Chapter 3

I understood now. Roy showing up today was no accident. It had been planned for a long time.

So I pulled out my phone.

"You thinking about calling the cops? Heh. Won't do you any good."

Roy acted like he'd seen it coming. The sight of my phone didn't rattle him at all. He just curled his lip and smiled, unbothered.

"Go ahead, call them. Let's see whose side the officers take when they get here!"

Irma gave a contemptuous little snort along with him.

Watching how sure of themselves they were, I felt a flicker of curiosity. Where did they get the nerve? Not even afraid of the police.

"Hey. Bring a few people over to my place."

I placed a call anyway, letting them keep their careless attitude.

Neither Irma nor her son took the call seriously.

Irma dropped all pretense. She untied the apron from her waist, tossed it at my feet, and looked down at me.

"Ruby, trust me. No matter how much of a scene you make, when the officers arrive they'll just treat it as a domestic dispute and try to smooth it over."

"That's right. The police don't get involved in family matters. If you're a good girl and go along with me, I'll treat you well. If you don't, heh..."

Roy's threat was even more open, no dressing it up.

I asked them, curious, "What makes you two think you've got me cornered?"

The corner of Irma's mouth tilted up, smug. "You really think I'm some clueless old woman from the countryside? I waited on you for over a year. I figured out who you really are a long time ago."

I laughed and asked her what I was.

Irma tugged at the corner of her mouth. "A real young lady with backing and power, we wouldn't dare touch. But you? No parents, no boyfriend worth anything. A girl who can earn money but has nobody behind her. That's a fat lamb."

Roy's smile turned vicious. "Heh heh. Be a good girl, have a wedding with me, take good care of me, and I won't shortchange you down the road. Otherwise I've got plenty of muscle and plenty of ways to deal with you."

I said we lived in a society ruled by law. Pulling this kind of shameless stunt in broad daylight, weren't they afraid the police would come after them?

"Ha ha."

Roy laughed out loud, then pulled out a little red booklet. "With this, you think the officers are going to come after us?"

The moment I saw it, my face changed.

It was a marriage certificate.