YOU ARE CRAZY!"
Leia was still in disbelief from what she just heard Jake say. Her voice tore through Jake's office like a whip, echoing against the polished walls. Her face burned, her chest heaved, and she didn't care if the entire city heard her. "Completely, certifiably insane!"
She spun on her heel before he could even reply, heels slamming against the marble as she stormed out. The secretary gasped, men in suits froze, but Leia didn't stop; she shoved them, the glass doors open and stalked into the elevator.
Her reflection stared back at her, flushed, furious, unbowed.
Her hands shook, but her glare was steady. "Over my dead body," she muttered, punching the elevator button like it was Jake Carter's smug face.
By the time she stepped out of the cab and reached her art studio, her chest had finally stopped heaving. But the sight waiting for her knocked the air right out of her lungs.
Her studio, her sanctuary, was chained. Heavy locks on the doors, men in black suits hauling canvases and supplies into trucks. The red spray-painted word slapped across the shutters in bold letters: SEIZED.
Leia's blood boiled.
She marched up to the men, her hair blazing in the sunlight like fire itself. "What is going on? What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she snapped.
One of them didn't even look up. "Orders."
"Orders?!" she barked. "From who?"
"From the Carter family," the man replied flatly, as if the name itself explained everything. "This is their land, and they ordered the closure of this property on it. If you have a problem with it, feel free to take it up with your lawyers.
Leia's laugh was bitter, sharp, venomous. "Oh, of course. Who else but the almighty Jake Carter, king of lunatics?" She threw her bag to the ground, her fists trembling. "You tell your boss that if he thinks he can bulldoze me into submission, he's dumber than I thought!"
The man didn't flinch. He just turned, muttering into his earpiece.
Her phone buzzed. One glance at the screen, and her fury doubled.
Unknown number.
But her hunch told her it's Jake, who is behind the phone."
She snatched the call up, her voice seething. "You smug bastard! First my brother, now my studio? What's next, my lungs? You want me to stop breathing, too?!"
On the other end, his voice was calm, smooth, like silk wrapped around steel. "Well, I'd like that too. But I warned you, Leia. Resistance is entertaining, but costly."
"You are totally unbelievable. What do you want from me? You don't even know me. First, kidnapped my brother, and now you're closing my art studio?"
"I gave you the solution to your problem, didn't I?"
"Marry me? You don't even know me, and you want to marry me? What sort of game are you trying to play, Carter and why on earth are you involving me?"
"You'd find out soon…when you become my wife. But right now, I'm relishing in the moment as I find your annoyance entertaining."
Leia's teeth clenched. "Entertaining? Do you get off on this, Carter? Destroying people's lives? Guess what, I'd rather die choking on my own paintbrush than marry you, you big, arrogant oaf!"
For a moment, silence. Then, a low chuckle that made her skin crawl. "Careful, Red. That fire of yours… it only makes me want you more."
"You must be delusional to think I care about any of this."
She hung up before he could say another word, cursing so loud that passersby stopped to stare.
By the time she reached home, her fury had boiled into something brittle. She pushed the door open, only to freeze.
On her couch sat her younger brother's girlfriend, Mia, who is also her best friend, heavily pregnant, exhaustion written all over her face. They have been best friends since high school, before she started dating her brother, and now they have been engaged for over six months. It was definitely obvious that she had been crying, tissues scattered around her lap.
"Leia," Mia's voice broke as she stood, rushing to her.
"Mia." Leia wanted to ask how she got into her apartment, but she remembered Mia had a key to the place. She just fell into her arms instead.
"How are you doing, Mia? What are you doing here?"
"If I told you I'm doing well, would you believe?"
Leia sighed. She obviously knows Mia's due date is close, and her boyfriend has been kidnapped.
"I spoke to your father today, and he told me what the kidnappers want. They want you. Why?" Mia said as she took her friend's hand.
"I don't know Mia. I really don't know. They kidnapped Darren, and now, they want me to marry Jake Carter."
"That's absurd, Leia, I'm so sorry."
"I know but I can't sign it. We both know how dangerous the Carters are. And now, they want me to marry into the family."
"Leia, you have to do it."
Leia opened her mouth to protest, but Mia was faster to speak up.
"Please, Leia, you have to listen to me this time."
Leia blinked, confusion twisting into irritation. "Mia, not you too. Don't start…"
"Leia!" her best friend snapped weakly, rubbing her swollen belly. "Do you have any idea what's happening? Do you even care?
"You sound like my dad right now. Did he send you here to talk to me?"
"No, he did not send me, but Leia. I need Darren. Especially at this time of my life. I'd be giving birth soon, and the father of my child is in the hands of the Carters."
"Mia, I cannot marry a Carter. I don't even know him. I swear, I would not go down without a fight."
"This isn't about pride or proving a point. It's about Darren. It's about family."
Leia stiffened, fire sparking in her eyes. "You and I know I want Darren back here as much as you do. He is my brother. Darren is my life. That's why I'm fighting this psycho instead of rolling over like everyone expects me to."
Mia's tears spilled harder. She grabbed Leia's hands, squeezing desperately. "You don't get it! He's dangerous! You fight him, you lose."
"So I should let him have his way and do whatever he wants?"
"Everyone loses. Do you think I'd beg if I wasn't terrified for you? For Darren? For your family?"
Leia yanked her hands back, pacing like a caged tiger. "So what? I should just throw myself into his hands and call it Marriage? I should clap my hands and say thank you, Mr. Carter, for ruining my life?"
"Stop it, Leia." Mia's voice raised slightly, her voice cracking. "This isn't about love! It's about survival! Don't you see? He's already taken everything. Your brother. Your studio. Next, it'll be us. Your father. Me. Her."
Her baby.
Leia's niece.
She placed her hands on her enormous belly; her eyes brimmed with tears. "Do you want to gamble their lives just to prove how stubborn you are?"
Leia opened her mouth to oppose, but words failed her.
"Your niece needs her father. I need him. I can't do this without him. She would be born into this world soon, and her father would be nowhere to be found. Only God knows what they are doing to her father right now.
Leia froze.
Her best friend's trembling hand rubbed her belly, her voice trembling. "Leia…please. I need my boyfriend. I need him safe. I can't…" her voice cracked. "I can't do this without him."
Leia's throat tightened. For a long moment, silence drowned the room, heavy and suffocating.
Her fists clenched. Her pride screamed to keep fighting. Her fire wanted to spit venom until her last breath. But the sight of her best friend's belly, her best friend's tears, her brother's terrified eyes on that screen… it crushed her.
Leia placed her hand on her friend's belly and felt a slight movement. Heaven knows how much she loves this baby and can't wait to meet her.
"Mia, you know how much I love this baby. I would get her father back to her. To you. Even if I have to marry Jake Carter."
Her phone lay on the table. Cold. Heavy. Waiting.
She snatched it up, dialed his number, and pressed it to her ear with trembling fingers.
He picked up on the first ring. "Yes, Red?"
Leia's jaw clenched. Her chest burned. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat and hissed.
"Fine. You win, you big oaf. I'll marry you."