Page 13 of Throne of Fire

It’s like Katie and Maria remember that my text this morning was a distress call.

“Yeah, what’s up? Shouldn’t you be basking in your honeymoon period?” Marie asks.

"He doesn't want me. I heard him this morning talking about how he can't go through with the marriage." My voice cracks. "And there's some woman named Meghan…"

"Wait, back up." Katie holds up her hand. "Start from the beginning."

Our server arrives and we order coffee. Then I tell my friends everything. The awkward wedding night, the kiss, him storming out, the conversation I overheard. Their faces shift from excitement to concern.

"That's so messed up," Maria says. "You deserve better than being stuck in some arranged marriage with a guy who's hung up on someone else."

“It’s so old-fashioned,” Katie agrees. “Maybe let him go. It’s not too late for you to apply for the spring semester and go to school with us.”

God, I wish I could. "I made a deal. My family needs this."

They look at me like I’ve grown a third eye. They know my family is old-school, archaic even, but not why. I learned at a young age not to discuss family business. That’s not to say my friends don’t have an idea that my family operates outside the law. My father is known to associate with Hampton Kean, who has been featured in the news several times over the last year questioning his business and possible participation in the murder of Patrick Ifrinn and his wife.

What no one seems to know except a small group is that the Ifrinn sons survived. For some reason, the Keans are keeping quiet about the Ifrinns’ return and murder of Ronan Kean, andmy father and the Ifrinns are happy to keep it that way for the time being.

“That’s crazy. Maybe you should come talk to my Women's Studies professor. She's incredible. She has us questioning everything about society's expectations. Maybe she can help you."

I’m so jealous of my friends’ being able to go to college. I remember how my mother rejected the very idea of my taking college classes.

"You have more important things to do than clutter your mind with useless information," she'd said. My parents finally let me have an art tutor until my marriage to Ash. It was nice to be able to do art, as I love it, but it wasn’t like going to college.

"Hannah?" Sophia waves her hand in front of my face. "You zoned out."

"Sorry, just…" I trace the rim of my coffee cup. "Remember when we used to paint together in your garage, Sophia? No rules, just splashing colors everywhere?"

"God, yes! That abstract piece you did junior year was amazing."

"My parents made me throw it away. Said it wasn't proper for display."

The table falls quiet. I don’t like the pity. I hate even more that there is nothing any of us can do about my circumstances. I’m stuck in a loveless marriage while my best friends are living the life I'd dreamed of. They're choosing their paths, making mistakes, finding themselves. While I’m married to a man who can't even look at me, who sees me as part of a business deal.

"I don't even have my own paints anymore," I murmur, more to myself than them.

"You know what?" Katie's eyes flash with that familiar spark she gets before a revolution. "Let's go shopping. Right now. Get you some paints, canvases, everything you need."

"I can't." I glance at my phone. "I have to meet Ash to look at houses soon."

"Why? Is he even going to let you have a say?” Maria crosses her arms. "Hannah, you're eighteen, not eighty. You don't have to just accept everything that's handed to you."

They don’t understand. While we move around in the same world, our lives are very different.

"What choice do I have?”

“Stand up for yourself. I mean, if he’s going to be an asshole and cheat from day one, the least he can do is let you do what you want,” Katie advises.

"But—”

"No buts." Katie grabs my hands. "Remember our women's rights club? How we talked about breaking cycles of oppression? You're living it right now. This is your chance to show them that marriage doesn't mean surrender."

I nearly laugh. If my parents knew I was a part of a feminist club, their heads would have exploded. I only went because my friends did. But I always understood that I didn’t have the same freedoms they did.

"It's not that simple."

"It never is." Maria leans forward. "But you're still you, Hannah. Being married doesn't erase your dreams, your talents, your right to pursue what makes you happy."

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