'I Do' For Revenge Chapter 4: Married

~Layla~

I stared at Axel, my mind struggling to process what he had just said.

He was a stranger I only knew by na. He was a man as ruthless as he was powerful, and he was offering marriage not out of love nor comfort, but an alliance.

I should have laughed at him and just walked away. But I didn’t. Because beneath all the humiliation, pain and betrayal, there was a dark side of that wanted revenge.

I swallowed hard. "You want to marry just so I can get revenge?"

Axel smirked. "Doesn’t the idea tempt you?"

It did. More than I wanted to admit.

I thought of my father’s cold eyes, my mother’s silence, Cassandra’s smug smile and my fiancé’s indifference to hurting .

They discarded . They used and then threw away like I was nothing. But what if I beca sothing they could never ignore?

I t Axel’s gaze, and a chill ran down my spine. "What’s in it for you? What do you gain from this arrangent?"

Axel’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer.

Instead, he leaned closely, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I don’t need you to love , Layla. I don’t need you to be loyal. All I need is for you to play the role of my devoted wife in public. In return, I’ll give you the power to destroy them."

This was crazy. No, this was completely crazy!

But they had pushed past my breaking point, and now I had nothing left to lose. I wanted this.

I wanted to see the look on my father’s face when he realized I had beco everything he never believed I could be. I wanted my sister to choke on the fact that she took my fiancé while I married soone far greater.

I took a slow breath. "Fine"

Axel’s smirk widened. "Then it’s settled."

**************

It was almost surreal—humiliated at the altar one day, and standing beside a new groom the next.

Neither did I imagine my actual wedding day would be like this.

There was no fancy ceremony, no white dress, no flowers, and no heartfelt vows. It was just a cold courthouse and a piece of paper that tied to soone I hardly knew.

Axel O’Brien.

The na alone carried power, and now it was tied to mine.

I stood next to him, my fingers tightly intertwined as the officiant droned on about love and togetherness. I could hardly focus on the words. My mind was still reeling from the choice I had made just last night.

"Do you, Layla Watson, take Axel O’Brien to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

I took a deep breath, my hands starting to sweat. I reminded myself that this wasn’t about love or happiness. It was about getting revenge.

"I do."

The words left my lips, sealing my fate.

Axel’s gaze remained unreadable as he slid a ring onto my finger. It was a stunning platinum ring, embedded with a diamond large enough to catch the light with every movent.

But it felt cold against my skin. It was nothing more than a statent, a claim, and a symbol of our contract.

The pen felt heavy in my hand as I signed my na beside his: Layla O’Brien.

"This marriage is now legally binding," the officiant said. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien."

The words sent a shiver down my spine.

Axel led outside, where his black car was already waiting. Without a word to , he turned to his driver. "Take her ho."

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I stepped inside the car and watched Axel walk away without sparing another glance. I didn’t bother to question where he was going. After all, I was only his wife in na.

Axel’s ho was nothing short of breathtaking. Or rather, his mansion. I wasn’t just in a new ho. I was in a new world.

A line of maids stood waiting, bowing respectfully. One of them, a woman in her fifties, stepped forward, "I’m Martha. Mr. O’Brien has asked us to prepare a room for you."

We wouldn’t be sharing a room. That wasn’t surprising.

I nodded stiffly as she led down a long hallway to an enormous bedroom with a king-sized bed and a balcony overlooking the city. It was even bigger than my childhood bedroom.

"Is there anything you need, ma’am?" Martha asked.

"No," I murmured, still taking it all in.

She bowed slightly before leaving alone.

I plopped down on the bed, staring at the diamond ring on my finger. I was married now. Not to a man I loved or even understood like Daniel, but to Axel O’Brien.

I knew little about Axel, and that needed to change. So, I grabbed my laptop and started digging.

Axel O’Brien was a legend in the business world. He had built his empire from nothing, acquiring companies, crushing competitors, and expanding into industries that most people wouldn’t dare touch.

But his personal life?

There was barely anything: no past relationships, no scandals, no family, just cold, calculated success.

It was as if he had erased himself from anything that wasn’t business. Why? And why did he choose to help of all people?

I was still lost in thought when a knock sounded at my door and one of the maids stepped inside. "Mr. O’Brien has requested your presence for dinner."

I hesitated before nodding. It wasn’t like I had the choice to refuse his invitation.

The dining room was as extravagant as the rest of the house, but only two places were set. One at the head, where Axel sat, and one beside him.

He didn’t acknowledge as I sat down.

Axel ate in silence and for a while, I did, too.

Then, finally, he spoke.

"You agreed to this marriage for revenge." His voice was calm and asured. "Tell exactly what you want."

I set down my fork, my fingers tightening around the napkin. "I want my family to suffer. I want them to regret everything they did to ."

Axel studied for a long mont, keeping his usual stoic expression. Then, slowly, the corner of his lips curled. "Interesting."

I frowned. "What?"

He leaned back, swirling the wine in his glass. "I expected you to still be sulking. But there’s sothing else in your voice."

"And what’s that?"

"Determination."

A chill ran down my spine.

Axel set his glass down and leaned forward slightly. "If you really want revenge, the first thing you have to do is go public with our marriage."

Though the whole aim of this marriage was revenge, it still surprised he wanted to go public with it imdiately.

"Your family probably thinks you’d co back begging on your knees, why don’t you shock the hell out of them. I’m a catch after all." He chortled at the end.

Oh, the arrogance of this man. Not that he was wrong though.

Axel O’Brien wasn’t just powerful; he was feared and soone most families wanted for their daughters. If the world found out I was his wife, my family wouldn’t be able to ignore it.

I exhaled slowly, eting Axel’s gaze. "What do you have planned?" I asked.

"Why exactly do my family’s downfall seem to matter so much to you?" I did not say that part out.

Axel’s smirk widened, his eyes shining with a strange, dark excitent. "Oh, Layla," he murmured, "you have no idea."