3.

Her cousin George Sears handed her an axe.

Paddy grabbed my arm, worry all over his face.

Anita let out a cold laugh, her eyes fixed straight on me.

"Get out of the car nice and quiet, and I'll still leave you a little dignity."

"Let me tell you, running out on this wedding isn't happening. If you won't give me face, I'll make today hell for you."

Her father stood beside her, gesturing wildly.

"Don't waste words on him. A man who won't obey needs to be taught a lesson."

"Just break the window. When those two get out, strip them naked and make them kneel and kowtow to Roy."

More and more villagers crowded in to watch.

They caught the words and jeered along.

"That's right, that's right, a man marrying into her family, what's he acting so high and mighty for?"

"Yeah, he's just some city guy, isn't he? What's he so cocky about?"

Pushed into it, Anita gave the glass a whack.

She hit the wrong spot, and only a spiderweb of cracks appeared.

"Felix James! Are you getting out or not?"

I stared her down and said coldly.

"You want to smash it? Go ahead, smash it."

Then Anita suddenly remembered this luxury car was a rental.

I'd thought a regular Mercedes would do just fine, but she'd insisted on renting a luxury car.

I was in love with her, so I did what she wanted and rented it.

And the car had a dashcam. The moment she smashed it, every bit of the damage would be on her.

Any single part on a car like this cost at least a few thousand to repair.

Her sense came flooding back, and she stopped her hand.

"Knew she wouldn't dare smash it. Can't afford it," Paddy muttered.

Calmly, I said to her.

"This marriage isn't happening today. Let me leave and we can part on decent terms. But if you insist on grinding down me and my buddy, then this isn't over between us."

"This is a society with laws. I don't believe your people making trouble here can get away once the police show up."

Anita threw down the axe and glared at me, her eyes gone red.

"Call the police? Didn't you already know we're deep in the mountains when you came out here? By the time the police get here, I'm afraid you'll already be good and disgraced."

Anita burst out laughing.

"How did I never notice how naive you are? You can't even lower your head for me one single time?"

Hearing that, I finally grasped how far out we were.

The mountain road wound back and forth over one ridge after another. By the time the police could get here, it would probably be the next day.

Anita saw the look on my face darken.

Suddenly her voice turned gentle.

"Felix, it's not like there's nothing between us. So what if you lower your head for me, if you kneel to my little brother Roy?"

"It's not like I'm asking you to worship Roy. Just kneel this once at the door today, and after that everything goes on the same. You're still the man holding up our family."

The coaxing tone, the softness in her eyes, sent a chill through me and made me sick at the same time.

My stomach turned over. I actually felt like throwing up.

Anita saw the disgust on my face and got a little angry.

"Felix, can you quit putting on airs? What exactly do you want?"

She steeled herself, thinking she'd smash the window to pieces.

"You're really going to force me to smash this window before you'll bow to me?"

My face was wooden.

"This isn't about bowing or not bowing. This is about you not treating me like a person, not respecting me, not treating me like your husband," I said.

Anita laughed in fury. "I don't respect you, don't treat you like a husband? Then why would I marry you?"

Paddy cut in with disgust. "Because you took Felix for a sucker and only ever wanted to squeeze him for what you could get."

Anita screamed. "You shut up. If it weren't for you, his so-called good buddy, would he and I have ever come to this?"

With that, Anita threw all caution aside and smashed the window with the axe.

4.

The window shattered.

Hands clamped down on my arm.

Pain shot through it.

Anita's carefully made-up face twisted out of shape.

"Felix James, get out here. You bow down and kowtow to my Roy today, or you're in for it."

I'm a grown man, and they were actually trying to haul me out through the window by force.

Paddy had a death grip on the small of my back.

Anita saw it and spat, "Paddy, are you shameless or what? This is between me and my husband. You just have to stick your nose in. You can't stand to see Felix happy, is that it?"

The words were barely out before her manicured fingers jabbed straight into Paddy's face.

Blood welled up in the scratches at once.

Paddy bit down on the pain and didn't let go.

"Felix, think of something. We are not taking this beating for nothing!"

Half my body was already dragged out the window.

The villagers around the car whooped it up, every last one of them.

"Now this is a fun wedding scuffle. They're playing tug-of-war now."

My body was stretched between the two forces, my gut jammed hard against the window frame, and it hurt so much I could have cried.

I gave Paddy a look with my eyes.

He let go, watching for his chance to climb toward the driver's seat.

Anita, though, thought I was about to give in.

"See, wasn't that easy? Saves you all that suffering."

Right then Paddy took his chance, climbed into the driver's seat, and started the car.

The car lurched forward the second it started, and the pull dragged Anita a few steps with it.

The color drained from her face in fright.

Paddy eased off the speed a little.

"Felix, what are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?"

Soon enough the gawkers crowded back in.

But in all the chaos my hand found the walkie-talkie.

Lucky she'd warned us ahead of time that her home was up in the hills with bad phone signal, so we'd brought walkie-talkies.

I pressed down on it.

"Dad, Mom, big brother, I'm calling off this wedding. Come save me, quick."

I steadied myself and made my voice louder.

"Anita's family is forcing me to kneel to a dog. No kneeling, no coming inside. I don't want this marriage."

Static crackled.

The walkie-talkie hissed, and then came the voice that settled me.

"What?! Little brother, don't be scared, we're coming in right now to get you!" It was my big brother, Elwin James.

"Elwin, don't come charging in alone. The people in this village are troublemakers."

"Got it," Elwin said.

Not long after.

A whole crowd from the construction site came out of nowhere.

They came pouring in this way with my brother at the front.

They were the crew the government had sent down to build roads out here.

A lot of them were doing the public-works stint to log some experience and pad their résumés, so every one of them was strong and fit.

The ones who'd been jeering that us city folk were soft turned timid, one after another.

My big brother walked up to the window, saw how pale I was, the blood streaked all over Paddy's face, the smashed-in window, and his face went dark as a storm.

He fixed his stare on Anita, hair a mess, face twisted.

Then he raised his hand and pointed at her.

Anita shrank back in fear, her lips trembling.

I opened the door and stepped out.

Just as my brother was about to swing, I spoke.

"Elwin, wait. Don't do it yet…"