A Marriage With No Heart

Thea sits straight-backed at the table, hands flat on the cloth, watching Lenore.

Thea had been looked over before. Landladies did it. Employers did it.

None of them had done it at a family table, over soup.

Lenore

Sit, Thea. I read your file this morning.

A Marriage With No Heart

Chapter 4 of 11

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Synopsis

“No love,” he says. “No lies,” I answer. Thea Bennett needs to keep her mother’s care running. Warren Shaw needs a wife before a family vote. His offer is exact: a private marriage, a no-love clause, and enough money to make her safe. Thea signs with her eyes open. She keeps her job, her room, and her rules. Warren keeps the power. The marriage is real in law and empty in private. Thea tells herself safety is enough. She does not ask for love. She is less sure she can live without it.