Page 1 of Hell Yes
CHAPTER 1
ALESSIA/VAL
FIVE YEARS AGO. MOSLEY, ALBERTA.
“Get dressed. The ceremony takes place in two hours.”
Alessia Rault sat on her bed, staring at her mother in shock. This could not be happening.
“No,” Alessia replied.
Her mother glared at her with hardened eyes. “Don’t question me.”
“But Annika is set to marry Simeon.”
“Not anymore.”
“And what about my 18th birthday party?”
Her mother ignored her and continued to throw items of clothing at her—thick stockings, white shoes, and a long veil.
Alessia’s stomach began to roil.
“You have now been chosen by God to marry our benevolent leader. To be his fifth wife. And the founder of our sacred group is not to be disobeyed. The flourishing of Holy Sacrifice is your only mission in this life. To marry and give Simeon children that will carry on our work. That should be celebration enough. Now put this on and be quiet,” her mother snapped and shoved a plain white gown at her.
The dress had a high neck, long sleeves, and an even longer train.
Simeon was to be Alessia’s husband? But it was always known that her sister Annika was going to marry him. It had been discussed for years. Annika was five years older than her. The outgoing one, the one everyone wanted to talk to and be seen with. Annika’s charisma would make the perfect fifth wife for a man as influential as Simeon.
So, what had changed?
“Where’s Annika?” Alessia asked.
“Annika is in reparations.”
Reparations was the term they used for punishment. Whenever a follower disobeyed the laws of the group, the founder declared them to be silent, and without contact. That meant they had to isolate themselves for however long Simeon decided. Many members had been in reparations for years, no longer seen. Alessia often wondered what happened to them but she kept her questions to herself. Asking them would only bring her harm.
But Alessia wanted to know what had happened to her sister. What had Annika done to earn that kind of punishment?
Fear, shock, and the horror of this new reality set in. Just the thought of having to procreate with Simeon, who was fifty-nine years old, made Alessia feel sick to her stomach. Not to mention the fact that he was always sweating and smelled like tobacco and linseed oil. And he liked to hit members, the female ones, to show them that his word was law. Alessia had been raised in this order where women were trained to obey the men and no one of higher authority was to be questioned. If you did, you were punished. Physically and otherwise. Alessia was no stranger to such punishment. Even when she stayed silent.
Despite Alessia’s innate shyness, she was a keen observer, and she didn’t understand why her intelligence was deemed less than her brothers. She wasn’t allowed to read anything but their bible. But that didn’t stop her from stealing books she found in her father’s study. Her mind absorbed information quickly and luckily, no one had found out about her secret.
Her curiosity about the world outside of her home grew.
She was also sensitive to everything around her, especially other’s mood and actions.
Recently, Alessia had heard talk amongst the women, the wives, that Simeon was a demanding husband with unrelenting physical appetites. He would beat those who refused to comply. Alessia had been shocked by the frank talk of the women when they thought no one was around. She couldn’t help but stay and listen, just outside the laundry shed on the rear of their property. She heard them mention ‘rough sex’ and ‘flogging’, as well as the wives joining in on sex games at the same time, sometimes with the addition of other men in the order. The bits of information she’d gleaned had rocked her world to the foundation. It was contrary to the pious appearance that Simeon portrayed and the values he lectured. Having relations with the same sex was one of Simeon’s more heated lectures about evil and sin and yet, in his private world, this was going on. It made Alessia question why he preached one thing and did another.
And the followers who disobeyed him? They were never seen again. She’d asked her father once and had received a backhand that left her face raw and bruised for days. So, Alessia kept silent. But it didn’t stop her from wanting to know the truth.
And now she would have to marry Simeon and give him children. Be subjected to more of his punishment.
She was only eighteen. She didn’t want to marry anyone or be a mother. Not yet. And she certainly didn’t want to marry Simeon.
“What happened to Annika?” Alessia demanded.
“Don’t mention her name to me again!” her mother shouted, turning quickly, and slapping Alessia’s face so hard and fast that all she could do was stand there, too stunned to move.