THE WIFE HE MARRIED FOR REVENGE

THE BENNETT FAMILY

THIRD PERSON'S POV

Her mother was in the garden, hacking dead roses with a vengeance when Ava got home.

“I signed it,” Ava said.

The pruning stopped. Victoria Bennett didn’t turn at first; when she did, her face had gone so pale it almost glowed. Ava had only seen her mother look that way twice before: once, when the first lawsuit hit, and once, at a dinner party when someone mentioned a name Ava couldn’t quite remember.

“Signed what?”

Ava braced herself. “The marriage contract. Luca Black.”

The shears dropped straight into the dirt.

“You didn't. No, you can’t,” Victoria said, her words shaky and thin. “Ava, you can’t marry that man.”

“It’s already done, Mom. If you’re hiding four hundred million dollars in the garden, now’s the time to bring it out. Otherwise, this is it.”

Victoria wiped her shaking hands on her apron and headed back inside. Ava hustled after her. Her mother never lost it like this. Not once, not through all the scandals and headlines and half-truths.

Richard Bennett was in his study, hiding behind a fortress of paperwork.

“Richard,” Victoria started, “she signed the Black agreement.”

He lowered his pen and looked up, not surprised. Not even a little.

"I see" he said.

“That’s it?” Ava asked, looking from one parent to the other. “I just agreed to marry a stranger to save your company and you both act like I told you it’s raining.”

“You don’t know what you’ve done,” Victoria said.

“Tell me, then.”

Her father sighed and pulled his glasses off, pinching the bridge of his nose like he was fighting a headache only he understood.

“Luca Black has hated this family for eight years,” he said quietly. “Since before you were old enough to ask why.”

“Why?”

“That’s not for me to explain.”

Frustration built in her chest. “What do you mean, dad? I just signed up to marry him. I think I deserve to know the truth.”

He looked at her, something tired and regretful flickering on his face. “Things happened long ago. Not my story to tell, not only mine, anyway. Just be careful, Ava. Luca doesn’t want a wife. He wants something else from this family, and I don’t know what it is.”

“You think he’s using me.”

“I think you should watch your back.”

Ava looked at her mother, hoping for more, but Victoria just went stiff and silent, eyes miles away.

“Something about his mother right,” Ava said, watching her father’s face. “Elena Black.”

He flinched, barely, but she saw it.

“That’s not a conversation for today,” Richard said. His tone put a stop to it. End of discussion.

She stood there a second longer, feeling something slide just out of reach under her feet, a sensation of being untethered, like the ground she’d always trusted might buckle at any moment.

“Fine,” she said. “But I’m marrying into this on Saturday. When I find out what you’ve been hiding, and I know I will, I hope you’re ready to actually tell me the truth then.”

She left without waiting for their reply, and neither of them tried to stop her.

***

Two days later, Ava walked back into the Blackstone Tower. She wasn’t summoned. She just wasn’t done negotiating the terms of her own life.

“You’re early,” Luca said, barely looking up.

“I have my own conditions,” she said, not sitting.

For a moment, she saw something like a smile cross his face.

“Go on.”

“I will keep my business. No interference, no questions. I’m not giving up my career because you bought my last name.”

He looked intrigued, maybe even challenged. “Anything else?”

“You stay out of my finances. I don’t want your money, and I won’t let anyone think that’s why I’m here.”

He nodded. “Agreed.”

“If you ever humiliate me in public, treat me like a trophy you can show off or punish, I walk away. No matter what it costs my father.”

Something in his demeanor shifted. Not quite respect, but a recognition.

“You’re not at all what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

He shrugged. “Someone compliant.”

She almost laughed. “Guess you didn’t do enough research.”

“Apparently not.” He crossed the room, close enough to make her nerves dance. “I’ll accept your terms. But in public, we’re a united front. Happy family, strong company. Behind closed doors, we can hate each other if that’s what you want.”

“I can pretend.”

He shook her hand. His palm was warm, not what she anticipated.

“We have a deal,” she said.

He didn’t let go right away, and neither did she. The moment hung strangely between them before she finally pulled away.

“The wedding? When?” she asked.

“Saturday. Small. Paperwork was sorted before anyone could turn it into a circus. Your parents, my lawyer, a minister. No press.”

“So fast.”

“Your father’s company doesn’t have time for slow, Ava.”

She nodded. She turned away, almost to the door when his voice, softer now, stopped her.

“You have no idea what you’ve agreed to.”

She looked back, searching for a hint in his face, but he’d already hidden it away.

“Maybe you should tell me, then.”

“Maybe.” He didn’t. “Saturday. Don’t be late.”

She left, but his words stayed with her, riding home beside her in the silence, echoing in every quiet corner. Honestly, she was starting to believe him. And that scared her more than anything else.