Do you Accept?

I fell to my knees outside my father’s mansion, sobbing until I couldn’t breathe.

I had been betrayed by the two people I trusted most, the man I loved, and the cousin I treated like a sister

I forced myself to look up, my blurry eyes locking into a second story window.

My son's room.

I wished with all my heart I could hold him, or just tell him I was alive. Instead, I had to stay back knowing If I took even five steps toward him, security would drag me away.

"I'm so sorry, Leo," I choked out, pressing a trembling hand to my lips. "Mommy’s here. I'm going to get you back."

Suddenly I felt a presence behind me and before I could even turn my head, a hand grabbed my shoulder, ripping me backward off the ground.

"Hey—!"

My scream was cut short as a cloth dripped in chloroform was slammed over my nose and mouth. I thrashed wildly, kicking my legs and clawing at the thick arms holding me down.

"Hold her arms," a gruff voice grunted.

"Hurry up, the security patrols around here every twenty minutes."

I tried to hold my breath, but my lungs burned and the moment I gasped for air, the chemical rushed deep into my chest knocking me unconscious as the men dragged my limp body toward a waiting black van.

I woke up with a throbbing headache, like there was a hammer smashing against my skull.

I groaned, blinking hard against the harsh glare of a single, industrial bulb hanging from a high steel ceiling.

I was sitting in a rusted metal chair in the center of a massive, empty warehouse.

"What the hell?" I muttered trying to move my hands, but thick plastic zip ties bound my wrists tightly behind the back of the chair.

"She's awake."

I snapped my head toward the voice. Standing just outside the circle of light were three men dressed in dark tailored suits with black pistols holstered under their jackets.

"Who are you?" I demanded, my voice raw and cracking. "Did Dean send you? Did he change his mind about letting me walk away? That fucking bastard!"

There was no response.

"Answer me! or get me someone who will!"

Then, the metal door at the far end of the warehouse groaned open and the click of leather dress shoes echoed against the concrete walls.

The three guards immediately shifted, standing at attention as a tall figure stepped into the light.

He was wearing a black suit, his hands casually shoved into his pockets but it was his face that made the breath catch in my throat.

Strong, angular jawline, sharp hazel eyes, and a thick mane of beautiful, curly black hair that fell perfectly across his forehead.

He was just as beautiful as Dean.

I knew him.

Everyone in the tech world knew him.

"Jared Donovan," I breathed, my mind scrambling to make sense of the nightmare.

The CEO of Donovan Tech Innovations. He was the golden boy of the tech sector, a ruthless billionaire, and historically, my father’s and family's fiercest, most bitter business rival.

Jared stopped a few feet away from my chair, looking down at me. A faint, unreadable smile played on his lips.

"Amelia Quinn or should I say, Amelia Emiliano? Though I understand that name leaves a bitter taste in your mouth these days."

"What is this?" I barked, tugging uselessly at the zip ties. "If you’re going to kill me to finally get Quinnix out of your way, just get it over with. I’ve already had my life stolen tonight, I don't have time for your games."

Jared chuckled and gestured to one of the guards. "Cut her loose."

The guard hesitated for a fraction of a second before stepping forward with a pocket knife, slicing the plastic bonds.

I immediately pulled my hands forward, rubbing my chafed wrists, my eyes never leaving Jared.

"I didn't bring you across the world to kill you, Amelia," Jared said, pulling a second chair over.

He turned it around and sat down, resting his forearms on the backrest, bringing his face dangerously close to mine. "In fact, you should be thanking me. Who do you think paid that hefty bribe to the Johannesburg warden to get you out of that cell? It cost me millions of dollars to get you back to the states."

I stared at him, stunned. "You?....You bailed me out?"

"Guilty as charged."

"Why?" I asked suspiciously, "You hated my father. You spent a decade trying to drive Quinnix Innovations into the dirt. Why would you spend a fortune to free his daughter?"

Jared’s hazel eyes locked into mine as he let out a soft amused breath, leaning an inch closer.

"Because Amelia, your father is dead, and the empire he left behind is currently being asset stripped by your charming ex-fiancé and your traitorous cousin. Quinnix Innovations is vulnerable and I don’t like leaving things I want out in the open."

"You want Quinnix," I said with a frown. "So you dragged me out of a South African prison to do what? Beg me for stock options?"

"Beg?" Jared chuckled, "No. I do not beg, I negotiate from a position of absolute power. I brought you here to offer you a deal. A partnership, if you will."

"I don't partner with my family's enemies."

"You don't have a family anymore," Jared countered smoothly walking a slow circle around my chair, like a predator sizing up wounded prey.

"Dean and your cousin have taken your company. They’ve taken your house and your freedom when they framed you and shipped you off to Johannesburg and right now, as we speak, they have your son."

The mention of Leo’s name felt like a physical blow to my chest.

I half rose from the chair, my hands clenching into fists. "Don't you dare speak about my son."

In a flash, Jared was right in front of me. He placed one hand on the back of my chair and leaned down, trapping me within his space.

"I will speak of him, Amelia, because he is the only currency you have left," Jared whispered, his gaze dropping briefly to my lips before snapping back to my eyes.

"Dean won't let you within a mile of that mansion. You try to go back there on your own, and you'll end up dead in a ditch, or right back in a cage. But with me? With my resources, my security, and my billions? We can crush Dean. We can ruin your cousin so completely she'll wish she never heard the name Quinn. I will give you your revenge and I will get you your son back."

Gosh he knew how the whisper the right words, "And what do you want in exchange?"

Jared smiled, a slow, cruel curving of his lips that sent a shiver straight down my spine.

"I want you to marry me."

I stared at him, utterly dumbfounded and a hysterical laugh bubbled up in my throat, but the dead serious expression in his hazel eyes choked it out.

"You're insane. You want to marry me? To get a tech company?"

"Legally, if you marry me, I can launch a hostile takeover of Quinnix under a joint-marital clause written into your father's original corporate bylaws. I've studied his charter, Amelia. If you marry a direct competitor, it triggers a mandatory board review of Dean’s current CEO status. It shatters his legal shield. I get the company. You get the blood of the people who crossed you. It's a perfect transaction."

I shook my head, my mind racing, desperately looking for the catch. "No. No, wait. This doesn't make sense... everyone knows you're already married. You married Claire Sterling six months ago. The billionaire heiress to Sterling Shipping. Why the hell would you need me?"

Jared casually stepped back, reaching into his inner jacket pocket to pull out a sleek, silver cigarette case tapping it against his palm, his demeanor utterly unfazed.

"Claire was an arrangement that has outlived its corporate utility," Jared said evenly, his tone chillingly detached. "We are already quietly finalizing our divorce. Don't worry about Claire. She’s being taken care of. You should worry about yourself."

"You're talking about a marriage contract like it's a software update," I breathed, disgusted yet entirely captivated by his sheer ruthlessness. "You don't care about anyone, do you?"

Jared paused, looking down at me with a gaze that was completely devoid of warmth. "Let’s be crystal clear, Amelia. I don't love you. I don't even particularly like the drama that follows your family. This is business. I am using you to get Quinnix. I am using your grief and your anger to build my empire higher."

He stepped closer again, towering over me, his presence overwhelming and magnetic. "But here is the beauty of a monster like me: I always deliver on my contracts. We sign the papers. We play the happy, powerful newlyweds for the press. I systematically dismantle Dean and your cousin until they have absolutely nothing left and the day the acquisition of Quinnix is complete, I will file for a quiet divorce. I’ll give you a five percent carry-over share of the company enough to ensure you and Leo never have to work a day in your lives again and you can walk away. Free With your son."

Every instinct told me to run, to scream, to reject this arrogant, manipulative billionaire who was treating my tragedy like a chess match.

But then I pictured Leo's face.

I pictured him upstairs in that mansion, surrounded by the people who had destroyed my life.

"How do I know I can trust you?" I whispered, my voice trembling with a mix of fury and fear. "How do I know you won't just dump me back in prison when you're done with me?"

Jared leaned in one final time, his lips brushing past my ear, his breath hot against my skin that made my pulse spike.

"Because, sweetheart," he murmured, his voice smooth and cunning, "You don't have a choice but to accept if you want to hold little Leo again."

He straightened up, extending a hand toward me, his long fingers waiting.

"So Amelia. Do we have a deal?"