His eyes shifted to Emily.
“You marry me. You give birth within the year. Your family is secure.”
The room went silent except for the hum of the old refrigerator.
Emily’s first instinct was anger.
Her second was humiliatio
“What if I don’t?” she asked quietly.
“Then I’ll make other arrangements,” he replied.
He wasn’t threatening her. He didn’t need to.
Ruth shook her head weakly. “Emily, you don’t have to—”
But Emily held up a hand.
She was twenty years old. Her life had already narrowed to survival. Romance wasn’t on the table. Love wasn’t guaranteed in any version of her future.
Her father could come home.
Her mother could receive treatment.
The farm could breathe again.
And in a year, the man would be dead.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked.
“Heart,” he said simply. “Complications. Prognosis: twelve months, give or take.”
Emily searched his eyes for a flicker of something human.
For a second—just a second—she saw weariness there.
Or maybe she imagined it.
“When?” she asked.
Thomas didn’t hesitate.
“As soon as possible.”
The wedding took place within two weeks.
It was small. Controlled. Legal.
No white gown. No string quartet. No flowers.
Just signatures and witnesses and the quiet understanding that this was not a fairytale.
Thomas moved her into his estate on the outskirts of Madison—a sprawling property with manicured lawns and windows that looked like they belonged in architectural magazines. The house was beautiful in a sterile way. Polished floors. Expensive art. Rooms that echoed when you walked through them.
Emily packed her few belongings into a single suitcase.
Before she left, she hugged her mother tightly.
“Dad will come home,” she whispered.
Ruth’s hands trembled on her daughter’s back. “You don’t owe anyone your life,” she murmured.
Emily didn’t answer.
The first few days in the house felt surreal.
Staff addressed her as “Mrs. Caldwell.” They moved quietly, efficiently. Thomas was courteous, distant, almost formal.
He slept in a separate bedroom until the wedding night.
He never raised his voice.
Never touched her unnecessarily.
Never pretended affection.
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