Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Kill me now.
A hysterical laugh sneaks out of me.
My aunt weeps louder in the corner of the small, poorly lit room.
There is no furniture, save a podium and a little table that holds a candle and a picture of the king. Briefly, I think about snatching the candle and setting fire to Mr. Tandy. Prison is preferable to marrying this sadistic man, but it wouldn’t solve anything. I’m out of choices. I won’t let my aunt deteriorate in the street.
I close my eyes and imagine I’m back in the woods, being held by Rune. His knuckles are stroking circles into my back and he’s murmuring praise in my ear, while the wind drifts softly through the tree branches above. This image will be my happy place forever, the memory I retreat to when life becomes unbearable. There will be the memory of us, even if our time was horribly brief.
I open my eyes again, but the tears are abundant now, so everything is blurry.
“Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I sure do,” Mr. Tandy says with a sick enthusiasm that makes me tremble.
“Do you—”
The sound of a door being ripped from its hinges with a loud screech interrupts the justice and we all go still, turning to look at the entrance to the ceremony chamber. That’s when the bellowing starts.
“Farrah!”
I drop the daisies to the floor.
Conversely, my heart shoots up into my mouth. “Th-that’s Rune.”
“The priest?” spits Mr. Tandy. “The monsignor warned me he might be a problem.”
Monsignor Hannibal organized this. Of course he did. Evil man.
“Farrah, where are you?” Stomping and crashing ensues, growing louder by the moment. Closer to the chamber. “Which door is it?”
“This one,” I whisper, then louder, “this one! Rune!”
My breath catches when the doorknob rattles. It’s locked.
“Finish the ceremony!” shouts Mr. Tandy.
No! I want to scream back, but have I forgotten why I’m marrying Mr. Tandy in the first place? For security, if not happiness. I’ve left Rune behind, because it was the right thing to do. He loves being a part of the church. He’s a good man who defended me when I was weak and vulnerable. A man of the people, not self-interest. And I’m the woman stealing him away from his purpose.
But we should at least be given a chance to say goodbye, right? For closure?
I bite my lip, not knowing what to do, though I desperately want to tear from the room and bury myself in the sanctuary of Rune’s arms.
Mr. Tandy grabs a handful of my hair, yanking my head around to face the justice again, pain rippling along my scalp. “Say your vows, you little bitch—”
The chamber door splinters down the middle. A foot kicks through the wooden panels, and then the entire obstacle is ripped down. Rune is revealed on the other side, bare-chested and sweating, looking like a savage brute, his face a mask of utter fury. “You were already warned to stay away from her,” he growls, pointing a shaking finger at Mr. Tandy. “Now you pay the price.”
Mr. Tandy relinquishes my hair and puts his hands up in surrender, backing toward the corner. “I’m only trying to help the girl—”
Rune’s fist streaks through the air and connects with Mr. Tandy’s jaw, sending him airborne across the room where he slams into the wall and slides down into an unconscious heap. He strides forward to pick his adversary back up and slug him again, but I step into Rune’s path to intercept him.
“You’ll kill him,” I whisper.
“Good.”
“No. You’re not a killer. You’re better than that. You’re a good man. That’s…” I exhale rockily, in pain from being this close to him without touching. “That’s why I left. You are in the right place with the church. It’s what you love—”
“I love you, Farrah,” he says, stepping forward, his voice an emotional scrape. “I love you. My right place is where you are. Where we can be together.”
I gulp a sob. “But you’re a priest.”
“And I could have gone on being one for the rest of my life, except for one girl. One incredible girl. The only girl for me walked into my life and now I have the honor of changing my path so she can walk beside me.” He delves his fingers into my hair, and I almost collapse at the pleasure of his touch. The safety of it. “I cannot claim to be righteous and reject the gift I’ve been sent by heaven.” He leans down to breathe against my mouth, our lips grazing softly. “My Farrah.”
Yes, I am. His Farrah. Completely. “But you’ll miss it. You’ll miss who you were.”
“I’m not going to change. I’m going to change my circumstances. Ours.” He slants his mouth over mine in a groaning kiss. “Do you honestly think I could survive a world where we’re not together? Where you’re married to a lunatic?”