Meet Esther Richards.

No, she's not an old lady sitting in a nursing home watching “Wheel of Fortune” and losing her teeth when she yells out the answers.

Esther is quite an attractive young woman, actually. Twenty-five, to be exact. Her parents simply had a vile sense of humor, and Esther is quite seriously considering hiring a hit man to off them, not only because of her stodgy old-fashioned name, but also because they are the worst parents on the face of the planet – overbearing, intensely critical, and they are never – I repeat, never – satisfied with Esther's efforts in anything.

However, it might be easier for her to change her name, move to a different state, and file a restraining order against her parents.

The fact that she goes by Essie instead of her given name infuriates them. They detest the idea that she wants to be an artist and not a corporate drone who will work her way up to CEO by the time she's 30. They resent the fact that Essie actually has a mind of her own, dresses her own way, and wants to chase her own dreams. In their mind, she is still five years old and must be parented accordingly. Somehow, they never got the memo that adult children no longer need coddling.

Essie is beyond frustrated, with her father forcing her to go to an interview with Farmington Enterprises, hoping she will see the light and gratefully accept any kind of mindless work that Mr. Farmington is willing to give her. To top it off, her job is fun but it doesn't quite pay the bills, her art career is getting a very slow start, and her boyfriend of two months is on the verge of breaking up with her.

With the mounting stress, Essie reaches her breaking point and does the unthinkable.

And it turns out to be the best mistake she'll ever make.

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A/N: I will shamelessly admit that I "borrowed" this idea from the ABC Family Original Movie of the same name. “Holiday in Handcuffs” is a sweet, funny, and clean romantic comedy starring Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez from 2008. I really enjoyed this movie and it's better than you'd expect from a made-for-TV flick.

So, ALL credit for the story idea goes to the ABC Family writers. I'm simply tweaking it to include the 1D boys, but the main character, besides Essie, will be played by Liam Payne.

I hope no one is offended by my “borrowing” the story to create a fun alternative. Let's call it “fanfiction,”or a “spin-off” or a "remake."

I'm just adding my own flair to it. ;)

Merry Christmas!