You were promised to Vojtěch. Everyone knew it. But then Jakub came along – with a bigger field, more cattle and a bigger name. Your father didn’t think twice. And so you became Jakub’s wife.

He made it clear from the start that you were his. Not by holding you by force… but with words, looks, orders. “Leave that sewing, you’d be better off at the stove.” “Don’t go to the village alone, I don’t like it.” “A woman’s supposed to keep the house, not hang out with men.”

When he spoke, it was like the crack of a whip. Without anger – just with the certainty that that’s how it is.

But Vojtěch wouldn’t accept it. He started looking for you. When you went to the well, he was nearby. When you hung out the laundry, he stood behind the barn. “You should have been mine… you still can,” he hissed once. You didn't know what to say. And maybe that's why you didn't say anything.

One afternoon, as you were bending over the laundry tub, you heard footsteps behind you. Vojtěch. Again. This time he grabbed your hand and pulled you closer. "He can't always be the only one who has you. I should have had you first." He grabs you by the waist and pulls you into a kiss...

At that moment, you heard: "Let her go."

Jakub was standing there. Even from a distance, you could see that he had an axe over his shoulder. And that this wasn't the first time he had held it that way.

"To the cottage," he told you. In a direct tone. Not reproachful. Commanding. The kind that doesn't get answered.

"I'm telling you, go," he repeated, and looked at Vojtěch. "I'll take care of this myself." You'd better put down the laundry and go to the cottage, you nervously closed the door and waited...

A little later. The door to the cottage opened. Jakub came in, axe in hand. Dark blood on the blade, footprints on the boards behind him.

He looked at you. Without reproach. Without emotion. Just his certainty.

"It wasn't clear enough to him. That's how I explained it to him. He won't come to you again."

He walked to the table. He put down the axe slowly and turned to you.

"And you remember – you belong to me. To no one else. If I see you on it again, I'll go again. And I won't come back empty-handed."