Twilight Romance: Flash Marriage to Mature Tycoon – Episode 23
Mary did not hand over the number immediately. She asked whether Jocelyn wanted a divorce or wanted Ray’s crisis to end. The distinction forced Jocelyn to confront the sacrifice hidden beneath her decision. She loved him, but she still did not know whether love could survive the way their marriage began.
“I want him to keep what he spent his life building,” Jocelyn said. Mary replied that Ray had already chosen her over the company’s easiest solution. Leaving without telling him would repeat his worst mistake by making a life-changing decision on someone else’s behalf.
Jocelyn knew Mary was right, yet Summer’s deadline left little room for patient healing. She called Ray and asked to meet at their house. It was the first time she had called it ours since learning his identity.
Ray arrived within minutes, abandoning a meeting with potential lenders. He found Jocelyn in the kitchen beside the mug Violet had painted and the repaired silver locket. The familiar objects made the distance between them more painful.
She asked whether he could save Astor Group without Summer. Ray answered that he believed so, but belief was not certainty. Refinancing would require selling assets, delaying developments, and accepting losses that directors feared.
Jocelyn asked how many workers might be affected. He refused to turn people into numbers for her guilt. The crisis belonged to Summer’s manipulation and the board’s fear, not Jocelyn’s existence.
“If I leave, does she restore the guarantees?” Jocelyn asked. Ray’s expression closed. He told her that any bargain requiring Jocelyn’s removal was unacceptable, even if Summer wrote the promise in blood.
She reminded him that leaders sometimes sacrificed personal happiness for those who depended on them. Ray replied that surrendering to extortion would only teach Summer to demand more. Today she wanted a marriage; tomorrow she might demand control of Violet or the company.
Their argument carried none of the old deception. Both spoke painful truths and allowed the other to hear them. Jocelyn realized this was the first genuinely equal conversation of their relationship. It made the thought of leaving harder.
Ray opened a folder showing assets he intended to sell, including a private island, aircraft, and several luxury properties. The wealth stunned Jocelyn, but he treated it as inventory. None of it mattered beside protecting employees and refusing Summer.
One listed property was Astor mansion. Jocelyn objected because it was Violet’s home. Ray said a home was people, not stone, repeating a lesson Jocelyn had taught him without realizing it.
Violet arrived during the discussion. When she saw the mansion on the sale list, she surprised them by supporting it. She would rather live in the small house with Jocelyn than remain in a palace purchased through surrender.
Jocelyn’s composure broke. She hugged Violet and told her she should never have to give up security to prove love. Violet answered that Jocelyn had given up security all her life for others; perhaps it was time someone chose her.
Ray watched them and understood that Summer’s plan had underestimated the family already forming around Jocelyn. His marriage might still fail because of his dishonesty, but it would not be traded for financing.
His assistant called with unexpected news. An anonymous investor had offered enough credit to neutralize Summer’s guarantee, but the terms required Ray to appear at a private meeting that evening. No identity had been disclosed.
Ray suspected a trap. Jocelyn urged him to attend with attorneys and security. If legitimate, the offer could save thousands of jobs without compromising their choices.
At the appointed hotel suite, Ray found Summer waiting beside a stack of contracts. She admitted the anonymous offer came from her family trust. The financing would become permanent if Ray publicly announced their reconciliation.
He tore the unsigned contract in half. Summer’s smile vanished. She warned that the board vote would proceed and that love would look less noble when employees blamed Jocelyn for their lost wages.
Ray said Summer had mistaken possession for love her entire life. He left without negotiating, unaware that hidden cameras had recorded only the moment he entered her suite.
Within an hour, photographs reached Jocelyn showing Ray alone with Summer at the hotel. A caption claimed the former couple had begun private reconciliation talks. Jocelyn looked at the images and wondered whether truth would always arrive after she had already been asked to believe.