Chapter 13: The Press Leak
932 Words
The news broke on a Monday.
Ava was having breakfast when Claire rushed in, phone in hand.
"Mrs. King, you need to see this."
Ava took the phone. Her heart stopped.
The headline: "Billionaire's Marriage a Sham — Contract Revealed"
Below was a photo of the contract. Her signature. Alexander's signature. The one-year term. The divorce clause.
"Where did this come from?" Ava whispered.
"Someone leaked it to the press."
"Victoria."
Claire nodded. "Almost certainly."
---
Alexander walked into the room. Claire showed him the phone.
His face went dark. "Call the lawyers. Now."
"Yes, sir."
Claire left.
Ava stared at the screen. "What do we do?"
"We fight."
"How?"
Alexander sat beside her. "We tell the truth. Our truth."
"They'll never believe us."
"They don't have to believe us. They just have to stop talking."
---
The lawyers arrived within the hour.
Three men in expensive suits. Serious faces.
"The leak came from someone close to you," one said.
"Victoria Kensington," Alexander said.
"We need proof."
"Find it."
The lawyers nodded. Left.
Ava paced the room. "This is a disaster."
"It's a setback."
"Our marriage is a headline."
"Our marriage is real. The headline is noise."
---
The phone rang. Then the doorbell. Then Alexander's personal cell.
Reporters. Everywhere.
Ava looked out the window. A crowd had gathered at the gates.
"They're not going away."
"Neither am I."
Alexander pulled the curtains closed.
"We need to make a statement."
"Now?"
"Now."
---
He called a press conference for 2 PM.
Ava spent the morning pacing. Alexander spent it on the phone.
"What do I say?" Ava asked.
"The truth."
"I'm scared."
"Don't be."
"How?"
He walked to her. Took her hands.
"Look at me. Not at them. At me."
She nodded.
---
The press conference was held in the hotel ballroom.
Dozens of reporters. Cameras everywhere.
Alexander stood at the podium. Ava stood beside him.
"Thank you for coming," Alexander said. "I will make this brief."
The room went silent.
"A contract exists. It was signed when we first married. It outlined a one-year arrangement."
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
"But contracts can change. People can change. We have changed."
---
Ava stepped forward.
"When I signed that contract, I didn't know Alexander. Not really. I was scared. Desperate. Alone."
She looked at him.
"He gave me time. He gave me patience. He gave me love."
Her voice shook.
"The contract is still there. But it's just paper. Our marriage is real. Our love is real."
She stepped back.
---
A reporter shouted, "Are you saying the contract is void?"
Alexander answered. "The contract is irrelevant. What matters is here. Now. Us."
Another reporter: "Is it true you paid her family's debt?"
"Yes. And I would do it again."
"For love?"
"For love."
The cameras flashed.
---
Victoria was watching from home.
She smashed her wine glass against the wall.
"This isn't over," she whispered.
---
After the press conference, Ava collapsed on the couch.
"I think I'm going to be sick."
"You did well."
"I lied."
"You told our story. There's a difference."
She looked at him. "What if they don't believe us?"
"It doesn't matter if they believe us. It matters that we believe each other."
---
The news coverage was mixed.
Some outlets praised their honesty. Others called it damage control.
Ava didn't read the articles. Alexander told her not to.
"The only opinion that matters is mine," he said.
"And mine."
"And yours."
She almost smiled. "You're learning."
"I have a good teacher."
---
That night, Ava's father called.
"I saw the news."
"Papa, I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Be happy."
"I am happy."
"Then that's all that matters."
She cried. "I love you, Papa."
"I love you too, baby."
---
Alexander held her on the couch.
"Victoria won't stop," Ava said.
"No. She won't."
"What do we do?"
"We live. We love. We prove her wrong."
"And if we can't?"
He pulled her closer. "We can."
---
The next morning, Ava woke to flowers.
Hundreds of them. Filling the living room.
"What is this?"
Alexander walked in. "I wanted to remind you. Paper doesn't define us. Love does."
"This is a lot of flowers."
"You're a lot of woman."
"Same thing?"
"Same thing."
She laughed. Kissed him.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
---
The press moved on.
The contract story faded. New scandals took its place.
Ava and Alexander returned to their routine. Breakfast. Work. Dinner.
But something had changed.
They were no longer pretending.
They were no longer hiding.
They were just... together.
---
One night, Ava asked, "Do you regret it?"
"Regret what?"
"The contract. The arrangement. Me."
Alexander took her hands.
"I regret nothing. You are the best thing that ever happened to me."
"Even with the drama?"
"Especially with the drama."
She kissed him.
"Forever?"
"Forever."
---
That night, Ava wrote in her journal.
*"The world knows the truth now. Or at least part of it.*
*They know about the contract. They don't know about the late nights. The cooking. The way he holds me when I'm scared.*
*Those parts are ours. No one else's.*
*I love him. Not despite the contract. Because of everything that came after.*
*He is my home.*
*And I am never leaving."*
---
Alexander found her writing.
"What are you doing?"
"Journaling. For us."
"Read me something."
She read the passage about home. About never leaving.
He kissed her forehead.
"You're my home too."
They slept in each other's arms.
The world was noisy. But in this room, there was peace.
And that was everything.
- Writer
