Revenge of the Billionaire's Ex-Wife

He was one of the last people that she expected to walk into her office.

Ava stood to her feet, lines of surprise drawn across her face like some map. She was very much angry to see James Carter standing in front of her. Some years back, he had been the cause of her problems and she didn't like the fact that her enemy was coming to her.

That was not how it was supposed to happen. Her enemies needed to stay the hell away from her. After all she had gone through.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ava wanted to know. One hand hovered over the receiver in its cradle. If James had nothing sensible to say to her, then she'd quickly call the guards.

"Hello, Ava."

"I asked you a question, James. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, Ava. It's been a while."

"Is that all?"

James hesitated. Then he said, "No."

"What?"

"There is something you have to know, Ava. And I really think it is high time I let you know."

Ava looked at him for some moments. She wondered what it could be. What did he have to say to her after all these while?

James had been the secretary to Damon Blackwood back when she was married to him. Ava wasn't sure if he still held that position. After all, Damon had divorced her and left her to rot and suffer on her on.

"Can I at least have a seat?" James said, when he saw that Ava wasn't about to say anything else.

"No," Ava said, lifted her hand from the receiver and folded her hands across her chest. "You don't get to have a seat in my office, James. You either talk, or you leave."

And she sat down in her executive swivel chair, leaving him standing on the other side of her black and gold lacquered ivory table.

James sighed and nodded his head in understanding. "Ava, I am here because I have had a change of mind."

"A change of mind?"

"Yes. What happened to you should not have happened. You didn't deserve to be treated that way. You deserved better because none of it was your fault."

Ava said nothing. She waited for him to go on with his speech.

"It was all your sister's plan, Ava."

"What are you talking about?"

"Lily? It was her all along. She drugged you the day you both went to the bar. And... I... I was the one who helped carry you to Damon's room."

Ava stared at him. She knew there had been some foul play involved in the whole matter but she wasn't sure of the person that was responsible for it.

Now here he was, in flesh and blood, spewing out a confession regarding his involvement in the matter.

"See your sister was the one who actually drugged you. But Damon had no idea that you were actually the one in his bed that night. Because why? You both are identical twins."

Ava said nothing.

"He slept with you and that sexcapade wasn't a secret matter to some people. Victor had to force him to get married to you because it would save the face of the company and make Damon a worthy replacement for his father."

"Wait, is this the same Victor I know?"

"Damon's uncle, yes. He oversees the company."

"Well, he can go to hell."

"I know you tried to make that marriage work but Damon was already too in love with your sister, and he wanted no one else. Then you tried telling him about it. But you made one silly mistake."

Ava scoffed. "And what was that?"

"You told Lily about it first. She had to tell Damon that you planned the whole thing just so you could get married to him and have some claim to his wealth.

"Damon began to resent you with every fiber of his being. Lily didn't want to lose his attention, so she played her cards right. You know the rest."

Yeah, she did. Damon told her to fuck off and that he never wanted to see her face anymore.

"Does he know about the pregnancy?" James ventured to ask.

Ava's eyes turned hostile. She didn't want anyone asking about her pregnancy. She had kept it but that wasn't an information she would like to give to anyone. Especially James who had been responsible for her predicament.

"He doesn't know anything," Ava said.

Without asking her permission, James sat down in the chair. He looked ready to break something to her.

"Ava, I want to help you in any way that I can. I am also here to ask for your forgiveness. I know that it has been five years already, but I could not live with the guilt. If only I knew what was going to happen, I wouldn't have wanted anything to do with it."

Ava scoffed as if she didn't believe him. "I doubt that. People like you just need the money. Pretty sure my sister paid you for the performance, didn't she?"

James said nothing and Ava confirmed her suspicions. She shook her head and leaned forward, her hands resting on the table. "What did you hope to get by coming to my office, James? All the way from the States?"

"I did my findings and realized that you'd soon be heading the new branch in the States. You'll be coming home, Ava. And if you have any hard feelings towards them, I'd like to clear my name."

"But I wouldn't have even suspected you."

"Yeah. But your sister is a bitch. And I wouldn't be surprised if you were planning something against her."

Ava thought about what he had said. "This isn't just about me, is it? This is also about you. You aren't just feeling guilty for what you did to me. You've been treated worse as well, haven't you?"

James sighed, and said, "Yeah. But that's a long, brutal story. When you're back to the States and if you ever make up your mind, call me." He slid his card across the table and got to his feet. "I am the only one who can help you, Ava Winters. And if I were you, I'd take it."

She watched as James walked out of her office.

Five years and he had the temerity to walk into her office to say he was sorry for getting her into the fix she had been in.

But did revenge even matter anymore? She had been at her lowest when Damon filed for the divorce and got it. Wretched than she had been before meeting him. The twist was that he had gotten married to her sister, Lily.

She had decided to leave the past behind her and focus on what the future had in store for her. And she had been right.

She was already richer than her sister, and more than halfway to beat Damon's net worth. And it was also true that she was heading back to the United States of America to head her company's new branch over there.

So it seemed that James was still Damon's personal secretary and he could pull some strings to get the necessary information he wanted.

The rest of the day was filled with so much thinking that she had to leave for home earlier than usual.

Charles and Charlie came to hug her the moment she entered the living room. She dropped kisses on their heads.

"Where is your nanny?" Ava asked.

"In the kitchen," Charlie answered.

"What are you two up to?"

They both showed her the drawings they had been busy with. Ava held back a laugh. "Wow. You kids are doing great."

"Next, we're drawing Grace." They said together.

"Why would you want to draw your nanny?" Ava asked.

"It's just practice, mom. Nothing else. How was work today mummy? Charlie asked.

"Work was a bit different today, honey," Ava said as she went up to her room.

She was relieved that her kids didn't follow her to the room. They had something to keep their minds busy and she was glad.

She sat in the tub and thought about what James has said to her earlier. The more she pondered upon the matter, the more convinced she became that she needed to get back at Damon and Lily for the things they had made her go through.

Even after the divorce, Lily never bothered to get back to her. And Ava didn't try to reach her either. It was as if they had silently decided to ignore each other till the end of time.

Ava dried herself and put on some clothes. She had thought of a plan that would involve James. In fact, she could go unscathed while he would be the culprit, if the plan ever failed at some point.

It was better to make him expendable.

Ava retrieved his card from her bag and dialed the number.

"Is this a good time?" Ava asked when he answered the call.

"Of course. I'm Damon's personal assistant. Not his personal bodyguard."

"You said you wanted to make things right for me?"

"I did," James confirmed.

"I know a way you can be able to help me."

"How can I be of help?"

"Here's what you are going to do for me. I'll be needing every information on deals brokered by Blackwood Industries. Whenever they are after a business proposition, you are going to give me feedback on the process. Amount they are willing to spend and the consolation they expect to get off that deal."

There was silence in the other end of the line and Ava almost thought he had been interrupted.

Then his voice returned. "That is dangerous."

"Not if you are smart about it," Ava said dismissively.

"You are asking me to spy on my boss and leak information to you on his business."

"Exactly. Not a big deal, is it?"

"And what would you do with that sort of information?"

"Nothing that will cause any harm to your job in the future. I'm not trying to pull Blackwood into a state of bankruptcy. I just want to be the one on top. The one in control."

James said nothing. He knew what she was after. It wasn't ambition, it was just the need to get back at Damon Blackwood for divorcing her.

"Do we have a deal, James Carter?"

"I gave you my word that I will help you, so yes. We do have a deal."

"Good."

"What about your sister?"

"That's a family issue. Doesn't have to matter to you."

"Right."

"I'll call you when I get to the States."

"When do I expect you? In case there's something I need to get ready for you."

Ava thought about that and said, "In the next three days I should be there."

Then she ended the call, looked to the ceiling and let out a deep sigh. She knew what she was getting herself into. And Ava was aware that there would be no going back on it. She wasn't just going to be enacting revenge on Damon Blackwood alone. She would be doing the same to Lily Winters, her own sister.

***

The next morning, Ava went to her boss's office and requested an issuance for the transfer of her position to the new branch.

"You aren't maintaining the same position you're holding here. Ava," Tom said.

"How? What else am I supposed to be doing, sir?"

"Aren't you aware that this is a new branch?"

"I am aware of that, sir."

"Which means, there is no hierachy yet. So you are going to be the General Manager. For the whole of United States."

Ava could not belive her ears. Tom was literally putting matters into her own hands but he didn't know that yet.

Tom went on. "You are going to request your subordinates and they shall be screened by you or if you want a team sent over there, fine. Business proposals will be handled by your office. After all, it is a conglomerate."

"Thank you, sir. I will not let you down."

"That's what we all want to hear, Ava. If possible, we'll need you to monopolize business for our company. I know it is too much to ask for now but..."

Ava rushed in. "No, sir. Not at all. I can handle it. I have a plan for that."

Her return back to the United States of America was a shocking one. No one expected Ava Winters to return as the head of one of the biggest wine companies across Europe.

Those who knew who she was were very surprised to see her in charge, and Ava drank it all in.

James came through when she called his number. He told her about Damon's schedules.

"You can send it to the email I'll text you. And also, is Lily going to be with him?"

"She's always with him."

"Good. Then I'll be there."

"Were you not going to be there if she wasn't?"

"I would. But her presence there would only make the scene more dramatic."

James said nothing to that. It wasn't any of his business.

The house she has gotten for herself was a two-storey duplex, nothing fancy, but big enough. Ava Winters stayed there alone, letting Grace take care of Charles and Charlie back in Canada. They still had school, and she wasn't about to bring them into the limelight just yet.

After all, no one even knew she kept the pregnancy.

The first meeting that she attended was a wine tasting ceremony. It was the primary reason for the event but Ava Winters knew that the big shots loved attending wine tasting ceremonies just so they could meet with other prospective moguls and discuss business.

She saw them before they saw her. Damon and Lily, standing hand in hand, and waiting for the show to properly start.

Ava stood beside a pillar, a cup of wine in one hand and watched them carefully. Her sister had changed and she was sure it was because of Damon's influence. She glowed, but it was almost artificial.

As for Damon, five years seemed to have added to his facial look and his physique. He appeared more muscular under the jacket, and he had grown a fitting beard.

Her mind involuntarily went back to the good times they shared together and she could not stop herself from thinking about the way he moved whenever he was in between her legs.

Ava turned abruptly and walked into someone. The lady didn't take it kindly with her.

"Watch where you're going!" she screamed, drawing everyone's eyes to that particular spot.

"I'm sorry," Ava mumbled. She kept her head low. She wanted to be the one surprising Damon and Lily, not the other way round.

But Damon saw her anyway.

***

He left the woman he was holding and descended the stage.

Was that really her? Damon could only wonder.

"Honey?" Lily called from behind, but Damon's mind was already preoccupied.

He followed the retreating figure until he caught up with her. Then he blocked her way.

"Ava?"

She looked up at him and Damon could not believe his eyes. He put one hand over his chest as if to protect his heart from bursting out.

Ava quickly collected herself and gave him a fainted smile. "Hello, Damon."

"Ava? When did you get back?"

"Some days ago."

Damon scoffed. "What.. What are you doing here?"

"Same thing you came here for. To taste wine."

"How did you get an invite? Because this event is strictly by invitation."

"Oh, poor you. After five years, you think I'm still that poor, miserable girl you married and threw away?" He started to say something but she held up her hand. "I didn't come here to have a discussion with you, Damon. I have better important people to meet with and talk business."

Damon was shocked to hear that. "If you're looking for the most influential business person in this room, that would be me."

Ava gave him a sorry look and said, "Not anymore."

The rest of the ceremony was uneventful for Damon Blackwood. It felt as if he wanted to reach out and talk to Ava. He could not believe where the hell she had been for five years. He knew their marriage had ended on a very sorry note but she was the one responsible for his actions. So why the hell did it sound like she was spewing fire and brimstone?

"Is everything okay, honey?" Lily asked him. "You seem disoriented."

"I'm fine. I just need to talk to someone."

A gathering had caught his eye and he walked over. Ava was having a discussion with Clay Coleman and Adam Drew. The very two people he had been hoping to have a business proposal with.

"You're the head of Maron in the States?" Clay asked.

"The first actually," she replied.

"I have been hoping to meet one of the heads for a long time now but I figured the English didn't want anything to do with us."

"Oh, they were only waiting for the right opportunity. We can have that meeting right now if you want."

Clay and Adam exchanged a glance. Damon joined them, and shook hands with both men.

"Gentlemen. What's the discussion?"

"The new head of Maron in the States was just giving me an opportunity to have that meeting I've always wanted to have with them," Clay said.

Damon looked at Ava. "Head of Maron?"

"I'll be heading the United States office, Damon Blackwood," Ava said, in a sultry manner. "If you didn't know that before."

"Surprise that they are your closest competitors, Damon," Clay pointed that out, as if Damon didn't already know.

"And you still want to have that meeting?"

Clay shrugged.

"Give us a minute," Damon said and ushered Ava to a private corner, one hand on her arm. "What was that about?"

"Don't you ever touch me that way, Damon," Ava warmed.

"Answer the damn question."

"What does it look like I'm doing? Getting prospective partners for my company."

"They are mine. Not yours."

"And who says they can't invest two ways?"

"I do. I came here to have a business proposal with them and you are trying to ruin it for me."

"Your schedule has nothing to do with me, Damon. And to be frank, I think they are already fed up of your company's features. Maron has a better offer for them. Now, if you don't mind, I need to leave."

Damon watched her go. If there was any thing he didn't want to believe, it was the probability that he might have pushed her into getting back at him for the divorce.

The question was, how far would she go?