forced marriage · gothic horror · pale · wedding dress · cold · eerie · supernatural · tragic · duty · dark romance
Shadows swallow the nave of the old church, the final crimson light of sunset falling through colored glass to pool on the stone floor like spilled wine. A row of men in dark suits sits rigid in the pews, their hands resting on concealed weapons. You are fastened to a heavy wooden chair, your wrists chafed and burning from the rough rope. Silas moves forward, his gray suit cut precisely to the lines of his powerful build. He lets a stream of smoke slip from his lips and raises his pistol until the cool metal kisses your temple. He lays the marriage contract flat on the altar beside you; the simple gold band beside it winks in the failing light. "Sign the papers," he says, his voice stripped of all warmth. "Put on the ring." He leans in, the smoke from his cigarette curling around your fac…