A/N: AU and Slightly OOC. Set post Breaking Dawn 2. I hope you like it, and thank you for reading!

Chapter 4-

This was it.

In less than a half-hour now she would be Mrs. Nahuel- whatever his last name was- strange to believe, yet completely true!

Had someone told her this twenty-four hours ago, she would have smashed their pretty face in a brick wall, laughing all throughout.

Thankfully for her, she wasn't planning to treat herself in the same way!

"Leah." Seth whined. "Are you sure about this? Like, really, really sure? I know he is your imprint but…"

She frowned at him, her raised eyebrows resulting in him trailing off mid-sentence.

"I thought you were firmly in the pro-imprint category? What changed overnight?"

Didn't he worship the very ground that created the concept of imprinting?

"Yes, but." he paused, refusing to meet her eyes. "I can't lose you."

The last few words were murmured in a voice lower than a whisper, a sympathetic expression crossing Leah's face as for not the first time she wondered how someone like her was blessed with a brother like Seth.

He was the only silver lining in the pile of shit that her life had become over the past few years.

"Seth." She let out a sigh. "I wish I had any other choice…"

"You do." He firmly assured her. "We will…I am with you. We will find a way out. You don't need to run away. Not like this."

"I do." She pleaded. Somehow, without her uttering a single word, he knew exactly why she had taken this decision. "I have no other choice. He is my one-way ticket out of here."

"Leah, no." he begged. "Don't ruin your life. You are getting married to him…"

"Only in name." she whispered, careful to assure that nobody heard the conversation occurring between the two of them. She was told to get dressed for the occasion- not that she needed to- for there was no occasion to celebrate- while the others invited- six of them waited for her to arrive in front of the Registrar.

It was her and Nahuel; two of her witnesses being her mother and Seth. His witnesses being his aunt and Carlisle Cullen. And for some unspecified reason the creepy empath and his pussy-whipped alpha too were present.

The question remained- who invited them?

"We won't actually be married." She continued. "We will live separately, and after a while go our separate ways. It is simply an escape. For the both of us."

Her plan made sense. At least in her mind.

Though, the way Seth continued to stare at her, it probably did not make as much sense to him.

"You do realize the two of you will be legally married, right?" Each syllable slowly escaped his mouth, his eyebrows raised together as he waited for eureka to strike. "If you do decide to get married to anyone else in the future, you will have to apply for a divorce first."

"I won't." she shrugged. "I will never fall in love again. The burn left behind from Sam's inflicted wounds are enough to last me a lifetime. He was it for me."

Seth winced, shutting his eyes briefly, somehow appearing more mature than his fourteen years of age.

"You don't know that…"

"I do." She stated. "Look, Seth. I am an adult and…"

"Does not seem like it."

She ignored his comment, focusing on the bright side of the picture. She was getting her escape!

"I am doing this." she declared. "Like it or not."

"It is not like I don't like it." he waved his hands in air. "I just don't want you to regret this decision."

"I won't." she assured him. "I know what I am doing."

"I hope so." he whispered, pausing to take a deep breath. "Okay then. Let's get you married!"

She smiled- not the forced one that she offered everyone else. But her real one that she reserved only for Seth- the kid that owned the only soft side of her dark, black heart.

"Let's do this!"

And it was over in mere minutes, the deed done with two witness signatures and one official stamp- sealing her fate for the rest of well…till whenever this façade continued.

As she stood beside her newly acquired husband, Leah could not help but ponder over how her life was now about to change.

And to state that she was excited to witness the future would be an understatement!

"Congratulations, wife." Nahuel winked, breaking the first promise that she had asked from him- to never acknowledge her as his wife, a smirk on his face as he continued, "you broke your given promise, too. I am not an idiot. I know you told your brother the truth."

She simply stared at him, assessing him and his audacity, before muttering an indifference filled 'whatever'!

He wasn't opposed to playing dirty- Leah knew this much by now. And in order to escape this ridiculously small and heavily prejudiced town, she would have to make a few sacrifices.

It would be worth it in the long run.

And she could always show him his place after she moved to her new house.

Hmm.

The thought of owning a house for herself did make her smile. She could decorate it however she liked.

Now, she wasn't too big on decorations; no fluffy pillows in her future! But a nice, cozy home she could come back to as she forgot every worry in her mind….

The idea was indeed appealing!

The congratulations were made as Leah forced a smile upon her face, pretending to be happy and in- love.

How dumb were these people to believe for even a second that she could love someone like Nahuel?

It was next to impossible.

Probably, impossible was more possible than that.

"Oh, my baby, I will miss you." her mother whispered, a tear rolling down her eyes as she dabbed at it harshly. "Don't you want to come home for one last time?"

Of course not.

Though, she could not plainly admit that to her mother, not unless she wished for the sole tear to turn into a waterfall. "Mom, we are already in Seattle. It makes no sense to travel all the way back to La Push." It wasn't home. Not since her father left her to fend for herself. "And come back within hours. We would waste more time in the car!"

Her mother sighed, but nodded her head in acceptance. "Keep me updated, young lady! I want to know what is happening in your life. You have a family. Remember that."

"Of course, mother." She offered her a cheeky smile. "The same applies to you, too. I want to be the first to know of any- and all good news."

She probably did not mean it. But it seemed like the correct thing to say in the situation.

You did not leave a person with bad memories, not when you knew that you would probably never see them again.

That was simply cruel!

"Take care, Leah." Seth whispered, her secret safely in his heart.

"I will." She promised him, tuning out to the other those-who-should-not-have-existed- as they offered their farewells. Nahuel could respond to them.

"So, this is it." she stated, seemingly upset on the outside and laughing on the inside- Sea-Tac airport being the first step that led her to her destination. Her mother simply smiled, the entire party- for some strange reason- having come to drop them at the airport.

It could be easily avoided, if you asked her.

"Oh." She mumbled, grabbing her suitcase from the open boot. Nahuel- the asshole- having only picked his small one, as he stood smiling at her. He had literally waited for her to pick it up. Not like she needed him to do it for her.

She was an independent woman; she could carry her own luggage.

And so that's what she did. After bidding a last farewell to her family, she lifted her suitcase and walked in through the open doors towards her future…

"Leah, wait."

She turned, a frown on her face as she waited for him to speak. "We have no flight to catch."

"Excuse me?"

Why were they here then?

Had he not booked a flight ticket? Was he an idiot?

"I mean, I am not a human. And I don't wish to pretend like one."

Okay…

"We are going by road."

"You mean by a car?"

She could work with that. Probably?

He let out a loud laugh, shaking his head in amusement. "You will see."