Tormented Part 2: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Elginvale High) by Esme Devlin

Author:Esme Devlin [Devlin, Esme]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-09-07T05:00:00+00:00

“For it is not a chain that holds you both together.”

Really? Could have fooled me.

“The rope that ties your hands signifies your union. A thousand tiny threads. Individually, they’re weak and easily broken. But twisted together, entwined with each other? They don’t snap. They don’t break. Together they are stronger than they are apart.”

I look at the man standing next to me, his face set hard on the man in front of us. No emotion. No tears stinging his eyes from the sight of his bride as she enters the room.

No flowers. No dress. No joy.

Just the thick piece of rope that ties my hand against his.

It doesn’t even feel real, and maybe that’s a good thing. I can’t get too emotional over something that doesn’t feel real.

The pastor’s words are nice. There’s a certain poetry about them and I can see how they’d be touching if it was real. A thousand tiny threads linking us together. A thousand tiny memories of moments.

How romantic.

He says some more pretty words about rings symbolizing eternity, no beginning and no end. And then I watch as Shaun places two of them on my ring finger.

They’re too big, but no doubt he’ll get them adjusted. One of them is a plain white gold band. Thick for a female ring and heavy on my finger. But it’s not the band that catches my attention; it’s the engagement ring.

This is white gold too, but you’d barely notice. Everything else fades into the background when the diamond, so big I think it has to be cubic zirconia, catches the light.

But cubic zirconia, even with the best cut, doesn’t sparkle that way.

I swallow the lump in my throat as I stare at it and then pull myself together enough to put the other ring on Shaun’s finger. This one fits perfectly.

“I now pronounce you, husband and wife. Shaun, you may kiss the bride.”

Now it’s feeling more real as I look up at his face. Still, no emotion from him. His eyes are hollow and he looks as hard as a stone. If I had any doubts about what his intentions were before, they’re washed away by the way he is looking at me. This was about ensuring I didn’t marry Liam. Why? I’m still not sure. Maybe it’s because of what he did to his sister, or maybe it’s something more sinister. But right now I feel every bit the business transaction my father wanted.

He bends down and plants a single kiss on my lips, then withdraws as quickly as he came. The room is silent, though I feel countless eyes on me. Most of them strangers, or barely even acquaintances. Only one of them a friend.

This isn’t the way weddings are supposed to be, but it doesn’t matter. I’m doing this to get answers. And I’m not going to pretend that I’m happy about the way this has come about, because that could raise suspicion. No one in their right mind would be happy about this.

When I have my answers, I won’t need to be the pawn anymore.

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