The room was silent for an entire minute as I processed what Diana Sydney had just said. My dad was just as taken aback. Was this a joke? No, Jaha and Diana looked completely serious. Did they honestly think I would ever agree to something like that? Besides, what would Wells say? Did he not have a say?
"You can't be serious," My dad was the first to speak up. "She's seventeen! She's not ready for marriage!"
"This is the only way to stop the chaos," Jaha answered as he gave my dad an apologetic look. "A marriage between Harley and Wells will show the workers that she's one of us. They'll want nothing to do with her if she marries my son."
"You can't force her into anything!" My dad's voice rose. "This isn't you, Thelonious. This is her!" He pointed an accusing finger at Diana.
Diana shook her head, "I'm just showing all of you the most reasonable option."
My dad scoffed, "Reasonable? You think forcing a young girl into marriage is reasonable?!"
The Chancellor threw his hands up in frustration, "People marry for political reasons all the time, Daniel. Besides, it's not like we're asking her to marry a complete stranger. She knows Wells. She even dated him for two years."
My dad shook his head as he turned to me, "Are you hearing all of this?"
I nodded, "It sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me. Are you forgetting that I have a boyfriend who I am very happy with by the way. I will not leave him."
"Yes you will," Jaha took another step towards me. "If you don't want to end up in prison, you will end your relationship with Bellamy Blake tonight and marry Wells as soon as possible."
I gave him a challenging look, "I'd rather go to prison."
My dad gave Jaha a look of pure unbelief, "You can't actually be serious about this, Thelonious."
Jaha looked at the floor for a moment before answering, "I've set my terms. Harley has twenty-four hours to end her relationship with Mr.Blake, or she will be put in the SkyBox for treason."
Tears of anger filled my eyes as Jaha left the room without another word. Diana Sydney gave me another smug look as she followed after him. I turned to my dad who looked completely shocked by what had just happened.
What the hell was I going to do? There was no way I was going to let Jaha bully me into leaving Bellamy. He needed me and I needed him. I loved him. There had to be some way out of this. I refused to believe it was over. No, I was going to find another way. Diana Sydney wasn't going to win.
~_~_~_~_~
I had exactly eight hours left before I had to deliver my final word to the Chancellor. My dad and I had been up all night with Archie and Wells as we brainstormed about a way out of this. Wells was just as opposed to the marriage as I was. He told me that he had just found a girl that he could see a future with, and he wasn't going to let that go.
We had bargained with his dad as much as we could, but Jaha wouldn't budge. It looked like I was either breaking up with Bellamy or going to prison.
I buried my face in my hands as Wells placed his hand on my shoulder. A tear slipped out of my eye as anger and frustration filled my mind. I wanted to punch something. I wanted to stab Diana Sydney with a fork again.
"What am i going to do?" I asked as I looked up at Wells for advice.
"I don't know, Harles," He replied. "But no matter what you decide, I'm with you."
I nodded as Wells brought me in for a hug, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"I know," he said as I cried against his chest. "You just did what you thought was best."
"The worst part is that I know exactly what Bellamy is going to say when I tell him," tears continued to roll down my cheeks. "I'm not ready for it to be over."
"It'll be ok," Wells said as he tried to calm me down. "Even though I may not be the biggest fan of Bellamy, I know for certain that no matter what happens, he'll always love you."
My heart already felt broken, but I knew Wells was right. So, I forced myself to stop crying and get ahold of myself. I had to be strong. I had to face Bellamy and tell him what was going on, and I had to face whatever decision we came to together.
~_~_~_~_~_~
I stood outside the door to Bellamy's living quarters as nerves ate at my stomach. I had an idea of how this was going to end, and I wasn't ready to face it. I took a deep breath, gathering all my strength, and then, I knocked on his door.
A few moments later, the door was pulled open. Bellamy stood in front of me with a wide smile on his face. He immediately stepped forward and his hands went to my waist.
"Hey, Harles," he said as he placed a kiss to my lips. "I've missed you today." His eyebrows knit together when he saw the dread and concern laced in my eyes. His hands came up to cup my cheeks as he searched my face for an answer. "What's wrong?"
I stepped past him into his living quarters. He quickly shut the door behind him as I turned around, "Jaha and Diana Sydney called for an emergency meeting with me and my dad."
"Ok?" Bellamy answered with confusion. "About what?"
I looked at the floor, "They want me to marry Wells to ease the tension between Alpha and Factory Station."
"What?"
My eyes flickered up from the floor, "They think that if I marry the Chancellor's son then the workers will want nothing to do with me and the riots will slowly stop."
Bellamy nodded, "And if you don't?"
"Then they arrest me."He was silent for a moment. I could see him thinking carefully about the issue and before he could speak, I walked up to him and grabbed both his hands. I laced my fingers through his and looked into his conflicted gaze. "I don't want to marry him, Bellamy. I'd rather go to prison than be forced to end things with you."
"I want to be with you, Harley, but..." I knew there was going to be a but, "I can't let you go to prison. We both know they'll float you as soon as you turn eighteen."
I knew he was going to say that, "We'll find another way. We'll... we'll talk to Jaha. No, we'll talk to the workers-"
He cut me off, "Harley, you know that if you tell the workers about this it will only cause more unrest. They'll hate Jaha even more."
"So what are you saying?'" I asked as I fought to keep my voice strong. "Are you saying that we should just give up?"
Bellamy sighed as sadness filled his eyes, "I'm saying that you should marry Wells," I could feel my heart breaking as tears began to form in my eyes. "I mean, we can still see each other. You'll always be special to me, Harley, and you'll always be a part of my life. Even if it's not in the way I want."
"No," I stepped away from him. "No, I refuse to accept that."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm in love with you!" I blurted out before I could even think the words over. I was breathing heavily as Bellamy stared at me with unbelief in his eyes. I walked close to him again as our eyes danced with each other. I could see it in his eyes that he wanted to say it back. "I love you, Bellamy." I placed my hands on his chest. I could see the conflict written on his face. "Say it."
"Harley-"
"I know you feel the same way I do."
"Saying it won't make this any easier," He answered with pain in his voice. tears blurred my vision as Bellamy leaned down. His lips captured mine in a kiss that said more than words ever could. I felt a pain in my chest as Bellamy slowly pulled away. His forehead was pressed against mine as a tear ghosted my cheek. "Marry Wells. Please, I couldn't live with myself if I lost you too."
I had never actually been stabbed in the heart, but hearing those words from Bellamy's lips created the pain that I imagined would come from the knife piercing into my body.
Bellamy wiped away the tear that had fallen from my eye, "I don't know if I can do this without you."
"I'll still be with you," He answered. "And you can stop by anytime."
I nodded as I reluctantly stepped away from his warm embrace that had always brought me so much comfort. I wondered if I would ever be in his embrace ever again. A small part of me feared he would forget me. Deep down, I knew he loved me, but he would have to move on someday too.
My hands went to my pearl necklace. Bellamy gave me a questioning look as I undid the clasp and held it out to him, "Take it."
"Harley, I can't. Your mother gave this to you."
I stepped closer to him and put the black, pearl necklace in his hand, "I know, but I want you to keep it for me, as a promise. A promise that one day things will be right again, and we can be together. When that day comes, you can give it back to me, but until then it's yours." He closed his hand around the necklace as tears threatened to pool in my eyes. "Goodbye, Bellamy."
The smirk that always caused me so much annoyance appeared on his lips, but I could tell it was only there to hide his pain, "See you around, Princess."
~_~_~_~_~
Heartbreak was a whole different kind of pain. Loss made you feel dead inside and empty. Sadness made you feel like you were all alone in the world. Anger made you want to punch the first person you saw. Guilt made you feel sorry for even being alive. However heartbreak... Heartbreak was a combination of every single horrible emotion that existed.
I felt every fiber of heartbreak as I walked inside the Council room where Jaha was waiting for me. I felt physical pain in my chest for having to end things with Bellamy; the boy that I was hopelessly in love with.
Anger enflamed in my gut at the sight of Jaha's face. He had his arms crossed over his chest as he awaited my final answer. So much for free will.
I stopped a few feet in front of him. I made sure he could feel how enraged I was. I made sure he could feel how much I wanted to stab him in the face with a fork just by a single look.
"I'll marry your son."
He nodded, giving me a smile, "I'm glad you made the right decision."
I did not return his smile. I just gave him a threatening stare, "But just know, that I will hate you for my entire life and your son will probably hate you too," I took a step towards him. "You won't be Chancellor forever, Jaha, and the second you lose your power, I'll be there, and you can bet that I can make anything look like an accident."
I saw him swallow, "Harley, can't we just be civil?"
"Civil ended a long time ago, Chancellor," I replied. "Now, I'm just really pissed off and tempted to punch you in the face, but I'm saving all my anger for another day."
"Let's hope that day never comes," Jaha said as he tried to ease the tension.
"Oh, trust me. It will," Those were my last words to Chancellor Asshole before I stormed out of the room. I didn't break down until I made it back to my room.
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