the atmosphere shifted —turning oppressive, commanding, inescapable.
Aiden adjusted the cuffs of his tailored suit. At that mont, he looked like a king that had grown tired of the indulgent fools —powerful, untouchable, and utterly captivating.
"I believe I have been more than patient with you all," he began, his tone slow and deliberate. "But patience has its limits. And I have no intention to out-limit it for you all."
His words like that made several board mbers tense. So swallowed nervously while others darted their gaze towards Dickens, unsure of what was about to unfold.
Aiden placed both hands on the table and leaned forward slightly. His piercing gaze swept across the room, seizing each one in its grasp.
"As I have said, I might be the President of Winslow Globals, but I am not anyone's servant to clean up their stirred sses. So …" He glanced at Emyr over his shoulders, giving him a cue.
Emyr was quick to grasp the order. Nodding, he imdiately stepped forward, placing a thick stack of docunts onto the table and sliding them toward the mbers.
Everyone received a file containing the details of their corrupt dealings —every embezzlent, every fraudulent contract, every back door deal that had been orchestrated.
As their eyes scanned the contents, their faces paled.
Gasps and murmurs filled the air. So of them trembled, their hands tightening around the pages, while others cast desperate glances at one another.
Several were already preparing to beg for rcy.
"I assu that with the evidence laid bare, the guilty parties already know what they must do next," Aiden said, his voice slicing through the tension.
His words instantly made everyone turn towards him.
"Still, if you haven't figured it out yet …" Aiden trailed off, glancing at Emyr once more.
Taking the cue, Emyr placed another stack of docunts onto the table —this ti, directly in front of a select few mbers.
When they stared down to check, they realized it was nothing but resignation letters. Their faces turned pale; however, before they could react further, they heard Aiden confirm.
"These are your way out."
A suffocating silence engulfed the room.
He let the weight of his words settle before continuing.
"Sign them, and you get to leave with what little dignity you have left. Refuse …" Aiden leaned in, his presence alone pressing down on them like an iron grip, "and I will make sure the only thing you leave with … is regret."
Mr. Dickens's hands clenched into fists. His face turned a shade of red, a mix of humiliation and rage boiling beneath the surface. He had also received the order to resign.
"You —" he started, but Aiden cut him off.
"I am not giving anyone here the chance to negotiate."
His voice was dangerously low, and for the first ti, true fear flickered across the faces of those who had once wielded unchecked power.
One of the older board mbers exhaled shakily. With a resigned expression, he reached for a pen and signed. "...I resign," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
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