Twilight Romance: Flash Marriage to Mature Tycoon – Episode 21
The woman beneath the umbrella wore elegance like armor. She introduced herself as Summer Astor, emphasizing the surname while her gaze moved over Jocelyn’s damp clothes. Ray’s face hardened with a hostility Jocelyn had never seen directed at anyone. “You lost the right to use that name years ago,” he said.
Summer’s smile remained flawless. She claimed their divorce had never been finalized because one filing lacked her signature. According to her, Ray had married Jocelyn while still legally bound to another woman. The accusation struck the weakest point in Jocelyn’s already fractured trust.
Ray called it a lie. He said the decree had been entered eight years earlier, after Summer abandoned him and Violet. Summer produced a sealed envelope and suggested he let his attorneys decide. Then she congratulated Jocelyn on becoming the latest woman to believe Ray’s version of the truth.
Jocelyn refused to be drawn into a public confrontation. She told Summer that legal documents would determine the marriage, not insinuations beside a curb. Summer seemed disappointed by her composure. She had expected an insecure maid, not a woman learning to protect her own dignity.
Ray asked Jocelyn to wait while he examined the papers. She reminded him that asking her to wait had already caused enough damage. Until the question was resolved, she would remain with Mary and make no assumptions about being his wife.
Summer watched her leave and praised Ray’s taste with poisonous sweetness. He warned her never to approach Jocelyn again. Summer replied that she had returned for her family, her daughter, and the life Ray had denied her.
“You left us,” Ray said. Summer’s expression flickered. She had departed when Violet was small, choosing travel, wealthy lovers, and freedom over motherhood. Ray had stopped expecting remorse long before he stopped loving her.
At Astor headquarters, attorneys examined the document. The missing signature was real, but the decree also carried a judicial order completing the divorce without Summer’s cooperation. Ray’s marriage to Jocelyn remained legal. The relief should have been complete; instead, his counsel warned that Summer had filed an emergency challenge.
The challenge had little chance in court, but it could create weeks of scandal. Astor Group was already vulnerable after the Smith investigation and Ray’s public confession. Summer knew timing could make a weak legal claim commercially powerful.
Jocelyn received a copy of the decree through an independent attorney Mary recommended. She read every page herself. The marriage appeared valid, yet legitimacy on paper did not answer why Summer had returned now.
Violet arrived at Mary’s apartment carrying flowers and an apology. Seeing Jocelyn, she ran into her arms before uncertainty stopped her. Jocelyn held her tightly, unwilling to punish the child for adult mistakes.
Violet explained that Summer had not called on birthdays or attended school events. Jocelyn had been more of a mother during ordinary mornings than Summer had been in years. “Please don’t let her take you away,” she whispered.
Jocelyn said no woman could be won like property. Ray would make his choices, Summer would reveal her motives, and Jocelyn would decide what protected her peace. Violet nodded, though fear remained in her eyes.
Across town, Summer met privately with members of the Astor board. Her family controlled a trust containing shares and credit guarantees important to an upcoming expansion. She offered cooperation if the company restored her place beside Ray.
Several directors rejected the personal condition. Others worried that public uncertainty around the chairman’s marriage could frighten investors. Summer did not need everyone to support her; she needed only enough doubt to make Ray’s resistance expensive.
Ray entered the meeting uninvited and ordered Summer out. She reminded him that her family’s guarantees could be withdrawn within thirty days. Thousands of jobs, several construction projects, and Astor Group’s reputation would face immediate pressure.
He accused her of using employees as hostages. Summer answered that business had always required sacrifice, a principle Ray once understood. “Divorce Jocelyn, marry me again, and the crisis disappears,” she said.
Ray refused without hesitation. His certainty angered Summer more than negotiation would have. She realized Jocelyn was not a passing fascination but the first person in years with power over Ray that money had not created.
That evening, a confidential board memo reached the press. Headlines claimed Ray’s new marriage threatened Astor Group’s stability and thousands of workers. Jocelyn read comments accusing her of destroying livelihoods for romance.
Then Summer called her directly. “You say you love him,” she said. “By tomorrow morning, you’ll have to decide whether that love is worth ruining everything he built.”