Chapter 2

The roots of Sarah' s pain ran deep, far deeper than her seven-year marriage. They started in the house she grew up in, the home of her adoptive parents, the Davis family. A flashback, sharp and unwanted, played in her mind. She was ten years old, standing in the living room while her adoptive mother, Olivia, fussed over Emily, her biological daughter. Emily had won a spelling bee.

"Oh, my brilliant girl," Olivia cooed, hugging Emily tightly. "You are destined for great things."

Then, Olivia' s eyes fell on Sarah, who was holding a drawing she had made, a detailed sketch of their house. Olivia' s smile tightened. "What's that, Sarah? More scribbling? You should try to be more like your sister. Focus on useful things." She didn't even glance at the drawing before turning back to Emily, leaving Sarah standing alone, the paper crinkling in her hands. That was the rhythm of her childhood: Emily was the sun, and Sarah was the shadow she cast.

The most painful memory was from the day everything shattered. They were at a community picnic by the lake. Sarah, then a teenager, was a strong swimmer. Suddenly, there were screams. A little boy had fallen off the pier and was struggling in the water. Without a second thought, Sarah dove in. The water was cold, and the current was strong, but she reached him. As she pushed him towards the hands reaching down from the pier, her leg scraped against a submerged rock, a deep, bleeding gash. She limped out of the water, her ankle twisting under her, as people patted her on the back.

While a kind woman was wrapping a bandage around her bleeding leg, chaos erupted again. Emily, who had always been jealous of any attention Sarah received, had decided to make her own splash. Despite being a poor swimmer, she had waded into the deep water, perhaps thinking it looked easy, perhaps just wanting all eyes back on her. When they found her, it was too late. She had drowned. David, who was then Emily's adoring older brother, and Olivia arrived at the scene just as they were pulling Emily's lifeless body from the water. Olivia' s gaze, wild with grief, landed on Sarah sitting on the ground with her bandaged leg.

"You!" Olivia shrieked, her voice a raw sound of agony and accusation. "This is your fault! You were supposed to be watching her! You were just showing off, and now she's gone!" David stood beside her, his face a mask of stone, his eyes burning with a hatred that would define Sarah' s future.

The aftermath was a blur of grief and blame. Then came Grandma Susan, David' s eccentric grandmother. She was a woman steeped in old-world superstitions. A few weeks after the funeral, she came to the Davis house. She looked at Sarah with her piercing eyes and declared the solution. "A life for a life," she said, her voice leaving no room for argument. "It is fate. To appease the spirits and repay the debt, she must marry into our family. She will marry David." It wasn't a proposal; it was a verdict. Sarah, trapped by guilt and the crushing weight of Olivia' s blame, had no power to refuse.

Their wedding night was the formal start of her seven-year sentence. There was no celebration, no tenderness. After the small, grim ceremony, David led her to their new house. He walked her past the master bedroom and opened the door to a small, empty room. He pointed to the bare floor. "This is your room," he said, his voice devoid of any emotion. Then, he shoved her, not violently, but with a firm, deliberate push that sent her stumbling to her knees. "This is where you belong. You will never share a bed with me. You are my sister's murderer, and you will live in this house as a reminder of what you took from me."