“A hunch. But what’s more important is that it doesn’t matter what you want. Who you want to be with. You’re engaged to me. You are mine. You’d better get used to it because it’s not going to change,” I said.

“You can’t just—”

I cut her off. “I can, and I have. And that’s it,” I said.

I reached into my pocket and tossed a box at her.

She caught it deftly, then opened it.

“My grandmother’s ring,” I said.

She frowned, then looked from me to the ring then back again. “That seems awfully sentimental,” she said.

I shrugged. “It means nothing to me, but my father will expect me to give it to you, so that’s what I’ve done. Put it on,” I said.

She snapped the box closed.

“Fine. I guess I’ll have to do this at some point anyway. Better practice now.”

I took the ring from the box and grabbed her hand.

I could see she wanted to pull away, counted it as a victory when she didn’t.

I slipped the ring onto her finger, not surprised that it fit.

I’d given the jeweler my best guess.

Tried to ignore what it meant that I was correct.

Instead, I stared at the ring, the simple gold band and single diamond, understated but timeless.

Felt a sense of rightness seeing it on her hand, one that I was determined to pretend didn’t exist.

Instead, I tightened my grip and pulled her close to me.

Then I pulled back and looked into her eyes.

“We are getting married,” I said.

Her denial was immediate. “No.”

I heard what she said but paid it no mind. “My father will want to see you. We’ll need to go to his house and pay tribute,” I said.

She shook her head vehemently. “Hell no.”

Despite myself, I laughed.

It wasn’t funny, not at all, because I knew the source of her refusal to see my father. But her stubbornness amused me. “I understand the sentiment, but your desires on the matter aren’t important. The danger is real, but I won’t let it touch you. Still, there are appearances to maintain.”

“Elias, I don’t want to be near that man,” she said, her voice soft.

“I know, but we all have our duties,” I said.

“It’s not my duty,” she countered.

“Yes, it is. And you’ll see it through,” I said, my tone hard.

It pissed her off. I could see that from the slight flare of her nostrils.

“No, I won’t—”

Her phone buzzed, the vibration enough to cut off her words. A guilty expression crossed her face, which told me exactly who was calling.

Now it was my turn to be pissed.

“What the fuck does he want?” I asked, grating out the words around my anger.

She huffed but didn’t answer.