He was extremely handsome, just as Orion had said. His jaw was so sharp and his skin was naturally tan, almost golden-colored. He had beautiful, curly brown hair that I was very jealous of; I'd always wished my boring, straight hair would turn wavy like Abigail's. And he had startlingly green eyes, rimmed by long, dark eyelashes. His lips were so full, and they looked so soft. I wondered if they'd be as soft as Orion's.

And then I wondered if he'd enjoy pleasuring me with his mouth on my privates, or if he would be one of the husbands who didn't care for it.

"Daniel, do you take Emma to be your wife? To penetrate, to share your Light, to breed, and to control under the guidance of The Great Spirit for the rest of your days?"

"And to share with the community?!" Someone from the crowd yelled.

It sounded like Harris.

Everyone laughed and cheered, and Daniel cheered along. Orion chuckled.

"I'll take that as a yes!" He said, drawing more laughing and cheering from the crowd.

"Emma, Daniel is your husband now. It is your duty to always obey him, allow him to use your body however he pleases, to freely accept his Light, and give him many children. I now pronounce you husband and wife!" I smiled shyly at Daniel, who was swaying quite a bit now. He looked like he needed to sit down.

"Daniel, you may kiss your bride, then leave to consummate your union under my supervision—but save some energy for the community ceremony tonight!" Everyone cheered and clapped again, and I blushed.

"I look forward to seeing you there tonight, Emma. I hope Daniel doesn't breed you before I get a chance to do it first." Orion whispered.

I pretended not to hear him, still waiting for Daniel to seal our union with our first kiss. I closed my eyes and pursed my lips, my heart beating rapidly as I waited for him to close the gap between us.

"He's going down!" Someone suddenly yelled from the crowd.

My eyes flew open...just in time to see him fall to the floor.

"Emma!" Daniel suddenly said, making me jump up.

I had no idea what he wanted me to do, and I was extremely nervous.

"I-I'm sorry. I thought maybe y-you'd want—"

"No, I'm—" He sighed like he was frustrated, and I hunched my shoulders, bracing myself for a beating. "Jesus Christ! I'm not upset with you! I just said your name a few times, and you didn't seem to hear me."

I breathed a sigh of relief and tried to relax my shoulders. He rubbed his face with his hands, looking rather annoyed.

"Would you...like me to undress...sir? Or... I...could? Should I do it myself?" I asked nervously.

I knew he didn't love me and he wasn't attracted to me. He was only doing this so he could be free, and I wouldn't be forced to live with Orion. But I still wanted to please him. Because Father wasn't here to protect me if he lost his temper again, and I didn't want my first time to be too painful.

"Uh... I-I don't even fucking know. I feel like... You just look really young. This feels very wrong." He said, talking into his hands that were still pressed against his face. He began to massage his temples with his long fingers.

"But we're married...? And I'm 17. I'm not that young." I told him, genuinely bewildered. Many girls were married at 18, but pretty much every girl in my family had been married right at 16. I was already 17 and a half.

"Ok, well I was taught not to date...or have sex...with women who aren't...around my age. Definitely nobody under 18. That's illegal."

"But we can't wait that long. I heard Orion. He said—"

"I know! I know what he said! I just...feel like I'm going to hurt you. Like fuck your brain up or something. I'm 22. And we don't even know each other. And the last time I had sex with someone I didn't know—who was my age—it ended...horribly." He sat down on the opposite side of the bed, still massaging his temples with his long, strong fingers. Could fingers be attractive? I never thought so before.

I frowned.

I didn't know what to say to him.

Some part of me didn't necessarily want to just submit to this fate. I didn't want to be a wife who had to be readily available to receive Light at all times, to be bred and controlled and beaten and possibly shared. To never be allowed to raise my voice or make decisions, other than which room to clean first and what I'd be cooking that day.

But he said he wanted to help me escape. He didn't seem to want to control me. He was going to help me find my sister, if we could figure out a way to get out of here.

We just had to pretend to be married, he said. We had to convince Orion that he'd accepted our marriage so Orion wouldn't turn me into a community slave.

And he really was very handsome. Every part of him seemed to be sharp and angular and muscular. All my sisters' husbands were fairly handsome, as my father believed beauty was a sign of strong genes, but I was pretty certain that Daniel was the most handsome of them all.

 All my sisters' husbands were fairly handsome, as my father believed beauty was a sign of strong genes, but I was pretty certain that Daniel was the most handsome of them all

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I have no idea who made this AI model 😭  ⬆️ , but this is kind of how I'd imagine Emma.

He scared me and seemed to have a bad temper...but he'd protected me. From Orion! He somehow managed to push The Prophet before he was able to penetrate me. He must be filled with Good Light.

That gave me a surge of hope. Maybe he was a good man, like his father Alessandro.

So maybe he didn't want to. Maybe he thought it was wrong... But I was pretty sure I wanted to. It didn't seem wrong to me at all.

However, I knew it was wrong to argue with my husband. And he already seemed stressed.

So I just whispered, "Please."

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