Chapter 2 - A Chance Encounter

Letisha’s POV

The chocolate was melting, almost to the point where the gooey caramel in the center started oozing. I focused on the mess instead of giving in to the blazing anger and hurt threatening to cave in my chest.

Focused on tossing the ruined candy bar onto an empty plate and cleaning my sticky fingers as best as I could with a napkin instead of berating myself for being a fool. Of course, my father didn’t care about how hard I had to work to simply survive. He hadn’t cared when I’d lived under his roof, so it shouldn’t be surprising that he didn't care now.

The thought didn’t lessen the disappointment in my gut, however. And that feeling increased my anger. Disappointment meant I had held onto hope. Hope that my father had miraculously regressed to being the man he’d been when my mother had been alive.

‘You’re such an idiot, Leti!’ I scolded myself silently.

I sighed wearily and finally lifted my head to face my father. He and Fiona had their eyes trained on me. His with a sort of nervous impatience—a surprise to be sure, and Fiona with that same glee from earlier.

Well, I supposed this explained why she hadn’t been ignoring me since I’d arrived. She must be delighted at the thought of me being married off. I glanced over to Gabriella to see her watching me with an expression mirroring her daughter’s. How disappointed they were all going to be.

“You want me to get married,” I repeated calmly, returning my attention to my father. “Why?”

He blinked at me, as if he was confused by my question, but then he cleared his throat and responded. “As I said, I’ve neglected you for far too long and—”

“And you’ve decided that the way to make up for that is to pawn me off to some random man I’ve never met,” I interrupted.

“That is no way to speak your father, young lady,” Gabriella scolded.

I ignored her.

I had the errant thought that her earlier words had much more truth to them than I’d originally thought. I had grown. Not physically. But the unsure girl of 18 who had still yearned to be accepted by her family was long gone. If they thought I was the obedient doormat they’d all but banished years ago, they were all in for a rude awakening.

My father’s cheeks reddened—a sign of his upset.

“I have found a husband from a prestigious family that is worthy of your background. He’s very capable and will ensure you want nothing. Once you’re married, you can stay home and live a comfortable life. I am doing this for your own good, Letisha.”

I scoffed out a humorless laugh. “I’m in my final year of school. You haven’t been so concerned about my own good for the past four years, yet you expect me to believe this is for my benefit?”

“Letisha!” Fiona gasped out in exaggerated outrage, “That’s not fair! Daddy has been working hard for the entire family! I know you might be upset with him, but he’s simply been so busy.”

‘Yes, yes. Simply so busy, he’s only had time to attend to one daughter instead of two.’

“Right,” I muttered, pushing back to my feet.

“I guess this is the part where I thank you for your consideration and the generous offer,” I injected sarcasm into every word. “But I’m going to have to decline the offer.”

“It wasn’t an offer, child,” my father announced with finality.

My hands fisted at my side. “I’m not getting married. Certainly not to a stranger of your choosing.”

I turned to leave the room, but his next move froze me. “You have an obligation to this family, Letisha.”

I spun around to give him a disbelieving look. I couldn’t believe my ears. An obligation? To this family? How could he think he had a right to decide my future after he’d spent so many years ignoring me?

And why would my marriage be considered an obligation to this family?

As soon as the thought occurred, the answer followed behind it.

“So that’s what this is about,” I muttered out loud.

My father shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but his expression remained firm when he responded, “I don’t know what you mean.”

“What I mean is, this isn’t about me, is it? You’re getting something out of this. What is it?”

He remained silent. While my father’s expression didn’t change, I could see from Fiona’s face that she was aware of everything going on. Not surprisingly. I’m sure they’d all had a nice little chat about my life over family dinner.

When they all continued to remain silent, I decided I’d had enough of this. It’s not as if I needed to know the details since I had no intention of fulfilling this supposed obligation. I turned to leave once more.

“The company is in trouble,” my father called out, stopping me in my tracks for the second time.

“What happened?” I asked against my better judgment.

He sighed, looking tired. “We had a few bad returns on major projects. Long story short, we’re in dire need of investments right now. The man I’ve chosen for you will be able to offer us the financial backing. Once you’re married, all the problems we’re facing can be easily solved.”

Easily?

I wasn’t sure how to sort out the feelings I had in hearing the company wasn’t doing well. On the one hand, I shouldn’t care about his company. But I didn’t feel as different as I’d like.

“So you decided to sell me to save your company,” I surmised.

My father frowned at my words.

“For heaven’s sake!” Gabriella snapped. “You’re acting as if we’re putting you up for auction. Marriage is an honorable thing, Letisha. You will be the wife of a wealthy and influential man. That’s every woman’s dream. You should be grateful we’re giving you such a golden opportunity.”

“If it’s such a golden opportunity, why don’t we let Fiona marry this wealthy, influential man?” I replied.

She looked shocked at my words. Almost as if it never even occurred to her to use her own daughter in this ridiculous exchange.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Fiona scoffed.

“I’m not being ridiculous. Of two of us, you’re the only one that’s single.” I turned my attention back to my father. “I’m sorry about the company, but I have no intention of marrying a stranger. I already have a boyfriend. Michael and I love each other, and we plan to get married after graduation.”

“You–!”

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”

This time, I didn’t stop even as I heard them calling after me.

Fifteen minutes later, I was making my way down an alley toward the Inn where I’d rented a room for the week.

I guess, in the back of my mind, I’d known I didn’t have a place in that house anymore. It was close enough to the house so I could walk. I’d booked the room online for 100 dollars. Ridiculously cheap given the area, with two bedrooms and a small bathroom attached. It would suffice until I could secure a decent part-time job for the holidays. I’d spend the next week searching for a job and deciding what to do from there.

I’d refused Michael’s offer to stay over at his place, but that felt too…much. He often teased me about being too conservative, but then turned around and said that’s one of the things he loved about me. I felt bad that I couldn’t feel relaxed enough to give him everything he wanted, but I told myself it was because we were both so busy. Aside from school, he also worked at his father’s company, and I had to deal with working so I could save up as well.

Once we both graduated, things could change. Once we were married…

A frisson of anger rolled through me at what had just transpired. I kept telling myself that I shouldn’t be surprised, but it was still so unbelievable that my own father wanted to sell me for an investment. Even more unbelievable that he thought I would just go along with it.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Michael’s number. I always felt better after talking to him.

“Hey, babe. Did you get home okay?” he answered.

“Okay is debatable. Do you have time to meet for lunch? I want to tell you something.”

“Um…sorry. I have a meeting in twenty minutes. It’s a planning meeting, so I’m not sure how long it will run for…”

I squashed my disappointment. I thought he wouldn’t start working again until next week, but maybe his schedule had changed.

“Oh. That’s okay. I understand.”

“You always do. That’s why I love you. I promise I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. Talk to you tomorrow.”

I ended the call and continued my walk but paused when a noise to my left caught my attention.

The turn-off from the alley was a narrow footpath and looked to be the back of a building. It was a bit darker than the main alley, even though it was early afternoon—the building’s roof overhanging to shade it from direct sunlight.

I squinted at the figure hunched beside a stack of crates. I was close enough to make out that it was a man wearing a dark suit, but his position and the poor lighting didn’t reveal any other detail.

I took a hesitant step toward him, “Sir? Are you okay?”

I paused and then dashed forward when the figure collapsed onto the ground, as if he’d lost strength in his legs.

By the time I made it to his side, he was struggling to get to his feet again.

“Are you okay? Do you need help?” I asked frantically, reaching out to help him up. Before I could, he reacted much more swiftly than I’d thought he would be capable of—one hand shot out and pulled me into his chest while the other covered my mouth to trap the scream that rose.

On instinct, I began to struggle against him, apprehension replacing my earlier concern. Despite the appearance of his weakness earlier, his hold on me remained firm. Had he been faking? Was this some elaborate plot to lure some innocent fool over so he could grab them?

It would be just my luck to get kidnapped while trying to help someone. On top of everything else that had happened today, the thought re-sparked my anger, and I resumed my struggle anew. I managed to jab my elbow into his side, and he grunted as if in pain, but he didn't loosen his hold. In fact, his grip tightened.

“Quiet!” he hissed next to my ear. “Or we’ll both be dead.”

On the heels of his reproach, heavy footsteps echoed in the alleyway I’d just been on. I stilled. I wasn’t sure what was happening here, but I could sense the seriousness of his words.

“Are you sure he came this way?” a voice sounded.

“Where else could he have gone? If we don’t find him, we don’t get paid,” another voice answered.

“Let’s check through here,” the first voice suggested, and I felt my captor stiffen against me.

I quickly assessed the situation. These men seemed to be looking for him. I could resume my struggle and hope they discovered us and that I could get away, but on instinct, I remained still, not yet sure who the bad guy in this situation was. Not that my compliance would help much since it appeared they were headed this way.

“Over here!” a third voice sounded. This one was much farther away and in the opposite direction.

“Let’s go,” the first voice said, and the footsteps echoed once more until they faded.

I waited until enough time had passed for them to leave the alley before I tried escaping his hold. This time, his hands fell away instantly, making me feel a bit better about my decision to remain quiet.

Still, he shouldn’t go around grabbing unsuspecting women like that. I spun to face him in order to give him a piece of my mind, but my breath caught in my throat at my first good look at him.

Dark eyes glared down at me in suspicion beneath hooded lids and equally dark lashes. His strong jaw was clenched stubbornly. A proud nose and a disapproving scowl completed the picture of intimidation he made. He wasn’t standing to his full height—his frame hunched over as he leaned against the wall for support— but he was still looming over me. This wasn’t the type of man someone could casually scold.

I took an instinctive step back, my earlier bravado fading, but paused in my retreat when he let out a soft curse and clutched at his side.

I let out a surprised gasp when my eyes followed the movement and saw his fingers coated with blood. Blood that was steadily dripping from a wound at his side.

I fumbled for my purse to reach for my phone, but a hand grabbed my wrist to stop me.

“What are you doing?” he groaned out, his breathing labored.

“You’re bleeding,” I stated, as if it weren’t already obvious, “and there are people after you. I can call the police—”

“No police!” he snapped, his grip tightening painfully. I winced, but didn't try to escape his hold. I knew my attempt would be futile.

I raised a brow at that. Oookay… “An ambulance.”

He shook his head once. “No… hospital.”

I frowned in concern as his words began to slur, and his hold on me weakened until his hand fell away.

“You’re injured. And you’re losing a lot of blood—”

“No…” he interrupted again.

I started to insist, but my eyes widened in horror as his eyes shut, and he slid to the ground—unconscious.