"My father approves, I take it?"

A delicately raised eyebrow. "But of course. He did say he would marry you off to the first man that asks for your hand."

My incredulity jumped up several degrees. "You asked for my hand?"

"Not quite. More to......I made a statement."

My eyes twitched. "An offer, you mean."

Jasper inclined his head just the teensiest bit. "An offer," he confirmed. "An offer he could not resist."

The two of us were sitting in a very expensive, very classy French haute-cuisine restaurant. I was having blanquette de veau and a glass of red Bordeaux, while Jasper had paused from eating his boudin noir aux pommes and was currently swirling his glass of wine, also red Bordeaux.

......who am I kidding? I have no idea what those names mean either. I'm just reading what's on the receipt.

After dropping that bombshell and rendering the five of us gawping in astonishment, Jasper had walked over to me. A casual look at Kaylan had him pulling back his arm from my waist immediately. There were some things even bad boy could not stand up against.

Jasper didn't say anything, but had merely extended his hand. And it didn't matter what he wanted, when it came to Jasper you had best come quietly. So I had taken his hand and followed him out of the cafeteria.

He led me right through the hallways and we were only stopped once, at the school gate. Apparently when Jasper first entered the guard had been on toilet break. Now he was back and upon seeing us, launched into the usual where is your pass, a student cannot leave school grounds without signed authorization and et cetera et cetera. Jasper had listened to him rant calmly, before replying in fluent and collected Spanish. The guard paled visibly and scrambled to open the gates. I didn't fail to notice that his fingers were shaking.

One look and I easily spied his car parked at the opposite side of the street. It was a silver grey Porsche, a Spyder I think. I wasn't sure. One of those fancy expensive cars you saw in catalogues, that deserve nothing less than a full, single-page ad. He opened the side door for me in true gentlemanly fashion and bid me to enter. The hum of the engine was a quiet purr as we sped off.

"What did you tell the guard?" I had asked in the car.

The edges of his lips curved the slightest fraction upwards. "The usual."

I had a pretty good idea what that meant.

Now in the restaurant, I watched as he dug into his lunch with calm efficiency. He glanced at my untouched plate and said, "I would have thought you would be more appreciative. Surely this beats your cafeteria meals?"

"Oh it does. I just felt like wasting your money," I replied sweetly. 

He looked up and a smile fluttered near his lips, lazy. "It can't be wasting money if it's on you......sweetheart."

I stared. Did he just - 

"Is that not what engaged couples do?" he asked quizzically. "Call each other by nicknames?" A glint came into his eye. "Or do you prefer tigress?"

My fingers clenched around my fork. Stop tarnishing his memory, you bastards.

He laughed, soft. "Fear not. I know your aversion to that word. In fact, I do not wish to engage in any form of couple activities with you - privately of course. I'm afraid in public we still do need to put on a show."

I barked a laugh. "We haven't even gone on our first date and you're already jumping the gun?"

"Are we not on a date now?"

"You don't get married on first dates."

"Such a disillusioned girl. What happened to love at first sight?"

"What makes you think I love you?" I shot back.

Jasper sighed. "I see I shall not be able to persuade you." He placed down his fork and wiped his lips with a napkin. "Perhaps we should call upon someone more......familiar to you, to better explain the folly of not wedding me."

Unease settled in like a silent cloud of dust. "What do you mean - " I was cut off by the ringing of a phone. And it wasn't the social phone, it was my burner phone. 

The phone that only my dad called. 

Jasper settled back into his chair. "You might want to pick that up."

I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hayley?" The voice was a ragged, parched whisper. 

So broken.

I darted a look at Jasper. "Father?" I couldn't believe it. His voice......

"Hayley, listen to me. Take the offer."

I turned my whole body sideways until all Jasper could see of me was my left shoulder and my back. "Father, I don't understand. I thought you wanted me to find the will? If I get - married, I'll have to come back to the manor!"

"A lot of things happened while you were away Hayley." His voice was a sigh. "Things changed."

"What?" I pressed. "What changed?"

Heavy silence. "When Anthony died, both your uncles were too busy taking over the reins of the business. It was left to me, the worthless brother with only one son, to tend to Anthony's funeral arrangements. So naturally, I was the first person who discovered that the will was missing.

"But I didn't tell them. I had already figure out that with the will gone I was on the losing end. I needed an advantage. I needed this advantage. I had a one week's headstart on them and I used it wisely, gathering information and all that. By the time I came around to telling them, Eric was already halfway to getting the will.

"Standard mourning period for the don is three weeks. I had planned for Eric to complete his mission and bring me back the will by then. Obviously now we know he failed. And last week, was the final week. Last Friday marked the end of three weeks. So now it was socially acceptable for people to start asking questions. And they did. Who was the new don, who was going to inherit what."

I glanced at Jasper, wondering what he was making of this long conversation. Huh, he's ordered dessert.

Oh wow, that looks good. 

Jasper saw me watching and raised an eyebrow. He offered me a spoon. To take or not to take? That is the question. With great difficulty I shook my head. For all you know he might have poisoned it. I looked at the gorgeous dish again. Dayum. Suddenly it was much harder to concentrate on the phone conversation.

"Uncle Edward had no choice. He revealed that the will was missing. And now Blackcroft is in furor. Everything here is madness. Chaos. And not only that, now we aren't the only ones searching for the will anymore. You are no longer the only one. They're sending out people, and soon it won't just be Damian and Jasper that will be flocking to where you are."

"So that's it?" I felt a sudden spike of anger, my temper flaring up. "So this is what it's all about? You don't think I can do it? You don't think I can compete with the boys? Is that what you're saying? Is it the same old reason of because I'm a girl - "

"He broke my arm, Hayley."

The words died in my throat. 

"Jasper broke my arm. With his bare hands, while I was conscious." Even though he tried to hold it in, I could hear the memory of the pain in his voice. For once, my father sounded defeated. "And you know he can do worse. Not just to you." 

A pause. "I heard you made friends. You know what that means to Jasper."

I know. Weakness.

"Take the offer, Hayley."

"You mean take his proposal."

"If you wed him we might still have a chance."

"You mean you will have a chance," I spat. "He promised you a position, didn't he? Something high-ranking no doubt. While I'll be just another puppet on the strings."

I cut the call, not waiting for his answer. My fingers had curled so tight around the phone that it felt like any moment, the phone might snap in half.

The most frightening thing of all was just how normal he looked. You could never have tell. For all intents and purposes, he looked like nothing more than a quiet gentleman, only with a more reserved and unfriendly nature. You wouldn't have thought he was the kind of man who would do those......things.

The dessert didn't look so appealing anymore.

"Did he convince you?" he finally asked, while admiring a spoonful of the ice-cream under the dim gold lights.

"You broke his arm," I said dully.

"Did I now? I suppose I did." A frown came onto his face and he put down the spoon, looking into the distance as if in serious thought. "I wonder how he made that call then? He must have been ambidextrous. I always make it a point to break the good arm."

The bile rose heavy in my throat. "You're sick."

"You have no idea how many times I've heard that."

So uncaring. So casual. So calm.

Jasper interlaced his fingers and looked at me. "You still do not seem to understand. Let me explain. Listen carefully.

"I know you're here for the will. I know you didn't run away. It was quite an ingenious plan of your father, really. Unfortunately, you've run out of time."

He inhaled, long and drawn. "How should I put it? Think of it as a child going missing. The first 24 hours are crucial to finding the child. When those 24 hours are over, the likelihood of the child returning has diminished - severely. The police may still search, but now it's either for a body - or worse.

"Your 24 hours are long gone, Hayley. Now the entire Blackcroft empire knows, and all are searching for the will. They're right on your heels. How long do you think you can last before they show up on your doorstep? Or at your newly-made friends'?"

He took a sip of the wine. "Now here's where I come in handy. I can leave false clues and obstacles, throw your competitors off, make them go missing...... With me around, you're less of a pushover. Less of a target. More likely to be left alone. You'll be under my watch."

"I think you mean control," I corrected. I knew where this was going and hated that I didn't have a choice.

He smiled. "Call it what you may. But the fact remains that you're under my protection.

"So here's my offer. I'm planning to run for don." No surprises there. "In all fairness, I am a strong candidate. My reputation is indisputable. However, some of the more......traditional Blackcrofts have pointed out that my youth shows lack of experience. If you ask me, those doddering fools just don't like having to obey a junior.

"You will marry me, and I will let you continue searching for the will. When you find it, you will tell no one, and hand it over to me. With the will, I will be able to get the X-Files, and hence the title. Your father will get a position, one of high status, while you will enjoy a lifetime of luxury and glory as my wife. Win-win."

He relaxed against his seat, calm and smiling. I felt something like dread settled in my stomach.

There's no way out of this, is there?

I spoke. "Let me guess. Out of all the Blackcrofts, you chose me because I'm a girl, and hence easier to control."

Another sip of the wine. "I chose you because girls are always underestimated, and hence, can go where men do not easily wander. And you do have a headstart from the rest of the Blackcrofts at the moment. Plus, they are expecting me to marry, and the pressure doubles with every passing day that I remain single."

His soulless black eyes set off a piercing glint in the light. "Do not harbor any delusions that I love you. I merely find you a little more......amusing from the rest.

"But to answer your question, yes, I did choose you because you were easier to control. You are, are you not?" The last sentence was a barely veiled threat.

I said nothing. There was nothing I could say. In the end I merely asked, "And what about Damian? How does he tie in?"

Something close to irritation flashed across Jasper's face. I was surprised, that was the first real emotion I had ever saw from this man.

"Damian......got lucky. He got wind of my plans and expressed a wish to collaborate. So I allowed him to."

As much as I disliked Damian, I felt proud of him at the moment.  "You mean you were careless and he found out about me as well, and then threatened to tell everyone about your plans if you didn't give him a share." I paused for effect, feeling triumphant. "He blackmailed you."

The second the words left my lips I regretted it. Jasper's black eyes turned even more obsidian, and all touch of humanity fled him. Whoever quoted looks can kill had obviously seen Jasper in action.

"Careful sweetheart." His voice, so light. So airy.

So dangerous.

I wisely kept silent.

After a beat, he spoke again. "So do you take the deal?"

He knew the answer to that. There was no other answer I could give. There was no Plan B, no exit, no other way out. Bastard.

I glared at him with pure venom. Pure hatred. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

His smile grew, widened. Like a Cheshire cat.

"No. No you don't."

*.*.*.*.*. *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*. 

NO JASPER YOU CAN'T BREAK MY ARM I NEED IT TO WRITE THE STORY!! OR YOU'RE GOING TO STAY IN THIS POSITION FOREVAAAAAAAHH

Okay? No breaking arms? Deal? I promise I'll give you good scenes. Excellent scenes. *wipes sweat away from forehead and breathe a sigh of relief*

This chapter is dedicated to kylorenphan24601! You've always been supporting me through all your votes, as well as adding my book to your reading list :) Thank you very much!