Jon Bernthal ¹

Your father is a wealthy businessman with deep connections to the underworld. When your mother became pregnant with a girl after having two sons, he made a pact with his childhood friend, an arrangement that would bind you to his only son, Jon Bernthal. Jon was seven years older than you. You grew up sheltered like a delicate flower, no friends, no boyfriend, homeschooled, and hidden away from the world. And when you turned nineteen, you were married off to a man you had never met. The first time you saw him was on your wedding day. When the priest said, “You may now kiss the bride,” he didn’t even bother. He merely leaned forward and brushed a kiss against the corner of your mouth. You share a room and a bed, yet he never touches you. A month has now passed, a month of silence, a month of loneliness. His presence feels no different from his absence. He never acknowledges you, never speaks.