I thought this chapter would be longer.

Chapter 32

"Why'd you bring me here?" Lillian said unenthusiastically.

Luis pulled out a chair for her to sit. He had brought her into a conference room. There was nothing in the room but a big mahogany table, a projection screen, and only the big windows made Lillian feel safe. If something were to happened, maybe someone would see from across the way. She sat down hesitantly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't want you to pitch me this fantasy of how our marriage would be."

Luis chuckled, going over to sit across from her. "Is that what I do? Pitch ideas to you?"

Lillian shrugged, "Trying to convince a person that getting less than what they asked for is okay? What's the difference?" Lillian looked around the room. It was just the two of them, and for some odd reason that made her shiver. On the table was a Manila folder, she figured had some sort of papers she'd have to sign, or maybe it was left there by a previous business meeting. Maybe it was custody papers... How was she going to get out of this one?

She should've kept her phone.

"Less? Honey, if you marry me not only will you be a mother, you won't have to work a day in your life, you won't ever need anything. I will do everything in my power, in my family's power to make you happy. That's more. " He told her softly.

Lillian sighed, reminding herself this was all a lie and wouldn't last if she were to go back to him. Why was she convincing herself? "That's sounds wonderful, Luis. But why is this different from the past?"

"Because this involves my son. This involves my child. A life...a human child." He covered his mouth to hide his smug smirk. "Right?"

Lillian narrowed her eyes. What exactly was he asking? "I...don't know if this is a 'gotcha' moment."

Luis shook his head, "My point is, and take offense to this I don't care, that baby," he pointed at her stomach. "I am willing to change completely for that baby. I will love and cherish that baby more than I did you."

Cherish? Lillian scoffed in disbelief. She wasn't offended that Luis loved his child more. But when did he start cherishing her? There were good moments, but the bad moment, though did not outnumber the good, did outweigh everything he has done or will do in the future. "Luis, this child is supposed to come first. I am not offended you love them more than me."

"So, you believe me when I say I will change, for good this time, and you will still marry me?"

"No!" Lilly laughed. She ran her hands through her hair, trying to find the words that would make him understand she did not want to be with him. "Luis, my love for you...it's changed."

"You don't love me?"

"You put your hands on me." She growled. "That's not love. That's not a mistake. You traumatized me. I could've lost the fucking baby when you were choking me. That's the line you cross, no amount of therapy will make me go back to you."

Luis sighed, leaning back in his chair. She was making valid points. There wasn't a way to convince her because her mind was already made up. He should have just ended it right there and accepted her option to co-parent. He was lucky she was still talking to him, that she still went with him when he asked. He knew he was wrong and the right thing was to let her go.

But he wanted her...

Lillian had changed his life completely. She was underneath his skin, in his bloodstream, apart of his soul. He meant it when he told her he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and only her. But he ruined it. If he were to pick up that Manila envelope, he would put a permanent stain on the relationship.

Lillian would have to be with him. His ego and pride wouldn't let her be the one to call it quits.

"Are you seeing someone else?" Luis asked.

Lillian blinked at the question, she was always honest with him...most of the time anyway. Only out of fear did she lie, but there was nothing to fear this time. "I'm dating someone, yes."

Luis crossed his legs, "Are you fucking them?"

Lillian bit the inside of her cheek, "Not that that's any of your business. But no..."

"How long after we had our fight did you start seeing them?"

Lillian felt a shiver down her spine at his calm demeanor. It almost felt dangerous... "A couple weeks..."

"Weeks? Wow, you don't waste time do you?"

"I knew him before I knew you. When I lived here in New York." She explained harshly.

"So an ex?"

She shifted in her seat instead of answering.

Luis nodded, "I haven't fucked anyone since the day I asked you to marry me so..."

"Do you want props for being loyal?"

"Well, someone has to be in this relationship."

Lillian rolled her eyes, "Luis, there is no fucking relationship."

Luis snickered softly. He'd had enough. Leaning forward, he grabbed ahold of the envelope slid it across the table. "I beg to differ..."

Lillian shook her head as she opened it, "I already told you nothing you do will make me stay with you." She reached inside the envelope and pulled out four pieces of paper. Three of them were pictures that made her heart drop to her stomach like a heavy anvil, causing her pain in her lower abdomen almost immediately.

They were pictures of...Raphael. You could barely make out the fact that he was a mutant but in one photo, when they were at the restaurant and he took his helmet off and Lillian slammed her helmet onto his...you can see the glimpse of green... He had been following her... That's how he found out where she was staying! And now Luis knew of Raphael...more than what he needed to know.

Lillian let out a small gasp, losing the ability to breathe.

The fourth paper was a blank marriage certificate.

Luis leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Here's what's going to happen, my love. I have all this information at my fingertips. I've read the articles about this apparent 'Nightwatcher', I've seen the news and I've done my research on you and your father who's head of the EPF and word around the street is he's in contact with all different types of..." he raised a brow. "...people."

Lillian looked at him, her eyes dark with fury. Surprisingly, she could still hear him underneath the incessant ringing in her ears. She could hear and feel her blood boil, oh how she wished she was strong enough to rip him to shreds.

"I know this is the Nightwatcher. I know it's not human. And I know you were introduced to it by your father which means your family knows who it really is." He continued, a smug smile playing across his lips. "My child is not being raised anywhere near that thing. I will not allow it. So you will marry me, take care of our child with me together, and live happily ever after." he stood up, stalking up to her till he got behind her, placing two heavy hands on her shoulders.

Lillian felt nauseous at his touch, so much so she had to swallow the urge to gag. She slammed the document on the table and stood up, turning to face him. "If you think I'm marrying you now, you have another thing coming." She growled at him, fighting all urges to let tears fall.

Luis laughed, "You haven't heard my counter-proposal."

Lillian's eyes widened in horror.

"Should you chose not to marry me, I will release these bits of information to the public: the identity of the Nightwatcher, the fact that it's a mutant, that mustants exist altogether and there are also people low enough to fuck them, like you. Oh yes, and the fact that these mutants work with your father, the government." Luis crossed his arms over his chest and smiled triumphantly, looking down at her to purposely make her feel small.

Lillian clenched her fists at her side, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I look at it as a...'for you' type situation." He walked over the double doors of the room. "I don't think you know what's good for you anymore. Whether it be April's influence on you or just your spoiled brat attitude..." he grabbed a hold of the handles and pushed both doors open. "You're not in charge anymore."

Lillian took a step towards him, but he held up his hand to stop her. "Ah ah ah, I wouldn't leave those pictures on the table. They could get into the wrong hands."

Lillian grounded her teeth to prevent her from speaking, simply turning around and collecting the pictures. How was she going to get out of this? She was trapped!

"You can go now if you like. But I expect an answer within the week. You know my number and I know you have a new phone." Luis stated, buttoning his suit back up and fixing his cufflinks. "Who gave it to you? Ian? He never could mind his own business. Oh well,"

Lillian clutched the pages to her chest, her body burning with an intense fury. If any tears were to fall from her eyes they would be because it was nearly impossible to control her anger.

Luis sighed, "Let me walk you to the elevator." He said, leading her to one before grabbing the documents out of her arms. "Can't let you keep those, sweetheart."

Lillian had to try everything she could to get out of this situation. But she felt helpless. "Luis, you don't know what you're messing with."

"If you're talking about the EPF, I know, 'humanity fears what it can not explain' blah blah blah." He went over to press the button for the elevator. "We'll see just how humanity reacts. That all depends on you."

"If anything happens to Raphael, I will-"

"Raphael?" Luis raised his brows in amusement. "Interesting name for a freak of nature."

"Do not call him that." She snapped.

The elevator door opened, Luis motioned for Lillian to enter and he followed her soon after. "Lillian, you may hate me, but as we grow older you'll forget about everyone, you'll see." He pressed on the button and she watched as the door shut. "If you did it once you can do it again."

She stayed silent, swallowing any sort of tears she had. To see her cry would be a victory for him, and she wouldn't allow that. No more tears, now is not the time to be weak in front of people who take advantage. Ian's voice preaching about being strong echoed in her mind. She straightened her back, raised her chin, and let out a shaky breath through her nose.

"Don't worry, it will be hard. I will provide you with the proper help to make sure you forget. Whatever you need." He offered softly as if she would be relaxed by this. She felt him lean in towards her, "I would do anything for you." He whispered, before pressing his lips against her shoulder. "You know you're my everything. I want you. And you know damn well I always get what I want, my love."

Lillian bit her tongue when she felt a stabbing pain for a moment in her lower abdomen. Pressing a hand to her stomach, she shut her eyes and silently prayed for the pain to stop.

Once the doors opened, she let out a sigh before slowly walking out.

"See you soon, love," Luis said behind her as the doors shut.

Lillian was in shock at what she'd just experienced. This...felt worse than physical abuse or intimidation. Not only was she in danger now, but her freedom, her friends, her family, even her father's job all also seemed to be hanging in the balance...were they? Was it truly up to her to make sure everything would stay normal? Did she have to sacrifice her freedom and marry Luis, have his child, forget about everyone?

Forget? Now? Trying to forget about everyone almost killed her when she was a young girl. God knows if she'd survive this time.

"Lilly..." Suddenly, two hands were twisting her arms and lifting the sleeves of her shirt. It was April...

After quickly jumping back for a moment, Lillian blinked rapidly to focus her vision on her friends. "April? Bell? What..."

"Are you okay? Did he touch you?" April asked, continuing her inspection.

Lillian shook her head, "No..." she said quietly. "We have to go..."

April nodded, "Casey's outside, the guys are home, let's go."

"Lilly,"

Up until that moment she entered the home and was approached by Raphael right away, who grabbed her hands and began inspecting her body just like April did, Lillian had not shed a single tear. It was almost as if she were too in shock over what happened to even begin to process what it made her feel. But then, he touched her... Her mind flashed back to Luis kissing her shoulder for some reason.

Lillian blinked and a single tear fell from her eye. She looked at him, her hands grabbing onto his forearms and squeezing. "I'm fine..." she whispered. Was this a lie? It felt like it...

He pulled her in for a tight embrace, "Are you sure?" He asked, sighing when she wrapped her hands around his neck.

Lillian looked all around, everyone was here and staring at her with the same worried look. She pulled away from Raphael, clearing her throat before speaking. "We need to talk."

Raphael nodded, his hand going to hers. "Okay..."

Lillian let out a breath as she tried to come up with the courage to face everyone. "Some things were brought up in the conversation I had with Luis that I think you all need to hear." She let go of Raphael's hand and walked over to the couch, leaving him where he was standing. For some reason, she thought what she was about to say would be easier if she were away from him.

Lillian waited for everyone to stay still. Belle went over to sit by her, Michelangelo on her opposite side. "I told him I wanted to keep the baby but I didn't want to be with him." She shook her head. "Of course, when he offered me the option to raise the child separately he didn't expect me to take it. So he gave me an envelope...inside of it were three pictures." Lillian swallowed hard before continuing. "Couple weeks ago...Raph and I went out on a date..."

Leonardo was the first one to catch on. His head snapping around to stare at his brother, fighting the urge to smack him upside his head for being that careless. Pictures!

"The pictures were of us..." Lillian finished.

"What?" April, Mikey, and Casey asked.

Donatello shook his head, "That's impossible." He looked to Raphael, "How careless were you?"

"Do not blame your brother. Anyone." She snapped.

Leonardo shook his head, "Lillian, are you sure you he-"

"It was him. He was in his motorcycle outfit."

"So you can't see him-"

"If you were looking at the photo and didn't know a mutant was in the outfit, yeah you'd probably miss it. But remember..." Lillian turned her attention towards Raphael. "Before we went inside the restaurant you took off your helmet."

Leonardo's eyes widened, "You took off your helmet?" He shouted, pushing his brother's shoulder.

"You've gotta be kidding me?" Mikey chuckled. "I'm not the stupid one anymore!"

Donatello stood by his eldest brother, "Do you have any idea how... inconceivably stupid that was!? In public?"

"I quickly covered his head with my helmet the picture barely-" Lillian began but was cut off by Leonardo continuing to yell at Raphael who just stood in silence.

"You put your family in danger! You put yourself in danger! I told you you were being too careless...reckless! We promised Bishop and Barry-"

"I know what we promised!" Raphael finally yelled.

"Guys, stop it," Lillian yelled, looking at April or Casey for some help.

Casey placed himself between the brothers to prevent anyone from getting too close. "Leo, he was with his girl, alone. Can you really blame him when you're showing yourself to strangers?"

Bella sighed, "Really?" She said to herself, rubbing her forehead with her hand. Why was she being dragged into this?

"That's different, Casey. I was alone with her, not in public." Leo defended.

"Okay so, it was careless! Obviously, I didn't think I'd be caught on camera. We were at Murakami's!"

"You were in public is the freaking point, Raphael," Donatello growled. "You never let your guard down. Did you not retain anything Sensei taught us."

"Will you all shut up!" Lillian screamed, standing up from the couch, her face red with frustration, "I am...really scared, okay. I don't need you all fighting each other!"

Bell reached up to touch Lillian's lower back.

"This man," Lillian breathed when there was finally breathed. "This evil...man...said he knew about the EPF, how they work with people who have been mutated and how Raphael is a mutant." She cried.

Leonardo finally snapped, reaching over Casey to push Raphael's chest. "You son of a bitch! How I wish Splinter was still alive so to see our demise as a family and a clan will be because of you!"

Raphael growled, reaching up to grab his brother's hand. "Don't you dare bring Splinter up! You fucking hypocrite!"

Casey did his best to hold off Leonardo, the only turtle he could actually hold back.

"You have no excuses! As soon as we get home I am calling Bishop and letting him deal with you!"

"YOU'RE WHAT?" Raphael snarled, pushing Casey out of the way to try and grabbing ahold of Leo's shoulder. "You'd fucking snitch on your own brother?"

Lillian suddenly felt faint, she placed a hand on her forehead shutting her eyes. The room was spinning and her body felt cold and hot all at once. This was too much for her to take.

Belle placed a firm hand on Lillian's back, her other hand pulling on the back of her shirt. "Lil', sit down." She urged.

Mikey stood, wrapping his arm around her waist when Lillian's knees wobbled for a moment. "Are you gonna pass out, babe?" He asked, removing her hand from her face so he could see. "Babe, look at me. You okay?"

Lillian shook her head, "This isn't even the worse part." She gasped.

April saw how distressed Lillian was, now was her stop to stop this. "Okay, that is enough!" She yelled, standing in between both brothers and pushed both of them back. "Talk about this later! Listen to Lillian now!"

Raphael was the one to break the glaring constant he and his brother were doing. His grip on his brother's shoulders loosened when he saw Michelangelo wrapping an arm around Lillian's frame. Pushing everyone away from him to clear a path, he went to her. His hands hesitantly reached out to her, "Lil'?

Lillian shook her head, "Luis said he'd release all this information. About mutants...how you're some guy called the Nightwatcher, and about the government working with mutants. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Raphael asked.

Lilly took a deep breath, "Unless I marry him."

There was a part of Lillian that didn't want to tell Raphael. She was afraid of his reaction, for one, and with just cause! He was already fighting his brothers and that alone was enough to make her feel faint. The reason she was most afraid of was sitting heavily in the pit of her stomach. She had a feeling she already knew what he was going to say.

He was going to let her go...

She didn't want to marry Luis, she wanted to be with Raphael. More than anything in the world, she wanted things to go back to the way they were when she was young and in love. Just the two of them... Now, it felt like she had no other choice but to protect Raphael and his family from the power Luis had in his hands. Now she was the one that had to leave. This was her family, and if leaving meant they'd be protected then...

The tables have turned...

"Lillian, you don't have to do that," April said. "We can make a few calls and this will be all over, okay?"

"He told me..." Lillian continued, her mouth suddenly very dry as she stared into Raphael's stare. "...either find out what humanity's reaction to mutants is or...marry him."

"This guy has gotten on my last fucking nerve," Casey growled. "I say we kill him."

Mikey nodded, "We don't have fingerprints, we can get away with it."

Donatello rolled his eyes at both men's suggestion. "As much as I would like to inflict pain on this guy...he's the father of Lillian's child."

"Oh...I forgot about that." Casey pouted.

"I didn't! I say we still do it." Michelangelo stated with a nonchalant shrug. "That kid will have enough father figures. Raph can be his dad!"

Lillian pressed her fingertips to her mouth but nothing stopped the small gasp from escaping her lips when she heard Michelangelo's comment. She still couldn't bring herself to look away from Raphael's stare, which was now morphing into more heartbreak than anything. His stare was telling her everything she had feared had been correct.

"Mikey, that's a pretty sentiment but it's only right for the child to be in contact with the father no matter how horrible," Donatello explained before shaking his head. "I don't know anymore, to be honest..."

April scoffed, "I think it'd be better to stay away from him altogether. If he's this bad to the mother, who's to say he won't be horrible to the child."

Lillian cursed at herself for wanting to defend Luis in that moment. With herself, Luis was reprehensible, disgusting...abhorrent. That should be enough. But despite everything, she had the strangest feeling that he'd be different with a child, their child.

"Lillian," Leonardo stepped closer to her. "We know how it may seem. But we'd never ask you to do this. To give up your freedom for us." He attempted to comfort her, his heart truly breaking as tears ran down her cheeks.

Bell stood up from the couch in a puff of anger, "This has been going on for way too long. You have at this man's beck and call. You've gotten him sober, you have put in everything in this relationship and sacrificed more than you should. Not this..." she shook her head, desperately grabbing a hold of her friend's hand. "Don't do this..."

Lillian swallowed, putting a hand over her friend's, and forcing a smile. "Can everyone do me a small favor?" She asked turning to face the room and grabbed ahold of Raphael's hand, "I need a minute alone with Raph."

Okay, yikes. Luis is the devil. He can't get any worse, can he? Mm...

Sorry for the cliffhanger! Please ignore any mistakes.