His Father's Wife

Chapter 3

A Storm Within Walls

Arielle's POV

The next morning arrived cloaked in silence, it felt heavy, sacred, and suffocating.

The kind of quiet that presses against your chest and dares your heart to speak. I stirred in the vast bed that wasn’t mine, beneath sheets that smelled of new beginnings but felt like betrayal. Silk wrapped my body, but unrest wrapped my soul.

At least I managed to sleep well. Not really though. Every time I closed my eyes, Julian was there.

His face twisted in pain and disbelief. His voice breaking and asking questions I never answered. And mine, echoing back: What have I done?

But regret? I didn’t have the luxury for it anymore.

I slipped out of bed and crossed the polished hardwood floor. The city blinked below, just beginning to wake up, unaware that a storm was already howling behind the penthouse glass.

I pressed a palm to the cool window and tried to find clarity in the calm. This wasn’t love. This marriage was a lifeline. A power move. A twisted kind of salvation… wearing a tailored suit and a steel gaze.

Behind me, the door creaked open. His voice followed.

“You’re awake.”

I didn’t turn. “Barely.”

“We have a meeting at noon. Investors,” Leonard said, as casually as if we hadn’t just burned the world down. “They’ll want to see us… united.”

A bitter smile curled my lips. “You think I can play the perfect wife?”

“I think you’ve already proven you can survive worse.”

It was a strange sort of compliment. Rough. Unsweetened. But it's true.

I turned then. Our eyes met.

“Do you regret it?” I asked again.

“No.” His answer was immediate.

A pause. I swallowed. “Do I?”

He didn’t press. He just waited silently.

“I don’t know yet,” I laughed.

The evening crept in like a warning. We were in the study, Leonard immersed in contracts, his eyes moving with military precision.

I sat beside him, dressed in cream, trying to keep up with this new rhythm, this unfamiliar world. I was trying. He was impressed by the way I handled the day.

He was impressed with the ideas I shared with the board and the contracts we were able to sign.

Then we heard a crash.

Sounded like shattering glass. A thud. Something heavy.

I froze. We suspected it was Julian again.

“ I need to stop this.” Leonard said.

He was already on his feet, footsteps thundering down the hallway. I followed, heart lodged in my throat.

My breath left me.

The broken vase lay at his feet, water and petals bleeding across the marble floor.

His eyes found mine.

“You whore.”

I didn't show my panic. I smiled instead.

Leonard stepped in front of me. “Watch your mouth.”

Julian didn’t flinch. “You planned this. Didn’t you? All this time. You liked older men, Arielle, was that the plan? Be my wife for five years, then move on to the man who made you?”

“Julian ” My voice was cold this time.

“Don’t say my name with that mouth,” he roared. “You disgust me.”

I stood still. I didn’t cry. I didn’t defend. What would I even say?

“She’s your stepmother now,” Leonard said, voice like ice.

Julian let out a dry laugh. “You’re sick. Both of you. You think this is power? You think you’ve won?”

He stepped closer. I could feel the fury trembling beneath his skin.

“She was my wife! And you…” He pointed at Leonard. “You took her like property. Just another deal to close.”

“She was never yours to keep,” Leonard said. Calm. Cold. “You treated her like décor. Like she was something to wear and discard. You let her walk away. I didn’t.”

“You do not insult my wife in this house, Do not let me take away your place in the empire. Respect yourself. ” Leonard growled.

I couldn’t breathe.

“Wow,” he whispered. “ I don't think you're my father.”

His voice was almost gentle now.

“Was it revenge?” he asked. “Did I hurt you that badly?”

“ I have made my decision Julian, Leonard and I are in love and married. Respect that.” I said coldly.

Julian shook his head. “You’re not who I thought you were.”

And then he turned and walked out of the mansion.

No screaming. No slamming doors. Just… silence.

I sat on the balcony that night, robe wrapped around me, glass of wine untouched. My eyes searched the skyline like it might offer answers.

Leonard joined me. He set his drink down on the table.

“You did well,” he said.

I looked at him. “That wasn’t a performance.”

“I know.”

We were quiet for a long time.

“I didn’t mean to hurt him,” I whispered.

“But you did.”

I nodded. “He didn’t love me, not really. But… I think he thought I’d always be there.”

Leonard’s voice softened. “And you were. Until he let you go.”

My throat burned. “What if I’m no better than him?”

He looked at me, and for the first time, I didn’t see the tycoon or the strategist. Just a man who’d survived too many wars to judge someone for bleeding.

“You survived,” he said. “That’s better.”

I didn’t reply. I just looked out at the sky.

The storm had passed.

But the wreckage… the wreckage had only begun.

I saw the tabloids continuing to explode.

“Arielle Blackwood Marries Ex-Father-in-Law: Revenge or Rebirth?”

“Julian Blackwood Humiliated as Father Weds His Ex-Wife.”

“New Power Couple of the Blackwood Empire?”

I stared at the tabloids like they belonged to someone else. The photos. The commentary. The whispers.

Leonard got a call with the board, calm as ever. He handled the media like a general in combat.

My phone buzzed non-stop. Harper had called three times.

I finally picked up.

“Oh my God,” she breathed. “Tell me it’s not true.”

“It’s true.”

I was silent.

“You married Leonard Blackwood?”

“Yes.”

“Jesus, Arielle. Why?”

I stared out at the open space. “Because I didn’t want to be powerless anymore.”

Harper’s voice dropped. “Is that all this is?”

“No,” I said quietly. “But it’s the part I understand.”

She sighed. “You know he’s going to hate you now.”

“I think he already did.”

“And Leonard? What is he to you?”

I swallowed. That question, what is he to me? I didn’t know. A lifeline. A weapon. A devil I’d chosen.

All I knew was that in his world, I wasn’t invisible anymore. I wasn’t someone’s discarded wife or forgotten memory.

I was something.

Maybe not loved.

But seen. Heard. Respected.

And for now, that would have to be enough.

But maybe that was the point.

I ended the call with Harper and let out a deep breath.

I would go in and sleep peacefully because in the end, I am responsible for my happiness.