“Three.” His voice draws my attention from his hand back to his face. “You will do absolutely everything within your power to make this marriage happen, both in terms of the wedding itself and the month that follows. You will not defy me, try to run from me, or create any legal basis for a marriage annulment, including refusing to consummate.”
“Consummate?” I stare at him, uncomprehending. “What are you talking about?”
“That’s grounds for marriage annulment in Canada,” he says. “I’m not giving you the chance to use that for an annulment a week after the wedding because you’ve suddenly changed your mind about it all. We have to have sex at least once.”
“You can’t be serious,” I breathe. The fabric of his T-shirt clings to my damp lower back. “That’s a real thing?”
I’ve heard of it before, but I always assumed it was some custom from a hundred years ago. Or something along the lines of an urban legend with no basis in actual fact. The idea that the marriage could be considered legally invalid if we don’t consummate it is insane to me.
Curse pulls out his phone and starts typing at the screen. Then, he turns it to face me.
He’s searched up some official Ontario law website. It outlines a list of reasons for marriage annulment.
Impotence and non-consummation of the marriage is the line at the top of the list. There are other reasons listed out, too. Things like mental incapacity or fraud. But if I had to choose one from that list that would be the easiest to take to court, the one that would draw the least attention…
Yeah. It would be that one.
“I…” My hands twist together in front of me. “I don’t…I’ve never done that before.”
“I don’t have to touch you.” His face is pale. Utterly emotionless. “You can be on top. Get it over with quick.”
I shake my head. “No way.” I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. The idea of me taking control, me riding him, is actually fucking laughable. “I can’t be on top.”
Besides. He told me not to touch him.
“You’ll have to do it,” I whisper. “When…When will it happen?”
“After the wedding. We’ll go to Ontario to get married,” he says. “It’ll be faster to get a marriage license there.”
“How long until then?”
He glances at his phone, then puts it away. He’s already heading towards his office now. His last words come tossed over his shoulder as he goes.
“I’ll start making the arrangements. We’ll leave Quebec as soon as possible.”
Chapter 17
Aurora
I find an empty suitcase in one of the spare bedrooms and get to work. Packing for our trip to Ontario gives me some kind of purpose that I can focus on. It keeps my hands busy and my mind locked up with silly questions like “How many set of pyjamas should I bring?” and “How do I pack this so that it doesn’t leak?”
It’s a large suitcase, but nowhere near big enough to fit everything that Curse has bought me so far. So I stick to the essentials. Things like bubble bath and body oil can be safely left behind. Instead, I focus on warm, practical clothing. The jeans, leggings, and tops. I keep the items I will likely use before we leave on top of the suitcase. Curse still hasn’t given me an actual timeline on when we will leave. He said “as soon as possible” but that could be tomorrow or a week from now, depending on how it all shakes out.
I hope it’s sooner rather than later.
The sooner we get the process started, the sooner it will all be done.
I could be married in a matter of days.
I will be divorced in less than two months.
In the evening, I discover that Curse has put another one of Magdelena’s glorious casserole’s into the oven. But when the timer goes off, he makes no appearance. I find the oven mitts and pull it out, serving myself dinner. I consider getting down another plate and putting some on there for Curse, but decide against it. I don’t need to act like a real, loving wife to him. Especially if, now that I’ve agreed to marry him, he’s dropped all pretense of wanting to spend time with me. I can’t help but notice that, now that I know the truth, and now that he knows I’ll go along with his plan without causing any hiccups, he doesn’t show up to eat with me.
Which is fine. Just fucking fine.
The food, once again, is excellent. I eat it slowly, appreciating every bite. I go slowly, feeling more relaxed than usual without Curse sitting across from me at the island and watching me eat.
Has he eaten anything today?
