Page 30 of Checks & Bonds

"Or is this a cry for attention from your future husband, hmm?" His breath was hot against my skin. "Are you jealous all your friends in arranged marriages are getting married and actually in love with their husbands? And you're some damsel, looking for someone to save her?"

"Fuck you," I spat, wrenching my wrist in a futile attempt to free myself.

"Oh, we will," he said, his tone dripping with venom. "Unfortunately."

I glared at him, trying to keep the tears from spilling over.

"You think I want you?" He laughed bitterly. "You're a scrawny little girl who has nothing going for her except decent tits and a pretty face. Congratulations. So does every other bitch at Crestwood."

"Then why claim me at all?" I hated the way my voice wavered and the tears that blurred my vision.

He looked away then, releasing me abruptly. "I didn't do it for you," he muttered.

"I would never make that assumption," I shot back. "Don't worry."

The car fell into a heavy silence as we continued down the dark road. My wrist throbbed where he'd gripped it, but the ache was nothing compared to the storm brewing inside me. The streetlights flickered past in a blur as I stared out the window, swallowing down the sobs that threatened to escape.

The night air was sharp, each breath a reminder of how far I'd been dragged from any sense of normalcy. The stars above were a cruel contrast to my chaotic thoughts, their calm light doing nothing to soothe the turmoil inside me. The trees, darksentinels lining the road, whispered secrets in the wind, secrets I wished I could decode.

I glanced at Henry, his face set in an unreadable mask. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, tension radiating off him in waves. Every part of me ached to be somewhere else, anywhere else. The weight of his claim pressed down on me like a suffocating blanket.

I closed my eyes for a moment, imagining what it would have been like if someone else had claimed me. Anyone but Henry. I didn't care about the risk, about what they'd do. They couldn't possibly be this cruel.

The thought brought a bitter taste to my mouth. Wishing for an alternate reality was pointless now; I was bound to Henry by rules I hadn't fully understood until tonight.

The car sped along the winding road, headlights cutting through the darkness like knives. The silence between us was heavy, filled with words unspoken and emotions too raw to touch.

I opened my eyes and turned to look out the window again, trying to lose myself in the passing scenery. The night was alive with sounds—crickets chirping, leaves rustling—but it all felt distant, like a soundtrack to someone else's life.

"Why did it have to be you?" I muttered under my breath, not really expecting an answer.

Henry's eyes flicked toward me for a split second before returning to the road. "Trust me," he murmured. "If I could undo this, I would."

His words hung in the air between us, mingling with the cold night breeze seeping through the cracked window. For a moment, I almost believed him. But then reality came crashing back down, and the hope that had briefly flickered died away.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to ward off the chill that had nothing to do with the temperature outside.

The car continued its relentless journey through the night, each mile taking us further from any semblance of choice or freedom.

“Why did you do that?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why claim me at all?”

“Because you're my wife,” he replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Not yet,” I countered, my eyes narrowing.

“You think you're going to get out of it?” His tone was mocking. “Why can't you just accept your fate?”

“Like you?” I snapped back. “Bend over and take it like a good boy?”

“If that's the way you want it, I'll fuck you like a dog,” he said, his voice dripping with venom.

I scoffed. “I wouldn't bother. There's no way you could fuck me like Dan, so there's no point in trying.”

The car screeched to an abrupt halt, and I lurched forward, barely catching myself on the dashboard. My heart raced as I glanced at Henry, his face twisted with rage.

He flung his door open and stormed over to my side, yanking my door open with such force I thought it might come off its hinges. Before I could react, he grabbed me and pulled me out of the car, his grip bruising.

“Don't,” he whispered fiercely, slamming me against the car. The cold metal bit into my back, but the pain was nothing compared to the fury in his eyes.

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