I hate my life.

I know people say that all the time. They exaggerate situations; make them worse then they need to be.

I don't.

My life has been used for political gain by my parents since before I was born. They discovered that having a baby girl would be statistically more appealing to the people. After that they devoted time and money to making me a sophisticated young woman capable of following their footsteps to great things. Too bad I would rather shoot myself.

I don't know when I first decided I hated my life but I do remember when I first decided I hated my parents. I was fifteen when they sold my virginity to get a bill passed in congress.

I spent my life trying to get away from them but I was caged. I thought there was nothing I could do. They had the sway to trace back any name changes I made, they could get a hold of any registration on the space colonies and my face would be recognized by almost anyone who knew anything about the politics on Earth V.

I would watch this planet burn if I could. I know that, eventually, humans will destroy it, just as they destroyed the first Earth, then the second, all the way through Earth IV. Now we live on Earth V and every one is obsessed with politics and Jewels. Ridiculous.

Jewels grant the wearer good health and longevity. That's about all I know despite the fact that my father used to work for a company that sells them. He and my mother have several Jewels but I've never been allowed near them. Go figure. They wouldn't want to risk me outliving them or being truly healthy. Then I'd pose a risk to them.

For now, they're content controlling me and I'm stuck.

Then the thing I dreaded most. At age 24 they arranged to give me away in marriage to a complete stranger.

I am so tired of being used. I just want it to end. I don't care how.

Fiona Adams looked up from her electronic journal when she heard the party she was waiting on enter the small restaurant. She quickly locked the last entry and folded it away into her purse. She checked her little blue cocktail dress once more to make sure she looked presentable and stood up as her parents rounded the corner with two men her own age.

"Ah, Fiona, there you are," her mother, Lady Senator Gabrielle Adams said in her sickly sweet, airy voice. "I'm so glad you made it."

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world," she replied in a dry voice, taking her seat again and absent-mindedly wrapping her finger around one of her blonde curls.

"Is that attitude necessary?" her father, the former Vice President of EJE, Energy Jewel Enterprises, asked as he carefully lowered himself into his seat.

"Of course not, father," she replied in a fake voice, sending the men across from her a flirty smile. "How wrong of me to be upset to be here." He glared at her and cleared his throat in annoyance.

"Allow me to introduce you to Captain Alex Garrison and his brother Nathan Garrison, your fiancé," Mr. Adams said bluntly, pointing to the men across from him and his daughter. Fiona sized them up immediately.

Alex was tall with dirty blonde hair, which was long and dry, clearly from spending hours in the sun, broad shoulders and muscular arms meant for hard labor, and a seductive grin. Meanwhile, his brother was much skinnier, like a runner, with glasses and a nerdy expression when he smiled. He was the only person who looked genuinely happy to be there. Fiona pitied him. She fought her hardest not to roll her eyes.

"Captain Garrison owns the Falcon," her father continued. "He and his brother run a growing seeking business and they're hoping to continue the growth. We're hoping this marriage will prove advantageous to them in those regards." He looked to Alex who nodded his head in agreement. As you know, I left EJE two years ago and I'm trying to start a new company. This connection could be vital to my success." Her father's eyes gleamed with excitement as he spoke. She knew he was already imaging what he would do with the increase in his wealth.

"And what do I get out of this?" Fiona asked in a bored voice. She was busy picking at her nails and refused to make eye contact with anyone.

"The- the comfort of a good home," sputtered Nathan, speaking for the first time. She almost snorted at the irony of what was happening. An irony she realized immediately that Nathan was too stupid to understand. Alex and her parents were the ones gaining from this exchange. She and Nathan were means to an end. Nothing more.

"Now, honey," her mother said in her air-headed voice, "the Garrison's have other means to making their business grow. They want some help from you before they agree that this is their best option."

"Oh really?" Fiona asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "And what would the Garrison's like me to do for them?" She turned all her attention to Alex Garrison. His eyes gleamed with intelligence.

"Well," her mother started. Fiona held up her hand.

"I want to hear it from him," she replied without taking her eyes from Alex. Silence fell over the table as everyone waited for Alex to speak.

Alex leaned back and took a sip from his wine glass, perfectly at ease under the attention he was receiving. "I want you to help me take out my competition."

"Who?" she asked quickly. There were hundreds of Seeker ships out there.

"A man named Chase Collins. He owns one of the best private ships left in the business and I want him out."

"I've never heard of him," she replied easily. "I don't know how I can help you."

"I've worked that out already. You just have to do as you're told."

"Like an obedient little dog?" she spat. He sat forward and locked eyes with her.

"Like a loving and devoted woman who wants nothing more then her husband to succeed," he replied softly, the hint of a smug smile pulling at his lips.

Fiona opened her mouth, incredulous that her parents had selected this pompous piece of shit as her future brother-in-law. It was low, even for them. "I would rather-" she started to say the first nasty thing that came to mind. She stopped midsentence and her breath caught in her throat at the pain that shot down her spinal chord. She whipped her head around to look at her father before she checked her tongue and returned her gaze to Alex. "-would rather help his brother to succeed and keep my husband at home where he will be safe," she finished, choking out the words and hating herself the whole time. Alex gazed at her in calculated confusion before ignoring the strange incident and widening his grin.

"Good. Then we have reached an agreement. We leave in the morning." Alex reached across the table to shake Mr. Adams hand and stood before taking the Senator's and kissing it politely. She smiled and thanked him for joining them and bid him goodnight. After he and Nathan had left both of her parents rounded on her.

"I'll meet you in the fucking morning," she hissed as she threw her napkin on the table and practically ran out of the restaurant.

She didn't stop until she was running up the steps to the airtran and took a seat on the line that would take her to the stop near her apartment. She stared out the window of the express hover craft with a lost expression, blinking back tears. Her parents were marrying her off to a prick with an asshole brother for financial gain and there was nothing she could do about it.