Chapter 122 The Wedding #2
And he remembered the violent, gravity-defying leap his heart had executed the moment his lips had met hers.
This model was supposed to be a strict business arrangement. A balanced, strategic partnership designed to secure their respective legacies and nothing more. But as the alcohol warmed his throat, Carlos knew the transactional walls had already completely disintegrated.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed violently on the glass table behind him. He set his tumbler down and picked up the device, his eyes narrowing as a message from an unlisted line illuminated the screen.
Justin: I know exactly what play you executed at the courthouse today, Carlos.
Carlos felt his sharp jaw lock into iron, a cold, predatory focus taking hold of his features. Of course Justin knows. The king of Mason Industries had undoubtedly deployed a network of investigators to monitor his every movement from the second his plane touched down at JFK.
Another text snapped onto the display a fraction of a second later.
Justin: We require a definitive conversation regarding your status. Tomorrow morning. My office. 09:00 sharp.
Carlos’s fingers flew across the glass keypad, typing out a smooth, ice-cold response.
Carlos: I will be standing at your desk.
He tossed the phone back onto the table, taking another slow sip of his whiskey as his corporate instincts clicked into high gear. The impending warfare with his cousin was poised to violently escalate tomorrow morning. And now, Teresa was directly woven into the wires of the explosive device.
His wife. His contract partner. His absolute responsibility to shield from the fallout.
He snatched the phone back up, his thumb rapidly dialing her number. She answered on the third break, her voice over the speaker sounding deeply tired, weighted with exhaustion.
"Hi, Carlos," she murmured softly.
"Hi, Teresa," Carlos replied, his baritone dropping into a gentle, protective register. "I wanted to check your status. How are you holding up after this morning?"
"I am currently marooned on my studio stool," Teresa admitted with a faint, rueful sigh. "Just... trying to mechanically process the fact that I changed my last name today."
"I am fully aware of how massive the shift is," Carlos said softly, his chest tightening.
"But Teresa... I need you to hear me clearly right now. I am going to deploy every single resource I possess to protect you. Regardless of what Justin attempts to launch tomorrow, and regardless of whatever fallout bleeds from this union, I will personally guarantee your absolute safety."
"I am an independent woman, Carlos," Teresa shot back, a brilliant hint of sharp steel returning to her words over the line. "I possess the capacity to manage my own battles."
"I know your strength, Teresa," Carlos countered, a low amusement softening his voice. "Your independence is the exact reason I trust you. But you don't have to carry the weight of the sky entirely alone anymore. We executed the vows. We are true partners now, and we navigate the storm together."
Teresa went completely quiet on the other end of the line, the heavy silence suspended between them for several breathless beats. "Justin already knows about the courthouse registry, doesn't he?" she whispered.
"Yes," Carlos confirmed transparently. "His compliance team flagged the filing. He texted my secure line demanding an immediate boardroom meeting tomorrow morning."
"What exactly are you preparing to tell him?" Teresa asked, her tone tight with worry.
"The absolute truth," Carlos stated, his jaw tightening into iron.
"I am going to look my cousin in the eye and inform him that I am legally, bindingly wed. I am going to inform him that my father's thirty-five percent voting bloc will clear probate directly into my name. I am going to inform him that I am claiming my rightful seat on that board of directors...
and there isn't a single legal strategy he possesses that can stop me."
"He is going to be absolutely furious, Carlos," Teresa murmured.
"Let him bleed," Carlos growled coldly. "But Teresa... this corporate warfare belongs to my bloodline. This is a battle between Justin and me. You are not required to stand in the room for the confrontation."
"I signed the contract, Carlos," Teresa countered, her voice ringing out with an unyielding conviction that caused his chest to expand. "I married you this morning. That legally makes me an active player in this war whether I desire to be or not. Your fallout is officially my fallout."
Carlos felt an intense warmth flood his veins, his grip tightening around the phone. "Then we face the front lines together, Teresa."
"Together," she repeated the word, as though she were testing the structural weight of it against her independence.
"Together," Carlos confirmed.
They softly murmured their goodnights, and Carlos terminated the line, setting the phone down on the glass.
He was legally, bindingly wed to Teresa Mason.
And tomorrow morning, he was going to walk straight into the glass towers of Mason Industries and launch a war that would change the dynasty forever.
Celina - The Discovery
Celina Quinn Mason sat dead in the center of her luxury living room sofa, her unblinking gaze locked entirely on the glowing display of her phone as a sick, icy dread completely blanketed her stomach.
She had just off-the-record concluded a panicked phone call from a close personal connection who operated within the municipal courthouse archives.
Carlos Mason had officially executed a marriage registry this morning. To Teresa Stewart.
Celina felt as though the literal hardwood floor had been violently ripped out from beneath her feet, leaving her suspended in a freezing void of pure shock.
Teresa married him. Her absolute best friend - the woman who was a sister to her soul - had legally bound her life to Justin’s lethal corporate rival.
And she hadn't uttered a single, solitary word to her about it.
Celina’s hands shook noticeably as she rapidly brought up Teresa’s contact and slammed the dial button. It rang completely through to the end before dropping straight to the automated voicemail.
"Damn it, Teresa, pick up the phone!" Celina slammed her fist against the leather cushion. She dialed a second time. Still, nothing but the hollow tone of the voicemail machine.
Her breathing growing frantic, Celina rapidly pulled up the text interface, her thumbs striking the screen with a fierce velocity.
Celina: I know exactly what you executed at the courthouse with Carlos this morning, Teresa. We require an immediate conversation. Right now.
She hit send, her eyes widening as she waited for the typing bubbles to materialize. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes. Nothing but a cold, agonizing silence from the other end.
Celina surged to her feet, pacing the length of the living room as her analytical mind violently spun through the data.
Why would Teresa do this? Why would an intensely proud, independent artist marry a dangerous billionaire like Carlos after a single week of proximity without consulting her inner circle?
Why would she willfully choose his side over their lifelong bond?
Unless...
Celina froze in her tracks, a sudden, devastating comprehension violently clicking into place in her mind.
The Dumbo warehouse lease. The failed bank loans. The stack of commercial rejections that had been slowly crushing Teresa's soul for the last month. And Carlos’s desperate, looming timeline to satisfy the marriage clause in Moises's will before his father's heart stopped beating.
"Oh, Teresa..." Celina whispered into the empty room, a tear of pure sorrow escaping her lashes. "What on earth have you signed your life over to?"
Suddenly, the front door of the penthouse opened, and Justin strode into the foyer. His broad shoulders were hunched with tension, his striking features completely darkened into a mask of pure corporate fury.
"You’ve already received the data," Celina stated quietly, her voice trembling as she looked at her husband.
"The courthouse archives confirmed the filing," Justin stated, his voice a low, dangerous growl as he tossed his briefcase onto the bench.
"Carlos officially married Teresa Stewart this morning. The black sheep successfully secured his marital stability. He targeted your best friend specifically to lock down his inheritance."
"We don't possess the full parameters of the situation yet, Justin," Celina argued weakly, though the logic lacked any real conviction even to her own ears.
"Don't we?" Justin challenged fiercely, striding into the living room, his eyes blazing.
"The data models align perfectly, Celina. Carlos required a legal spouse in a matter of weeks to bypass the trust, and Teresa required an immediate influx of massive commercial capital to save her career. It is a textbook marriage of convenience. A calculated business transaction.
He is systematically using her to launch his coup against me."
"Or perhaps she is actively using him," Celina countered in a quiet whisper, looking down at her hands.
"Teresa has spent two grueling years bleeding in that studio trying to build her independent gallery sanctuary. She was on the absolute precipice of losing everything next week.
If Carlos stood across from her at that café and offered her millions of dollars in unrestricted funding in exchange for a signature... she might have deemed the sacrifice worth the cost."
Justin’s sharp features hardened into an absolute wall of stone. "Regardless of her financial desperation, Celina... she willfully chose to arm my enemy. She chose Carlos over you."
"She chose her dream, Justin!" Celina’s voice finally broke, a sharp sob tearing from her throat as the weight of the betrayal crashed over her. "She chose her survival... and I can't entirely blame her for being terrified of drowning."
Justin’s furious posture instantly melted at the sight of his wife's tears.