I gripped my wife’s waist as we danced in the ballroom. The guests watched us, whispering about how in love we looked. What fools. They don’t know that this marriage was a sham, an arrangement.

I glared down at her face. She didn’t dare meet my eye, and I wanted it kept that way. I made my way up to her ribs, squeezing them so that she’d find bruises there tomorrow.

I leaned my head down to her ear.

“Make no mistake, I will never love you. Those vows were fibs! Allow me to tell you my true vows.”

I dug my face into her hair.

“I vow to never be your lover, never to be your protector. I vow to make each day of your life a misery. I vow to be your villain.”