Chapter Thirty-One
Edith’s hands trembled as her father’s cold, wild eyes bore into hers, his smirk widening as he took another step forward.
Her breath caught in her throat, her pulse quickening with a rising panic she hadn’t felt in a long time.
She had thought she was free of him—free of his control, his anger—but now here he was, standing in front of them with a gun pointed at Daniel.
“This wedding isn’t happening,” William spat, his voice low and full of malice. The gleam in his eyes sent a chill through Edith’s body, making her knees feel weak.
Her heart raced as she stared at her father’s gun, her mind flashing back to the countless nights she spent trembling in her bed, afraid of the sound of his heavy footsteps on the porch.
She remembered the nights when his voice, thick with anger and alcohol, cut through the silence, making her small and powerless.
But she wasn’t powerless anymore. She couldn’t be.
Her heart pounded in her chest like a war drum, and she instinctively clung to the back of Daniel’s coat, her fingers curling into the worn fabric as if it were her lifeline. She could feel the tension rippling through Daniel’s muscles, every inch of him coiled like a predator ready to strike.
“Put the gun down, William,” Daniel said, his voice steady but firm. He took a small step forward, positioning himself more squarely between Edith and her father. “This doesn’t have to go this way.”
Edith could barely glance at Mary and Sam, standing by the cart still, staring William down in fear. Sam had reached for his belt, but Mary stayed his hand.
But William didn’t even flinch. His grip on the gun tightened, his finger still resting on the trigger as he shook his head, his eyes flashing with rage.
“Oh, it has to go this way,” William hissed, his voice dripping with contempt. “You think you can just take her from me? My daughter? You’re nothing, Maggie. Nothing but a monster. And she’s mine.”
Edith’s stomach churned at her father’s words, the familiar sting of his control wrapping around her like chains.
How many times had he said those words to her?
How many times had he treated her like property, something to be owned rather than loved?
She had escaped him once—had broken free from his grip—but now it felt like he was pulling her right back into that suffocating darkness.
Her knees buckled slightly, and she clung to Daniel even tighter, her voice coming out in a shaky whisper. “Pa, please… don’t do this.”
William’s sneer deepened, his gaze flickering over to her for the briefest of moments before snapping back to Daniel.
“Shut your mouth, Edith,” he snarled, waving the gun in Daniel’s direction. “This is between me and him. And I ain’t gon’ stand to let you marry this good-for-nothing trapper.”
Edith could feel the sharp sting of bile rising in her throat.
The madness in her father’s eyes was worse than anything she had remembered.
It was the way his hands shook—how the gun twitched in his grip, how his lips curled back in a sneer like he was holding in laughter.
The memory of his fists slamming against the table, the nights when he’d barged into her room after too much to drink, flooded her senses all at once.
Daniel’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing as he held his ground. “Lower the gun, William,” he said again, his voice calm but laced with warning. “You’re not going to stop this.”
Edith’s heart twisted painfully in her chest as she watched the two men, the tension between them thickening with every passing second.
Her father’s grip on the gun was unsteady, his hands shaking slightly as his drunken rage took over.
She could see the madness in his eyes, the unpredictable fury that always frightened her, and she knew that this could go very wrong, very fast.
“Daniel…” she whispered, her voice cracking as fear gripped her.
But Daniel didn’t waver. His body remained firm, standing like a shield in front of her, his gaze locked on William.
“I’m not afraid of you, William,” Daniel said, his voice low and steady. “But I’m not letting you hurt her. Not anymore.”
The wind whipped through the trees, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and the distant threat of a storm.
The sky overhead was bruised with dark clouds, the last rays of sunlight fading into a dull, gray gloom.
Every sound seemed amplified—the creak of the church door in the wind, the rustle of leaves in the trees—but none louder the sound of Edith’s heart pounding in her hears.
Fear tightened its grip on her as she waited for whatever was going to happen next.
Then, William’s eyes narrowed, and his smirk turned cold. “Think of it this way, boy, I’m doin’ you a favor,” he sneered, taking another step closer. “She ain’t worth her salt. And she’ll be a lot more use to me than she’d be to ya.”
Edith felt tears prick in her eyes. She knew Daniel would never believe her father’s words, but a part of her still worried, still wondered.
Daniel had wanted to marry her to protect her, but did he really want her?
At the same time, though, something inside her stirred—something defiant, something that refused to let her father have that power over her anymore.
“No,” she whispered, her voice trembling but growing stronger. “I don’t belong to you anymore, Pa. I never did.”
William’s gaze snapped toward her, his expression twisting into rage brought on by her defiance. His finger twitched on the trigger, and Edith’s breath hitched, her entire body frozen in fear.
“William,” Daniel said again, his voice taking on an edge of urgency. “Put the gun down. You don’t have to do this.”
William’s lips curled into a slow, twisted smirk, but there was something more dangerous lurking in his eyes. He stepped forward again, waving the gun slightly, as if he were toying with the moment, enjoying the fear he was stirring.
“You think you’ve got her all to yourself, don’t you, Daniel?” William spat, his voice dripping with venom. “You think you can marry her, and everything will be nice and neat, don’t ya?”
Daniel’s jaw clenched, his muscles tensing even more as he stared William down. “That’s exactly what I think,” he said, his voice steady. “Edith’s not going with you, William.”
William laughed then, a low, mocking sound that made Edith’s skin crawl. He raised the gun higher, his finger resting on the trigger, but he didn’t pull it just yet. Instead, he took a step toward Edith, his gaze locking onto hers with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine.
“You think I came here for a little fight?” William growled, his voice dangerously low. “I came here to get what’s mine. I’ve found a man—a man with more money than you’ll ever see in your life, Daniel. He’s willing to pay a fine sum for an obedient little wife like Edith.”
Edith’s stomach lurched at his words, her breath catching in her throat. Her father’s meaning was clear, but it took her a moment to process it fully. He was trying to sell her—again.
“No…” Edith whispered, shaking her head. “You can’t.”
William’s smirk deepened as he took another step forward, his voice a low snarl. “Oh, yes, I can. You’re still mine, Edith. And this man—he’s willing to pay much more than Daniel here ever could. You’ll come with me now, and you’ll marry him like a good little girl.”
Daniel’s fists clenched at his sides, the fury in his eyes blazing as he took a step forward, placing himself more firmly between Edith and William.
“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Daniel growled, his voice hard as steel. “I won’t let you take her.”
William’s eyes flicked back to Daniel, the smirk never leaving his face.
“Oh, you think you can stop me? You think you’ve got any say in this?
If she refuses, I’ll put a bullet in you right here and now.
” His voice dripped with a dark satisfaction as he leveled the gun more deliberately at Daniel.
“I’ll make sure she watches every second of it, and still take ya off to get my money. ”
Edith gasped, her body freezing with terror as her father’s threat sank in. Her knees wobbled, and her hand flew to her mouth as she tried to hold back the scream rising in her throat.
“No! Pa, please!” she cried out, her voice breaking as tears filled her eyes. “Don’t do this! Don’t hurt him!”
William didn’t even look at her. His focus remained on Daniel, his smirk widening as he saw the fear in Edith’s face. “It’s simple, Edith. You come with me, marry the man I’ve chosen, or you can watch your lover here die at your feet. Either way, I get what I want.”
She couldn’t let Daniel get hurt. She couldn’t let anyone else suffer because of her.
Daniel’s voice cut through the fog of her panic. “She’s not going with you,” he said firmly, his voice as steady as ever. He didn’t flinch, didn’t move, even with the gun pointed at his chest. “You can’t force her to do this, William. Not anymore.”
William’s finger twitched on the trigger again, and this time, the gun moved just an inch closer to Daniel’s heart.
The cold, hollow click of the hammer pulling back filled the air, and Edith’s entire body went rigid.
No. No. No. Her thoughts screamed as she watched helplessly.
One slip, one flick of his wrist, and Daniel could be lying dead at her feet.
But Edith could see the danger in her father’s eyes, the madness just beneath the surface, and she knew—knew in the deepest part of her—that if she resisted, he would pull the trigger. The thought of Daniel lying on the ground, bleeding, because of her—it was too much.
Her feet felt like they were glued to the ground.
She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to fight, to run, to resist. There has to be another way.
She glanced at Daniel, then back at her father.
But there wasn’t another way. Her father wasn’t bluffing.
She knew him too well—knew the madness that lurked behind those eyes.
If she didn’t give in, Daniel would pay the price.
But the thought of going back to that life…
Edith’s mind raced, her heart thudding painfully in her chest.
Tears filled her eyes, her vision blurring as she looked from Daniel to her father.
She didn’t want to go. She didn’t want to leave the life she had found with Daniel, the hope she had started to feel for the future.
But what choice did she have? She couldn’t risk Daniel’s life—or anyone else’s—over her freedom.
She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, her voice barely a whisper as she spoke. “I—” Her voice cracked, and she closed her eyes for a moment, willing herself to be brave. “I can’t… I can’t let you get hurt, Daniel.”
Daniel’s gaze snapped to her, his eyes filled with desperation and anger. “Edith, no,” he said, shaking his head, his voice urgent and raw. “You don’t have to do this. I won’t let him take you.”
Her heart twisted painfully at the fierceness in his voice, the way he stood so unflinchingly between her and danger. But she couldn’t let him die. She couldn’t be responsible for that.
Tears spilled down her cheeks, her body trembling as she turned to her father. The sight of William’s twisted, triumphant expression made her stomach churn, bile rising in her throat as she forced herself to meet his gaze.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice trembling, each word feeling like a betrayal. She took a step forward, her feet heavy, as if they were made of lead. She turned her eyes away from Daniel, unable to bear the look of anguish on his face. “I’ll go.”
William’s smirk deepened, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes as he lowered the gun ever so slightly. “That’s a good girl,” he sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. “Knew you’d see sense.”
Daniel’s eyes locked on hers, burning with intensity, silently begging her not to give up.
Don’t go. Don’t leave me. His lips didn’t move, but his expression said everything.
Edith’s heart clenched painfully in her chest, the anguish in his gaze cutting through her resolve like a knife.
She wanted to scream, to tell him she didn’t want to leave, that she would rather die than be sold like livestock again—but how could she let him die for her?
Please, Daniel. Please understand. Her mind screamed, though her lips remained tightly sealed. Tears blurred her vision, and she tore her eyes away from his before she broke completely.
Daniel’s hand tightened into a fist, his knuckles white, and Edith could feel the fury radiating off him.
She wanted to reach out to him, to tell him that this wasn’t what she wanted, that she was doing this for him, for both of them.
But she couldn’t bear to look at him. She couldn’t tell him why she made the choice she did; she couldn’t tell him what was going through her mind.
She just hoped, somehow, that Daniel would understand.
God, please protect Daniel and help him see the truth.