The Runaway Heiress's Accidental Contract Marriage

, dragging a harsh red lin

k vibrated violently. The device rattled against the cheap wood, inching closer to the edg

overing over the red decline button. She just needed peace. She just nee

tless buzzing started again. Archer never stopped. He never took no for an answ

she tasted copper. She snatched th

Archer?" she demand

Anna?" Archer's low, mock-gentle voice oozed t

le said, her knuckles turning white as

r end. "You think you can just walk away

snapped, her heart hammering aga

tinct, high-pitched ping of an elevator arriving, followed by the heavy clank of a metal gate. It sounded exactly like the faulty elevat

r lungs suddenly forgot how to

owned half the real estate in the city, and his network was a suffocating

the phone away from her ear and hit end call

It was an automated alert from her bank. Account balance: $142.50. The meager n

k into her chair, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. A heavy block of

r of her mirror. It was her grandfather, smiling warmly. He was the former patriarch of the Jenkins famil

etchbooks, her fingers brushed against smooth, polished wood. She pulle

died, he had arranged a trust agreement. A marriage alliance with the Barrera family in New York-a family so power

her own keep, to be recognized for her art, not her bloodline. But as she looked around her cramped, cheap apartment, the illusion of her independence shattered. Archer had just proven how fragile her freedom was. Without the protection of power, she was nothing

mmed the box shut an

ked it open. She didn't bother folding anything. She shoved her clothes, her tablet, and her pa

She booked the next available one-way ticket to J

She walked to the front door, grabbed t

on her forehead. She stepped out and slammed the door b

of her suitcase clicking sharply against the

e lobby button, and watched the doors close, sealing