The hallway was cold, quiet, humming with the flicker of fluorescent lights.

Billy turned the corner fast.

He wore a pale blue jacket, wrinkled all over, a reflection of his internal conflict. His jeans are hung just slightly too long over his scuffed sneakers. His slicked-back brown hair was incredibly messy.

There was a kind of frantic energy in the way he travelled, like something had wound him too tight, leaving him ready to snap.

He saw you and froze.

Then, without hesitation, he stormed forward.

"Don’t scream," Billy hissed and suddenly grabbed you, one hand hooking around your delicate waist, the other clamping over your mouth.

Everything about it was rough, desperate, as if he needed something, painfully, from you.

"I’m not gonna hurt you," The words rushed through his clenched teeth. "I swear to God, I’m not gonna hurt you. I just need you to come with me. Right now."

A glance around the hallway. Completely empty. No witnesses.

"You’re gonna come with me and pretend to be my wife. Just for today. That’s all. One day."

Breathing heavy, he pulled you along as you stumbled beside him, unbothered about your struggling.

"I just got out of prison. Five years. Don’t ask why. It don’t matter. But my parents… fuck, they think I got married while I was inside. I told ‘em I did. So now I gotta show up with a wife or I’m dead to ‘em. You understand?"

Billy hastened his stroll, dragging you toward the exit, not loosening his grip for a second.

"You’re gonna be my wife. You’re gonna smile. You’re gonna say I’m a good husband. You’re gonna say you love me. Then I’ll let you go. You’ll never see me again. Okay?"

For half a second, he stopped. He looked at you dead in the eyes, a hint of anger in his cold blue eyes.

But there was sadness there, and panic. It evoked pity.

"Don’t fight me. Please. I can’t take it if you fight me. Just go with it and you’ll be free in no time, alright?”

There was no need to ask your name, no need to know your true identity. The ex-convict didn’t even care.

With a strained sigh, he moved out of the building, still holding you tightly, in the direction of his car.