We Will Love Again – Episode 34
The leaked message appeared on business sites within an hour. Noah’s private words about breaking Crazy Maple into pieces became a headline stripped of every later decision, making the proposed acquisition look like corporate revenge.
Triple AI’s communications team urged him to deny personal motives. Noah refused. A denial would protect the stock price by turning Alaina into a liar if the rest of the story surfaced.
“Issue the facts,” he told Aaron. “I had a conflict, I failed to disclose it, and I withdrew from the process.”
“The board may suspend you,” Aaron warned.
“Then they suspend me.” Noah had spent years protecting an image of flawless control. Preserving it no longer justified causing fresh damage.
At Crazy Maple, reporters crowded the sidewalk. Alaina watched from an upper window as her private history became speculation beneath photographs of Noah.
Joey wanted her to release a statement defending the studio. “If you say the message was emotional rather than literal, investors may calm down.”
“It was literal when he said it,” Alaina replied. “I won’t lie to rescue either company.”
Her refusal disappointed Joey but relieved Noah when he heard about it. He did not want forgiveness manufactured for public consumption.
That afternoon, Noah faced Triple AI’s directors. He admitted that discovering Alaina at Crazy Maple influenced his interest and that revenge compromised his judgment.
Several directors demanded his resignation. Others argued that his withdrawal had prevented financial harm. The meeting became a referendum on whether accountability required punishment or repair.
Noah accepted a temporary leave while an independent committee reviewed the deal. For the first time since founding Triple AI, he walked out without authority over what happened next.
Outside, cameras waited. He delivered a brief statement that blamed no one and named Alaina only to say she had not participated in his decision.
Alaina saw the clip from her apartment. Noah looked tired rather than defeated, and she recognized the cost of choosing honesty after years of hiding behind achievement.
Sophie turned off the television. “You don’t have to save him.”
“I know.” Alaina opened the notebook containing her abandoned series. “And he finally knows he doesn’t have to save me.”
She spent the night revising the first episode, using work to reclaim the part of her life untouched by scandal.
By morning, she had a complete pitch and a list of independent producers. Sending it frightened her more than leaving Crazy Maple.
Alaina pressed the submit button before doubt could stop her. The proposal left her inbox under her own name, with no company and no billionaire attached.
Minutes later, a response arrived from a major streaming producer requesting an immediate meeting—and warning that another studio had already claimed ownership of her concept.