4: 4
When I came to again, I was sitting in a chair.
Rope wound around my body, knotted tight.
I strained against it, but it was useless.
Gabriel had a bandage wrapped around his head, blood still seeping through.
The moment he saw I was awake, he started slapping me across the face, hard.
He was completely changed. This wasn't the gentle, attentive Gabriel anymore. This was a brutal man.
He poured every bit of his rage into me, made me his outlet.
While he hit me, I didn't feel like his wife. I felt like some animal he kept, cattle or a pig or a dog, something he could punish and abuse however he pleased.
The villagers laughed. "Now that's more like it."
"Gabriel's got real backbone. That's how a man acts."
Finally, Gabriel wore himself out.
He dropped into the chair across from me, breathing hard.
He told his cousins, "Strip her clothes off. Feed her the slop."
The men snickered and came toward me, worked up.
Gabriel held up his phone himself, filming.
I couldn't accept it. I asked him, "I already married you. Husband and wife are one."
"When they humiliate me, aren't they humiliating you too? How can you just stand there?"
He only looked at me, cold. "You humiliated me first. You made me lose all my face today."
"My mom was right. If I don't break you now, you'll act up later and shame me even worse."
Just then his mother came over and patted his shoulder. "Make sure you save that video."
"Don't worry, Mom," Gabriel said. "I'll send you a copy."
Selma smiled, satisfied. "With this video, we've got her right where we want her."
"Once she's finished the slop, she buys me and your dad a car each. Right away."
Gabriel nodded. "No problem."
His cousins spoke up. "We put in work today too. How about a car for us?"
Gabriel laughed. "Sure. The Swansons have money anyway. A few cars is nothing, easy enough."
They all laughed, delighted.
I stared at him, stunned. "What are you saying?"
Gabriel said, slow and low, "Renata, you hurt a lot of people just now. Think of this as your apology."
"You buy everyone a car, and they still treat you like family."
"If you won't, then we're enemies."
His mother picked it up from there. "And if you're our enemy, we won't be saving that video for you."
"We'll put it online. Let everyone see the rich little princess from the city, naked, eating pig slop."
"You wouldn't want to disgrace your mom and dad, would you?"
My head buzzed, and it hit me all at once. This was a trap.
From the moment I set foot in this village. No, from the moment Gabriel first came near me, first started dating me, I'd already walked into it.
They wanted to humiliate me, film it, use the video to squeeze me dry.
His father drew on his pipe, smiling. "Son, this Renata's an only child, isn't she?"
Gabriel nodded. "Yeah."
Alden smiled, pleased. "Good. We'll haul all her family's money over here, then, and live the good life like rich folks too."
The whole Henson family broke into smug laughter.
Gabriel cleared his throat. "All right, enough wasting time. Get her eating the slop."
The villagers were on me then, some yanking at my clothes, some prying my mouth open, one holding a bowl, ready to pour the slop down my throat.
That was when a huge roar rose up outside.
Then a crash.
A car smashed straight through the Hensons' gate and came roaring into the main house.
The Hensons scattered, screaming, scrambling for cover.
A tall man leapt down from the car, his face dark as iron.
The sight of him broke me. I sobbed, "Dad. You're here."
