Page 3 of The Sin of True Love
My rage soars. The hatred I already had for the Reverend skyrockets. Picking a husband for his 18-year-old daughter? What kind of a father forces his eighteen-year-old daughter into a marriage? Imagine the cruelty. The narcissism.
I glance down at her hands, both of them clean.
“I don’t see a ring. Please, tell me you’re joking…”
The sound of a loud car engine cuts Michelle off before she can respond. A flashy black Benz speeds up beside us and parks. The passenger side window rolls down to reveal the driver, Jerry Williams; a blond-haired, blue-eyed, college-aged boy with way too much fake tanner on. He’s wearing a Rolex and glaring at me like I’m worlds beneath him.
“Michelle!” he shouts over the rap music blaring from within. “Let’s go! Now!” He even snaps his fingers at her like she’s his trained dog.
I’ve never met Jerry personally, but I know who he is. And I want to drive my fist into his nose. I’ve met other rich, pompous dicks in my life, but Jerry and his family take the cake.
Michelle glances back at me and sighs. “Listen, I gotta go.”
She reaches out for the handle of the car door, and I blurt out, “Casey. My name’s Casey.”
The hint of a smile crosses her juicy lips. “Michelle. But you already knew that.”
I smile back. “I’ll see you, Michelle.”
“See you.”
I watch as she opens the door and slides into the brand-new Benz. The guy driving immediately grabs her thigh and squeezes.
That is her future husband?
The window goes up, and the car speeds off, leaving me standing there feeling like I’ve been kicked in the balls.
Well that was life-altering. As will be her marriage to that jerk. That is, if I don’t do something to stop it.
2
MICHELLE
“Who the hell was that guy?” I look over at Jerry, who is clearly already fired up. He’s doing that thing where he sucks his lower teeth that he does when he’s pissed about something.
“Just one of the workers.” I shrug, averting my eyes.
“Oh, one of the workers?” he repeats. “You talk to workers now? About what? Two-by-fours? Cement mixtures and foundation pours?”
His grip on my thigh tightens to the point where it’s actually starting to hurt. “You know you belong to me now right, Michelle? I’m your man.”
“Yes, I know–I know that, Jerry,” I reply. I try to wriggle out of his grasp, but that only causes him to tighten his grip.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“You’re hurting me.”
To my surprise, he actually loosens his grip and massages my leg with his palm.
“Sorry,” he apologizes. “But you know me. I get jealous. You’re going to be my wife, Michelle. I don’t want other men–especially men like that–thinking they have a chance with you.”
“Men like that?”
Jerry scoffs and laughs. “Don’t play dumb, Michelle. Those men were hired by your father and my father. They’re commoners. We are not.”
Jerry can actually be a decent guy sometimes, but it’s when he starts talking like this that I actually feel sick to my stomach.
Jerry’s dad runs a massive international shipping company, as well as many other businesses that they don’t talk to me about. All I know is his family is very, very wealthy. That’s what attracted my father to them in the first place. I’m not sure what he had to offer them, but my marriage to Jerry sure feels like something out of Game of Thrones. Two houses marrying their kids off for an increase both their power.