"I will only marry someone I love." My words were clear and defiant in the silence of the room.
The sound that came from him wasn't quite human. He threw his head back and laughed like I had just delivered the punchline to the world's most ridiculous joke. The sound echoed off the walls around us, harsh and mocking.
"Oh Kendra," he said, wiping at his eyes as if tears of laughter had actually formed there. "That's possible if I say it is."
Something hot and desperate flared in my stomach. I pressed both hands against his chest and pushed, trying to create space between us, trying to breathe. "Nobody has arranged marriages anymore. This is the twenty-first century."
His smile disappeared. "You are in my world now, Kendra. The world you were born to." He stepped closer, eliminating the d
