Married to a Billionaire Stranger
Chapter 16: A Seat at the Table
Ella stood in the kitchen, staring down at the sleek white envelope in her hands.
It had arrived that morning — no name on the front, just a golden logo embossed into the flap: The Bennett Show.
She already knew what it meant.
Inside, on heavy cream paper, was a formal invitation:
> We would be honored to feature you as a guest on our upcoming special: "Behind the Headlines — The Real Women Behind the Billionaires."
> This is not about scandal. It's about stories. Yours deserves to be heard.
Ella read it three times before setting it on the counter.
She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.
She hadn't even wanted fame. Now she was being handed a national stage.
---
When Xavier returned that evening, she waited until after dinner.
They were on opposite sides of the living room, a quiet tension stretching between them — familiar now, but no less fragile.
She spoke first.
"I got invited to The Bennett Show."
His gaze flicked up, sharp. "What?"
"They want me to do an interview. A personal one."
"About us?"
"About me," she corrected. "But I'm sure they'll ask about us."
He set his glass down.
"And you said yes?"
"I haven't responded yet."
He nodded once, slowly.
Then the silence came again — thicker this time. Heavy with everything they weren't saying.
---
"You don't want me to do it," Ella said after a while.
"It's not about what I want," he replied. "It's about what it'll cost."
"To who? Me or you?"
Xavier stood, restless now, pacing toward the window. "The public isn't kind. Especially when a woman steps out from behind a man's shadow."
"I'm already in the spotlight, Xavier. I just haven't had a chance to speak."
His jaw clenched. "And if they twist your words? Dig into your past? Bring up your family? Are you ready for that?"
She stood now too, her voice rising with quiet steel.
"I've lived in silence long enough. If they want my truth, I'll give it."
He turned to face her, eyes unreadable.
And she hated that she couldn't tell if he was angry… or afraid.
---
The next morning, she received another message — this time, from Theo.
> Saw the invite. You should do it. Speak your truth before someone else speaks it for you.
Ella stared at the message for a long time.
She didn't reply.
Not yet.
---
Ava arrived later that afternoon, armed with coffee and a stack of printed press materials.
"You need to decide soon," she said. "The Bennett team is locking in the final guest list."
Ella nodded. "What would you do?"
Ava hesitated, then shrugged. "Depends what matters more — your voice, or keeping the peace."
"I'm tired of keeping the peace," Ella murmured.
Ava smiled faintly. "Then maybe it's time you start a little war."
---
That night, she found Xavier in his study — the lights dimmed, his tie undone, sleeves rolled to his elbows.
He looked tired.
But she'd learned now that wasn't the same as weakness. It was just a different kind of armor.
"I need to ask you something," she said, stepping inside.
He didn't look up. "Ask."
"If I go on that show… will you stand beside me?"
Now he looked at her.
Not just at her face — but into her.
And what she saw there wasn't anger.
It was hesitation.
Worry.
And beneath all of it… a fear that maybe she wouldn't need him after all.
---
"I've spent my life managing narratives," he said quietly. "And the moment you step onto that stage, the story stops being mine."
Ella's heart ached.
"Maybe that's the point."
He stood, slowly.
Then, after a pause:
"I won't stop you. I won't spin it. And I won't hide you."
He stepped closer.
"But I'm asking… not as Xavier King the businessman, or the billionaire, or even your husband by contract."
He swallowed.
"I'm asking as the man who's learning to care — in ways that scare the hell out of him."
Ella didn't speak right away.
She didn't need to.
Because for the first time, Xavier didn't hide his vulnerability.
He offered it freely.
---
When she walked into the rooftop lounge two days later for her Bennett Show pre-interview meeting, the host greeted her with a smile.
"Ella King," the woman said. "You have no idea how many people are ready to hear what you have to say."
Ella smiled softly.
"Then it's a good thing I'm finally ready to say it."
---
Back in the penthouse, Xavier watched from the balcony as the city buzzed beneath him.
Ava entered the room behind him, silent.
"You did the right thing," she said.
He didn't respond.
"I don't know if it'll be enough," he said finally.
Ava stepped beside him.
"Then be enough for her, Xavier. Not the company. Not the name. Just you."
---
Ella stood before the skyline that night, staring at her reflection in the glass window.
The weight of the world still pressed down — but somewhere beneath it was something new.
Not freedom.
Not yet.
But something like it.
She wasn't waiting for her voice anymore.
She was preparing to use it.