When love is the currency and freedom the price, who truly comes out owning who?
——
"WHAT?!!." Alex and I screamed in unison the sound ripping through the sudden, suffocating silence of the room.
No. This isn't happening. It can't be happening. This had to be some cruel, elaborate prank, a twisted joke designed to shatter the last vestiges of my sanity.
Not that the idea of being bound to Alex was entirely repulsive, my body's traitorous response to him was a constant, undeniable hum beneath my skin, but not like this. Never like this. Not now, especially not when I could practically taste the silent contempt he held for me, the way his dark gaze promised not affection, but danger and an unbreakable claim.
Not when I knew he didn't want me.
My whole future, college, independence, dreams I'd clung to for years couldn't just be erased with a handshake and a signature. But Chase, that smug, insufferable snake cut through my spiraling thoughts with a voice thick with false confidence.
"Mr. Dankworth, don't worry, she'll go through with the plan." He didn't even look at me. Just tossed the words out like I was already bought and sold. "She should be grateful for this amazing offer," he added, finally flicking his eyes toward me with barely veiled annoyance.
Grateful? I wanted to scream.
"Alright then, since that is settled, I'll be expecting you all at the office tomorrow to sign the papers." Alex's father said, as calm and cold as a man finalizing a business deal, not a marriage. He shook hands with Chase and my father, his expression unreadable, and turned for the door without another word.
"Son, let's go." Mr. Dankworth's voice cracked like a whip, snapping Alex out of his daze.
He turned his head slightly, and for the briefest second, his eyes met mine. There was something there. Not warmth. Not softness. But a flicker of something I couldn't name.
A warning?
A threat?
A promise?
And then, he was gone.
***
I stood frozen, my world unraveling. The house fell quiet, too quiet.
Only my father and Chase remained. My father offered me a fleeting, almost imperceptible apologetic look, a weak flicker of remorse in his eyes that did nothing to soothe the burning rage within me.
Chase, however, was grinning like an idiot, a self-satisfied smirk plastered across his face. God, how I hated him. The sheer sight of him made my stomach churn, a bitter acid rising in my throat.
"Dad tell me this is a joke." My voice was low, trembling, but as I continued, the absurdity of this sick joke resonated, clear and horrifying in my head. "What papers are we signing tomorrow ?, what plan?, in fact what's the talk about me getting married?, I just finished high school not less than 48 hours ago." I screamed..
"Oh, please be quiet". Chase snapped, rolling his eyes. "Stop making everything about you and just do this one thing for your family for once. You should also be glad someone actually wants you, so stop being a self-absorbed brat and do what you're told"
I could've slapped him.
I wanted to. The urge was a burning, desperate fire in my vein.
I curled my hands into fists, my nails biting into my palms.
"Chase, that's enough." My father's voice, surprisingly firm, cut through the tension. "I think you should leave now. I'll talk to her."
Chase stared at me for a moment longer, eyes cold and unblinking, then finally turned and walked out.
My father moved to the couch and sank into it with a heaviness I hadn't seen in years.
"Lily, come here." he said gently, gesturing for me to sit beside him.
I walked to the couch, but maintained a deliberate, defiant distance between us, turning my face forward.
"Please look at me," he whispered.
I did, and immediately regretted it.
All my anger evaporated in an instant.
He looked like a shell of the man I once knew. His usually bright blue eyes were dulled, hollow. His short blond hair was disheveled. His shoulders slumped as if he'd aged ten years in one moment. The last time I saw him like this was after Mom died.
"I know nothing I say can justify this," he began, his voice cracking. "But I need you to listen."
I didn't speak. I simply nodded once.
"You know I stepped back from the business after your mother passed, and Chase took over. I thought he could handle it, but…things have gone badly. We're drowning in debt."
I exhaled slowly. Of course. Of course it came back to this.
"He's been working with you for years. He should have been ready." I didn't bother softening the accusation. "He squandered the funds. You know that. He failed. Not you."
"But something has to be done." His eyes softened, reaching for my hand. "If this marriage doesn't happen… we lose everything. The business. The house. Everything."
"So you're giving me away to keep the roof over your head?" My voice broke. "What else have you tried? What is Chase doing about it?"
He looked away.
"The Dankworths are the only ones willing to help us," he said quietly.
"But why me?" I whispered. My heart ached as the words slipped out.
Why do I always pay the price?.
"They chose you," he said, still unable to meet my eyes.
"The Dankworths?" My voice cracked again.
He didn't respond. He didn't need to. The look in his eyes was confirmation enough.
But it made no sense.
Why not Rena?
She was older, beautiful, brilliant, elegant, everything I wasn't. The obvious match for someone like Alex.
I was just…me.
"Please say something," he said after a long silence.
"I don't know what to say," I admitted, wiping my eyes.
"Just tell me you'll do this one thing. Alex is a good person. His family will treat you well."
"And you're sure about that?" My voice was sharp, challenging.
"No, but—"
"Then don't say it. Alex hates me. How do you expect me to spend the rest of my life with someone who doesn't love me? And what about my life? My goals?"
"If there were another way, I wouldn't ask you to do this," he said. "You can still go to college. You can still do all the things you dreamed of. The only change is… you'll be married."
I stared at him, wondering who this man had become.
Was this my father? The man who told me I could be anything?
Now he spoke of me like property. Something to be leased out. A solution to a financial crisis.
"I have to go," I said softly.
He wiped his face with trembling hands.
"Yeah… I understand. Just remember, we need to leave early tomorrow."
The words were like a knife, piercing into my heart.
I stepped out onto the balcony, the cool night air brushing against my skin. I sat down on the bench where Mom and I used to watch the stars. They stared back now, distant and uncaring.
What would she have said about this?, Would she be disappointed?, Angry?, Heartbroken?
I already knew the answer.
She wouldn't have let this happen.
I tried to think of something, anything else but everything circled back to tomorrow. The papers. The marriage. The trap disguised as escape.
Running away wasn't an option. I had no money. No support. No power.
But that didn't mean I would stay trapped forever. I would find a way out eventually. I'd save. I'd plan. I'd endure.
This marriage might be a prison, but it was still a door, one that led me away from Chase, away from this house, away from the life where I had no control.
Alex didn't want me. That was obvious.
But I wanted him. And I was getting him.
That would have to be enough for now.
Tomorrow, I'd sign the papers. And I wouldn't cry again.
Not for them.
Not for this.