Chapter 4: The Invitation

Three months later.

The city was alive outside Mia’s apartment where Jayla had been staying after leaving her matrimonial home. She stood by the window, staring down at the restless glow of New York. The traffic below was a blurry streak of red and white, and car horns were echoing into the night like distant arguments that never seemed to end.

The noise would have irritated her normally, but not tonight. Tonight, it matched the noise in her head.

Three months. Three months since she had walked into that bedroom…since everything she thought she understood about her life had been torn open and gutted in the span of a single breath.

And somehow…she still wasn’t free.

She was dragged out of her roaming thoughts by the sudden ringing of her phone, and her father's name appearing on the screen did not help matters. Especially since all he had done was try to convince her that her marriage was more important than one affair. She had been disgusted by it, refusing to go home or talk to him ever since then.

She stared at the ringing phone for a while, battling with herself on whether to answer it or not. After the fifth ring, she finally let out an exasperated sigh and answered with a cold voice.

“What is it?”

“Jayla.” His voice came through strained and older than she remembered. “Thank God you picked up. There’s been a development, my dear.”

She closed her eyes briefly, already irritated. “If this is about the merger again…”

“It is,” he replied honestly. “It's about the merger and the Woodfords.”

That made her go still, and a cold feeling slowly crept into her chest.

“What about them?” she asked, trying her possible best not to sound rude.

“They want to talk, Jayla. They’ve requested a family dinner tomorrow night.”

She let out a short and sarcastic laugh. “A dinner?” She turned away from the window and made her way slowly back to the living room where she put the phone on speaker so that Mia could hear the conversation. “What are we celebrating? Betrayal? Public humiliation? Or is Sophia finally getting her official seat at the table?”

“Jayla…”

“No, Dad!” She snapped angrily. “I’m not doing this. I don't want to play the role of a dutiful wife anymore. I want a divorce.”

The word hung between them like a loaded weapon, followed by a pause on the other end.

Then her father sighed heavily, a sound filled with something dangerously close to desperation.

“You think I don’t understand how you feel?” he said quietly. “You think I don’t know what that man did to you?”

“Then act like it,” she snapped. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re still willing to hand me back to him like nothing happened.”

“It’s not that simple,” her father said softly.

“It is to me,” Jayla retorted, no longer caring about hurting his emotions.

There was another stretch of silence, then his voice dropped, softer now…pleading.

“Jayla…you remember why this marriage happened in the first place.”

She said nothing.

“The Kensington empire is sinking,” he continued. “You’ve seen the numbers and the reports. Without the Woodford merger, we may not survive this year. This deal…this marriage…is the only thing keeping everything from finally collapsing into dust.”

Jayla’s grip on the phone tightened.

“I don’t care,” she said, but there was a crack in her voice now…small and almost invisible. “I’m not a bargaining chip anymore.”

“You were never just that,” he said quickly.

“Really?” she shot back. “Because I seem to remember you signing a contract that said otherwise.”

“Jayla, please. It’s just for another year and you’ll be free.” His voice broke slightly. “I’m asking you…just come to the dinner with me and hear what they have to say. If you still want out after that, then…we’ll figure something out.”

Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out because she already knew that tone. Her father wasn't speaking with authority or trying to be manipulative…He was truly scared.

And she hated that it still worked on her.

Mia, who had been listening from the couch with her eyes locked on Jayla the entire time, gave her a pleading look, one that begged her to listen to her father.

Jayla looked away from her and sighed in frustration.

“I’ll think about it,” she said finally.

“That’s all I’m asking,” her father replied with a breath of relief.

The call ended a second later, and just like that, the silence in the apartment felt heavier than before.

Jayla put the phone away slowly, staring at the blank screen like it had personally betrayed her.

“I’m not going,” she said after a moment, more to herself than anyone else.

Mia grinned at her.

“Yeah,” she said dryly. “You are.”

Jayla shot her a furious glare. “Whose side are you on anyway?”

“Yours,” Mia said immediately, pushing herself to her feet and coming to place her hand on Lila's shoulder. “Which is exactly why you have to go.”

Jayla turned to face her fully, carrying an incredulous look on her face. “Did you miss the part where my so-called husband slept with my supposed best friend in our bed? Or are we just skipping over that now?”

“Oh no,” Mia said quickly. “Trust me, I’ve replayed that story enough times to qualify for emotional damage compensation.” She tilted her head slightly. “But this isn’t about you forgiving Alex or Sophia, Jayla. This is about strategy and saving this family empire.”

“I don’t want strategy,” Jayla snapped. “I want out of this bloody arrangement.”

“And you’ll get it,” Mia replied calmly. “But not like this.”

Jayla scoffed, folding her arms again. “Enlighten me.”

Mia pulled her down to the couch with a stern look on her face.

“Think about it, Jayla. If you walk away now, you will be walking away with nothing but a broken contract and your father’s empire going down in flames right behind you. And what about the career you abandoned, the life you left just to be with him for the past two years. Everything goes down the drain just like that?”

Jayla felt her heart lurch inside her, but she said nothing.

“Do you really think Alex and his family won’t spin this?” Mia continued. “You think they won’t paint you as the unstable wife who couldn’t handle the pressure of your marriage? You’ll lose everything…and they’ll still come out clean like they've always done in any scandal.”

“That’s not fair,” Jayla said quietly.

“No,” Mia agreed. “It’s not. But it’s real.”

The words settled heavily between them, and Mia softened slightly, reaching out to grip Jayla’s shoulders.

“Look at me,” she said.

Reluctantly, Jayla did.

“You’re not going there as the woman who got cheated on,” Mia said firmly. “You’re going there as the woman who’s about to take control of the game and save her family business. And you are going to accomplish that aim in the remaining seven months of this contract to end.”

Jayla nodded without a word.

“When you sit at that table,” Mia continued, “you listen, and you make your move when it counts. Not when you’re emotional. Not when you’re hurt.”

There was another pause, then Mia spoke in an even softer tone.

“You don’t survive people like the Woodfords by reacting, Jayla. You survive them by thinking three steps ahead and beating them at their own game.”

She let out a slow breath. Her mind drifted against her wish…to a pair of ice blue eyes…cold, detached…watching her like she was something to be studied rather than loved.

‘This marriage is nothing but a business… And whatever happens between me and another woman is not your concern.’

The memory hit her like a savage slap, and her expression hardened instantly.

“Fine,” she said.

Mia’s lips curved into a proud smile. “There she is.”

“I’ll go,” Jayla continued, her voice much steadier now. “But not for them and not for the merger.”

“For you,” Mia finished.

Jayla nodded.

“For me.”