Chapter 51: Our Love Is No Longer a Secret

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Our Love Is No Longer a Secret

"Then I’ll just call you Elisha," Henry retorted stubbornly.

"Henry!" Elisha called out playfully.

Henry burst into laughter, and soon they were playfully arguing over pet names, neither willing to give in.

Eventually, their laughter settled into a comfortable silence. Elisha spent the rest of the day at Henry’s house, content to stay by his side and enjoy their time together without the tension and uncertainty that had followed them for so long.

They talked about work, family, and everything in between, occasionally breaking into laughter over something silly. For once, neither of them had to worry about what they were supposed to be or what they were supposed to hide.

When night finally came, they settled beneath the duvet. Elisha pulled Henry close against his chest, wrapping one arm around his waist while Henry rested his head comfortably against him. They were no longer just childhood best friends hiding their feelings from each other. They were finally taking their first steps toward becoming a real couple.

As they drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms, the tension of the past slowly faded, leaving them both feeling more at peace.

The next morning, golden sunlight filtered softly through the curtains of the bedroom. Elisha woke up first, blinking against the bright morning light. He looked down at Henry, who was still fast asleep, curled comfortably against his chest. A wide smile spread across Elisha’s face, a smile he couldn’t have wiped away even if he tried.

He spent several quiet minutes just admiring Henry’s peaceful expression, tracing the soft line of his jaw with his gaze. Leaning down, Elisha pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to Henry’s forehead, followed by a soft kiss to his cheek, and finally brushed his lips softly against Henry’s mouth.

Henry let out a low, sleepy groan of protest, shifting uncomfortably and muttering that Elisha was disturbing his sleep. Henry turned over onto his side, facing away from him.

Elisha followed him, wrapping his arms around Henry from behind and pressing his erection against Henry’s lower back.

Henry’s eyes snapped half-open. He grumbled into his pillow, "Leave me alone, Elisha, or I swear I’ll cut that thing off."

Elisha chuckled and pressed a kiss to Henry’s bare shoulder. Finally giving him some space, he climbed out of bed and grabbed his phone from the nightstand.

He walked quietly into the ensuite bathroom, pulled down his pajama pants, and sat on the toilet. He picked up his phone and noticed it was still on silent. He had left it that way the night before. When he unlocked the screen, his stomach dropped at the dozens of missed calls and messages from friends, family, and business associates.

"What on earth is going on..." Elisha muttered to the empty room.

Right at that second, his phone buzzed in his hand, flashing Sarah’s name across the screen.

He answered immediately. "Sarah?"

"Good morning, Mr. Edmund. Thank goodness you picked up!" Sarah’s voice came through the speaker, frantic and breathless. "I don’t know if you’ve seen your phone yet, but a major story just broke this morning. It’s all over the newspapers, social media, and television. The headlines are claiming that you and Mr. Griffin are gay, and that you’re openly dating!"

Elisha didn’t flinch. His jaw tightened.

"My phone hasn’t stopped ringing for twenty minutes," Sarah continued, panic edging into her voice. "Calls are flooding in from major investors and business partners demanding answers. What do we do? How do we handle this?"

"Don’t answer anyone, Sarah," Elisha said, his voice calm. "Ignore all of them for now. I’ll handle it and call you back shortly."

He ended the call before she could respond and let out a heavy breath. He finished up in the bathroom, staring at the floor as anger slowly built inside him.

It could only be Jasmine. He couldn’t believe she had gone this far. He had refused to marry her and ended their relationship, but instead of accepting it and moving on, she had chosen to expose him and Henry publicly.

Elisha took a deep breath, washed his hands, and left the bathroom, ready to wake Henry and tell him what had happened.

But when he stepped into the bedroom, he stopped. Henry was already sitting up against the headboard, wide awake, his phone clutched tightly in his hand as he stared at the screen.

Elisha walked toward the bed, and Henry looked up at him. His expression was a mixture of shock and anger.

"Have you seen the news?" Elisha asked quietly.

Henry gave a sharp nod and held up his phone. "Yes. It’s everywhere. I woke up to dozens of missed calls and notifications."

Elisha’s hands clenched into fists at his sides, his jaw tightening as he looked at Henry. "It’s Jasmine. Only Jasmine would do something like this."

Henry remained calm. His eyes lingered on his phone screen for another moment before he tossed it onto the mattress. He looked back up at Elisha.

"Honestly? I’m not worried about what people are saying online."

Elisha blinked. "You’re not worried? Henry, it’s everywhere. We’re trending globally."

Henry gave him a calm look. "Have you actually read the comments under the posts, Elisha? There’s nothing to worry about. People aren’t tearing us apart. They’re celebrating us."

He picked up his phone again and turned the screen toward Elisha. "Look. Thousands of people are commenting in support of us. Some are saying they’ve been shipping ’ElyHen’ this whole time. They’re calling it good news. Some are even making jokes about it."

Henry smiled as he scrolled through the comments.

"Let me read them," Elisha said, reaching for the phone.

Henry handed it to him. Elisha took the phone, opened the comments, and started reading.

@fangirl_99: OMG IS THIS REAL?? ElyHen is actually real?? I’ve been shipping them for months, look at God!! 😭🔥

@billionaire_updates: Two of the most powerful corporate heirs in the country being openly gay and dating? We love to see elite historical progression 💅✨

@drama_queenX: Whoever leaked this really thought they were ruining them, but the internet just threw them a massive wedding reception instead. 😂💀

@investor_guy88: This is wild. Publicly outing two high-profile billionaire CEOs is crazy, but honestly? Power couple behavior.

@bl_reader_01: This reads straight out of a NovelPhoenix and I am seated for every single Chapter of this chaos 🍿👀

@chloe_sun: Wait, so the rumor about Henry being engaged to someone else was a lie this whole time? Thank goodness, Elisha and Henry belong together.

@market_watch_daily: Stock prices for both companies barely moved. Looks like the younger generation of consumers doesn’t care. Power couple.

Elisha read through the comments, realizing that the news had barely affected the public. Instead of condemning them, people seemed genuinely happy for them.

Henry finally spoke. "What we should be worried about isn’t the public or social media. It’s our business partners and investors. Most of them are old-school, traditional businessmen. Will they actually accept something like this, or are they going to pull their shares?"

Elisha’s expression grew more serious. "I’m worried about them too. More than that... I already saw a missed call from my father."

Henry nodded slowly. "I missed a call from my father too."

Elisha gently took Henry’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze...