Married To The Devil Who Bought My Revenge

~Ava's POV~

"I'm ten weeks pregnant."

The priest had just asked if anyone knew any reason why this marriage shouldn't proceed. That's when Lily collapsed.

"Pregnant?" I asked, looking down at my sister sprawled on the marble floor in her lavender bridesmaid dress. "Lily, what are you talking about? And what does that have to do with my wedding?"

"The baby is Damien's."

The cathedral went dead silent.

I heard the words... I mean I understood them individually. But put together like that, they didn't make any sense.

My sister. My fiancé. Ten weeks pregnant? That would mean they'd been sleeping together since before he proposed.

I watched as Damien knelt beside Lily, taking her hand... the hand that should've been holding mine. I mean, we were just in the middle of saying our vows.

"Tell me she's lying," I managed to say, my voice sounding steadier than I expected. "Damien, tell me this is some kind of sick joke or prank."

He looked up at me, and I saw the guilt immediately. But it wasn't the devastated kind... it was more like the annoyed kind... like I'd caught him doing something inconvenient.

"Ava, let's talk about this privately."

"Privately?" I almost laughed, gesturing at the cathedral full of people. "There are three hundred people here and every news camera in Manhattan. I think we're past privately already."

"You're being dramatic," he said, standing up. "Lily needs help. She's fragile right now."

"She's fragile?"

"She's carrying the Hart heir, Ava. That changes everything."

I stared at him, waiting for the laugh or 'we got you' line... to say something, to explain or even apologise. Instead, he stood and brushed off his tuxedo like this was a minor scheduling conflict.

"The merger still needs to happen," he continued. "The stock price is already unstable, and if this turns into a scandal..." He actually looked at me like I was supposed to understand. "Lily should take your place. At the altar. Today."

For a second, I thought I'd misheard him. "You want me to step aside so you can marry my sister? Right now? In my wedding dress?"

My father pushed through the crowd before he could respond. "Everyone, please stay calm. This is just a minor complication."

"Dad..."

He grabbed my arm hard enough to leave marks. "Give Lily the veil, Ava. Now."

"Seriously, Dad? He cheated on me with Lily!"

"I don't care," my father said. "Do you know how much this merger is worth? Do you have any idea what's at stake?"

"What's at stake? What's at stake?" My voice was rising, and I didn't care anymore. "I spent five years building this company for you. Five years writing every report, fixing every problem, covering up Lily's messes. And you want me to just hand over my wedding because it's convenient?"

"You're being selfish," my mother said, appearing on his other side. "Think about the family for once."

"I am the only one who ever thinks about the family!"

"Then prove it," my father said. "Step aside. Let Lily finish this wedding. The merger happens, the stock stabilizes, and everyone wins."

"Everyone except me."

"You're strong, Ava. You'll survive this." Damien said, like that settled it. "Lily needs protection right now. She's carrying the future of the Hart dynasty."

Something inside me just broke. Or maybe it finally woke up.

I yanked my hand free from my father's. "You know what? Fvck this! Fvck you all!!!"

I pulled off my three carats, princess cut engagement ring I'd spent weeks designing, hours picking the perfect stone. Everyone expected me to throw it at him.

"Ava?!" my father shouted. "Ava!!!"

I didn't respond. Instead, I walked over to the champagne fountain and dropped it in with a soft splash.

The entire cathedral gasped.

"Ava Hale!" My father's voice boomed. "If you walk out that door, you are no longer my daughter!"

I kept walking.

"You're disowned! Stripped of the Hale name, your inheritance, your position at Hale Industries!"

I pushed open the cathedral doors. It was raining heavily, like the sky was pouring out the tears I'd been holding back. I stepped into it, getting soaked immediately. My Vera Wang dress was ruined in seconds, but I didn't care.

Behind me, I heard the priest's voice start up again. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."

They were actually continuing the wedding... Lily was going to walk down that aisle in my place.

I walked down the cathedral steps into the storm with absolutely nowhere to go.

-

I had no idea what I was thinking, but I found myself in Club Nexus.

The club was packed and loud and exactly what I needed. I pushed through the crowd in my ruined wedding dress, and people stared, but I didn't care anymore.

The bartender's eyes went wide when I sat down. "Miss Hale, I saw what happened on the news. I'm so sorry-"

"Whiskey. Don't stop pouring until I tell you to stop."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Do I look like I care about good ideas right now?"

He poured. I drank.

"Another," I said, pushing my empty glass toward the him.

"Miss Hale, maybe you should..."

"Another."

By the fifth or seventh... I already lost count at three, the room was already spinning in a pleasant way, and I couldn't quite remember why I was upset.

I was reaching for the next glass when someone grabbed my wrist.

"That's enough."

I looked up, ready to tell whoever it was to fuck off. But the words died when I saw him.

Tall, expensive suit, dark hair... the kind of face that should be illegal because it was too distracting. And those blue eyes that looked like they could see every stupid thing I'd ever done.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Someone who knows when a person is trying to erase a bad day," he said. His voice in a deep, baritone voice. "It's not working, by the way."

"How would you know?"

"Because you're still conscious and angry. Give it another hour and you'll just be sick."

The bartender looked nervous. "Sir, should I call..."

"I've got it," the stranger said. He let go of my wrist but didn't step back. "You're Ava Hale."

"Not anymore, apparently. Didn't you hear? According to my father, I don't exist."

"I saw what happened. At the cathedral."

"Great. You and everyone else with an internet connection." I tried to grab my glass back, but he moved it out of reach. "Can you fuck off? I'm having a private breakdown."

"In a club. In your wedding dress. Very private."

"Yeah, well, they didn't leave me much choice."

"There's always a choice. The question is what you do next."

I laughed bitterly. "Next? Tomorrow I wake up with no money, no home, and no family. That's what's next."

"Not if you come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere with a stranger."

"Then you'll pass out here in your wedding dress, and someone will film it. Tomorrow's headline will be 'Disgraced Heiress Found Drunk.' Is that what you want?"

I hated that he was right.

"You don't even know me."

"I know you just got publicly humiliated by your family and fiancé. I know they chose your sister over you. I know they disowned you in front of three hundred people and every camera in the city." He tilted his head. "Am I missing anything?"

"The part where you explain why you care."

"I don't like waste," he said. "And watching someone with your skills drink themselves stupid in a club is wasteful."

"That didn't answer my first question. Who are you?"

He held out his hand. "Dominic Adams."

I stared at his hand like it might bite me. "The Dominic Adams? The Butcher of Wall Street?"

"Some people call me that."

"You destroy companies for fun."

"I destroy companies that deserve it," he corrected. "There's a difference."

The room tilted, and I grabbed the bar to steady myself. His hand shot out, catching my elbow. "When's the last time you ate?"

"I don't remember. Yesterday?"

"That explains it." He pulled out his phone, typed something quickly. "You're coming with me."

"Why do you care what happens to me?"

"Because I understand what it's like to want to burn everything down."

"And you think I want that?"

"I think you should," he said. "They destroyed you today. Publicly. On purpose. And they did it because they thought you'd just take it." He turned to look at me. "Are you going to take it?"

I should have been scared. Going home with a stranger. Drunk. Vulnerable. No one knowing where I was.

But I wasn't scared.

Maybe because fear required caring about what happened next, and right now, I didn't.

Or maybe because something in Dominic Adams's voice told me he understood exactly what I was feeling.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," I admitted.

"That's okay," he said. "We'll figure it out tomorrow."

"We?"

His hand found mine in the space between us. "If you want."

I should have pulled away. Should have demanded he take me to a hotel. Should have done a lot of things.

Instead, I asked. "What if I want to burn it all down?"

"Then I'll hand you the matches," he said.

The words should have scared me. Instead, they felt like permission.

Within the hour, we were exiting the private elevator, into his penthouse. "Hungry?" he asked as the doors closed.

"I don't know what I am anymore."

"That's fair."

I looked around... floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Manhattan, everything was sleek, expensive, and precisely arranged. Like him.

"Kitchen's through there," he said, shrugging off his jacket. "I'll order something. Any preferences?"

"I just want..." I trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence.

He looked at me, and I felt seen in a way I hadn't in five years. "What do you want, Ava?"

The question hung in the air between us.

I thought about my ruined wedding. My sister in my place. My father's voice disowning me. Damien's face when he chose Lily.

I thought about five years of being invisible. Perfect. Useful. Disposable.

And I thought about Dominic Adams standing in this neat penthouse, looking at me like I was something more than broken.

"I want to stop feeling like this," I whispered.

He moved closer without touching. "Like what?"

"Like I'm nothing without them."

"You're not nothing." His voice was quiet but certain. "You built an empire they couldn't run without you. You just didn't realize you were the empire."

Something in my chest cracked open.

"I don't want to think anymore," I said. "About them. About today. About any of it."

"Then don't."

"How?"

He reached up, his hand cupping my face with surprising gentleness. His thumb brushed across my cheekbone, and I realized I was crying.

"Let me help you forget," he said softly. "Just for tonight."

I should have said no. Should have asked what he meant. Should have been smart and careful and all the things I'd always been.

Instead, I kissed him.

~Ava's POV~

His mouth was on mine before I could second-guess myself. He wasn't gentle, nor was he asking permission... he just responded

I kissed him back with everything I had: all the rage and grief and betrayal I'd been suffocating under for five years, and he took it all. His hands moved to my waist and pulled me closer.

"Are you sure?" he asked against my lips.

"Don't ask me that," I said, already working at his shirt buttons. "Just... don't let me think."

"I can do that."

He kissed me again, deeper this time, walking me backward until my legs hit something soft. The couch. His hands found the zipper of my ruined wedding dress.

"This dress cost forty thousand dollars," I said as he peeled it off.

"I'll buy you ten more." He tossed it aside without looking. "Better ones."

"I hate you a little bit right now."

"Good." His mouth moved to my neck. "Use it."

And I did.

I used every ounce of anger, every bit of hurt, every moment of feeling small and invisible and worthless. I poured it all into kissing him, touching him, needing him in a way that had nothing to do with love and everything to do with proving I was still alive.

He understood. Somehow, he understood exactly what I needed.

When we finally made it to his bedroom, he looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered in the world. "You're not nothing," he said, his forehead pressed against mine. "You've never been nothing."

I pulled him down to me, needing to believe it was true.

-

I woke up to sunlight coming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block it out, but my head was already pounding. My mouth tasted like regret and expensive whiskey.

For one beautiful second, I didn't remember any of it.

Then it all came crashing back: the cathedral, Lily's announcement, my father disowning me, the club, Dominic.

Oh God. Dominic.

I sat up too fast, clutching the sheet to my chest. I was naked... like completely naked. Wait, where were my clothes?

"You're awake."

The voice made me jerk my head toward its source.

Dominic was sitting in the leather chair across the room, watching me. He was fully dressed in a white shirt and dark slacks, looking like he'd been up for hours. His expression was unreadable.

"How long have you been sitting there?" I asked.

"Long enough."

"That's not creepy at all."

He didn't react. "You were unconscious for twelve hours. I needed to make sure you didn't have alcohol poisoning."

"By staring at me?"

"By monitoring your breathing." His tone was cold. "You consumed enough whiskey to hospitalize someone half your size."

I pulled the sheet higher, suddenly very aware that I was naked and he was... not. "Where are my clothes?"

"Your wedding dress is in the trash. It was ruined." He gestured toward a chair where a black shirt was draped. "That's mine. You can wear it."

I grabbed the shirt and pulled it on under the sheet, trying to maintain some dignity. My hands were shaking.

"Did we..." I couldn't finish the sentence.

"Have sex?" He completed it for me. "Yes."

The room tilted as flashes of memory hit me: his hands, his mouth, the way he'd looked at me... but it was all fuzzy around the edges.

"I don't... I barely remember."

"You were drunk. Not unconscious, but impaired." He stood, moving toward the windows. "If it helps, you were very clear about what you wanted."

Heat flooded my face. "That doesn't help."

"You kissed me first. Said you didn't want to think. I simply obeyed."

"And you just... went along with it?"

"You're an adult. You made a choice." He turned to look at me, and his eyes held no single emotion. "Unless you're about to tell me you regret it and want to file charges. In which case, I have security footage that shows you initiated."

"Security footage?"

"This is Manhattan. Everything is recorded."

I stared at him. "You're serious."

"I don't joke about legal liability."

"Jesus Christ." I pressed my hands to my face. "This is... I can't believe I..."

"Slept with a stranger?" He crossed his arms. "You did. It happened. Now we move forward."

"Move forward? Move forward?" I almost laughed. "I just woke up naked in the apartment of the Butcher of Wall Street, apparently had sex I barely remember, and you're talking about moving forward?"

"What would you prefer? That I pretend to be in love with you? Feed you some romantic fantasy about how last night was special?" His eyes were steel. "Last night was convenient. For both of us. You needed somewhere to go. I provided it. You needed a distraction. I provided that too."

The bluntness hit like a slap. "Wow. You're really something, you know that?"

"I'm honest. Most people find it refreshing after being lied to their entire lives."

He had a point.

I looked around for my phone and spotted it on the nightstand. Fifty-three missed calls. Twenty-seven text messages.

"My family's been calling."

"I know. Your phone's been going off since 6 AM." He walked to his desk. "You should probably turn it off unless you want to read what they're saying about you online."

"What are they saying?"

"Do you really want to know?"

I grabbed my phone and immediately regretted it. The notifications were wild.

#HaleWeddingDisaster trending worldwide.

"Disgraced Heiress Storms Out of Wedding" "Jilted Bride Replaced by Pregnant Sister" "Ava Hale Disowned by Father in Cathedral Scandal"

The comments were worse. Some people sympathized, but most were gleeful about my humiliation.

My father had given an official statement: "Ava has always been unstable and selfish. This behavior, while disappointing, is not surprising. The Hale family wishes her well but will no longer be associated with her actions."

I threw the phone across the bed.

"They made me forgettable," I whispered. "They didn't just disown me. They erased me."

"Then make them remember." Dominic's voice broke my train of thought. "Make them remember exactly who you are."

I looked up at him. "And how do I do that?"

"By making them pay." He pulled a folder from his desk and set it on the bed in front of me. "I've been watching your family for a long time, Ava. Hale Industries. Hart Enterprises. The merger. All of it."

I opened the folder, and inside were financial records, email chains, documents I'd never seen before.

"How did you get all this?"

"I make it my business to know things." He sat on the edge of the bed, maintaining careful distance. "Your father's been embezzling for six years. The Hart merger wasn't about growth. It was about covering bankruptcy. Damien has gambling debts exceeding his salary. Your mother funnels charity donations into offshore accounts."

My hands shook as I flipped through the papers. "This is..."

"Evidence. Of everything they've done. Everything you've been covering up for five years without realizing it."

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Because twenty years ago, my father worked for Silas Hale." His voice went flat. "Your father destroyed him for refusing to participate in something illegal. Framed him for embezzlement. Ruined his reputation. My father killed himself rather than face trial for crimes he didn't commit."

The air left my lungs. "What?"

"I was seventeen when I found him." Dominic's eyes were empty. "And I've been planning revenge ever since."

"So this..." I gestured between us, at the bed, at everything. "Last night. Bringing me here. All of it. This was about revenge?"

"No." He met my eyes. "Last night was about you needing somewhere to go and me providing it. This conversation is about opportunity."

"What opportunity?"

"Marry me."

I almost dropped the folder. "What?"

~Ava's POV~

"Marry me."

I almost dropped the folder. "What... IsIs this some kind of joke?

"An eighteen-month contract marriage." He said it like he was proposing a business deal, not marriage. "You become Mrs. Adams. Get unlimited access to all my resources. We take down everyone who betrayed you together. In exchange, you help me dismantle the Hale and Hart empires from the inside."

"You're insane."

"I'm practical." He stood. "Right now, you have nothing. No money. Your accounts are probably frozen. Your father made sure of that. No home. No family. No job. Nothing."

I hadn't even thought about the accounts. "Shit."

"Exactly. So you have two options." He walked to the window, his back to me. "Go back. Beg them to take you back. Accept whatever scraps they're willing to give you and spend the rest of your life being the woman who got replaced at her own wedding."

"Or?"

"Or marry me. Let me teach you how to destroy people the right way. You teach me everything you know about the Hales and Harts. And together, we burn their entire world down."

For a second or two, I didn't know what to say. "This is crazy," I finally said.

"This is strategic." He turned to face me. "Eighteen months. After that, we divorce, split assets, and go our separate ways. No love. No expectations. Just business."

"No expectations? We just had sex!"

"And we could do it again if that's part of the arrangement you want." His voice lacked any emotion. "But don't mistake physical attraction for emotion. You're not going to fall in love with me, Ava. And I'm sure as hell not going to fall in love with you."

The bluntness stung more than it should have. "You're really something."

"I'm honest. Which is more than your family ever was." He pulled out a contract. "Read it. Take your time. But decide quickly. My offer expires when you walk out that door."

I stared at the contract on the bed.

"What do you get out of this?" I asked. "Besides revenge?"

"Justice for my father. And the satisfaction of watching the Hales fall." He looked at me. "But mostly, I get to watch you become exactly what you were always supposed to be."

"Which is?"

"Dangerous."

I picked up the contract with shaking hands. It was detailed... exactly all he had said with some extra legal jargons.

"If I sign this," I said slowly, "what happens?"

"We get married. Quietly. Then we start dismantling everything they built on your back. I teach you corporate warfare. You give me insider information. And together, we destroy them."

"This is insane."

"Then walk away." He gestured toward the door. "I'll call you a car. You can go find a hotel, figure out your next move. And we never speak again."

I looked at the contract. At the door. At Dominic Adams standing there like he didn't care which choice I made.

"They thought I was nothing without them," I whispered.

"Prove them wrong."

My hand shook as I picked up the pen. My father's voice echoed in my head: "You're strong, Ava. You'll survive this."

He said it like my pain didn't matter... like I was just a tool to be used and discarded.

"Where do I sign?"

Dominic pointed to three places on the contract, and I signed each one.

He took the contract, glanced at my signatures, and set it aside like we'd just closed a real estate deal. "Done."

"That's it?"

"That's it." He walked to his desk and pulled out a black card. "This is yours. Unlimited. Buy whatever you need."

I took it, staring at the gold design on it. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." He added a key to the pile. "East wing is yours. I'm in the west. We maintain appropriate distance."

"Distance? We just..."

"Had sex. Yes." He cut me off. "Which was a one-time occurrence unless we mutually agree otherwise. This is a business arrangement, Ava. Not a marriage in any real sense."

The coldness should have bothered me. Instead, it was almost refreshing after a lifetime of fake warmth.

"What happens now?"

"Now, you rest. Tomorrow, your education begins." He checked his watch. "I have meetings all day. There's food in the kitchen. Don't leave the penthouse."

"Why not?"

"Because the second you step outside, every camera in Manhattan will be on you." He moved toward the door. "And you're not ready for that yet."

"When will I be ready?"

"When you stop looking like a victim." He paused at the door. "I'll be back this evening. We have work to do."

Then he was gone.

I sat there in his shirt, holding a black card and a key to a stranger's penthouse, wondering what the hell I'd just signed my life away for.

-

Dominic returned at 7 PM with takeout and a phone. "Eat," he said, setting the food on the counter. "Then we make the first move."

"What first move?"

He handed me the phone. "Call your father."

I stared at it. "Why would I do that?"

"Because the first rule of revenge is making them think you're broken." He leaned against the counter. "They need to believe they won. That you're desperate and alone."

"I'm not begging him for anything."

"Yes, you are. Because when he rejects you, he'll get careless. He'll think you're not a threat." His eyes were cold. "Trust me."

Everything in me resisted making this move he was suggesting. But I'd signed the contract. This was the game now.

I dialed my father's number; he answered on the second ring. "Dad?" I started, hoping I sounded unsure to him.

"Ava."

"Dad, I..." I forced my voice to shake, hating every second of it. "I made a mistake. Walking out like that. I'm sorry."

"You embarrassed this family."

"I know. I know, and I'm... I'm so sorry." The words tasted like poison. "I just... I need to come home. I need my job back. Please."

"Your job?" He let out a cruel laugh. "You think you can throw a tantrum at your own wedding and just waltz back into Hale Industries?"

"Dad, please. I have nowhere to go. No money. I'll do anything..."

"You should have thought of that before you humiliated us in front of three hundred people and every camera in Manhattan." His voice went ice cold. "You made your choice, Ava. Live with it."

"Please, I..."

The line went dead.

I stared at the phone and my hands which were shaking. Not from fear, but from pure, white-hot rage.

"Good," Dominic said, taking the phone from me. "Perfect, actually. You sounded genuinely desperate."

"I feel like I'm going to be sick."

"That means it worked." He opened the takeout containers. "He thinks you're broken now. Tomorrow night, we show him exactly how wrong he is."

"Tomorrow night?"

"There's a Recovery Gala hosted by the Harts. I'm still working on getting the details and all, but we're definitely going."

"We weren't invited."

"We will be. By tomorrow morning, they'll be begging us to attend." He showed me an email draft. "I'm sending this to your father in an hour. A formal request to discuss the terms of a potential investment in Hale Industries."

My stomach dropped. "You're going to invest in them?"

"No. I'm going to make them think I might." His smile was cold. "Your father is desperate for capital. The merger with Hart Enterprises is barely keeping them afloat. When the Butcher of Wall Street offers to meet, he won't refuse."

"And I just... show up? As your wife?"

"As my fiancée." He corrected me. "We'll announce our engagement at the dinner. In front of everyone who watched you get humiliated."

The thought made my heart race. "They'll lose their minds."

"Exactly." He leaned forward. "Tomorrow night, you walk into that house as someone they can't touch. Someone they can't control. Someone who has more power than they ever gave you credit for."

"What if they throw me out?"

"They won't. Because I'll be with you." His voice dropped. "And everyone in that room knows what happens to people who disrespect what's mine."

The possessiveness in his tone should have bothered me. Instead, it felt like an armour. "What do I wear?"

"Something that makes them choke," Dominic said. "I'll have options sent up in the morning."