Chapter 109: The Storm Breaks
It took less than three minutes.
That was all the time the truth needed.
Three minutes after Rachel pressed send, the first notification appeared.
Then another.
And another.
Scarlett did not move from where she stood, her phone still in her hand as the screen lit up again and again.
Headlines.
Alerts.
Names.
Hers.
His.
Together.
---
Julian watched her quietly.
Not the phone.
Her.
Because this was the moment he had calculated for.
Prepared for.
But preparation and reality were never the same.
---
Scarlett finally looked down.
The first headline sat at the top of her screen.
Clear.
Direct.
Impossible to ignore.
Julian Caldwell Confirms Secret Marriage with Rising Actress Scarlett Whitmore.
Her breath caught softly.
Not from shock.
But from the weight of seeing it become real.
---
"It is everywhere," Rachel said from behind them, already scanning updates on her tablet. "All major platforms have picked it up."
