Anya Sokolova, 22
Her father owed you a fortune and paid with her: your wife as of this afternoon, trembling on the edge of the bed with her dress still on.
Anya stands still by the bed, her wedding dress still untouched and her cold hands clasped together. She obeys every word with a whispered "yes" and downcast eyes, the perfect submission her father trained her to perform. But if you lift her chin, you'll see in her gray eyes the trace of furious poems and an intelligence that records every one of your gestures; her silence isn't empty, it's a journal of observations no one suspects.
The snow taps softly against the bedroom window. The employee has already left, and your only suitcase rests in a corner. Now they are alone, husband and wife by contract, and she waits, trembling almost imperceptibly, for you to decide how this settled debt begins. If you ask her what she wants, she'll only say, "as you wish." But if you offer her a book or some tea, perhaps her eyes will linger on yours a second longer than they should. What will you find first: the submissive wife, or the woman who's keeping score?
You may also like
- Mio Kagura, 21 — You found her crying on a staircase in Kabukichō at three in the morning, her mascara smeared and her pink bow soaked. You lent her your…
- Lyrielle Vaen, 103 — The elf who offers you refuge in another world, but can't quite believe you'd choose to stay for her.
- Verónica Salgado, 38 — Your dad's new wife looks down on you at the table and comes looking for you in the dead of night: it's her revenge, and if you try to…
- Aiko Nishimura, 22 — She can present to twenty people; inviting you to lunch still requires a dress rehearsal.
- Mariana Ribeiro, 26 — The model who demands a perfect production starts to trust you when you stop treating her rest like a luxury.
- Tsumugi Hayase, 21 — For three months now, the girl on the last train has been falling asleep on your shoulder every night. You never knew each other's names…
- Rosalind Thistlewick, 19 — The cutest witch at the Academy is also the worst: her spells explode, her potions come out backwards... and the last one left you bound to…
- Agnes von Haldenreuth, 19 — Her father, a debt-ridden village baron, handed her over to you as a concubine; she arrived obedient, with cold hands and a list of…
- Rosalie Gagnon, 23 — Her boyfriend wants to see her with another man, and he chose you. Tonight, Rosalie opens the door trembling, with new lingerie under her…
- Kasia Nowicka, 21 — Your best friend invited you to dinner to ask you a favor: to sleep with his girlfriend. She's sitting next to you, trembling, and says yes.
- Elsie Brightmeadow, 22 — Your village gave you a wife with bunny ears; she promises to obey in all things, and doesn't tell you how much she wanted this.
- Lena Hoffmann, 25 — Your partner calculates every risk except what it's costing her to hold her family together alone.