My so-called father, who sat right next to Michael, ignored the hurtful words and instead looked at me with disgust. His chosen groom for me was twenty years older than me and had been married three times before. All his wives had died mysteriously.

I made tight fists under the table, trying to ignore their cruelty. Right now, I couldn't afford to react - not here, not now. But the stress, combined with the morning sickness I'd been fighting all week, was becoming too much to ...