My Sister Owed Him Two Hundred Thousand

Leighton stared at Logan, her thoughts consumed by one number: two hundred thousand dollars. That debt hung over her like a storm cloud, ready to swallow her whole. Her mom’s medical bills kept piling up, her father’s debts never seemed to end, and Jazlyn’s health was hanging by a thread.

Now Logan had cleared it. The debt was no longer owed to Barnes. It belonged to Logan now.

Leighton squeezed Jazlyn’s hand. “I’ll pay it back.”

Logan arched a brow, intrigued. “How?”

“In installments. Over five years,” Leighton replied.

A disbelieving laugh came from somewhere in the crowd. The idea of making two hundred grand in five years? Laughable. Logan’s gaze swept the crowd, and the laughter died on the spot.

The crowd went tense, but Leighton could still feel danger hanging in the air. Logan was not known for being generous. He tilted his umbrella over her, letting the rain hit him instead.

“Day classes, diner shifts at night, tutoring on weekends, extra gigs during breaks?” he asked.

Leighton blinked. “Have you been spying on me?”

Logan didn’t answer. His gaze dropped to her beat-up canvas shoes and the damp sleeve of her blouse. “Leighton, you think you’re invincible?”

It stung because deep down, she knew she wasn’t. She’d known since she was sixteen that she was the only one in her family willing to carry this weight. When her mom got sick, Jazlyn cried, her father vanished, and Leighton was left to hold everything together.

Her world came down to a bank balance, hospital bills, and late-night diner shifts. She wasn’t trying to play hero. There was simply no one else to step up.

“If I don’t, who’s going to take care of Jazlyn?”

Jazlyn started crying again. Leighton didn’t turn. If she saw her sister cry, her resolve would crack.

Logan watched her for a beat, something strange flickering across his face. It wasn’t pity. More like he’d expected that answer—and it frustrated him anyway.

Then he said, “Three months.”

Leighton frowned, confused.

“Be my girlfriend. For three months,” Logan clarified.

Leighton almost laughed. “Logan, are you out of your mind?”

He let out a soft laugh. “Maybe.”

He pulled the pale pink letter from his pocket—the one she’d given him earlier—and held it out. Rain had smeared one corner, but Jazlyn’s name was still clear.

Her expression hardened. “You took my stuff?”

“It isn’t yours,” Logan said, meeting her gaze. “So today wasn’t a confession. It was you making a scene for her.”

The truth cut deep.

Jazlyn apologized through her tears, but Leighton didn’t turn back. She knew it would only make her sister’s distress worse.

She faced Logan. “Those are two separate things.”

“True,” Logan conceded. “But both fall on you.”

He continued, “My terms are simple. One: be my girlfriend for three months and attend the events I need you at. Two: I won’t touch you without your consent. Three: don’t deny our relationship in public. Break any rule, and the debt goes right back to you.”

Leighton’s frustration boiled over. “This is blackmail.”

“Think of it as a business deal,” Logan replied smoothly, something unspoken lingering in his tone.

Leighton went silent. She had no experience with romance, and she’d never dreamed of repaying a debt by playing someone’s girlfriend. It felt surreal—like a story that belonged to someone else. Except here she was, living it.

Two hundred thousand dollars. Her mother’s illness. Jazlyn’s pale face. She had no room to refuse.

She asked, “Just in name?”

Logan studied her. “Unless you want more.”

Leighton met his gaze without flinching. He chuckled and dropped the teasing. “In name only.”

“And you can’t touch me, mess with my studies, or make me do anything illegal,” she insisted.

Logan arched a brow. “You’ve got a lot of conditions.”

“You can always back out,” she countered, her voice rising slightly.

The people around them held their breath, bracing for Logan’s anger. But he didn’t lash out.

Instead, he smiled. “Deal.”

Jazlyn clung to Leighton. “Sis, don’t do it.”

Leighton turned to her sister’s tear-soaked face. Jazlyn insisted she should face the consequences herself, but Leighton knew she couldn’t handle it.

Gently, she peeled Jazlyn’s fingers off her arm. “Go back to the dorm. Don’t tell Mom.”

“Sis…”

“Please. Just listen to me.”

Logan cut in. “You’re my girlfriend now.”

Leighton reminded him, “It’s all an act.”

Logan nodded solemnly. “To everyone else? It can’t be.”

Just as Leighton opened her mouth to protest, a woman’s voice cut through the rain.

“Logan.”

Nataly stood in the rain under her umbrella, looking at Leighton like she was something foul. “When did you start liking this type?”

Leighton’s hand clenched.

Logan didn’t turn. Instead, he reached over and tucked a rain-slick strand of hair behind her ear. Leighton stiffened.

Logan looked up. “Who she is isn’t yours to decide.”

Nataly’s grip on her umbrella tightened, her eyes full of disdain for Leighton.

Logan took Leighton’s wrist and led her toward his car. She resisted. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Giving my girlfriend a ride back to the dorms.”

“I said this isn’t real.”

Logan kept going, unfazed. “Then act like it.”

He opened the car door and gestured for her to get in. Just as he was about to shut it, Nataly’s voice sliced in, cold as ice.

“Logan, you’ll regret this.”

He leaned against the car door with a lazy smile. “I’m not known for listening to warnings.”

And with that, he shut the door.

Leighton had barely settled into her seat when her phone started buzzing. The top post on the university forum was blowing up.

[Rejected by Jeremy, Leighton Turner ends up in Logan Jackson’s car—becoming his contract girlfriend.]

The attached photo showed Logan gently brushing her hair aside. The first comment was vicious.

[Looks like even a broke student knows how to choose. If Jeremy’s not an option, bag a trust-fund heir.]

The words cut like ice.

Logan started the car, his voice calm. “Are you scared?”

Leighton answered without hesitation. “Nothing to fear.”

He leaned in to fasten her seatbelt, his breath warm against her face. She flinched back, cheeks burning.

Logan’s voice went suddenly soft. “Leigh.”

Her ears burned with embarrassment, and she turned her face away.

The car cut through the rain.

Half a minute later, her phone lit up again. The hospital.

The name of her mother’s nurse flashed on the screen, and dread settled heavy in Leighton’s stomach.