Forced Love

Leo had drawn a hard line at Propriété Café, nearly coming to blows with a stranger who sent a drink to the woman at his table. That woman, Bisola, was already discussing a Monaco getaway with him when troubling reports reached Chief Cosmos. The family’s longtime employee, James, documented for the Chief how Leo had been siphoning company money for months, news that struck the old man with a physical blow. Within days, Chief Cosmos was dead, and the reading of his will dropped a bombshell: to claim the inheritance, Leo had exactly two months to marry Joyce, the housemaid who had tended to his father in his final weeks. Leo’s fury was immediate, but Bisola—calculating a quick divorce later—convinced him to treat the union as a transient inconvenience. Under the terms of what would be called 'Forced Love', the ceremony took place, but the anticipated formality crumbled when Joyce refused to play a docile wife. She withheld signatures on critical documents, leaving Leo legally entangled and financially paralyzed. Bisola, losing patience, proposed a drastic solution: eliminate Joyce altogether. The suggestion horrified Leo, who had not bargained for violence, but before the impasse could deepen, Joyce delivered news that reset the board—she was carrying Leo’s child. The revelation dismantled his resistance; overnight, the charade had to become real. Confronting Bisola, Leo ended their relationship for good, stating without ambiguity that his obligation now lay with his wife and unborn child. He then sought out Joyce not with demands but with a ring, asking her to accept a genuine partnership. Joyce, who had weathered the insults and the schemes, chose to believe this was no longer a ploy. Their kiss was not one of convenience; it was an agreement to build a life from the rubble of forced beginnings.