THE WIFE HE MARRIED FOR REVENGE

THE WEDDING

THIRD PERSON'S POV

Eleven minutes.

That’s all it took, and Ava tracked every second. Easier that way than getting lost in the haze, her mind wandering as the minister’s words washed over her, vows she didn't really recognize as her own. Luca picked a ridiculously cold chapel: white stone everywhere, tall windows, that kind of silence that makes you want to scream just to break it. The city buzzed right outside, but the thick glass made sure none of it slipped in. Just enough people to make it official.

Her mother sat front and center, clutching her hands so tight her knuckles looked bleached. Victoria kept her eyes fixed on the altar, never meeting Ava’s gaze, even when the hush dragged on. Her dad stood by her side, jaw locked. He wasn’t really there, just wrestling with old ghosts, or maybe regretting everything. He hustled from foot to foot, looking for escape, not so much giving his daughter away.

Luca’s side? Two faces. Adrian Vale, Luca's closest friend and chief legal adviser, sharp as a tack, straight-backed, clutching leather portfolio on his lap, ready for the paperwork when the minister wrapped up. The other: Luca’s brother Julian, twitchy and young, watching Ava with open curiosity and real worry, tapping out a fast little beat with his foot. Not like Luca. Luca stood frozen, perfect suit, carved from stone.

He gave her nothing, not a smile, not even a flicker. Just stood at the altar, all business, waiting. When she got to him, he looked her over the way someone checks a contract. Eyes slid over her face, lingered at her jaw, caught her shaky breath, but nothing softened in his expression.

“You may exchange vows,” the minister said.

They’d practiced this bit, kept it tight and simple. Ava’s voice sounded thin, on the edge of cracking, but she got the lines out. Luca’s reply came steady, clipped, echoing in the giant space. So hollow it almost bounced back. If anyone sensed the emptiness, nobody said a word.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

She searched Luca’s face for something, anything, a flicker of understanding or relief. But he just stared, eyes locked on hers, and Ava’s stomach twisted. Was that anger? Or something colder?

“You may kiss the bride.”

They never discussed this part. She expected him to skip it, honestly. But he stepped in, smelled faintly of rain and wood. At the last second, his hand went to her jaw; his lips brushed hers, quick and clinical. His thumb pressed just under her ear for one heartbeat. Blink, and you’d miss it.

It should’ve meant nothing. But her skin burned where he touched her, and when she looked at him, something shifted. Barely. His shoulders drooped, and the corner of his mouth tightened, like he hated whatever feeling slipped through.

Afterwards, they were at the reception. Champagne waited on trays, glasses untouched, bubbles climbing and popping. Ava leaned against the window, alone. Her mother whispering close to Adrian, twisting her pearl necklace. Her father hovered by the door, already halfway gone. Vale nodded to everyone present, but his mind seemed miles away.

Luca drifted over, settling beside her quietly.

“You did well,” he said. “Convincing.”

“I had to,” she answered.

“So did I.”

She studied him, the way the light exposed faint lines under his eyes. Shadows money and power couldn’t hide. “You never even tried to smile. Not once.”

“I don’t smile at things that aren’t real.”

“None of this feels real,” Ava said. “But I’m here. Trying.”

A muscle flickered in Luca’s jaw. Something flashed in his eyes. Not guilt exactly, just something unnameable. He looked away, out at the wet city. Concrete, glass, all washed-out grayness.

He spoke so quietly, she almost missed it. “You should never have married me.”

Ava turned, stunned by how raw his voice sounded, the c***k in his mask. He stood still, the words falling heavy and final.

“Then why did you ask?”

He didn’t answer. Just set his champagne down and walked away to speak with Adrian. He left Ava with nothing but the weight of his words. Julian caught her eye from across the room, flashed her a lopsided smile that said, I get it, I’m sorry, then turned away.

She looked at her ring, small, elegant. Felt way too heavy for what was supposedly just jewelry. Platinum sparkle in dull daylight, more shackle than promise. She tried not to wonder, yet again, what she’d really agreed to.

Whatever this marriage was, it wasn’t simply a deal. Never was. Luca Black stood there, like a man marrying her and mourning something lost, all at once. Ava’s gaze slipped to the reception room doors. Her father was gone. She hadn’t seen him leave, that bothered her more than she wanted to admit.

She reached for her phone, but before she could unlock it, her mother’s voice stopped her.

“Ava.” She turned.

Victoria stood a few feet away, face composed, hands steady now. But her eyes were still scared.

“Are you all right?”

Ava almost laughed. Such a bizarre question, now.

“I’m married, Mum. I don’t even know what that means.”

Victoria’s eyes darted to Luca, who was still talking quietly to Adrian. “You need to be careful.”

The words came so soft, Ava barely caught them.

“Careful of what?”

Victoria’s lips parted. For a second, Ava thought she’d say whatever secret hung between her parents all through the ceremony. Whatever made her dad look sick when Luca’s name came up. Whatever made Victoria keep her distance.

But then Victoria shook her head. “Just be careful.”

“Mum, that’s not an answer.”

“I know.”

Victoria squeezed Ava’s hand once, her fingers icy. Then she walked away. Unease pressed in on Ava’s chest. She looked back at Luca. He’d stopped talking, was staring right at her. Their eyes met. For a minute, no one moved. Then Luca glanced at Victoria. Something changed in his face, just for a moment.

But Ava saw it. Recognition. Not surprise. Not confusion. Recognition. Like he knew exactly what Victoria almost said. Ava’s stomach knotted. What had her mother been about to confess? And why did Luca look like he already had the answer?

Adrian whispered something to Luca. Luca’s face hardened. He shrugged his coat on.

“We’re leaving,” he said.

Ava blinked. “Already?”

“The wedding is done.”

The way he said it sounded more like a warning than a simple fact. She glanced at the empty doorway where her parents vanished.

“Where are we going?”

“Home.”

She flinched. That word.

Home.

She almost asked which place he meant. But then she remembered. She was his wife now. Whatever Luca Black called home was apparently hers too. She slipped her phone in her clutch and followed him.

Outside, rain kept soaking the pavement. Luca opened the car door without a word. Ava paused before getting in. For the first time since she made her bargain, she wondered whether saving her dad’s company was worth the price she’d just paid. The car door shut.

With it, the last familiar piece of her life faded behind the glass.