PREGNANT WITH MY FATHER-IN-LAW’S HEIR
he announced, his voice booming across the hall, “let us give an ovation to our daughter, Cassandra Krüger, on the successful completion of her first task.”
Applause erupted. Cheers filled the hall, rising and falling like a tide.
When the noise finally subsided, the patriarch continued. “Today,” his voice echoed across the room, deep and commanding. “We welcome not merely a wife into our house, but a daughter into our blood. A bond deeper than name, deeper than law, deeper than life itself.”
Cassandra swallowed hard, murmurs of approval erupting from the crowd.
The patriarch paused, waiting until each glass was filled. Cassandra felt her palms bleed, sweat slicked to her gown. She felt litt