THE WIFE HE MARRIED FOR REVENGE

AVA'S POV Rain hammered the windows of Blackstone Tower, sharp and relentless, like it wanted in. I sat stiffly across from Luca Black, hands laced so tight they’d gone pale. On the drive over, I’d practiced this meeting a hundred ways, all calm, all professional. Not one version prepared me for the way he looks at me now. Like he’d already solved me, boxed me up, and filed me away. “Mr. Black,” I began, trying not to sound agitated, “thanks for seeing me.” He didn’t bother to look up from the folder. “I didn’t see you. You’re here because I had time. There’s a difference.” I let that slide. No sense in playing into his need for control, not yet. “My father sent me because…” “I know why you’re here, Ava.” He said my name like it belonged to him, though we’d spoken maybe twice. He finally glanced up, and the look in his eyes dared me to flinch. “Bennett Enterprises is drowning in debt, four creditors, one ugly number. You’re here because Blackstone Holdings is the only company still willing to talk about a merger. And because your father’s too proud to show up himself.” My jaw clenched. “That’s not….” “It is.” Luca leaned back, every bit as calm as I wasn’t. “So, let’s skip the song and dance.” He wasn’t wrong, and I hated it. Hated that I’d hoped he’d be fair, hated that I’d come at all when there were no good options left. “Fine,” I said. “Let’s hear your terms. What do you want?” He stood and wandered to the window, hands deep in his pockets. He stared out like the city was his personal chessboard. Honestly, it was. “I’ll save your father’s company. I’ll wipe out the debt, get the creditors off your back within forty-eight hours. No layoffs. Nothing changes, except the name at the top.” Just for a second, something unclenched in my chest. Hope, maybe. “So why do I feel a ‘but’ coming?” He turned from the window. “Because there is one. I’ll save your father’s company. But you’ll have to become my wife.” I almost laughed, just a short, stunned sound. The rain was too loud, this office too cavernous, and my head refused to fit that sentence anywhere sensible. “I’m sorry, what?” “You heard me.” “I did, and I still think you’re joking, because that’s insane,” I said, with a look of disbelief on my face. “It’s a business arrangement.” He said this so flatly I nearly believed it was normal. “Marriage ties the companies together in ways a contract can’t. No pesky board questions. The press stays quiet. Simple.” “Simple,” I echoed, voice shaky. “You’re asking me to marry you, just to close a deal.” Luca kept his gaze steady. “It’s the only offer that saves your father’s company without firing people. You can walk out now if you want. I won’t stop you. Just don’t pretend you don’t understand what that’ll cost, because you don’t.” I shot out of my chair because sitting still was impossible. He hadn’t raised his voice, but I felt backed into a corner all the same. “You barely know me.” “I know enough.” “My family is nothing but trouble for you. So why tie yourself to us?” For a moment, something flashed in his eyes and it was gone before I could read it. “I’m not answering that today.” He took a thick folder from his desk drawer, Blackstone’s crest gleaming on the cover. He slid it toward me like it was radioactive. “Read it. Or don’t. But Bennett Enterprises files for bankruptcy in nine days without this. I wouldn’t wait too long.” I looked down. There, typed out neatly, was my name. Marriage Agreement, Ava Bennett & Luca Black. Like he’d known all along that I’d say yes, that I had no other choice. I met Luca’s eyes, looking for the man underneath all the self-assured control. Under the surface, I saw something. I wasn’t sure what it was, exactly, but maybe something that looked like grief, hidden behind armor. “Why me?” My voice was barely there. Not really a question for him. He waited a beat, then spoke so quietly I almost missed it over the rain. “Your family owes a debt that has nothing to do with money.” He left it there, the weight of something unspoken filling the room. What does he even mean by that? What debt apart from money does my family owe? I picked up the folder, hands less steady than I liked. “I need time.” “You have until tomorrow morning,” He said, sitting casually on his seat. By the time I reached the elevator, I still hadn’t opened the file. I didn’t need to. I already knew that nothing inside it would leave my life the same, and I wasn’t quite ready to face it. The elevator doors slid shut and I finally let my breath out, almost surprised by how long I’d been holding it. I did it a couple more times before realizing I hadn’t looked away from the folder I was gripping like it could bite me. My name stared back at me from the tab, big, bold, practically daring me to open it and just get it over with. I should’ve ripped it open right then, but my thumb got stuck on the edge. Couldn’t do it. Luca’s words kept bouncing around in my head. Your family owes a debt. Not your father. Not Bennett Enterprises. Your family. The elevator rattled downwards, one floor at a time. My thoughts scattered, drifting back to smudgy childhood memories. Dad’s office always smelled like ancient paper and secrets. He kept one drawer locked up tight, slammed it shut if anyone dared get close. Arguments died the second I walked in, and if anyone mentioned the Black family, Mom’s lips pressed into a thin, hard line. I used to brush it off, just family drama. Stuff everyone deals with, right? Not anymore. The elevator dinged. I stepped out into the lobby, stuck in place while everyone else rushed around me. No one even glanced my way. My whole life was coming apart behind glass, and they didn’t even see. My phone buzzed. Dad. His name lit up the screen. I silenced the call. I gripped the folder tighter, then finally opened it. First page; a marriage contract. Schedules, public events, payouts, a jungle of NDAs. All routine. Looked like dozens of contracts my family signs all the time. My phone buzzed again. Dad. This time, I answered. “Hello?” Nothing. “Dad?” I called out to him. Finally, he answered. “Did you meet Luca?” “Yeah.” Pause. “What did he say?” I looked at the folder. “He proposed.....the whole marriage thing.” Silence. Not shock. Not even confusion. Just... something heavy, like he’d known this was coming all along. I pressed the folder so hard the papers bent. “Dad?” He let out a slow, tired breath. “Ava, listen.” And that......that sent a chill through me. “Don’t sign anything, Ava. Come home. We’ll figure it out ourselves.” “But the company needs this, Dad.” He didn’t say anything for a moment. Then quieter: “Luca Black doesn’t care about the company, Ava. Come home.” My chest clenched. “Then what does he care about?” No answer. Dead line. He’d hung up. I just stood there, rain dripping down the windows, folder still in my hands. Suddenly it didn’t feel like a negotiation at all. It felt like a warning. And whatever it took, I’d find out what my family had done.