In one of the pews near the front of the church, I spotted my brother, Jayden, sitting beside some young woman I didn’t even recognise. It was most likely his latest hook-up, or perhaps someone he’d picked up the night before and brought along for the fun of it. I didn’t mind. I was just happy he’d come and that I had someone else here who actually gave a shit about me.
I reached Harvey’s side. My father paused to face me, kissed my cheek, and leaned in to speak in my ear.
“I’m proud of you for doing this.”
I bit back tears and nodded, and he stepped back, allowing me to join Harvey’s side.
Harvey smiled at me. “You look beautiful,” he whispered.
“Thanks,” I mouthed back.
The priest cleared his throat, and we both turned our attention him.
“We gather here to unite these two people in marriage,” he began. “Their decision to marry has not been entered into lightly, and today they publicly declare their private devotion to each other.”
I barely paid any attention to anything else he said. I couldn’t help thinking about people in the congregation, staring, all their focus on me. I hadn’t ever wanted to be the centre of attention, but now it was unavoidable. Harvey kept catching my eye, smiling at me. I hoped he was happy with this arrangement and wasn’t wondering what the hell he’d got himself into.
The priest cleared his throat again, and I realised it was time for the marriage vows. Shit, this was it. No time to back out now—not that I’d ever intended on backing out. I wouldn’t let my father down like that.
“Repeat after me,” the priest said. “I, Harvey James Cornell, take you, Hallie Sophia Wynter, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until deathdous part.”
Harvey repeated everything he’d said. My cheeks hurt from holding a smile for so long, but I didn’t feel I could let it fall, not with everyone watching.
The priest addressed me. “Repeat after me. I, Hallie Sophia Wynter, take you—”
The unmistakable crack of gunfire exploded in my ears. In a split second, all hell broke loose. Members of the congregation dropped from the pews, hiding between the solid wooden benches, while others—predominantly the men—returned fire.
Whoever had started the shooting must have done so from near the big wooden doors and had already run. Some of the more prominent men from both families had given chase.
My ears were ringing, and something wet and hot dripped down my face. Feeling as though I’d woken in the middle of a nightmare, I lifted my trembling hand to touch my cheek. When I pulled my hand away, my fingertips were red with blood. In shock, I turned to Harvey. He wasn’t even my husband yet—the priest hadn’t had time to finish the ceremony—but still I wanted him for support. But Harvey didn’t seem to even be aware of me. Instead, he looked down at his chest and the bloom of red that was spreading across the front of his white shirt.
But it wasn’t the wound in his chest that I couldn’t take my eyes off, it was the damage that had been done to Harvey’s handsome face. It dawned on me where the blood running down my face had come from. He barely seemed to have noticed, staring down instead at the red spot on his shirt, but then his knees folded beneath him, and he crumpled to the floor.
I opened my mouth and screamed.
Chapter Two