I jerked my eyes up to his face again. Had our first touch in four years affected Victor the same as it had me?

A weird hope lit in my heart, despite the circumstances.

But then he dropped my hand to sign, “This ring makes me your owner…I own you now.”

And that small hope fizzled out as quickly as it had begun.

Victor turned back to the judge, and his expression remained impassive as he made legally-binding promises in perfect ASL. He was a cold winter day at the beginning of summer.

When the time came for me to put a ring on it, he pulled another band out of his inside pocket. But instead of handing it to me, he pushed it on his own finger before motioning to the judge to do my part of the ceremony.

The ring itself was a shock. It was exactly the same as mine. Two raised bars of titanium sandwiched between a band of onyx. My teenage self might’ve found matching rings romantic. Now I saw the rings for what they were, a shackle and lead with an invisible chain going from my finger to his.

I repeated back the judge’s words, but I barely registered them. I was too busy staring at the ring he hadn’t let me put on him, just like cops don’t let prisoners cuff themselves.

“… I now declare you husband and wife.”

The judge’s words drew me out of my daze.

The ceremony…

It was done.

I looked up at Victor and found him staring down at me, his black eyes glittering with anger…and something else. My throat tightened. I guessed this was the part where we were supposed to kiss.

He took a step forward, hovering as close as you can without actually touching. It didn’t matter. He didn’t have to touch me. My hormones did that crazy zap-zap-ping through my body just the same.

He leaned forward, and I braced. But at the last moment, he stepped back.

“Thank you,” he signed to the man who married us.

Then he walked away. Just walked away, leaving me there alone with the judge.

It was obvious—so, so obvious that he expected me to follow him. Wherever he led.

Face burning, I turned back to the judge to murmur, “Thank you.”

The judge gave me a considering look like he was heavily weighing his next words.

“Listen,” he said. “I don’t know what this marriage is to either of you or why you both have decided to go through with it.…”