All Chapters of Bound Unwilling : Chapter 1 - Chapter 6

The next morning at Wellington Enterprises, Lucas was trying to make sense of the mountain of responsibilities that came with his new position when his assistant buzzed him. “Mr. Wellington? You have a visitor. Mr. Damien Rhodes?” Lucas frowned. “Send him in.” Damien strode into the office moments later, carrying two bags from that expensive deli downtown, grinning like he owned the place. “Surprise!” Damien announced, setting the bags on Lucas’s desk. “Brought you lunch.” Lucas stared at him. “It’s 10 AM.” “Early lunch. Pre-lunch. Whatever.” Damien threw himself into a chair. “Can’t a guy visit his best friend at work?” “Since when do you bring me lunch?” Lucas asked suspiciously. “Actually, since when do you show up unannounced at my office? .“You hate corporate buildings, you always say they make you want to die of boredom.” “Maybe I’m turning over a new leaf.” Damien’s smile was too bright, too casual. “Besides, I wanted to see your fancy new VP digs. Very nice.

Friday evening came and Miriam couldn’t focus on anything. She sat in her room with her laptop open, pretending to work, but the numbers on the screen meant nothing. Ever since the board meeting, there had been this hollow feeling in her chest that wouldn’t go away. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. Emily’s name lit up the screen. Again. Miriam had ignored four calls already this week. She watched it ring, guilt twisting in her stomach, but she couldn’t pick up. What was she supposed to say? How could she explain any of this? The phone went silent. Then it immediately started ringing again. Emily wasn’t giving up. Miriam took a shaky breath and picked up. “Hello?” “Don’t you ‘hello’ me.” Emily’s voice came through sharp and furious. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve called you? How many messages have I left?” “Emi, I’m sorry…” “You’re sorry? Miriam, I’ve been going out of my mind! You disappear for weeks, don’t answer calls, don’t respond to texts, and all I

Miriam barely made it to her room before the sobs took over. She collapsed on her bed, her whole body shaking with the force of her crying. Everything hurts. Her chest, her throat, her heart. Especially her heart, which felt like it had shattered into a thousand pieces. How could he do this? How could Thomas Wellington look his daughter in the eye and tell her she had to marry a stranger? For what? Money they already had? Power they already wielded? Some corporate merger that would make him look good at the country club? She thought about her mother. Sarah Wellington, who’d died when Miriam was just six months old. The mother she’d never known, never gotten to hug, never heard say “I love you.” Would Sarah have let this happen? Would she have stood by and watched her daughter be traded like property? No. Miriam was sure of that, even though she’d never known her mother. Sarah wouldn’t have allowed it. But Sarah was gone, had been gone for twenty-four years, and Miriam was alon