CHAPTER 5

The news spread across the city within hours.

BLACKWOOD GROUP CEO SECRETLY MARRIES MYSTERY WOMAN!

WHO IS AVA HART?

THE COUNTRY'S MOST ELIGIBLE BILLIONAIRE IS OFF THE MARKET!

Photos of Damien kissing Ava's forehead flooded every news website and social media platform.

Some people congratulated them.

Others mocked Ava.

"She's definitely after his money."

"A nobody marrying a billionaire? Impossible."

"This marriage won't last a month."

Ava stared at the endless comments on her phone before locking the screen.

She shouldn't have looked.

None of those people knew her.

Yet every word still stung.

"Stop reading them."

She looked up.

Damien stood in the doorway of the limousine, his tablet in one hand.

"They're talking about me."

"They're talking about a story they created."

"It's hard to ignore."

"You'll learn."

His voice remained calm.

"They'll always have an opinion. It doesn't mean you have to believe it."

She slipped her phone into her bag.

"I never wanted this kind of attention."

"I know."

For the first time, his voice carried something close to understanding.

The limousine pulled away from the courthouse.

Neither of them spoke again.

Blackwood Tower buzzed with excitement.

Employees lined both sides of the lobby as Damien and Ava entered.

Every head turned toward them.

Whispers filled the air.

"That's his wife."

"She's prettier than I expected."

"I heard she used to be a waitress."

"No way."

"Then how did she marry Mr. Blackwood?"

Ava kept her chin high.

She refused to let their curiosity intimidate her.

Damien pressed the elevator button.

The private elevator doors opened immediately.

As they stepped inside, the whispers disappeared.

Ava released a quiet breath.

"I feel like I'm on display."

"You are."

She looked at him.

"Does that ever bother you?"

"No."

"How?"

"I stopped caring years ago."

The elevator doors opened onto the executive floor.

The moment they stepped out, a woman in a navy suit hurried toward them.

She looked to be in her early thirties, with neatly tied black hair and sharp, intelligent eyes.

"Congratulations, Mr. Blackwood."

She smiled politely before turning to Ava.

"And congratulations to you, Mrs. Blackwood."

Ava smiled.

"Thank you."

"I'm Sophia Bennett, Mr. Blackwood's executive assistant."

"It's nice to meet you."

Sophia's smile was genuine.

Unlike many others today, there wasn't a trace of judgment in her eyes.

"Mr. Blackwood, the board meeting begins in fifteen minutes."

Damien nodded.

"Prepare the conference room."

"Yes, sir."

She walked away.

Ava watched her leave.

"She seems nice."

"She's efficient."

"That's your compliment?"

"It is."

Ava couldn't help laughing.

"You really measure people by their work, don't you?"

"It's the only reliable measurement."

Damien led her into his office.

Or rather...

Their office.

A second desk had been placed near the floor-to-ceiling windows.

A vase of fresh white lilies decorated it.

A laptop sat neatly on the polished surface.

Ava frowned.

"What's this?"

"Your workspace."

"I don't work here."

"You do now."

She blinked.

"What?"

"You'll occasionally accompany me to meetings and public events."

"I don't know anything about business."

"You don't need to."

"Then why give me a desk?"

"So no one questions your presence."

She sighed.

"You've really thought of everything."

"I try."

Before she could respond, someone knocked.

"Come in."

The door swung open.

A stunning blonde woman entered without waiting for permission.

She wore a fitted red dress and expensive heels.

Confidence radiated from every step she took.

Then she saw Ava.

Her smile disappeared.

"Damien..."

Her voice was soft.

"Who's she?"

Ava's heart sank.

The atmosphere changed instantly.

Damien remained expressionless.

"My wife."

The woman's face turned pale.

"No."

Her eyes darted to Ava's left hand.

The wedding ring sparkled beneath the office lights.

"No..."

She shook her head.

"You're lying."

"I don't lie."

The woman laughed bitterly.

"This isn't funny."

"It wasn't meant to be."

Silence filled the room.

Ava glanced between them.

This had to be...

The woman from yesterday.

The one who had returned.

Finally, the blonde woman looked directly at Ava.

"So..."

"You're the woman who married my fiancé."

Ava frowned.

"Your fiancé?"

She turned toward Damien.

"You were engaged?"

Damien answered without emotion.

"No."

The woman scoffed.

"You promised we'd get married."

"I promised nothing."

"You said we had a future!"

"I said we would discuss it."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"You let me believe we were building a life together."

"I let you make your own assumptions."

The cruelty of his honesty stunned even Ava.

The woman took a shaky breath.

"After five years..."

"...this is how you end it?"

Five years?

Ava's stomach tightened.

She suddenly felt like an intruder in someone else's heartbreak.

The woman stepped closer.

"Tell me one thing."

Damien waited.

"Do you love her?"

The room became unbearably still.

Ava found herself holding her breath.

She shouldn't care about the answer.

This marriage wasn't real.

It was a contract.

Nothing more.

Damien looked at Ava for a brief second before meeting the woman's gaze again.

"No."

The word landed like a stone.

Ava's chest tightened unexpectedly.

Of course he didn't.

She already knew that.

So why did hearing it hurt?

The blonde woman laughed through her tears.

"I knew it."

She turned to Ava.

"Congratulations."

Her smile was cold now.

"You may have married Damien Blackwood..."

"But you've married a man who's incapable of loving anyone."

Without another word, she walked out.

The office door slammed shut.

A heavy silence followed.

Ava slowly looked at Damien.

"You could've been gentler."

"It would've changed nothing."

"It would've hurt less."

"Hurt fades."

She stared at him.

"No."

She said quietly.

"Some wounds stay forever."

For the first time since they'd met...

Damien didn't have an answer.

Instead, he stood by the window, watching the city below.

But neither of them noticed the slight gap in the office door.

Outside...

The blonde woman hadn't left.

She wiped away her tears and pulled out her phone.

Her expression hardened into something dangerous.

"If I can't have Damien..."

"...then Ava Hart won't keep him either."

She dialed a number.

When the call connected, she spoke only four words.

"I have a job for you."

On the other end, a man's deep voice chuckled.

"What do you need?"

The blonde woman's eyes darkened.

"I want you to ruin Mrs. Blackwood."

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