Our Accidental Forever
Chapter 43: The Ripple Effect (3)

Chapter 43: The Ripple Effect (3)

Arec’s POV:

I couldn’t think of anything worse than the situation I was in right now. Sitting in my office, listening to the PR team drone on about media strategy while Ella sat beside me, her face pale but determined. Klaus’s video had spread like wildfire, and every minute we spent in this room was another minute of damage being done. I had to fix this.

My phone buzzed, and I glanced down. "Grandmother." Of course, it was her. She always had a sense for when things were going wrong.

I didn’t even need to hear her voice to know what she was going to say. Something about how Ella was a mistake. How I should’ve listened to her from the beginning. How, this, the video, the scandal, the whole mess, was inevitable.

I didn’t have time for her nagging, not now. I silenced the call and slipped my phone back into my pocket.

"Sorry about that," I muttered to the team, feeling Ella’s eyes flicker toward me. "Can we just get this over with?"

The head of the PR team, Greg, adjusted his glasses and glanced at his tablet.

"We’ve gone over the key points already. The most important thing here is tone, firm but sympathetic. You’re addressing rumors, not fighting back against a personal attack. You need to focus on how this impacts your image and your relationship, not give Klaus any more attention than necessary."

He flicked through a few more notes. "Ella, when you speak, be direct. Don’t hesitate. You’ve got the facts on your side. The audience wants to see someone who isn’t afraid, someone who stands by her truth."

Ella nodded, but I could tell she was tense. Her fingers drummed lightly on her knee, and her gaze kept flitting to the floor.

I knew her well enough to see through the calm exterior. She was shaken, who wouldn’t be? Her ex-boyfriend had just tried to ruin her reputation in front of millions of people. And now, we were expected to go live, to face that chaos head-on.

"And Arec," Julian said, turning to me, "you’re the anchor here. Stay strong. Show that you believe in her, that you’re a team. The public needs to see unity. If you start doubting, they’ll doubt."

I clenched my jaw and nodded.

Unity. Support. It seemed easy enough on paper, but in reality, it was much harder.

The PR team didn’t know about the complexity of my relationship with Ella, the history, the one-night stand and the contract.

That was a story we couldn’t share with the public, not if we wanted them to take us seriously.

"I know it’s a lot," Greg added, his voice softer now. "But this is how you win the public’s trust. Be honest, but stay on message. Don’t let them drag you off course."

I caught Ella’s eye, and for a moment, the room felt a lot smaller. She was still scared, I could tell. And maybe a part of me was too. But we didn’t have time to be scared anymore.

"Let’s do this," I said, standing up and straightening my jacket. Ella followed suit, taking a deep breath as she pushed herself to her feet.

Greg gave us one last nod of approval. "Remember, stay calm. You’ve got this."

---

When we went live, everything felt surreal. I could see the viewer count ticking upward, thousands of people already tuned in. My pulse quickened, but I kept my face neutral. I needed to project confidence, not panic.

Ella was sitting next to me, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. I could feel the weight of her anxiety, but she kept it together. We both did. The red light blinked on, signaling that we were live, and the world was watching.

Ella was the first to speak, her voice steady but soft. "Hi, everyone. I wanted to take this opportunity to address some of the rumors and accusations that have been circulating about me recently."

She paused, just long enough to make sure she had everyone’s attention.

Then, she pulled out her phone, scrolling through the old text messages she had with Klaus. "I know some of you may have seen the video my ex-boyfriend, Klaus, released. He’s said some pretty horrible things about me, and I’m here to tell you that those things are simply not true."

I watched as she held up her phone, showing the camera the messages between her and Klaus. "Here’s proof that I ended things with Klaus when I found him with another woman. This was before I even met Arec."

She flicked through more messages, more dates, more proof that her version of events was the truth.

"I know what this looks like, and I understand why people might be confused. But I want to be clear, I never used Klaus, and I never used Arec for his money or his status. Everything I have, I’ve worked for on my own merit."

Her voice wavered slightly, and I knew we were entering the part that made her the most nervous. The part where our story wasn’t as clean as we wanted it to be.

"I met Arec after I started working at Denco Group," she said, glancing at me briefly before looking back at the camera. "And we became close. But there’s more to our relationship than what people assume. I care deeply about him, and the way our story is being twisted by outsiders is painful."

Painful was an understatement. Klaus had taken his own version of our lives and made them public, forcing us to stand here and defend ourselves. I could feel the anger simmering beneath the surface, but I had to push it down. Now wasn’t the time.

I cleared my throat, stepping in to back Ella up. "This entire situation has been blown out of proportion by someone with a personal vendetta. I’m standing by Ella because I know who she is. I’ve seen her integrity, her kindness, and her hard work. These rumors don’t reflect the woman I’ve come to know and love."

The word "love" hung in the air between us, and I could see a flicker of something in Ella’s eyes. It wasn’t planned, me saying that. But I just have to make things more believable.

"I know people will have their opinions," I continued, "but the truth is simple. Ella didn’t do anything wrong. She didn’t deserve what Klaus did to her, and she doesn’t deserve the backlash she’s getting now. We’ve both had difficult pasts, but we’re moving forward together."

Ella nodded, her hands relaxing just a little in her lap. She wasn’t fidgeting anymore, and her voice was stronger now. "At the end of the day, I can’t control what people think. But I can control how I respond to this. I’m not going to let Klaus or anyone else define who I am."

As the live feed continued, we started taking questions from viewers. Some were supportive, messages of encouragement flooding in from people who believed in us.

But others weren’t so kind. They demanded to know more about our relationship, about whether we had been hiding anything from the public. The doubts were still there, even though we’d done our best to clear the air.

I glanced at Ella, and I could tell she was starting to feel the strain. I stepped in again, my voice firm. "This is a difficult time for both of us, but we’re committed to getting through it. We’re not hiding anything, and we won’t let this define us."

We wrapped up the live stream shortly after that, the weight of the ordeal pressing down on us both. As soon as the cameras were off, Ella let out a shaky breath, her hands trembling just a little as she rubbed them together.

"You did great," I said, reaching for her hand. She gave me a small smile, but I could see the exhaustion in her eyes.

"I don’t know if it’ll be enough," she whispered, her voice raw. "People are still going to believe what they want."

"They will," I agreed, squeezing her hand gently. "But we did what we had to do. The truth is out there now."

Ella looked at me, her eyes filled with uncertainty. "Do you think they believe us?"

I didn’t have an answer for that. But I knew one thing for sure: whatever happened next, we were in this together.