He emphasized, “you both have decided to go through with it,” like he was also trying to convince himself of that blatant lie. “But with these kind of marriages, the kind that begin in anger, my advice is to release the past, and whatever came before today. This marriage might have begun for certain reasons, but you and he can decide where it goes. You’re husband and wife now. Try to make this into the kind of union you want. I’ve seen others do it.”

Husband and wife.

It certainly didn’t feel like that. And as for this marriage being anything other than a total nightmare, that wasn’t something I could fathom. Not anymore.

But this judge was trying to be kind. So I murmured another, “Thank you” before following my new husband into a marriage that would be filled with anger and bitterness, no matter what the judge advised.

Ten years….

How the hell was I going to get through this?

3

VICTOR

“Did you marry her or kill her?” Phantom asked when Victor came down the town hall steps alone.

His cousin was smoking a cigarette next to the Bentley they only used on special occasions. Victor frowned at the sight. Phantom had quit smoking a couple of years ago. Now he only lit up when he was stressed. Which strangely, was never when he was cracking heads, making deals, or slicing off various body parts on behalf of The Silent Triad.

However, “this shit” stressed him out. Victor knew because Phantom had told him that exactly before they drove up to Western Massachusetts.

Victor also knew his cousin’s question hadn’t been in jest. Phantom wouldn’t have judged him if he had decided to end Dawn’s life instead of marrying her. He might’ve even respected him for it.

As if confirming Victor’s thought, Phantom muttered, “Killing her for what she did to your dad makes a helluva a lot more sense than this plan. Why didn’t you kill her again?”

It was a good question. Too good. The molten black rage that had been simmering inside of him for four years rose to a boil. He wasn’t sure who he was angrier with at the moment. Phantom for asking the obvious or himself for not having a strong and comprehensible reply.

The easy answer to Phantom’s question was that simply murdering Dawn would’ve been too light a punishment. The harder and truer answer was that if Victor were capable of killing Dawn, he would have done so already.

He had no good excuse to give for this weakness. And he doubted his cousin would have accepted his best answer: She’s an open wound that I’m trying to heal. You don’t put bullets in open wounds.

“She’ll be out soon,” Victor assured Phantom without replying to other questions.