“You should have just stayed in your room and then none of this would have happened. I should spank you for your disobedience.”
“Then why don’t you?” I snap, opening my eyes to meet his.
He doesn’t give me an answer. “Just go back to your room.”
“No. You said if I was your wife. What did you mean by that?”
“I’m going to make you my wife.” He says it so simply. So plainly as if it’s just another day like any other day.
“Your… wife. But… why?”
“Because I can’t have these other men touching you. If we’re married, they’ll know you’re off limits. So, you will become my wife. That is decided.”
“No. It’s not decided. I don’t want to marry you.”
“You’re my prisoner, Aurora. You don’t get a say anymore.”
I gasp. “Nothing in my life is my own now. That’s what you’re saying. How dare you. You’re evil.”
“We will be bound for life.”
“But why? Why do you want to marry me? You hate me or you wouldn’t treat me like this.”
“I told you: I’m a possessive man. If marrying you prevents others from taking you, then so be it. I will marry you. Now go back to your room.” When I don’t move, he grabs my shoulders. “Or I will carry you back. Either way, go.”
With a gasp, I pull away from him and run back to my room. It takes me a moment given all the twisting and confusing hallways but once I make it back, I slam the door shut and crumble to the floor, crying everything out of me.
My life is not my own anymore. It’s Gabriel’s and he’s making sure I know that.
When I wake up in the morning, I’m confronted by the sight of wedding dresses. Three wedding dresses are hanging on the wall, all in pristine condition. I shudder at the thought of someone coming in here at night to do this while I was asleep.
Each wedding dress is different from the other. One is traditional – more of a princess style with a large skirt and a tight bodice and long sleeves. The second is a silk gown with no lace. Simple and no frills. The third gown is covered with lace and has a mermaid style flare out skirt. Each dress is beautiful but I hate them all.
Gabriel wants to marry me to ‘protect’ me as he claims but I don’t believe that. He just wants to marry me to control me even more. I have nothing to offer a man like him. No money, no power, no family connections. I am just… me.
I can’t do this. It was one thing to be his prisoner but to be his wife? Will he expect certain things of me? He already thinks he owns my body but he hasn’t truly touched me. Just when he placed his hand between my legs. But he never moved his hand. Just kept it there.
Will Gabriel do more to me if we’re married? Surely. I can’t be raped every day of my life. I’ll die.
I cannot marry Gabriel. I need to see my father again. I need to tell him what’s happening before it’s too late.
Maybe he and I can find a way to run away together. We don’t have the money but I’m willing to go into debt to get out of the country. If it means escaping Gabriel.
I change into one of the summer dresses in the closet – there’s no pants, I notice. Only skirts and dresses like the little doll Gabriel wants me to be. I have too much self-respect to marry Gabriel. I have to fight.
The house is quiet after last night’s party. Everyone left. Now it’s just me, Gabriel, and the staff.
Right now, there’s no one guarding the front door. This is my chance.
I don’t hesitate to swing the door open and run outside. The fresh air tastes like freedom as I run and run as fast as I can away from the mansion. The road is decorated with trees on other side. I keep to the trees in case Gabriel comes out searching for me.
It takes me over an hour but I finally make it back to my home. The rundown little cottage. It may be small and ugly compared to Gabriel’s mansion but my father and I made a lot of good memories here. There’s love in these walls.
I rush inside the house to find it quiet and dark. Going into my father’s room, I find him curled into a ball, looking close to death. His skin is gaunt and his lips are cracked. Is he killing himself without me here?
“Dad?” I whisper.
His eyes crack open and they widen when they see me. “Aurora? You’re here? This is a dream.”
