As soon as I saw Ella sitting at her desk, shoulders trembling, I knew sothing was wrong. She tried to wipe away her tears, but the damage was already done. Her sobs were quiet, controlled, but that made it worse.
Ella never cried like this. I have never seen her like this. Not even in the face of the whirlwind Klaus had stirred up with his lies. But now, it was like the weight of everything had finally crushed her.
And I couldn’t stand it.
"Ella?" I said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened, clearly not wanting to see her like this, but I didn’t move. I didn’t want to leave her alone with her pain.
"I’m fine," she whispered, her voice brittle. But she wasn’t fine, and it was my fault. If I hadn’t dragged her into this stupid contract, Klaus never would’ve gotten so vindictive. Ella would still be living her life in peace, not under the microscope of public opinion, not the subject of vicious rumors swirling around our office.
This wasn’t fair to her.
"We need to stop this," I said, my voice firm. "This ends today."
She shook her head, still staring down at her desk, as if trying to convince herself that she could power through. But I wasn’t going to let her deal with this alone. I couldn’t let her face this toxic environnt another second longer. If there was any chance to fix this ss I’d created, I was going to take it.
"Ella, look at ," I said, and after a mont, she finally raised her eyes to et mine. Her cheeks were damp, her eyes red-rimd from crying, and it gutted to see her like this. "I’ll handle this. Just trust ."
Without waiting for her reply, I straightened up and walked out of her office, pulling my phone out as I headed toward the main floor. This needed to be addressed now. I dialed the head of HR, keeping my voice level but firm. "Call an all-hands eting imdiately. I don’t care if people are busy. Tell everyone to drop what they’re doing and et in the conference room in ten minutes."
There was a pause on the other end, but no one questioned . When I had to pull rank, people listened.
Ten minutes later, the conference room was packed, the tension was clear for all to see.
So of the staff were standing awkwardly by the windows, avoiding eye contact. Others, the more senior team mbers, glanced at curiously, wondering what was so urgent.
The air buzzed with unease, like they knew sothing was coming but weren’t sure what.
Good.
I stood at the head of the table, scanning the faces in front of . A few of them exchanged nervous glances, shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
They should be nervous. What had been happening here, what Ella had been subjected to, was unacceptable, and it was ti they knew exactly where I stood.
"I called this eting because there’s sothing that needs to be addressed," I began, my voice cutting through the low murmurs in the room.
"There has been a lot of talk, a lot of rumors flying around regarding one of our own. I don’t need to spell out the specifics. We all know who and what I’m talking about."
A few people nodded, others kept their gazes firmly fixed on the table, not daring to look at .
"The fact that so of you find pleasure in doing such a disgusting act, shows that so of you have forgotten the values we uphold in this company. Respect. Integrity. Professionalism."
I made sure to make eye contact with the group near the back, the ones I had overheard gossiping about Ella earlier. They squird in their seats, guilt written all over their faces.
"I won’t tolerate slander. Not here. Not about anyone. Especially not about soone who has done nothing but their job with dedication and professionalism. Ella has been dragged into a situation that she never asked for, and it ends now."
There was a murmur of agreent from a few people, but others sat stone-faced, clearly uncomfortable. I didn’t care. They needed to hear this.
"If any of you continue to spread false information, if any of you continue to make this environnt hostile for her, you will be dealt with swiftly. Consider this your warning."
The room was dead silent now. I could see so people swallowing nervously, their faces paling. They knew I wasn’t bluffing. I had never been one to make empty threats, and today wasn’t going to be the first ti I started.
"If anyone has sothing they want to say, anything they’ve said behind closed doors, I encourage you to say it now. Because from this point forward, I will not hesitate to take action."
The tension in the room thickened, the weight of my words settling over everyone like a storm cloud. No one dared to speak, but a few brave souls shifted uncomfortably, guilt flashing in their eyes. One woman, Laura from marketing, stood up after a mont.
"Mr Weston," she began, her voice shaking a little, "I just want to apologize. On behalf of so of us who may have... participated in the gossip. It was wrong. We know that. I know that. And I’m sorry if it hurt Ella."
Her words were t with awkward nods from others in the room, as if they were silently agreeing but didn’t want to be the ones to say it aloud. Laura’s apology was unexpected, but it was a start. I gave her a brief nod.
"Thank you, Laura. I appreciate that. Let this be a lesson to everyone here that we don’t engage in behavior that tears each other down. We are a team, and we rise and fall together. If I hear even a whisper about this again, you’ll answer to ."
With that, I ended the eting. People slowly started filing out, so of them whispering apologies under their breath as they passed, while others couldn’t et my eyes at all.
When the last person left the room, it was just Ella and . She was standing near the back of the room, her face a mixture of relief and sothing else, gratitude, maybe.
"Arec..." Her voice was quiet, but I could hear the emotion behind it. "I don’t even know what to say. I can’t believe you did that."
I shrugged, trying to brush it off like it wasn’t a big deal, but the truth was, I’d been fuming since that Klaus video surfaces. Seeing Ella go through this, because of , had been eating at . I should have stepped in as soon as possible. "It was nothing. I should’ve done it earlier."
She shook her head, stepping closer to . "No. It wasn’t nothing. I’ve been drowning in this ss, and you... you stood up for . I can’t tell you how much that ans."
I looked away for a mont, unsure how to respond. The truth was, I felt like it was my responsibility to protect her, and I had failed. "Ella, this is all my fault. If I hadn’t dragged you into this contract in the first place, none of this would’ve happened."
She frowned, reaching out to place a hand on my arm. "No. Don’t say that. I agreed to this, rember? We both did. Klaus... what he did, that’s on him. Not you."
I exhaled slowly, letting her words sink in, but it didn’t make the guilt go away. I’d made a choice, and that choice had put her in this position. But now, we were in this together.
"We’ll get through this," I said, more for my own benefit than hers. I needed to believe it. "We’re not backing down."
Her eyes softened, and for a mont, I thought she might start crying again, but instead, she smiled, just a small, faint smile, but it was there. "Thank you, Arec. Really."
I gave her a small nod, feeling the weight of everything settle a little more lightly on my shoulders.
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