I was doom scrolling on the Internet, as we all do at 3am on a long weekend, as came across this unfinished story. I'm so desperate for it to be finished but I doubt it will be. Anyway, here's my version of the story featuring a younger version our beloved Rick and Michonne. Enjoy and please review (criticism is okay, but bullying is not.)

A Parent Trap, Of Sorts Pt. 1

Michonne's POV

I am in love with a man that doesn't love me and within twenty-four hours, he will be my husband. Life has a funny way of playing in your face, but before we get to the ceremony, let's start at the beginning.

Growing up, I never fit in my environment. Why? I was an urban kid made to live with in an all-white family at eighteen years of age. The Black Cinderella - the pauper turned princess.

My parents were scholarship students at Harvard Law, but instead of working for prestigious law firms that would pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars, they chose to go back to hood to help the poor and the disenfranchised. I was proud of them, but pride does not pay the bills. They did however, have some powerful and rich colleagues. My mother's best friend Monica was one. She would take me on shopping sprees at the beginning of every school year to make sure that I had the latest shoes and clothes. Aunt Monica loved doing these things with me, she didn't have kids or siblings, they were the sisters that neither of them had.

So how does an underprivileged girl from the "wrong side of the tracks" end up sitting and socializing with the children of Atlanta's elite? Well, first your parents have to be killed in an unfortunate car accident with a child of the elite. Then, your parents have to will you to your Aunt Monica until your twenty-first birthday. Then, they give your new guardian authority to release your college fund and monitor it through your college years.

I was and am very lucky to have an aunt like Monica. She loved me like no other, but refused to let me graduate from my old high school. She placed me in a preparatory school where the minority percentage was below two percent. I say two percent because there were two Black students in each grade. I say below because I was the only one in my class.

Then I met Beth and her older brother, Rick. Rick was the guy in the wreck with my parents. Our first meetings was not at school, but my parents' funeral. I was touched by their presence and the fact that they didn't shy away from the actions of their son. It was an accident caused by Rick's reckless driving. Their parents, Marianne and Richard Grimes III grieved this tragedy as much as Aunt Monica and I did. They knew it could have easily been Rick in a coffin as well. As a result, they wanted to ensure that I was taken care of. The Grimes were everything that I wasn't: very rich and very white. They were also the kindest people I ever met. You would think that when Mr. Grimes told my Aunt Monica that he wanted to secure my future like he did his own children, he meant a trust fund. How wrong we were.

Mr. Grimes met with Aunt Monica and me one month after the funeral. Aunt Monica was rich, but the Grimes were so rich it was disgusting.

"Jesus Christ." She said as we walked through the unnecessarily long hallway behind the Grimes' butler.

I snorted but quickly straightened my posture once we arrived in front of a mahogany door. "Wow." I mouthed as I entered the office, that could easily be mistaken for a private library.

"Have a good afternoon." The butler said as he closed the door shut behind us.

Aunt Monica and I took a few steps forward before Mr. Grimes stood to greet us. "Michonne, once again, my deepest condolences. Please have a seat, both of you."

Marianne was seated on the chaise across from us, next to her husband, and another man was seated at large ornate desk in the room.

"Thank you, Mr. Grimes. I appreciate you arranging everything so my aunt and I did not have to."

Their kindness still astounded me, because white people at this echelon of society were supposed to hate us, but I didn't feel anything except inclusion and love. I was extremely uncomfortable.

"Your aunt and I spoke a month ago about your future. We wanted and still do want to ensure that all your needs are met and that you are taken care of for the rest of your life."

"Thank you."

Beth and Rick walked into the room. Their responses were different, Rick's head stayed down and he wouldn't look at me, but Beth smiled at me and her eyes showed compassion. I made a face, this was not what I was expecting.

"As I was saying, my family is committed to your happiness—"

"Mr. Grimes," I cut him off, "I don't blame your family for my loss. Thank you, but my parents provided for my future and my Aunt Monica is here as well to support and provide for me."

"Your father was a noble man, he helped a lot of people—a lot of people who would have fallen through the cracks. What happened may not have been anyone's fault, but we feel like it is our responsibility to take care of you. Your Aunt has been doing a great job and will remain your guardian, but she has agreed to our terms." He paused.

"Beth and Rick have a 35 million dollar trust that will each be released to them on their twenty-fifth birthdays, you will have a similar trust fund as well." Marianne added.

I tried to compose myself so I looked at Aunt Monica who's face remained stoic. What was she thinking?

"Wha—" I started but was unintentionally cut off.

"There are stipulations." Marianne added. "Which you all must follow before the funds are released." She stared at her children who had suddenly become alert. I raised an eyebrow, were we hearing this all for the first time at the same time?

Stipulation is that a fancy word for "catch." I knew it was too good to be true, and looking at Aunt Monica's smirk, she did too.

"Due to the nature of the accident, and the fact that Rick was involved, he is also to become your legal guardian." Mr. Grimes added.

Aunt Monica raised an eyebrow at Rick. Over her dead body.

"Not in that sense." Marianne quickly added, glaring at her husband for his misuse of words. "He is not your legal guardian, Michonne." She huffed. "But before the trust fund is released to either one of you, Rick will have to marry you on his twenty-fifth birthday and stay married to you for five years."

Aunt Monica smirked again. "Is that it?" I stared at her wide-eyed, what did she mean by that? Why was she okay with this?

"If you do not marry, all trust funds, including Beth's will be reverted back to the estate, and upon our deaths, the family fortune will be divided among various charities. You three will get nothing." The older Grimes added. "On your thirtieth birthday, an additional seventy five millions will be released from the estate to you."

I blacked out. I could hear my aunt trying to negotiate but it was utterly useless. They wanted to keep this entire matter under wraps and secure their family's future.

"Forgive me, Mr. Grimes but why should Michonne marry Rick?"

"I want these three to be a family. I want every aspect of their lives to impact one another. I know that Rick was not at fault for the accident, but his disobedience caused him to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. All investigations including my own shows that her father sacrifice himself and his wife for Rick, so equal retribution demands that Rick sacrifice his life for their daughter."

Tears threatened to fall down my face. I looked at Rick who looked equal parts devastated, embarrassed, and like he hated me. I scoffed. If anyone should be hating anyone, it was me.

"It feels like I'm being punished." I mumbled. Aunt Monica wrapped her arms around me. "I turn down the trust fund, your children will not get their trust funds either."

"You are correct."

"That's such bullshit!" I shouted, forgetting my home-training.

"This is not about fairness, Michonne." He said, softly as if I was a child. "This is about responsibility and commitment. You all have to have personal investment in one another. Beth has already agreed. Rick, well he has no choice." He glared at his son and I wondered what the relationship between the two were.

I looked at my new "family" and verbally agreed. I observed the actions of my "sister" and my future "husband." His tanned skin and blue eyes burned red from unshed tears. I matched his gaze until he looked away. Unbeknownst to me, Aunt Monica and Marianne had exchanged curious glances at one another. They were onto something.