It had started out as a simple enough plan. Jo was to flirt her way into Theo Galavan's life and quickly withdraw as soon as she found where he'd taken Oswald's mother…that was supposed to be it.

But everything had happened so quickly.

Of course Jo didn't want to play any more games, to play the same role once again, but seeing Oswald that night – he'd been broken. Losing his mother would've been the death of him. She had to do something to help, she felt like she owed him that much. Especially since she'd be leaving soon, and taking who could have been his child with her.

Besides, Jo was no stranger to the art of seduction.

Naturally, Oswald hated the idea of his estranged girlfriend hanging on the arm of another man, but he also hated the thought of his mother's suffering. So Jo was sent away to draw Galavan in with cliché moves and lines that would surely boost his already inflated ego.

And it was no surprise when she succeeded.

While Jo initially approached her target with an overly flattering attitude as she had done during their brief encounter at the hospital, she was quick to realise that it would take more than a compliment and good view of her cleavage to win the potential mayor's affections. So after a few casual dates, Jo decided to go with her cunning; she knew Galavan was too smart to let her in without any real benefit to him or the campaign, so she would be the heart of his campaign. Jo confessed her past him. She told him about her old job at Mooney's, the horrible things she'd had to do to survive…and Oswald. That part caught his attention especially. It was risky, she knew that, but it seemed logical to tell Galavan everything about her, in case he found out himself and turned on her. So together, they weaved together the story of Jo's rescue; how Theo Galavan had saved her from her dangerous career and an abusive relationship. And the people of Gotham ate the story up.

As time passed, however, Jo left herself wondering how she would eventually escape the relationship. When Oswald's mother was brought home safely, what would she do? Would she have to break up with Theo without any real reason or disappear from Gotham without a trace? Or would the mayor disappear first?

But when Gertrud was murdered, Oswald went missing and Jo was left wondering what she was supposed to do – especially when Galavan proposed to her at his election party.

Jo was smart enough to know that it was better for her to agree to his proposal. She didn't love him of course, not even close. She could easily see through his façade and the man beneath the mask scared her. Because she could sense that he was willing to do anything to succeed. And if she got in the way of that, who knows what he might have done.

So Jo simply smiled for the cameras and agreed to be Mrs Theo Galavan.

It was merely a clever political move, Jo knew that. After all, that had been one of her main selling points, and the people of Gotham had enjoyed watching their nurturing relationship blossom in front of the cameras. Hence why Theo had thought it necessary to propose to the woman who had surprisingly earned him a lot of approval from the city. Or perhaps it was his way of making Oswald suffer even more. He now knew enough about their turbulent relationship after all.

Oddly enough, people had taken to Jo. Men were clearly attracted to her and women enjoyed to follow her styles; flowing blouses, designer bags, and especially the expensive ballgowns she'd wear at every event Galavan attended. She was a vision, they'd all say, with a heart of gold.

But of course some refused to buy into all that admiration.

"What a lovely performance that was, Mrs Galavan." Harvey muttered, quickly glancing down Jo's body in search of a bump. "Still pregnant?"

Jo smiled and nodded, all the while watching her fiancé as he mingled with his upper-class supporters.

"Forgive me but I find it hard to believe that you and the mayor are in love." Harvey snorted and downed his drink. "But then again, he's rich and you need money what with your kid on the way. Actually, it makes a lot more sense now."

"It's not like that." Jo murmured, still watching Galavan to ensure that he hadn't noticed her talking to the detective. "He's not what he seems…he's not a good guy."

"What're you talking about?"

Another glance. "He's got Oswald's mom somewhere. He blackmailed him into doing all these horrible things so that he'd win the election."

Harvey rolled his eyes, growing impatient with Jo's insistence on playing the 'good girl.' "And why the hell do you care?"

Jo shrugged, "I want to do right by Oswald…before I go."

"That's bullshit. What happened to you wanting nothing more to do with him?" Jo opened her mouth to speak but Harvey stopped her. "You'll never change. Sure, you can come back from a sabbatical with shorter hair and a big bump but that doesn't mean shit. You're still the same as before, you're selfish and reckless and materialistic and whether you're some famous actress or the mayor's wife or whatever else you spontaneously decide to become…you'll always be Mooney's favourite stripper. That's it."

Harvey started to walk away, heading towards the door. He needed to clear his head, to get away from Jo before he said something he'd regret…like that he still loved her.

Of course she followed, glancing at her fiancé one final time before slipping out after Harvey. She had so much she needed to get off her chest – it was the perfect opportunity while Theo was distracted.

"You hate me, I get it." Jo blinked back tears as she followed Harvey into the hall, "but I never stopped caring about you. When I was away, you were on my mind every single day."

Harvey stopped and turned around. He studied Jo's face, hoping to see a sign that she was lying or bluffing or merely hormonal from the pregnancy. But there was nothing on her face but genuine heartache.

"I'd think of where you were, if you were working on a tough case or at a bar flirting with some waitress. I-If you were happy." Jo hung her head. "I know I hurt you and that tears me up…but what hurts even more is knowing that I messed everything up between us. We could've been happy, you, me and our daughter. It sounds crazy now of course, but…"

Jo stopped, not realising that Harvey had gotten so close to her, his large calloused hand touching hers.

"I don't hate you, Jo." Harvey muttered, eventually meeting her gaze. He didn't know whether it was the large amount of alcohol he'd consumed, or the unrelenting tension that had always existed between him and Jo, but he was finding it harder to push away those feelings he'd never stopped having for her. In spite of Scottie. "Truth is, I—"

The sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the hall and with it swept a wave of sheer panic. Harvey immediately knew the sound meant trouble and shoved Jo inside the broom closet behind them. "Stay in here. I'm gonna go see what's going on."

Jo grabbed his arm, "are you crazy? You don't know who the hell's come to crash this party but I don't think they came to congratulate the new mayor."

"It's my job, Jo. You gotta stay safe, if not for me then for the kid." He pulled his arm away and closed the door, hoping that Jo would be alright.

She sat alone in the dark for what felt like hours, huddled amongst the various cleaning appliances that surrounded her. When Harvey came back for her, it was past midnight. The building was virtually empty aside from the officers and coroners who had come to remove the more unfortunate guests.

"Harvey! Thank god, I was worried…" She hugged him tightly. "It sounded crazy out there, what happened?"

"Penguin." Harvey's blunt reply startled Jo. "His mom's dead."

Jo sucked in a breath, contemplating the seriousness of her situation. "Is Theo dead too?"

Harvey shook his head and Jo sighed deeply, the weight of the world suddenly falling on her shoulders. "He's outside, asking for you. I'm guessing he wants out of here in case Penguin comes back."

"What the hell am I going to do?" Jo cursed, realisation washing over her. "I was meant to keep this up only until Oswald found his mom. I'm pregnant, Harvey. I can't keep that secret forever…"

"Can't you just tell the guy you need time?" Harvey shrugged, not really understanding the severity of the situation for Jo. He still didn't know quite how much of a criminal Theo Galavan was. But Jo had seen straight through him a long time ago.

She shook her head, "he'd kill me, Harvey. He's dangerous, he'd find out that I've been playing him this entire time and..."

Harvey took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. He sighed deeply, trying hard to think of a way that Jo could escape from her false engagement to the mayor. "Boy, you don't half make things difficult, do ya?"

That night Jo pretended to be still scared after the shootout at the gala so she could head to bed earlier and on her own – if only so she could think of a way out of her engagement. She'd essentially been the poster girl for Theo's campaign – an ex-dancer whom Theo had saved from poverty and the dangerous men that plagued the city – symbolic of the city which he hoped to save from a similar fate of destruction. Her walking out now would've aroused suspicion from every citizen in Gotham; it would've been in all the tabloids, with paparazzi following her in an attempt to get some dirt on the sham that was their relationship.

Heading to the kitchen to get a drink, Jo stopped in the bedroom doorway when she heard her fiancé talking to his sister in what sounded like a heated conversation.

"You need to let her go." Tabitha insisted. "You've won the election, which was only a part of your plan, why else would you need her now?"

"Companionship, Tabitha." Theo told her, as though it were that simple. "I like having her around. She's charming and takes a good photo for the papers."

"Is that why you proposed to her? Companionship…" Jo could sense the annoyance in her voice. "She could ruin everything you've worked for. Everything we've done."

"You're overthinking this. Jo's loyal to me, this charade was her idea after all…"

"You think Little Miss Gold Digger's gonna clean your weapons and help you celebrate with a home-cooked meal when you finish the job?" Tabitha scoffed, "she wants your money, nothing else."

"Let her have it, she makes up for the expenses. She's good wife material."

"Don't tell me you love her…" Tabitha sighed and took a long drink from her glass of wine.

Her brother smiled and shrugged. "Not quite, no. But maybe in time I could."

"So that's the plan? Kill Bruce Wayne then start a family with the gold digging whore…"

Jo felt her heart stop. Her husband-to-be was going to murder Bruce. It was up to her to stop that from happening, to stop him. But how?

All Jo knew was that she couldn't just skip town, not now she knew of Theo's awful plan for her half-brother. She had to do something, but she also needed to tread carefully. One wrong move could've meant her downfall. Jo had said it herself, Theo Galavan was a very dangerous man.