Sebastián's POV
I sat behind my office desk with a smug grin on my face and the TV remote spinning lazily between my fingers while every major entertainment network replayed my proposal video for probably the thousandth fucking time.
And to be fair? I loved every second of it... I loved that everyone that trolled me and said that I wasn't steady and not capable of handling their businesses because according to them, I was single could see this.
The massive screen mounted across my office wall showed the exact moment I dropped to one knee in front of Sabrina on that rooftop restaurant.
I could still remember the cameras, the lights and the gasps from people around us when I went on one knee.
Then her beautiful face looking shocked as hell before finally saying yes.
I smirked harder. "Fuck yeah."
I spun slowly in my chair again, replaying the moment in my head like a teenager with his first crush because after everything lately...
The crashing stocks, the media tearing me apart, the investors breathing down my neck, the endless bullshit headlines... This finally felt like a win.
For once, the news wasn't talking about how Montgomery Industries was "losing dominance in the market." Or how my "reckless lifestyle" was affecting investor confidence. Or how another fucking contract slipped through my fingers.
No, not at all. This time, they were talking about my engagement, my future wife, my comeback and somehow the public was eating that shit up.
I pointed the remote toward the screen and reduced the volume when one anchor practically squealed with excitement.
"NOW THIS IS THE SEBASTIÁN MONTGOMERY PEOPLE MISSED! BILLIONAIRE CEO SEBASTIÁN MONTGOMERY OFFICIALLY PROPOSED TO LONGTIME GIRLFRIEND SABRINA RODRIGUEZ IN WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS ALREADY CALLING THE PROPOSAL OF THE YEAR..."
I laughed under my breath.
"That's what I like to see," I muttered. "Much fucking better."
Another anchor jumped in immediately.
"SOURCES CLAIM MONTGOMERY INDUSTRIES BUSINESS ARE STABLE AGAIN FOLLOWING THE ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT. INVESTORS ARE REPORTEDLY RESPONDING POSITIVELY TO WHAT MANY ARE CALLING A MORE 'STABLE PUBLIC IMAGE' FOR THE BILLIONAIRE ENTREPRENEUR."
I rolled my eyes dramatically.
Honestly, it annoyed me a little. I am not gonna lie.
The fact that people suddenly respected me more because I was getting married was ridiculous. Like… I had spent years building a fucking empire.
Years... I remembered all the late nights, meetings, investments, and expansion deals but apparently none of that impressed people as much as putting a ring on Sabrina's finger.
Absurd but whatever.
If media stupidity finally pushed me toward marrying the woman I loved? Then I would take the fucking win.
"Yeah," I muttered while leaning back in my chair. "That's a win in my book."
Suddenly... My office door burst open without warning.
I didn't even bother looking up. Only one person walked into my office like he paid rent there.
Jordan.
"Bastian," he said quickly while stepping inside, "you need to see this."
That got my attention immediately.
I looked up fast, expecting disaster... Maybe another stock crash, another investor pulling out or another media nightmare but Jordan was smiling.
And somehow, it instantly relaxed me a little.
Okay. Not bad news then.
"See what?" I asked.
Jordan walked over immediately. "Let me have that."
Before I could react, he snatched the remote from my hand and changed the channel.
The screen switched to a financial network filled with stock charts and market analysts practically foaming at the mouth.
I frowned. "What exactly am I looking at?"
Jordan pointed dramatically toward the screen. "Our shares."
I looked closer, then blinked and sat up straighter.
Holy shit... The Montgomery Industries stock was climbing like crazy.
The ticker numbers kept updating green... It was practically going up, up, higher.
One financial expert on TV was practically shouting.
"MONTGOMERY INDUSTRIES HAS GAINED NEARLY EIGHTEEN PERCENT MARKET RECOVERY IN UNDER FORTY-EIGHT HOURS FOLLOWING SEBASTIÁN MONTGOMERY'S ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT. INVESTOR CONFIDENCE APPEARS TO BE STABILIZING RAPIDLY, AND SEVERAL INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS ARE REPORTEDLY REINVESTING."
Another analyst added...
"THE COMPANY HAS NOW OUTPERFORMED THREE COMPETING CORPORATIONS IN MARKET MOMENTUM THIS WEEK ALONE DESPITE RECENT LOSSES EARLIER THIS QUARTER."
I stared at the screen in disbelief. "That's insane."
Jordan laughed proudly while dropping into the chair opposite me.
"It's a fucking miracle."
I shook my head slowly. "My engagement barely happened two days ago."
"I guess people love the idea of married you," Jordan said with a grin.
"That's absurd."
"Whatever it is," he replied casually, "we are milking it fast and getting back on top."
That made me laugh.
"Yeah," I admitted. "That we will do."
God... The timing couldn't have been better.
The engagement changed everything overnight... Investors suddenly stopped panicking, social media loved Sabrina and the public was obsessed with our relationship.
For the first time in months... I could fucking breathe again.
Jordan leaned back casually.
"So," he said, "where are we with wedding prep? Do I need to start hunting down event planners for you two?"
I smirked immediately. "Already handled it."
Jordan raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"I got an event planner already."
"Damn," he said. "Look at you being efficient."
I chuckled. "We were supposed to meet her tomorrow actually."
"And?"
"Sabrina's busy tomorrow," I explained. "So we moved it to the next day."
Jordan nodded slowly but something about his expression changed slightly. A hesitation.
I narrowed my eyes immediately. "What?"
"Nothing."
I pointed at him instantly. "We both know you have got something to say, so spit it out."
Jordan sighed dramatically before leaning forward.
"Look," he said carefully, "I don't want to kill your mood or anything… but you need to make sure she's actually committed to this wedding."
I frowned instantly. "She is."
Jordan lifted both hands.
"I am just saying, man. She shouldn't be too busy for wedding planning."
I almost laughed because clearly Jordan didn't understand Sabrina the way I did... I know she's all in and I have no doubt about it.
If Sabrina didn't want this wedding? She would have just shut the entire conversation down before it even started. There was no amount of contract I could have brought to her that would change her mind.
Nobody forced Sabrina Rodriguez into shit, not even me... So yeah, if she said she was busy then she's busy, nothing more, nothing less.
"She's committed," I said firmly.
Jordan tilted his head. "Really? Because it took her forever to agree to marry you."
I rolled my eyes. "That's not the same thing."
"If you hadn't suggested a contract marriage," he continued, "you probably wouldn't even be planning a wedding right now."
"That's bullshit," I replied immediately.
She would have still married me regardless of the contract, maybe not right now but eventually.
Jordan raised an eyebrow silently. "Is it?"
I sighed and rubbed my jaw.
"Look, she loves me just as much as I love her if not even more. The only reason she kept refusing marriage was because she was worried about me becoming an easy target because of her situation."
Jordan stayed quiet.
"She didn't want me dragged into danger because of her," I added.
"If you say so."
"I mean it."
I leaned back in my chair before smiling slightly.
"She was literally willing to give up her dream wedding for me."
That got his attention.
Jordan frowned. "What?"
"She suggested a small wedding," I explained. "Just so we could get married faster and help stabilize the company situation."
Jordan blinked slowly. "Seriously?"
"Yeah."
Well… That wasn't the full story obviously.
I knew Sabrina hated attention sometimes, especially public attention but the fact she was willing to sacrifice something she once dreamed about for my sake? That mattered to me.
"A small wedding?" Jordan repeated again like he couldn't believe it.
"She offered it herself."
Jordan leaned back thoughtfully. "Huh."
"Exactly."
He shook his head slowly. "Well, I am glad she's trying, but absolutely the fuck not."
I laughed immediately. "What?"
"You can't have a small wedding," he said dramatically. "You are a billionaire. It needs to be loud, expensive, elegant and all the socialites need to come."
I chuckled.
"True. But that's not even why I want a big wedding," I admitted honestly.
Jordan pointed at me. "Whatever your reason is, just make it huge."
"We will."
Because truthfully, I wanted the whole world to know Sabrina was mine and to give her the wedding of her dreams, regardless the circumstances surrounding our wedding.
It's as simple as that.
Jordan stood up afterward while checking his watch.
"Anyway," he said, "get ready. Board meeting in an hour."
That immediately made me grin again.
"Good."
For the first time in weeks, I actually looked forward to hearing from investors.
Jordan smirked. "Can't wait to hear what they say now, huh?"
"Oh, I definitely can't fucking wait."
Because suddenly, everything was shifting again in my favor.
The company was recovering, the media was back on my side, my investors were calming down and best of all... Sabrina was finally becoming my wife.
Yeah... Life was looking pretty damn good again.