The hands fastening his shirt stilled for a second. ”You’ll do as I say,” he commanded quietly,” for your children.”
I bowed my head, eyes filling as the bitter truth hit me; he held all the cards.
And so we were married.
A sign on a register; that was all that it took for me to become his wife.
As we drove back, I leant back in the luxurious upholstery of the car, weary beyond words. The long sleeves of the demure outfit I had worn to the court covered the discoloration on my arms but the ache in my heart remained.
The saddest part of it all, I thought, was that I was still deeply in love with the man who had taken me so brutally last night.
Gaston was saying something to me.
I closed my eyes, ignoring him.
There was no fanfare, no celebration when we returned. Gaston disappeared into his study and after hugging my little ones, I closed the door of the room I was using and sat down on the soft bed. The tears came, slowly at first, then a torrent. I fell into a fitful sleep after a while.
Sometime later, I came awake, Gaston was nuzzling my breasts, and in a sudden rage, I raised my hands and raked my nails across his broad back, before he captured my wrists easily.