Chapter 6: Dinner with the Devil

Ava had survived a fake kiss, a public appearance, and Vanessa the venomous ex.

She thought she deserved a night off.

Instead, she got a dinner invitation.

From Edward Wolfe.

Not an invitation, really. More like a summons.

Grayson had handed her the embossed envelope without a word. His jaw had been clenched, his eyes unreadable. The envelope itself was thick, cream-colored, and heavy enough to double as a paperweight. The ink was black, bold, and painfully formal.

“You don’t have to go,” he said finally, voice low.

Ava raised an eyebrow, reading the elegant card aloud. “Dinner. 7PM. Wolfe Estate. Business Attire.”

She looked up. “Just four words and I already feel like I’m being subpoenaed.”

Grayson didn’t even crack a smile. “Because it is a trap.”

The Wolfe Estate wasn’t a home. It was a fortress. A symbol. A warning.

Tall wrought iron gates creaked open as their car approached, and the driveway seemed to stretch on forever, lined with manicured hedges and cold marble statues of forgotten ancestors. The house if you could call it that rose from the earth like a relic of another era. Stone walls. Ivy that curled around the exterior like secrets that had tried to escape and failed.

Grayson stepped out of the car first, rounding to open her door. He barely met her eyes.

She stepped out in the sleek black dress he’d chosen. Conservative neckline. Long, elegant sleeves. A subtle slit at the back, but barely enough to be considered daring.

His way of saying: Don’t give him anything to criticize.

The butler who answered the door barely glanced at her. “Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe,” he intoned, as if he had to taste the words to believe them.

They were led through the grand halls in silence. Oil paintings of stern-faced men and women watched their every step. Ava swore one of the portraits’ eyes followed her.

The dining room was all polished mahogany and flickering candlelight. At the head of the table sat Edward Wolfe.

He didn’t stand.

Didn’t smile.

Just swirled the wine in his glass and stared at Ava like she was a questionable stock investment.

“So,” he said, voice rough with age and authority, “this is the girl who tamed my son.”

Grayson didn’t flinch. Ava smiled tightly, her spine straight. “Tamed is a strong word. I’d say it’s more like… temporary leash rights.”

Edward’s lips curved slightly. “She has a mouth.”

“She has a brain too,” Grayson said, cutting his steak with the kind of precision that looked vaguely violent.

Edward sipped his wine. “Let’s hope it’s smart enough to stay out of headlines.”

Dinner was served. Silence was the appetizer. Judgment was the main course.

The questions came slowly at first, each one edged with more steel than the last.

“Where did you grow up?”

“Suburb outside Baltimore,” Ava replied, keeping her tone even. “Quiet neighborhood. Loud neighbors.”

“Your parents?”

“Schoolteacher and a mechanic. Married for thirty years. Still slow dancing in the kitchen when they think no one’s watching.”

Edward’s brows lifted slightly.

“How do you feel about legacy?”

Ava took a beat before answering. “I think legacy is just ego with good PR.”

Grayson coughed into his water. Edward’s expression didn’t change.

The waiters brought out dessert: crème brûlée with a shard of caramelized sugar that looked more like a weapon than a garnish.

Edward set his spoon down slowly, eyes pinned on Ava.

“How much did he pay you?”

Ava blinked. “Excuse me?”

Edward didn’t blink. Didn’t shift. “You’re not from our world. You’re not in love. So I ask again: how much is my son’s name worth these days?”

Grayson’s fork clattered against his plate. “That’s enough.”

But Ava didn’t look away.

She met Edward’s gaze head-on, and for a moment, the room fell completely still.

“I’m not being paid, Mr. Wolfe,” she said coolly. “I married into this circus for free.”

Edward’s mouth twitched something between amusement and approval. “Then you’re either very stupid,” he said, “or very dangerous.”

Ava’s smile didn’t falter. “I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

It wasn’t just a comeback. It was a statement. A warning.

And for the first time since the meal began, Edward didn’t have a reply.

Back in the car, silence stretched between them like a drawn curtain.

The city lights blurred past the window, and Ava rested her hand in her lap, unsure whether it was trembling from adrenaline or fury.

Finally, Grayson spoke.

“You didn’t have to defend me.”

She kept her gaze on the passing skyline. “I wasn’t defending you.”

He glanced at her.

“I was defending me.”

Grayson’s eyes lingered a moment longer before returning to the road. But something shifted between them. Subtle. Heavy. A recognition.

Not affection.

But respect.

She had stood her ground.

And in the Wolfe family?

That was the first real test