Hating You Was My Full Time Job

CHAPTER 10: THE MORNING AFTER

I woke up to headlines.

*ADRIAN BLACKWOOD’S MYSTERY WIFE*

*WHO IS AVA CARTER? DAUGHTER OF RUINED CEO*

*REVENGE MARRIAGE OR LOVE STORY? INTERNET DIVIDED*

My face was everywhere. That red dress from the gala. Adrian’s hand on my back. The way I was looking at him like I knew a secret that no one else did.

The internet had opinions. Lots of them. And they were loud.

`Gold digger`

`She’s using him for money`

`He’s using her to get back at her dad`

`Protect her at all costs she looks terrified`

`Vanessa Hale was RIGHT to dump him`

I threw my phone across the room. It landed face down on the $10,000 rug and slid under the bed.

I didn’t go after it.

A knock. Sharp. 3 times. Professional.

"Breakfast. 8 AM. Don’t be late." Adrian’s voice. Cold. The CEO voice.

Like last night didn’t happen. Like he didn’t let me bandage him at 2 AM. Like his hand wasn’t on my wrist. Like he didn’t almost

"Got it," I called back. My voice cracked on the last word.

*8:03 AM: Dining Room*

Adrian was already there. Full black suit. Tie perfect. Cufflinks. Reading the news on a tablet like his world wasn’t currently on fire.

He didn’t look up when I sat down. Didn’t even acknowledge me.

"Good morning," I tried. My voice was small.

"Don’t," he said without looking up.

"Don’t what?"

"Don’t pretend last night was anything." He finally looked at me. Gray eyes. Empty. Walls back up. "It was a mistake. We don’t talk about it. Ever."

The words hit harder than they should have. I’d known this was coming. I still wasn’t ready.

"Right," I said. I picked up my fork. "A mistake."

We ate in silence. Eggs I didn’t taste. Coffee I didn’t drink. Fruit that cost more than my old grocery bill for a month.

Every 30 seconds I could feel him looking at me. Then looking away. Like he was checking for damage.

"PR team wants us to do an interview," Adrian said, setting his tablet down with a click. "Today. 2 PM. To control the narrative before it controls us."

"Fine."

"You’ll wear the blue dress. The one from the fitting. Say we’ve been dating 6 months. Say it was love at first sight at a charity event." He recited it like a script he’d memorized.

"Got it." I stood up. My legs felt weak. "Can I go see my mom now?"

Adrian paused. His fork stopped halfway to his mouth. "Yes. Driver will take you. 2 hours. Then back here for hair and makeup. Don’t be late."

*11 AM: St. Mary’s Hospital*

Mom looked good. Really good. Color back in her cheeks. Hair in a braid. She was sitting up, watching a cooking show.

"Baby," she said when she saw me. Her face lit up. "Come here."

I hugged her. She smelled like hospital soap and home and the lavender lotion I bought her 3 years ago.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I have a new lease on life," Mom smiled. "The doctor said it went perfectly. Whoever paid for this is an angel. Is it the hospital charity?"

I sat on her bed. The mattress dipped. "Mom, we need to talk."

Her face changed immediately. Mothers know. "What’s wrong?"

I pulled out my phone. Showed her the headlines. The photos. The comments.

Mom’s eyes got big. "Ava Carter, is this you?"

"Yes."

"Married? To Adrian Blackwood?"

I told her. Everything. The contract. The $10 million. The year. The separate bedrooms. The $5 million severance. The no touching rule. All of it.

When I finished, Mom was crying. Not loud. Just silent tears running down her face.

"Oh baby," she whispered. "I’m so sorry. This is my fault. If I wasn’t sick If your father’s company hadn’t"

"No," I said fast, squeezing her hand. "It’s not. You’re alive. That’s all that matters. I’d do it 100 times. I’d do it 1000 times."

Mom squeezed my hand back. Her grip was stronger than it had been in months. "Is he... good to you?"

"He’s not cruel," I said. Which was true. And a lie. "He’s... complicated."

"Complicated how?"

I almost told her about the kitchen. About the kiss. About the way he looked at me like I was the only thing in the room.

"He’s just doing what the contract says," I said instead. "Business."

Mom nodded, but I could tell she didn’t believe me. Mothers always know.

*2 PM: The Interview*

The studio was bright. Too bright. Hot lights. 3 cameras. 5 people watching behind the cameras.

The host smiled like a shark. Too many teeth. "Mrs. Blackwood, welcome! Tell us about your love story."

Adrian’s hand found mine under the table.

*Rule #1: Broken.*

His palm was warm. His grip was steady. Anchoring.

"We met 6 months ago," Adrian said smoothly. Like he’d practiced. "At a charity gala for children’s hospitals. I knew immediately."

"And you, Ava?" The host turned to me.

I looked at Adrian. At his perfect profile. At the man I hated and needed and was maybe starting to want in a way that terrified me.

"It was unexpected," I said truthfully. "But... it felt right. Like we were supposed to meet. Like fate."

The host ate it up. "So romantic! And the wedding? Vegas?"

"Private," Adrian said. "Just us. It was special."

We answered questions for 20 minutes. Where we met. What he’s like. Do we want kids.

Through it all, Adrian’s thumb rubbed over my knuckles. No one could see. Just me.

After, in the car, Adrian let go of my hand the second the door closed.

"You did well," he said, looking out the window. To the driver. To anyone but me.

"Thanks."

Silence for the whole 40 minute ride.

"About last night" I started when we got to the penthouse elevator.

"Don’t," Adrian cut me off. "We have 11 months left. Let’s not make it harder than it has to be. For either of us."

*6 PM: Back at the Penthouse*

I was in my room trying to nap when I heard shouting.

Adrian’s voice. Angry. Through the walls. Through the thick doors.

I shouldn’t have gone. But I did.

He was in his office. On the phone. Pacing. Tie gone. Top buttons undone.

"I don’t care what the board thinks! She’s my wife! The marriage stands! We’re not discussing this again!"

He saw me in the doorway and ended the call.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

Adrian laughed. Bitter. No humor. "No. My board wants an annulment. They think you’re bad for the company. ‘Bad PR’. ‘Distraction’. ‘Conflict of interest given her father’."

"Oh."

"They don’t understand," Adrian said, rubbing his temples. He looked exhausted. "That I needed this. The marriage. The image. Stability. A reason to stay."

"You could’ve picked anyone," I said quietly. "A model. A politician’s daughter. Someone safe."

"I picked you," Adrian said. Then froze. Like he didn’t mean to say it out loud. Like the words escaped.

We stared at each other.

The air was thick. Heavy.

I remembered his hand on my back at the gala. His head in my hands at 2 AM. His voice saying "don’t be kind to me."

"Adrian—"

"Don’t," he said again. But this time it was softer. Tired. Defeated.

He stepped closer. I didn’t move back.

*Rule #1, #2, #3: All gone.*

His hand came up. Brushed a strand of hair from my face. His fingers were warm. Calloused. Gentle.

"Ava," he whispered. My name. Like a confession.

My heart was pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it. "What?"

"This is a bad idea."

"I know."

"I should stop."

"I know."

And then he kissed me.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t sweet.

It was desperate. Like we’d both been holding our breath for 3 days and finally exhaled.

His hands were in my hair. Mine were on his chest, fisting his shirt.

For 10 seconds, nothing else existed. No contract. No board. No hate. No $10 million.

Just us.

Then Adrian pulled back like he’d been burned. Like he hated himself for it. Like he couldn’t believe he’d done it.

"What did we just do?" he asked, breathing hard.

"We broke rule 3," I whispered. My lips were tingling.

"Go. To your room. Now."

I ran. My face was burning. My heart was pounding.

*11 PM*

I couldn’t sleep. I lay in the giant bed and stared at the ceiling. I kept touching my lips.

It felt like a dream. It felt like a mistake.

My phone buzzed. Unknown number.

_Saw the interview. You’re good. Very convincing. Almost believed you. - V_

Vanessa.

Another text. 2 minutes later.

_Board meeting tomorrow 9 AM. Be there. Wear red. Don’t mess this up. - A_

I stared at the ceiling.

The morning after the first kiss.

And I had no idea if Adrian regretted it.

Or if I did.

All I knew was that $10 million bought a marriage.

But it didn’t buy control.

It didn’t buy feelings.

And we were both losing it. Fast.

At 3 AM I got up and made tea. The kitchen was dark. I could still see the spot on the floor where I’d knelt to bandage him.

I wondered if he was awake too.

I wondered if he was thinking about me.

I fell asleep at 4 AM in the chair. Dreaming of gray eyes and the word "mistake" and the way his hand felt in my hair.

*7:30 AM: The Next Morning*

I woke up to a note on the kitchen counter.

Driver is waiting. 8:30. Board meeting. Wear the red dress.

Don’t speak unless spoken to. A

No mention of last night.

No mention of the kiss.

Like it never happened.

I put on the red dress. The one for dangerous women.

And I went to fight for a marriage that wasn’t supposed to be real.

END OF CHAPTER 10