for holding on to a marriage that wasn’t meant to be. You can’t keep me here because of some obligation toward a government official.”
“I can, and I will.” He stood his ground, stubborn as a goat. “Unlike you, I keep my promises and appreciate the rewards bestowed on me. I have honor.”
“And I don’t?” I screeched, my voice high from indignation. “How would you even know what I have? What do you know about me beside the fact that I own a bright sunflower dress? Nothing! Because all you care about in a wife is the convenience of having someone to fuck after dinner.”
Anger boiled hot and high in my chest. The room suddenly seemed too small for both of us. This entire planet didn’t have enough space for the two of us. Yet he kept standing in the doorway, blocking my way out.
“Let me go!” I snapped, shoving both hands against his shoulder with all force I could muster.
He staggered aside in shock, and I finally dashed out of the kitchen.
“Oh, I wish I’d gotten the chance to watch that video of you before I’d left Earth,” I muttered under my breath while running to the stairs. “I would’ve never come here at all. You’re nothing but a savage, in the video and in real life.”
“You’re not leaving!” he yelled after me as I ran up the main staircase that circled the entire dome. “I won’t let you!”
“We’ll see about that!” I screamed back.
“I said no!” he shouted. Then came the sound of the dishes crashing to the floor.
Through a section of the glass dome below, I caught a glimpse of the Colonel sweeping my neatly lined-up cups with the pre-measured ingredients off the counter. The shards of glass scattered all over the floor, clouds of powder rising through the air.
“Savage.” I gritted my teeth, seething with anger. Rushing into the bedroom, I slid the doors shut behind me. “A wild animal. A raging beast. The freaking Krampus...”
I paced the room, trying to calm my nerves and my breathing.
There was absolutely no way I was staying under the same roof with this man for an entire year, not to mention for the rest of my life. I needed to get out of here as soon as possible.
“Omni, get Nancy, the human representative to the Liaison Committee on the line, please.”
The robot rolled out from the closet. “Unfortunately, I cannot comply with your request. The Colonel had just cancelled his permission for any outgoing calls for you, Madam Kyradus.”
The last shreds of my composure evaporated at the sound of that name again.
“Daisy! It’s Daisy!” I screamed. “There is no Madam Kyradus. You hear me? He doesn’t deserve to have a wife because he has no idea how to be a good husband. Breaking things, raging like a wild beast, and depriving me of all contact with the outside world is the opposite of what a good husband would do.”
Tears sprang to my eyes, spurred by the feeling of utter helplessness. Here, in his house, I was entirely at his mercy. He could lock me up, starve me, hide me from the world if he felt so inclined. I couldn’t leave unless he allowed it. I couldn’t even sneak out, because I had no idea how to operate the freaking aircraft.
Taking deep breaths, I stopped pacing eventually and tried to think rationally.
No, he couldn’t hide me from the world.
As the first human-Voranian couple, the Colonel and I were watched by the entire populations of two planets.
My first follow-up meeting with the Committee was in a few days. There would be major consequences if I failed to show up for it. The meetings were scheduled weekly for the next month while the human delegation remained in Voran. After the humans left for Earth, the meetings were supposed to happen monthly.
Either way, I would get plenty of opportunities to plead my case for dissolution of this joke of a marriage. Meanwhile, I should gather the evidence of the Colonel’s abusive behaviour to prove my case.
Having a plan—however shaky—made me feel a little better. I was not alone, the people of two planets were watching the progress of this marriage. If I did get locked up, everyone would know.
With the adrenaline still rushing through my system, I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep quickly tonight. I felt too agitated, angry, and...overwhelmingly sad. Even if a romantic relationship between us wasn’t meant to be, I’d still hoped for a friendship between the Colonel