Legally Not Yours

The Family Tension

POV: Jared

My father’s office had always felt more like a courtroom than a place to talk.

The silence that made you feel like every word you spoke would be judged. That’s what it was like growing up with Jeffrey Connors, every conversation was a test I didn’t ask to take.

“You’re really going through with this?” I said, pacing near the desk. “You want me to work with her?”

Father didn’t look up from his papers. “Yes.”

“She’s twenty-three.”

“And already brilliant.”

“I have more experience, more hours at this firm. I’ve been building cases for years—”

“And still haven’t figured out how to follow instructions,” he snapped.

I went quiet. The kind of quiet where pride burns in your chest, and you have to bite the inside of your cheek not to explode.

He finally looked at me. “You have potential, Jared, but you get in your own way. Leah has discipline. Focus. She’s not trying to prove anything, she’s just doing the work.”

“She’s here because you let her in.”

“She’s here because she truly earned it.”

I laughed, bitter. “You never talk about me like that.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Then maybe earn it as well.”

I looked at him. My father. The man I’d been trying to impress since I was old enough to hold a legal pad. All he saw was how I didn’t measure up to a girl who hadn’t even finished law school yet.

Fine. If this was how he wanted to play it, I’d show him, but I wouldn’t make it easy for her.

The next day, I didn’t say a word to Leah.

Not in the elevator, not in the library, not even when she emailed me the first draft of her case notes. I deleted it.

She didn’t get to waltz into my father’s approval and then act like we were partners.

She wanted the spotlight? Then let her stand in it. Alone.

But that bitch didn’t give up. Oh no, because that exact same afternoon, she found me outside our law theory class, clutching a notebook and looking like she was ready to argue a case.

“We need to talk about the litigation presentation,” she said, demanding.

I didn’t even look at her. “‘We’?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. “‘We’ have deadlines.”

I tilted my head. Loud enough for the others around to hear, I said, “Oh... You mean this isn’t about you begging me for a date?”

She blinked. “What?”

She looked around as she saw that people started to turn their attention to us.

I smirked. “You’ve been following me around campus like a lovesick groupie. I figured you finally worked up the courage to ask me out.”

Snickers from the nearby students. A few curious glances.

Leah’s voice was sharp. “Don’t do this.”

“Come on, Rosewood,” I said, my voice carrying now. “Let’s make it official. You get your spot in the world—hell, I’ll even sleep with you if it helps you feel like less of a poor scholarship scumbag.”

Her eyes widened. The room went dead quiet.

“And maybe,” I added, “if you admit you belong beneath me, I’ll let you pretend this is teamwork.”

She didn’t speak, that bitch just stepped forward and slapped me so hard I almost saw the stars.

Before I could control myself from trying to strangle this woman, I towered her with my height and wrapped my hand around her neck, planning to—

“Jared Connors and Leah Rosewood!” We both turned at the same time. “What’s going on here?”

No one answered the professor's furious question. Leah stood stiffly, chest rising and falling when his eyes landed on her.

“Miss Rosewood, I saw that. Mr. Connors, don’t think that I appreciate your behaviour as well.”

“He provoked me,” she said, voice shaking. “He—”

“You struck another student,” he cut in. “This is unacceptable. You’re expelled from this class. Immediately.”

Her mouth opened, then closed. “And you almost choked her, Mr. Connors! I never saw that brutality in my class and would never accept that! You’re also expelled from this class this second. Get out, the both of you go to Mrs. Bell’s office now!”

I said nothing. I didn’t flinch and didn’t even bother to blink.

She turned and walked out fast, her shoulders stiff. I caught a glimpse of her hand shaking before she disappeared into the hall.

* * *

I found her in Mrs. Bell’s office, sitting on the sofa, staring at the floor blankly. Mrs. Bell is our college’s therapist who I know rarely comes to school. So our professor actually sending us here for nothing, but I still decided to go, just checking if Leah would be here.

She does. Don’t ask me why I went to check on her, I don’t know either. I could have just left and leave her waiting for nothing.

I wanted to leave her be, so she will wait the whole day for that useless therapist, but nope. I’m here for god knows what.

I stepped inside the room and locked the door behind me.

She looked up with startled eyes before asking, “Why are you locking the door? Mrs. Bell will come anytime soon. Open the door!”

“No.”

“Open the door, Jared.” She hissed. I know she’s pissed, judging from her tone and her cold voice. “I could lose my scholarship because of your stupidness. You're really pissing me off, Jared.”

“Am I?”

“I know that you’re going to use your power here and make Mrs. Bell wrote a report on me that I’m insane for messing with you.”

That would be nice, but too much effort to take.

“If so—she’s going to report me to the board and maybe cut my scholarship. I’m predicting you will pull me down to hell because of a small accident that can be easily resolved.”

I let out a small chuckle when I walked toward her. She looked at me suspiciously and showed her discomfort. She got up from her seat, but I grabbed her wrist, preventing her from going away.

Then I realized after standing so close to her that her eyes were filled with tears. She’s scared that she will lose something from going here.

When Leah tried to pull away from my grip, I let her go and she slowly closed the gap between us. Her eyes turned cold, “You’re a fucking menace, Jared. You humiliated me.”

“You humiliated me first,” I growled and leaned closer.

We were close, too close. Her breath hitched as she tried her best not to back off, “You think you scare me?” she hissed.

“I know I do,” I hissed back with the same tone as her. “And that’s why you keep coming back.”

Her fists clenched. “You ruined me in front of everyone.”

“You slapped me in front of everyone,” I shot back. “Call it even.”

She laughed, bitter. “You think this is even? You think because you’re charming and rich, no one will remember the way you made me look desperate and pathetic?”

I didn’t reply. Because she was right—people would whisper. Not only because she hit me, but because she was the girl who lost control and when you’re already fighting to be taken seriously, losing your image means everything.

But I hadn’t expected it to hit her this hard. A single tear dropped from her eyes and she wiped her so fast, like she hated even letting me see her cry.

“Just leave me alone,” she said, voice cracked but steady. “You’ve done enough.”

I stood there for another second. I don’t know why. Maybe because part of me wanted to see her fall. Maybe because another part... didn’t. But I left.

Because whatever this was between us, it was poison. And I wasn’t ready to admit I liked the way it burned.

Later that night, I stared at the draft of our litigation case report, completely blank.

I knew I should’ve been working. But instead, I kept wondering if she was okay and it pissed me off.