by Maren Foster
I raised my glass a little higher and smiled. Applause and cheers filled the room. I tipped my head back and finished my glass of champagne.
Nate and I wandered around the room catching up with those we had missed earlier, and with those who deserved a little more time. As my mom’s friends began to excuse themselves for the evening I heard my name and turned to see Julia walking toward me. Adam was behind her talking to a mutual friend of ours from high school.
“Wyn, darling, you look so beautiful!” she exclaimed and gave me a hug. “We are so excited for tomorrow! Can we help in any way?”
I assured her there was nothing she could do besides show up looking her best, which I immediately regretted, because if anyone would outshine a bride at her wedding, it was Julia.
I moved past her toward Adam.
“Hey, you,” he said.
“Hey!”
“How’re you feeling? Excited?”
“I’m a little tired I guess, but tomorrow should be worth the lost sleep.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“You’ll be there, right?”
“Of course. Wouldn’t miss it!” He was surprisingly upbeat about my wedding. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him toward me. He held me tight.
“All right, break it up you two!” Nate bellowed from across the room. “I need a beautifully rested bride tomorrow. Time for bed, Lady of the Hour.”
As the party wound down, Vi, Ali, and Hannah helped us load wedding gifts into Nate’s car, and then Vi, Ali, and I walked the three blocks to our hotel. Vi had booked a suite for the three of us, after insisting that I not sleep with my husband-to-be the night before our wedding. Our suite had two rooms and they had beat me there earlier in the day and decorated the larger room with white balloons, paper streamers, and white and light pink roses.
Exhausted from entertaining, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the soft down pillow.
I woke up early and laid in bed for a while trying to get a little more sleep, but my mind raced. I can’t believe that by the end of the day I’ll be married to my rapist. My stomach churned with excitement and nerves.
My thoughts turned to logistics. Stella, our wedding coordinator would manage the event, but there were things that I just couldn’t trust to anyone else, like making sure that my sister had her hair and make-up done so that she didn’t show up to my wedding with the messy bun she wore almost every day and just a touch of mascara. I had hired a hair and make-up duo just for Vi and Ali that would meet us at the Greenwich house along with my hair and make-up artists.
I slipped on my running shoes and headed for the hotel gym to sweat out the few drinks I’d had the night before. Vi was sitting in the living room reading a newspaper and sipping coffee from a paper cup.
“Be back in half an hour,” I said.
“Morning,” she replied without looking up.
Around noon we headed out to the Old Greenwich house.
The hairdresser was finishing my up-do and a highly lauded make-up artist was waiting her turn, as I watched from the master bath window as the first few wedding guests began to arrive.
Ali sat in the corner of the bathroom. She was already dressed in her bridesmaid’s dress, which was gold and looked lovely with her dark hair and olive skin. She was fidgeting with a bobby pin like a little kid dressed up for Sunday school. I watched her pick at her painted eyelashes in a small mirror.
“Stop it. You’re going to ruin your makeup,” I said. She paid no attention and continued picking.
Vi was painting her toenails on the edge of the bathtub.
“There’s Max and it looks like he’s alone. Ali, why don’t you go get a glass of wine and welcome the guests,” I said.
Max was Ali’s high school boyfriend. He was a bit of an oddball back then but had become a celebrated artist in his early twenties. Now I imagined him living in a loft in Greenwich Village with a woman named Camille who makes second hand throwaways look cool. He and Ali had always been close, even after they broke up.
“Anything else, Bridezilla?”
“Don’t start down the aisle until Stella tells you to,” I warned, but she was already out the door.
By five o’clock the chatter of the guests was audible upstairs, and by five thirty it was clear that they were being well-attended by the catering staff because they grew louder by the minute. Then just before six, right on time, the voices grew faint, as they had all been shepherded out to the water’s edge.
The sun was just beginning to descend in the sky, casting a rosy glow over the dark blue water. It was perfect, warm but not hot, and there was a subtle breeze off the Sound. Just enough to make it comfortable, but not enough to mess up my hair. The house and yard looked perfect. Nate had gone all out, hiring a crew to do the landscaping to ensure that everything was in bloom at just the right time.
Vi helped me into my dress and I put on the few remaining finishing touches, like the modest but beautiful diamond necklace and earrings Nate had bought me for my birthday. Despite all of the commotion in the house as the staff began to prepare dinner and the crowd assembled by the water, I felt a deep sense of calm as I descended the staircase and spotted Stella fluttering around, working to get the wedding party organized for the procession.
I waited at the bottom of the stairs and watched the last few guests scurry toward the water while the catering staff hurried to collect the empty wine glasses left around the house on shelves, tables, and any other flat surface.
As I waited and watched the wedding unfold, I felt more and more like I was playing the lead role in someone else’s melodrama. This moment that I’d been waiting for, planning for, and working so hard for, that was years in the making, had finally arrived. Everything was exactly as it should be, as it had to be. It was really just another beginning in a long saga, but it would be the biggest test so far of my ability to deceive. Up to now, I’d primarily had an audience of one, and while he was the most important witness to the scheme, he’d provided the material and been a willing, if unwitting player. Now I needed to convince hundreds that I was the loving wife that Nate believed me to be, but I had one key advantage: we often see exactly what we want and expect to see. We see what we’re prepared to see, whether it’s there or not.
“Ready?” Stella asked as she burst through the French doors and hurried toward me.
Ready as I’ll ever be.
Vi was waiting just beyond the doors watching the crowd at the end of the lawn. She turned to look at me and a wide smiled crossed her face.
“Belle!” She exclaimed as I walked toward her.
I took her arm and we set out down the runner of gold muslin that led from the house to the water’s edge. A string quartet played La Régente near the end of the carpet. Everyone watched as we moved slowly toward the water where Nate stood flanked by his three best friends. My bridesmaids were assembled to the other side, including Ali who was wearing a wreath of flowers atop her fancy up-do.
Adam caught my eye as we passed. His lips were pursed, the corners of his mouth turned slightly down. I knew that look, the same one he used to have when we stopped at McDonald’s instead of A&W on long road trips through Wisconsin as kids, not happy but resigned to make the best of things. I smiled.
As we got to the end of the aisle, Vi released my arm and turned toward me. She took my face gently in her hands and planted a kiss on my forehead.
“I want the best for you, always,” she said. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
I turned to Nate.
Nate took my hand and together we took a few steps toward Jack, who was waiting with his back to the water. He wore a black business suit with a white pocket square.
He began, “Friends and family, beloved Lord,” and proceeded to mix our favorite verses eloquently with the highlights of our story.
We read our vows and then Jack pronounced us wed. Nate pulled me toward him and kissed me unequivocally. Goosebumps covered my ent
ire body. That’s it! I’ve got him exactly where I want him.
Guests threw flower petals into the air that fluttered above us in the gentle breeze and danced slowly toward the emerald grass below our feet. Nate caught me by surprise when he scooped me up and carried me back toward the house.
“What a lucky guy I am!” he said as we got near the house and he put me down on the terrace steps.
Family and friends filed past us, pausing to offer congratulations and best wishes before going into the large white tent that filled the rest of the back yard.
Adam and Julia were holding hands when they finally came by. “We are just so freaking happy for you! You are such a wonderful couple,” she said.
Adam shook Nate’s hand firmly. “Congrats, man,” he said and then turned to Julia. “What would you like to drink, Sweetie?”
“Champagne of course!” Julia replied as they wandered into the tent. “There’s no better way to celebrate!”
The guests continued to flow past. Jack was last and had a black leather portfolio in his hand. “I’m going to need your autographs to make this official,” he said.
He put the folder down on the stone wall at the edge of the terrace. Nate stepped forward and signed his name on the first of four lines. I took my turn and signed on the next line. Jack looked up and spotted Nate’s sister, Hannah at the back of the terrace coming out of the house.
“Hannah,” he called. “Will you please do us a favor and sign as our witness?”
“Sure thing!” she said. She signed on the third line and then Jack took a stamp from his pocket and stamped just below the last line. He signed and dated in the appropriate places within the stamped area.
“I’ll send you a copy tomorrow and then this gets filed with the State of Connecticut,” Jack said. “Congratulations, you two!”
“Shall we?” Nate asked, holding out his hand to me.
“Give me a sec. Just need to check my make-up.”
“It looks fine,” he said, as I turned and went into the house.
A waitress passed me in the front hall with a tray full of perfectly golden bubbly on her way to service the guests. I grabbed two glasses and smiled. She continued on and I threw my head back and finished both.
I checked my make-up in the front hall mirror.
Nate was waiting on the patio, alone. I took his hand and we walked into the tent, where we were introduced to a raucous applause. We danced, we drank, we entertained. The illuminating bursts of the flash bulb left me blinded. When the last of the guests waved goodbye, my head was spinning. I grabbed a bottle of water.
“I will be carrying you up these stairs, Wife!” Nate said as he came around the corner. “You ready?”
Never ready.
The clatter of dishes emanated from the kitchen. Stella opened the door.
“Congratulations, again!” she said. “I will take care of everything, don’t worry. Get some rest!”
Nate handed her a wad of cash.
“Thank you,” he said. She demurred but was easily convinced to keep the tip.
“I will coordinate with the photographer to get you photos as soon as possible. Although I know that he will want to do some work to adjust lighting and such.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Nate bent forward and lifted me into his arms. He carried me up the main stairs to our bedroom and threw me onto the bed.
“My hair!” I complained as the massive bobby pins hidden in my up-do caught the comforter.
“I’ll ruin it soon enough!”
He walked back and closed the door, then over to the dresser, and pulled out two pairs of handcuffs.
“I’m really tired,” I said.
“You don’t want to consummate our marriage?” he asked.
“Because we haven’t before?” I said sarcastically.
“But I have something special planned.” He held up the handcuffs and jingled the metal.
“Seriously, can we take a rain check? I would just rather do it when I have more energy,” I said. “I’m exhausted from entertaining all weekend.”
“You think you’ll get off easy now that we’re married?”
I didn’t respond.
“I hope you didn’t think I was the kind of guy who would just all of a sudden take no for an answer.”
I shook my head.
He took a few steps toward the bed. “Relax, you might even enjoy yourself.”
“Really,” I said, “not tonight.”
He smiled. “Everyone has sex on their wedding night.”
How much longer will I have to keep this up?
He took the last few steps toward the bed silently and grabbed my left arm. I resisted gently. He quickly handcuffed me to the iron post.
“Please stop!” I said.
“Yeah, that’s so hot,” he said under his breath.
He walked around to the other side of the bed and handcuffed my right wrist to the other bed post. He loosened his tie and grabbed for my right leg. I resisted but I was no match for him.
“Oh, you little tease!” he said. “You know I can’t help myself when you fight back!”
He bound my right ankle to the bed post, and picked a luggage strap up off the chair by the dresser. He bound my other ankle and pulled tight. I braced myself.
“Come on. Say it again,” he demanded as he took off his vest.
“Please,” I begged.
“Please what?” he taunted me playfully.
“Please stop.” Really, stop!
“Yeah, that’s it, so hot!” he said. “You really know how to turn me on.”
He took his belt off and let his pants fall to the floor.
“I said ‘No!’”
“Oh God, that’s it. Look!” He was looking down at his erection.
I guess I should have known that nothing would change. My job will still be to give him whatever he wants until it’s over and I make him pay.
He stepped onto the mattress and kneeled down in between my legs. “I’m going to fuck you hard,” he said and forced his way inside me.
No.
He began to thrust back and forth aggressively.
This isn’t worth it. Fuck. I’m right back where I was in that frat house five years ago. I began to panic; my heart beat rapidly and I felt dizzy. With each thrust my body was thrown back further until my head was pushed painfully against the headboard. I did the only I thing I knew would bring an end to it quickly and clenched every muscle in my body as tightly as possible. I saw his lower abdomen begin to clench and release against his will. Oh, thank God!
“Such a naughty wife!” he mumbled as he began to cum inside me.
When he was done I could feel his dick go limp as he pulled out.
He laid down on the bed next to me.
I have to get out of here. I’m going to lose it. “Cuffs? Can you take them off please?”
He sighed deeply, clearly annoyed, and got up to get the keys.
“Thank you,” I said as he unlocked both hands.
I ran to the bathroom, fell apart, and sobbed inconsolably on the bathroom floor. I can’t do this anymore. I have to get away. How much longer can I stand letting him do whatever he wants to me? Is getting revenge worth letting him rape me again and again?
Eventually I regained my composure. When I finally opened the bedroom door I saw him sleeping soundly in our bed. I forced myself to get into bed next to him. He rolled away from me without waking up. I laid down, let out a faint sigh, and tried to relax.
When I woke up the sun was already above the horizon casting a warm yellow glow on the dove white ceiling of the bedroom. I rolled over expecting to see Nate sleeping next to me, but he was propped up against the headboard with his phone.
“Morning,” he said.
“Morning,” I grumbled.
“What’s wrong with you this morning?”
“Nothing.” Everything. Last night. Yo
u!
He continued reading and then abruptly stopped and sat up a little straighter. “Hey, you’re not going to believe what happened last night.”
“Really?” I’m not?
“Yeah, you’ll never guess what your sister said to me.”
“Ali?”
“She is your only sister, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” I said. “What’d she say?”
“She threatened me. Told me that she knew my type and that my type is never faithful. She said that she personally looks forward to destroying me if I ever hurt you.”
Awww, she does love me. “Oh come on. She was just kidding, I’m sure.” I’m counting on you being your type and cheating soon. I just have to figure out a way to catch you at it so I have some proof.
“I don’t think she was.”
“She’s just trying to protect me then. That’s what older siblings do.”
“Nice way to be welcomed to the family.”
“She can be melodramatic sometimes. I wouldn’t let it bother you,” I said.
He went back to reading.
“Is she right about you?” I asked.
“Of course not. I’d always invite you to join me if I were going to look for pleasure outside our relationship,” he said.
“Great,” I said. “You do know the definition of adultery, right?”
“Oh, come on. I’m just kidding.”
Hopefully you’re not. Everything depends on you living up to your reputation.