move.
I was shown to a bedroom across the hall from his.
It was larger than the entire downstairs of my father’s rental house.
My suitcase looked absurdly small beside the carved wardrobe.
A row of dresses hung inside, all in my size.
I touched the sleeve of a dark blue gown.
Someone had chosen clothes for me before I arrived.
The thought was not comforting.
A knock sounded.
When I opened the door, my father stood in the hallway.
For a moment, relief crossed his face.
Then he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
“I heard.”
“That Ethan woke up?”
He nodded.
“What did he say?”
The question came too quickly.
I stared at him.
“The doctors said he didn’t speak.”
“I asked what he said to you.”
“He didn’t say anything.”
My father searched my face with the same expression he used when trying
to decide whether a bill collector had believed his excuses.
“You’re lying.”
Anger rose inside me.
“You married me to a stranger this morning, and now you’re accusing me of lying?”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
He lowered his voice.
“This family is not what they seem.”
I laughed once, without humor.
“And you discovered that before or after accepting their money?”
His face tightened.
“The arrangement was supposed to be simple.”
“Nothing about this is simple.”
“You remain married until the trust transfers. The debts are settled. You have financial security. Ethan remains under medical care.”
“You talk about him like he’s a piece of paperwork.”
My father looked away.
“That is how the Thorntons explained it.”
“And now he might wake up.”
“Yes.”
The word carried more worry than joy.
I folded my arms.
“Why does that frighten you?”
“It doesn’t.”
“You asked what he said
