5. Denials and Façades

~Esmarie Seraphine Vale~

I smiled shakily, glancing back at the Mayor's sleazy face. “It's all thanks to my father's care”.

His face turned a bright shade of red as he cackled out loud, reaching out to smack my father on the arm. “I must say, Edward. You really outdid yourself on this one”.

“I try my best,” my father said with a cordial smile, taking a measured sip of wine. “Girls should mind their words and demeanor from a young age.”

My hands shook as I reached for my water glass, nearly knocking it over. Jared let out a quiet snort, but otherwise no one moved to mock me. Not openly.

The kindness was worse than cruelty. It was foreign. It was a warning.

I forced myself to chew a bite of meat, though it felt like chewing through rubber. I couldn’t enjoy the food. I never had. Meals here had always felt more like tests than nourishment.

All I had to do was just to finish my meal without drawing unnecessary attention to myself. I soon faded into the background as the Mayor pulled my father and brothers into a conversation about the rate of rape and assault cases happening in the community.

I tuned them out the moment the conversation started to steer towards a topic my father had much to talk about—how the girls were asking to be raped by dressing indecently.

My mind flashed back to the lake and the creature as I pushed my peas around the plate.

Was he alright? Did I even patch him properly?I didn't even know if it was a Male or a female.

As I occasionally glanced at the faces of the men before me, they were almost off their seats, lips stretched in delight as they laughed and mocked the traumatic incidents that had happened to unsuspecting girls. The more I watched them come alive, getting off the high of being superior, the more I wanted nothing but to tear them apart with my fork, to rip their eyeballs out and replace it with the peas before me. Maybe then, we can eradicate the excuse of women using their—

“Mary!!”

I blinked, jerking my gaze away from the wilted peas on my plate. My father was looking at me—impatient, sharp-eyed, lips curled in that crooked smile he reserved for when something unpleasant was about to follow.

“You haven’t touched your food,” he said, voice low but clipped. “You’ll need your strength for tomorrow.”

Tomorrow?

My brow furrowed, heart beginning to thrum again.

He set his wine glass down with a soft clink. “We’ll be announcing your engagement to Mayor Merrill at the town’s harvest brunch. It’ll be quite the event.”

My fork finally clattered from my hand.

The sound of the silverware knocking against the crockery sounded like gunshots in my head as I stared at him, lips trembling.

Engagement?

To him?

I couldn’t breathe.

The Mayor grinned, like a dog slobbering over a fresh bone. “I told your father we shouldn’t wait too long. Best to secure a jewel before someone else tries to snatch it up, eh?”

He chuckled, as if it were a joke. Jared and Michael laughed too, low and smug.

I felt like I was drowning in my own despair.

My father laughed along with him“A match made in wisdom and favor. You’ll make me proud, Mary.

Then, as if to seal my horror in flesh and blood, he looked at Jared and said, “Switch seats with your sister.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You heard me,” he said, casually slicing into his meatloaf. “You and Cornelius will be spending a lot more time together. Might as well get comfortable with each other.”

Jared grinned as he stood and made a theatrical bow, gesturing to the chair beside the Mayor like he was offering me a throne instead of a death sentence.

I stood up, knees knocking against each other as I made way to the other side of the table like a mindless puppet. I sat down stiffly, my entire body locking up the moment Cornelius leaned in, his breath reeking of whiskey and roast beef.

“There she is,” he crooned, wrapping a thick, damp arm around my waist. “You’ll be the pride of Thistlebank, darling. We'll make a fine pair.”

His fingers were moving as he laughed—sliding up, up, until they grazed under the side of my bra, just barely concealed beneath the fabric of my dress.

And that was it.

The dam cracked. Then burst.

I stood up so fast my chair screeched against the floor, tipping backward and clattering to the ground.

“I will never marry him,” I said, each word loud and sharp, slicing through the thick fog of mockery that had filled the room.

My voice trembled with rage, not fear. Not anymore.

Everyone went still. Jared's smirk faded. Michael raised a brow. My father’s fork paused mid-air.

The Mayor blinked, then gave a hollow, almost amused cackle. “Just pre-wedding nerves, eh?”

“I said never.” My fists were clenched, breath heaving. “I’d rather die than have  you touch me again.”

His face squeezed into a sour expression as he huffed with sudden anger, glancing at my father to do something but he remained silent.

I didn't care what would happen to me after, but I would never marry him nor anyone my father had in mind for me.

And the moment the Mayor reached out again, this time his hand aiming to touch my behind, I didn't stop my hand.

It flew straight across the room and right onto the left side of his face, sending him back in his seat.

The sound crackled around the atmosphere, as horrified gasps echoed from Micheal and Jared behind me. My entire body shook as I retracted my hand back to my side watching as the Mayor's left cheek turned the same color as the grapes on the dining table.

“I said, don't touch me!” I yelled, unable to contain myself. “You sleazy, incompetent, wilted sack of fermented filth. I would rather become a n—”

“Mary!”

My father's enraged yell cut through my outburst like a whip. I flinched subconsciously, barely able to hold my weight up as he glared down at me with bulging eyes, his form towering over the room as he rose to his full height.

“How dare you?”