3: 3

3

The words landed, and every guest below rose to their feet.

Ruby grabbed a fistful of my dress, staring at me like she couldn't believe her ears. "What did you say? Say it again!"

"The nerve! The absolute nerve of her! Landon! Look at your wife! Wonderful, just wonderful! Landon! You deal with this yourself!"

She clutched the memorial tablet and wailed.

Not much to her, really. Cling to a dead man and cry. Was there anything else she could do?

Landon frowned, displeased. "Apologize to my mother, kneel and kowtow to my father. Is that so hard?"

"Yes."

He looked genuinely baffled, pressing me. "Davina, be reasonable. You owe my father a life. My mother isn't asking anything else of you. She just wants you to kneel and repent. You're carrying a child. Think of the baby, at least. Don't heap sin on it."

Ruby scrambled to her feet, as if she'd caught me out.

She jabbed a finger at my belly. "If it weren't for that pregnancy, do you think we'd have brought you in this properly? With a wedding this grand!"

I laid a hand on my stomach, and for the first time my heart went cold all the way through.

"If it weren't for the pregnancy, I wouldn't have married in this easily either. I gave your family a break, knowing things were hard for you. You—"

"Ha!" Ruby scoffed. "You were scared your belly would show and you'd never find some fool to take you, and scared my family wouldn't want you either, weren't you? Young and knocked up before the wedding, what kind of decent girl could you be? My family was still willing to marry you. You should be counting your blessings."

I turned to Landon. "You think so too?"

His face darkened. He turned his head away, wouldn't meet my eyes.

"How much of a favor do you expect from my family? And this child, didn't you choose to carry it yourself?"

I slapped him across the face. "Landon! This is your child!"

He wiped the corner of his mouth and gave a low sneer. "Heh. But the belly's on you. If you didn't want it, there's nothing I could do about it, is there?"

"Oh, come on now, Davina, enough. We haven't said much to you. Just repent, quickly. Say, 'This sinful wife will always remember my father-in-law's kindness, and I will repay the life I owe with this pregnancy.' That's all."

A furious laugh broke out of me. I cupped my belly and took a step back.

"No."

Landon pulled Ruby behind him. "This is my family's rule. You want to marry in, you follow every step of it properly."

He tossed a cushion at me. "There's your padding. Don't be dramatic."

"Landon, and if I say no?"

He brushed the dust off the cushion, his voice gone completely cold. "Don't push me, wife."

When he turned his head back, there wasn't a trace of love in his eyes. Something in them was almost frightening.

"What are you going to do?"

He didn't answer. He drew a dagger out from under the altar table.

The blade sat over a white candle, heating.

Below, his sister-in-law lounged with one leg crossed over the other and explained, "It's our family's rule. Since you won't repent, and you don't know a good thing when you see it, then we bleed you to atone. That's all."

Ruby jumped in, thrilled with the drama. "Oh, seeing as she's carrying my grandbaby, only bleed half. What are you two standing around for? Go hold her down for me!"

Two burly men below charged at me with ropes.

I stepped back. There was nowhere left to go.

4: 4

4

"Don't come any closer! Do you have any idea this is against the law?"

Ruby sat with one leg crossed over the other, dragging her eyes up and down over me. "Law? Around here, I am the law. Get on with it. Don't miss the lucky hour."

Landon dragged over a battered metal basin and dropped it on the floor with a clang.

The short blade in his hand was already glowing red-hot.

My whole back was pressed flat against the LED screen, walls on either side of me.

In front of me, the men stood staring, waiting for their chance.

"Landon, don't you dare!"

"Baby, there's nothing I can do. Rules are rules. You bleed a little, get rid of the bad luck, I earn some merit for my dad down below. Nothing wrong with that. Relax, my blade's nice and sharp."

Landon blew on the edge of the knife and came toward me, one step at a time.

I bolted to the side in a panic, but two big men caught my arms and legs and held on tight.

"Let go of me! Landon, you lay a hand on me and my mother will never let this go!"

Landon spread his hands and nodded like he agreed. "Oh, absolutely. But you forget. The day you insisted on marrying me, you cut ties with your own family."

That scalding tip was about to bite into my wrist.

I threw everything I had into it and slammed the two men in front of me aside.

Gathering my skirt, I turned and ran off the ceremony platform.

Behind me came Landon's cold laugh. "Baby, take a look around. Everyone here is my family. Where do you think you're going to run?"

I shoved at a window. It was nailed shut.

Every window behind me was blocked by a body.

Even the doors had been barred tight.

I stood in the middle of the banquet hall, staring up at the people on the platform in despair.

Landon crouched at the edge of the stage and beckoned to me. "Baby, come here. Be good. Let's hurry up and finish the ceremony, then we can go to the bridal chamber."

I ducked my head and quickly dialed my mother's number.

The line rang a few times, then cut off.

"Mom's not picking up. Right, Uncle. Call Uncle. My uncle loves me the most!"

I called my uncle twice more. No one answered.

Shaking my head, I begged the aunts blocking the windows. "Auntie, please, I'm begging you, let me out?"

They just smiled, one after another, enjoying the show.

Not one of them moved a step.

Landon walked down off the stage with that mocking smile, and behind me the aunts shoved me forward.

"Go on. It won't kill you."

"Exactly. Don't waste everybody's time."

Landon seized my wrist and pinned my hand flat against the table.

"Landon, I'm begging you, don't do this, I'm really scared!"

He smiled at me, gentle, and I forced a smile back to win him over.

But the next second the smile was gone, and he pressed down on my wrist until it felt like it would snap.

"When you were screaming to marry me, why didn't you say you were scared? A little late now, isn't it? Let's get it over with quick, so we can go home to bed."

"After today, I will never let any of you off!"

"You'd better worry about getting through today first."

I clutched the hem of my skirt, cold sweat sliding down my forehead.

Feeling that scalding edge come down, my whole body jerked.

But before the sound of the blade cutting flesh came the screech of tires braking hard.

Bang. The doors of the banquet hall were rammed straight open.

A Land Rover drove right into the hall.

I turned my head. Harsh light poured in from outside.

Uncle Nathan climbed out of the Land Rover and swept an irritated glance around the room. "What's this? My niece's wedding, and nobody thought to tell me?"