Billionaire arranged marriage

The Price of a Promise. Ava's POV: The first thing I noticed wasn't the marriage contract. It was my father's hands. They were shaking. My father never shook. Not when Bennett Designs lost its biggest client. Not when investors walked away. Not even when my mother died. Yet today... His fingers trembled as he pushed a cream-colored folder across his desk. "Read it", he said quietly, his voice carrying a wearing I had never heard before. A strange knot formed in my stomach. Slowly, I reached for the folder. The paper felt heavier than it should have. The moment I opened it, the words on the first page stole the air from my lungs. MARRIAGE AGREEMENT I stared at the document, then at my father before looking back at the page. A laugh escaped my lips. It sounded hollow. "This isn't funny." His eyes lowered. "I know." "So where's the real contract?" "...That is the real contract." The office suddenly felt too small, the silence pressing against my chest until it became hard to breathe. I stood so quickly that the chair scraped loudly against the polished wooden floor. "No." "Ava—" "No!" My voice cracked. "I'm not marrying anyone." "It's the only way." "It's not." "There isn't another option." I laughed again, this time through tears. "You expect me to believe the only way to save Bennett Designs is to marry a billionaire?" My father closed his eyes for a moment. "When I was younger, I made a promise." "A promise?" "To Charles Blackwood." The name made my heart sink. Blackwood. Of course. Everything always seemed to lead back to the Blackwoods. Years ago, before either company became famous, the Bennett and Blackwood families had been close. Business partners. Friends. Then life happened. People changed. The friendship faded. But apparently... One promise remained. "If either family ever faced ruin," my father said quietly, "the other would help." I folded my arms. "So let Blackwood Holdings invest." "They already offered." "Then what's the problem?" He looked at me with so much guilt that my chest tightened. "The condition." I already knew the answer. I just didn't want to hear it. "The marriage." Silence. A single tear slid down my cheek. "So..." I whispered. "I'm part of the deal." "No." He stood immediately. "You are my daughter before anything else." "Then prove it." His lips parted. "Tell them no." His shoulders slumped. For the first time in my life... My father looked defeated. "I can't." I swallowed the lump in my throat. The office blurred as memories flooded back. I was eight years old. The kitchen smelled of vanilla and cinnamon. Mom stood by the counter wearing her favorite blue apron, humming softly while decorating cupcakes. "Mom?" She smiled without turning around. "Yes, my little Josephine?" I wrinkled my nose. "There you go again." She laughed. "What?" "Calling me Josephine." "But that's your name." "It's my middle name." She finally turned to face me. Her smile was warm enough to brighten the entire room. "Come here." I climbed onto a stool beside her. She gently brushed flour from my cheek. "Tell me something." "What?" "What does everyone call you?" "Ava." "And what do I call you?" "Josephine." "My little Josephine." "My little Jojo." I pouted. "But why?" She rested her hand over mine. "Because 'Ava' is the name the world knows." Then she lightly touched my chest. "But 'Josephine' is the name that reminds me of your heart." I frowned thoughtfully. "What does Josephine mean?" "It means 'God will increase.'" I blinked. "Increase what?" She smiled, her eyes shining. "Love." I tilted my head. "Love?" "When you were born, you filled our home with more love than I ever thought one heart could hold." She kissed my forehead. "So whenever I call you Josephine..." She hugged me tightly. "...I'm reminding you that you are one of God's greatest gifts to me." I giggled. "And when I'm old?" She smiled. "You'll still be my little Josephine." "My little Jojo." "No matter how old you become." The memory shattered. I was back in my father's office. My cheeks were wet. He stepped closer. "Little Josephine..." I froze. The words hit me like a knife. Slowly... I stepped backward. "Don't." His face fell. "Ava..." "No." I wiped my tears away angrily. "Don't call me that." "I didn't mean—" "That name belongs to Mom." The room became painfully quiet. "She's the only one who gets to call me Little Josephine." "My little Jojo." My voice trembled. "So please..." I looked away before he could see the fresh tears. "Just call me Ava." My father closed his eyes. "I'm sorry." I nodded once. Not because I had forgiven him. But because I couldn't bear to hear that name from anyone else's lips. Not today. Not when I was about to lose the future I'd always dreamed of. And certainly not to become the wife of the one man I could never imagine loving. Damien Blackwood. A man I had never met. A man I had already decided I would never love. Little did I know that single promise would change both our lives forever.