pte

ra's

withdrawing. We have to get the Hawthorne's inv

that Richard's name? His surname. He isn't old so.

ck offense, "I mean, I can't marry any old man! I'm too young and

Ever since Mum died, leaving me with Dad, and Lydia came in, birthing Ruby... everything changed. My life has never been the same. But, I'll do whatever it takes to get out of their

e. Summoning all my anger, I yelled, "I will mar

od! It's the least you can do to repay us for all the good things

be with an old guy. You don't deserve any young, handsome guy. But your future h

d him. What could he possibly say that would make any difference

y's voice sliced through the door. There was

te dress, a swarm of stylists buzzing around me, poking and prodding. They were making su

hisper. The words felt like lies. "Im not done."

t like a slow-motion nightmare. I could hear Ruby and her friends, their

old... they say he's disabled too. A whee

d few nights ago. I wanted to run, to disappear, to die. But... no. I clenched my fists beneath the layers of satin. I wou

scended, broken only by hushed whispers. I caught

e veil hid my face, but my

feel his presence like a wave of heat. M

forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to l

voice rang out,

t, but it sent a shiver down my spine

ple stared, whispering, but no one dared to say anything

I wanted to do

**

head, a vague impression of a man I was now supposed to spend my life with. The car lurched to a stop, a lit

ing for him to come, to lift the veil. Impatience gnawed at me. I grumbled under my breath, the sound muffled by the

here

tucked away in the shadows near the window. He'd been

eath hitched. My mout

pered, pointing a trembli

I lost my virginity to. Nights ago. This opulent old man they said, the man whom everyone assumed to be

that easy? Did he see me as some... slut? The memory of that night, that stol

words heavy with shock. "Why are we her

his eyes cold and assessing. When he finally spoke,

each time you do well." He turned his wheelchair and st

. It was a transaction. I wasn't a wife, I was a... a plaything. A body t

g. "I'll reward your every obedience, but your disobedience

g themselves into my soul. I w

ting darkness. What else was there to want, to live for, if not to make my family