Chapter 98: Wildfire
The news spread fast like a veld fire.
Within minutes of Caleb’s announcement, phones across the pavilion lit up like a constellation. Reporters who had been live-tweeting the launch suddenly flooded their feeds with the double bombshell. "Caleb Reed Architect by Day, Moonshine Empire Owner by Night." "Moonshine Reveal: Caleb Reed Steps Out of Shadows." And then the even bigger headline that dominated every notification: "Caleb Reed Engaged Fiona Flare."
Social media exploded. Industry groups, beauty influencers, and gossip accounts shared clips of the moment Caleb looked straight at Fiona and made the announcement. The elegant launch event transformed into the epicenter of a media storm. Hashtags like #MoonshineReveal and #CalebFiona trended almost instantly. Speculation ran wild —was this a strategic alliance against Voss? A revenge plot? A secret romance that had been brewing for months?
Martin Mole sat alone in his dimly lit office. The launch had been on in the background as background noise while he reviewed final adjustments to Voss’s own upcoming campaign. He had poured himself a glass of whiskey, hoping the burn would ease the persistent tightness in his chest that therapy had yet to fully resolve.
Then his phone started vibrating nonstop.
He glanced at the screen, expecting updates from the team. Instead, multiple alerts from news apps and industry alerts flooded in. He tapped one open, and the headline hit him like a punch to the gut.
**Moonshine Owner Revealed: Caleb Reed. Engaged to Fiona Flare.**
Martin froze. The glass in his hand tilted, whiskey sloshing dangerously close to the rim. He set it down slowly, staring at the screen as if the words might rearrange themselves into something that made sense.
Caleb Reed.
The name alone brought back old university memories the pitch competition where Martin had strategically undermined Caleb’s project to secure the win. He had always seen Caleb as a quiet rival, someone easily dismissed. Now that same man was revealed as the hidden force behind Moonshine, the brand that had been chipping away at Voss’s market share with surgical precision.
But it was the second part that truly shattered him.
Engaged to Fiona Flare.
Martin replayed the clip. Caleb looking straight at her with open affection. Fiona standing there in an emerald gown, graceful and composed beside him. The way Caleb had announced it publicly, as if claiming her in front of the entire industry.
Martin’s hand clenched into a fist on the desk. His breathing grew shallow, the familiar chest tightness returning with a vengeance.
He clicked play on the video again. The audio of Caleb’s voice filled the office: "I am honored to announce that Fiona Flare has agreed to become my wife. We are engaged."
Martin slammed his laptop shut, but the image burned behind his eyelids. He stood up abruptly, pacing the length of his office. The city skyline outside his window mocked him with its glittering indifference. He had spent weeks trying to process Fiona’s resignation, telling himself she needed space, that he could still fix things once the engagement with Katherine was handled. Now this.
Caleb Reed of all people.
The man Martin had once dismissed as an underdog. The rival he had quietly sabotaged years ago. And now Caleb stood on stage claiming both Moonshine and Fiona as his own.
Martin’s phone rang. It was his father, Valentine. He simply ignored it.Messages executives flooded in, all asking the same thing: *Did you see this?*
He poured another drink, but the whiskey tasted like ash. The news was spreading across every platform. Clips of the announcement were already being dissected the way Caleb had looked at Fiona, the stunned reactions from the crowd, the implications for the beauty industry. Commentators were calling it the most dramatic night in recent industry history.
Martin sank back into his chair, staring at the frozen image on his screen Caleb and Fiona together. The jealousy that surged through him was raw and ugly. He had lost control of so many things lately the engagement forced by his parents, the growing cracks in his leadership, and now Fiona, publicly claimed by the one man who represented everything Martin had once beaten.
The chest tightness intensified. Martin forced himself to breathe through it the way his therapist had taught him, but the images kept flashing Fiona smiling at Caleb, the two of them walking the red carpet, the world celebrating their engagement while Martin sat alone in his empty office.
The news was everywhere now. Martin refreshed the feed again and again, each new article driving the knife deeper. Moonshine’s stock (once quietly rising) surged in after-hours trading. Voss’s name was dragged into every discussion as the jilted rival.
Martin closed his eyes, the whiskey glass forgotten on the desk. Fiona was gone. Truly gone. And the man who had taken her was the same one Martin had once thought beneath him.
Martin stared at the ringing phone on his desk, Katherine’s name flashing insistently across the screen.
He let the phone ring a few more times, staring at her name like it belonged to a stranger. Finally, he answered, pressing the speaker button so he didn’t have to hold it to his ear.
"Katherine," he said, his voice low and controlled, though the strain bled through.
"Martin, did you see the news?" Katherine’s voice exploded through the speaker, sharp and furious. "That bitch sabotaged our launch! How is it she is engaged to the owner of Moonshine? This can’t be real. Tell me this is some kind of joke or corporate stunt."
Martin leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temple with two fingers. The tightness in his chest intensified. He could picture Katherine pacing in her family’s luxurious living room, her diamond engagement ring probably catching the light as she gestured angrily.
"I saw it," he replied quietly. "It’s real."
A stunned silence followed on her end, then another burst of indignation. "Real? She resigns from Voss, disappears for a few weeks, and suddenly she’s engaged to the man running the company that’s been nipping at our heels? This is deliberate, Martin. She’s trying to destroy us from the inside. First she leaves her ideas all over our campaign, now she’s aligning herself with our biggest rival. How long has this been going on behind our backs?"
"I don’t know," he admitted, his voice rough. "I didn’t see it coming."
Katherine laughed bitterly. "Of course you didn’t. You were too busy trying to keep her around even after she gave notice. I told you she was trouble. That woman has been playing both sides. And now she’s engaged to Caleb Reed? The owner of Moonshine? This is going to make us look weak, Martin. The merger with my family, the engagement... everything is at risk if people think you let her walk away with our secrets and straight into the arms of our competitor."
Martin stood up slowly, walking over to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"She didn’t take any secrets," he said, though even he wasn’t entirely sure. "Fiona was good at her job. Loyal while she was here."
"Loyal?" Katherine’s voice rose. "She’s engaged to the man whose company is timing launches to undermine ours. This isn’t coincidence, Martin. She sabotaged the Radiance for All campaign from the inside and now she’s rubbing it in our faces. My father is already calling me. He wants to know if you had any idea about this. If you’re still in control."
"I’m handling it," he said, though the words felt hollow. "The launch is still weeks away. We’ll adjust."
"Adjust?" Katherine sounded close to tears now, her anger mixing with genuine hurt. "While she’s parading around as the fiancée of our rival? This makes our engagement look like a joke. People are already speculating online that she left Voss because of you. That there was something between you two. My family is furious. They’re questioning whether this merger is still wise if you can’t even keep your own house in order."
Martin didn’t respond immediately. He stared out at the city, the same skyline he had looked at so many nights while thinking of Fiona. The news was everywhere now. Clips of the announcement dominated every feed. Commentators dissected the timing, the rivalry, the sudden engagement. Some were already calling it the most dramatic night in the beauty industry in years.
"I need time to think," he said finally. "We’ll talk tomorrow."
Katherine made a frustrated sound. "Don’t shut me out, Martin. This affects both of us. If she’s really with him... if she’s carrying any of our strategies to Moonshine..."
"She wouldn’t," Martin cut in, though doubt crept in despite himself. "Fiona isn’t like that."
Katherine’s laugh was sharp. "You still defend her. Even now. That’s the problem."
She hung up before he could reply.
Martin lowered the phone, staring at the blank screen. The office felt suffocating. He poured another drink, but the whiskey did nothing to dull the storm inside him. Jealousy, regret, anger, and a deep, aching loss twisted together. Fiona had moved on so completely, so publicly, with the one man who represented everything Martin had once beaten and dismissed.
He sank back into his chair and opened the laptop again. The clip played once more. Caleb’s words. Fiona’s graceful smile. The way the crowd had erupted.
The wildfire raged on, and Martin sat alone in the center of it, watching everything he thought he could still fix burn away.
