No Peace in Life or Death

The day before Chris Carter and I were supposed to get engaged, my parents sent me to prison.

Three years later, when I was finally released, Chris was the only one who came to pick me up.

I knew he despised me. I trembled, keeping my head down, hoping to slip away unnoticed.

But he blocked my path, frowning. “Emily York? You stink.”

He pinched his nose and told me to get in the car.

I fell to my knees, desperately begging him not to take me home. If he did, I would die.

He looked at me with chilling indifference and said, “Then go ahead and die.”

I agreed.