From the depths of her subconscious, Elara heard the low rumble of a car. She was so numb that she barely registered the sound. She could not sense the world around her. A car door opened, then closed. Muffled footsteps approached.
Elara felt a light but insistent nudge on her shoulders. Her mind snapped back into focus. Her legs and arms felt very stiff as she forced herself to look up.
A man stood over her.
His dark and curly hair framed a face that looked like it had been carved from stone. He reminded her of a Greek god. Green eyes gleamed under the streetlamp. There was no mistaking him.
This was Leo Watson.
"What the hell are you doing lying on the curb?" His voice wasn't gentle.
It wasn't kind. It was clipped and impatient, like Elara was an inconvenience rather than a concern. She wanted to answer with her own barrage of questions, like how he had found her.
Why he was there, what gave him the right to even speak to her, but her throat was much too hoarse. Her body refused to cooperate. All she could do was wail loudly.
Leo sighed and crouched beside Elara. His voice lowered, but it was still very impatient "Come with me, Elara. I'll tell you everything."
Elara wanted to refuse and push him away, to demand he leave her alone. But her body betrayed her. She let him take her arm, let him pull her up as her legs wobbled under her. It was barely holding her weight, but Leo Watson kept a firm grip, guiding her toward the waiting car.
He opened the door and helped Elara inside. The driver in the front didn't acknowledge her. Leo Watson slid in beside her, closing the door before murmuring an address to the driver.
The address sounded familiar, but her mind was too fractured to place it. Elara groaned and rolled her head backwards. Images of Joshua flashed behind her eyes. She felt his hands on her body again. The betrayal in his touch, the horror in his voice when she fought back.
He had been her safe place. Her very own person. And he had tried to rape her.
Tears burned down Elara's face, but she didn't wipe them away. She let them fall. Her body curled into itself, her arms wrapping around her middle as though she could hold herself together.
The car moved smoothly through the city streets. Leo Watson didn't speak. He sat beside her, still and quiet and watching.
Minutes passed, maybe hours, fuck the time. Finally, she forced herself to sit up, to look around and register the people and things around her.
"I'm not interested in whatever marriage this is." was the first thing that came out of her mouth.
Leo didn't hesitate to snap back. "You proposed to me, Elara. You begged me to marry you."
She turned to him, sharply. "That's a lie!"
"It's the truth."
She shook herhead. "No. Why would I do that?"
"You did." He insisted, coldly. "I have the contract. The signatures. And witnesses."
A cold dread seeped into Elara's bones. "You forged it. You forged my signature, and now you're trying to convince me it was all my doing!"
"You know that's not true." Leo Watson said, smiling faintly. He was too calm. It was as if he was taking my refusal as a joke.
Then he added, a growing smirk."Do you really want to tell me you don't remember a single thing from that night in Las Vegas?"
Elara remembered the hotel room, the way she had gripped on to his lapel and begged him to marry her. It was a memory she didn't wish to acknowledge. She was drunk. She had to have been.
With a deep breath, she shook away that thought. "I don't remember signing anything."
Leo turned his head to the side. "Maybe you just don't want to remember."
"Go to hell." Elara turned away, pressing her forehead against the cool glass of the window. She wanted to rewind time and erase every moment that had led her there.
But there was no undoing this. No waking up. Leo Watson claimed she had begged him to marry her and she had no way to prove him wrong.
Finally Elara turned to him again. "Are there any legal loopholes? There has to be."
Leo Watson glanced at her, one hand resting lazily against his thigh and the other draped over the armrest. He looked completely at ease, which only pissed her off more.
" What? You want to eat your cake and have it back in whole? You know the law, Elara."
"Ugh," she groaned, throwing her head back against the seat. "There has to be a way out."
"You are a feisty woman, Elara Carter." Leo Watson muttered under his breath, but she caught every word.
"We settled for a marriage of three years, but the law says we can dissolve the marriage after three months. Three months," he added casually. "Then you're free to divorce me, if you want."
"If I want?" Elara repeated incredulously. "You say it like I might change my mind after three months."
He sighed. "Three months is the law, Elara."
"Well, then. Fuck the law!"
Leo let out a laugh. An actual laugh, deep and rich, like she had just told the funniest joke in the world. She hated him for it.
But oddly enough, she felt a little lighter. Maybe it was the absurdity of the situation, or maybe it was because he wasn't pushing her or demanding anything from her. Either way, the weight in her chest eased just a little.
A thought struck Elara. "How did you find me?"
Leo didn't answer right away. His fingers drummed against his thigh before he finally said, "I have my ways."
"That's not ominous at all." Elara muttered.
He didn't respond. Just kept staring out the window like he hadn't just proven how ridiculously creepy he was.
Elara scoffed. "It's a tracking device, isn't it? You're tracking me."
Leo threw a glance at her. What an interesting woman. "Now, that would be illegal, wouldn't it?"
"Oh, so now you care about legality?"
He shrugged. "I care about you."
Elara rolled her eyes so hard she almost saw her brain. "That is the most stalkerish thing you've ever said."
"You'd be surprised," he murmured.
Elara turned to face him fully. "So? Are you admitting it?"
"Admitting what?"
"That you put a tracking device on me."
"Why would I do that?"
Elara threw her hands in the air. "I don't know! You tell me!"
He was quiet for a moment, then, "Would it make you feel better if I said yes?"
Elara bit hard on her lower lip as something tug at her heart. Was her damn heart actually beating for him. "You absolute psycho."
"Relax, Elara. I didn't put a tracker on you."
She stared at him, trying to figure out if he was lying. "Then how did you find me?"
Leo leaned back. "I have resources."
"That is not an answer."
"But it is the only one you're getting. Let's leave it at that."
The car slowed down, and Elara glanced out the window. They were at her apartment building.
She blinked, surprised. She had expected him to drag her off to his house, given the whole ridiculous marriage situation. But he was… bringing her home?
Leo Watson, respecting her boundaries? That was new. The driver parked, and she unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Thanks for the ride."
Leo didn't respond right away. Instead, he studied her closely. Finally he asked, "What happened with your fiancé?"
Oddly enough, this was the easiest conversation they had ever had. Maybe because, for once, they weren't at each other's throats. And the fact that he'd asked about Joshua was equally surprising.
"Joshua didn't take the news well," Elara admitted. "He drank himself into a stupor."
Leo's jaw ticked, but he said nothing.
"And then he tried to..." she stopped herself. The words had turned as bitter as vinegar in her throat. She forced herself to meet Leo Watson 's eyes. "He tried to rape me."
Silence.
Then Leo Watson's entire body went rigid. His green eyes turned dark and Elara could see the anger in his face. For the first time, his control slipped.
He was furious.
She expected words or a reaction or just something. But instead he reached forward and cupped her face in his hands. His touch was unexpectedly gentle as his thumbs caressed her cheeks. His hands were warm and it was disorienting.
"I know you don't want this," he said to her. "But I will take care of you, Elara."
Elara didn't know what to say. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Leo Watson seemed to take that as an invitation, because he reached forward and kissed her.
It wasn't a demanding kiss. It wasn't rough or forceful. It was short, but enough to turn her world and heart into chaos.
Then he pulled back and let his hands fall away. He pulled off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
"Here, that should cover your torn dress," he murmured.
"Go home, Mrs. Watson."