Chapter 3
649 Words
Larry scoffed coldly, "What's it to you?"
Morris nearly roared, "The child in Jennette's belly is mine! You'd rather be a laughingstock and marry her?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? You've only been back for a week! Jennette's been pregnant for a month already. It can only be from when I last..."
I covered my mouth. So this was the dirty truth.
The next day, the snow fell heavier still. I walked into the hotel wearing a faded old cotton-padded jacket. My sister, draped in a snow-white wedding gown, clung to Larry's arm.
"Why is Jessica dressed like this?" she said loudly. "What happened to the new dress I gave you?"
Larry frowned. "Change your clothes."
I met his gaze. "Didn't the young marshal's betrothal gifts all go to Jennette's pregnancy expenses?"
Morris suddenly rushed over and yanked me. "What nonsense are you spouting now?"
I staggered from the force, my lower back slamming into the champagne tower. As glass shattered, my sister suddenly screamed and fell.
"Jennette!" Larry immediately caught her.
Tears welling in her eyes, Jennette pointed at me. "Jessica pushed me..."
Larry's gaze turned deadly cold. "Jessica, how could you be so evil?"
Morris slapped me across the face. "You b***h!"
Blood seeped from my lip as I stared at Larry. "What? Did you actually see me push her?"
He was massaging my sister's ankle, not even looking up. "I know exactly who you are!"
The scar from the fire on my chest began to ache again. Even after dying once, I still hadn't learned, and I could still feel this pain. Tears swirled in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
I wiped the blood from my mouth. "If the young marshal says so, then I admit it."
I turned to leave, but Larry suddenly commanded, "Stop her."
Soldiers blocked every exit.
"You won't ruin this engagement." He threw a set of opera costumes at me. "Isn't 'The Jewelry Purse' your specialty? Get on stage and sing it."
That had been the first opera I'd performed for him in my previous life. Back then, burning with fever, he'd gripped my hand and said, "Jessica, once you finish singing, I'll recover."
And recover he did—enough to shove me into the flames.
"I can't sing it."
He guided my sister to the main seat. "Then learn. Sing until Jennette is satisfied."
Snow blew through a broken window. The opera robes were paper-thin. Standing alone on stage, I looked down at the merry guests below. Larry served food to my sister. Morris entertained them with stories from abroad. Our parents laughed, faces glowing with delight. No one was watching, yet they still made me sing.
Suppressing the turmoil in my heart, my throat ached too much to speak. When I sang the first line, my voice came out hoarse and broken.
Larry frowned. "How awful."
My younger sister whined, "Come on, make her sing it again!"
Below the stage, glasses clinked amid the revelry. Larry was serving my sister; our parents toasted with smiles, while Morris was fixated on her belly. Just as I reached the line "Let go of grudges and abandon coyness," the hotel doors were suddenly kicked open.
A gang of armed bandits burst in, yanking my sister by her hair! The swarthy leader guffawed. "How about lending us your fiancée, Young Marshal Hodgson?"
Chaos erupted. My sister screamed as she was dragged away, her wedding gown torn badly. Larry went for his gun, but Morris grabbed his arm. "Don't shoot! What if Jennette gets hurt?"
The bandit chief suddenly pointed at me. "What about taking this one instead? I heard she's also a daughter of the Shepherds!"
Every gaze instantly snapped to me.
Father was the first to speak. "Yes, yes! Take Jessica instead!"
Mother nodded tearfully. "Be sensible, Jessica. You must help your sister..."
Morris even smiled. "Perfect solution!"
- Writer
