Chapter 5
Just then, Dorothy walked in.
She glanced away, refusing to look at me, muttered my name under her breath, then stormed out in a huff.
Marshall let go of my hand and hurried after her.
"Don't mind her. She's just being childish.
"The waves are rough tonight. She gets scared. I should stay with her," he called over his shoulder.
They really went to great lengths to keep me trapped on this ship for their deadly wedding game. Honestly, it was almost impressive if I cared.
Not that they needed to try so hard. This time, I'd just go along with whatever they wanted. No fight left in me.
All I wanted now was to die.
So even when Marshall spent the whole night with Dorothy, I just kept quiet. No drama, no questions. I was way past caring.
But over the next few days, the two of them kept putting on subtle little displays of affection right under my nose, as if I were invisible, just some prop in their twisted love story.
I honestly had no clue what their plan to kill me was this time.
The only strange thing was how Marshall, who never gave a damn about playing nice, suddenly started bringing me food himself every single day. It was so out of character that I couldn't help but wonder what he was really up to.
To prove it was safe, he even took a bite first.
He flashed me a teasing grin. "Relax, Dora didn't poison it this time."
Like this whole twisted mess was just a joke to him.
Despite all his fussing over me, my mind just kept slipping further and further into the abyss.
I felt wiped out all the time, even though I did nothing. But it still wasn't enough to finish me off.
Strangely, I found myself wondering what kind of death they'd cooked up for me this time.
*****
The night before the wedding, for once, Marshall didn't go to comfort Dorothy. He actually stayed with me.
He helped me try on my wedding dress, gently adjusting my veil so it would cover the scar on my face.
He spaced out for a moment, then muttered under his breath, "Let's just hide it for now. When you come back next time, this scar will be gone."
I looked at him through the mirror and said softly, almost mournful, "So... am I going to die?"
He froze, silent, his hands busy with the veil that was already perfectly in place, avoiding my eyes.
The next day, I showed up right on time for my own execution—disguised as a wedding.
Just as Marshall had promised, the whole scene was as extravagant and ceremonial as it got.
But I knew all this pageantry wasn't really for me.
The real center of attention was Dorothy, sitting in the front row in a black veil, practically buzzing with excitement as she watched it all go down.
Halfway through the wedding, I was already running on fumes. Even my heart felt like it was struggling just to keep beating.
When it came time to exchange rings, Marshall popped open the box, and the diamond inside sparkled so fiercely that it was almost blinding.
Then, out of nowhere, it hit me like a lightning bolt. I finally saw through their whole twisted murder scheme.
I looked up at Marshall's face one last time—the face I'd loved, over and over, nine times too many.
I didn't resist. I just let him gently slip the ring onto my finger, slow and deliberate.
At the moment of farewell, tears streamed down my face, no matter how hard I tried to hold them back.
I muttered softly to myself, barely aware of the words, "Goodbye, my love. Forever."