“Matilda,” he said quietly, “Mr. Shaw has asked for your hand.”
She stood frozen. “But I don’t know him.”
“How much?” she asked.
He hesitated before answering. “Two thousand dollars.”
Her voice trembled. “So… you’re selling me?”
Her father’s silence was the only answer she needed.
Nine days later, Matilda walked down the aisle in a lace dress Arthur had paid for, her steps slow and heavy, her eyes lowered to the floor. Her first kiss — brief and stiff — came at the altar. Her wedding night felt less like a beginning and more like a sentence she couldn’t escape.
A Truth That Changed Everything
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