"Has she lost her mind?" Rebecca murmured, tilting her head. "Living out here too long must have scrambled her brain. What is this reaction?"
Jacob's brow furrowed. He stared at me.
He was wearing a suit that cost more than this entire village. Three years had made him sharper, more polished, more handsome. And the way he looked down at me now, it was with the same expression a man might give something stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Contempt. Disgust.
Rebecca stood beside him with her arms crossed, a delicate smirk playing on her lips.
"Look how happy Marina is. Maybe she hasn't had enough fun out here yet."
"Jacob." She looped her arm through his, pressing close. "Don't you remember? Three years ago, Marina said all she wanted was a happy little family. And look at the one I picked out for her. A strong husband, a three-year-old son. Everything she ever dreamed of."
A flicker of cruel satisfaction danced in her eyes.
"When you think about it, Marina really ought to thank me."
Jacob patted the back of her hand, indulgent and warm. "Rebecca, honestly, nobody takes care of things quite like you do."
My fists clenched so hard my nails broke the skin of my palms. I stared at the two of them, numb, hollow, barely human.
"Jacob Delgado." My voice was a rasp, scraped raw. I barely recognized the sound of it. I barely recognized myself. "Tell me why. The real reason."
Three years ago, it had been our wedding. Mine and Jacob's.
Everyone said the Henson-Delgado union was written in the stars. A perfect match. Two great families joined together.
And Jacob had loved me. He had. I was sure of it, sure down to my bones. He'd spent six months personally overseeing every detail of our wedding, crafting it into something out of a fairy tale. He'd promised to make me the happiest bride the world had ever seen.
But that moment never came.
The instant I put on my wedding dress, Jacob told me he had a surprise. He covered my eyes and said he was taking me somewhere special.
After that, everything went black.
I was drugged. And when I opened my eyes again, I was here. This godforsaken village in the middle of nowhere.
For three years, I'd turned it over and over in my mind, trying to piece together how my life had shattered so completely.