Crime, p.1
Crime, page 1
Crime
Hiram
Ellie Merlin
BLURB
There are old Society rules that separates Winter from the New Society ways in the country of New Dominion.
Winter has never broken one.
The one person who was on her side, her sister, is gone from this world and Winter wants to give up but she can’t. For her sister, she needs to live; To continue the life that her sister left behind. She must marry the man prearranged for her sister.
Hiram Theodore Wolfgang.
His name is just as ominous as he seems.
Hiram can’t marry the woman he wants. Not being raised around the old Society rules doesn’t mean he can escape them. He must honor the marriage clause of New Dominion.
But what will happen when Hiram commits the ultimate crime? Falling in love with Winter instead of living in a loveless marriage? Does he know how incurable love really is? It is an illness with no cure.
Love has no medicine, temporary reprieve or cure. That is why it is the biggest crime of all;
An Incurable Crime
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
22. Hiram
23. Winter
24. Hiram
25. Hiram
26. Winter
27. Winter
28. Hiram
29. Hiram
30. Winter
31. Winter
32. Hiram
33. Winter
34. Hiram
35. Winter
36. Hiram
37. Winter
38. Hiram
39. Winter
40. Hiram
41. Winter
42. Hiram
43. Hiram
44. Hiram
45. Winter
46. Hiram
47. Winter
48. Hiram
49. Hiram
50. Winter
Epilogue
About the Author
Ellie Merlin
Blurb:
There are old Society rules that separates Winter from the New Society ways in the country of New Dominion.
Winter has never broken one.
The one person who was on her side, her sister, is gone from this world and Winter wants to give up but she can’t. For her sister, she needs to live; To continue the life that her sister left behind. She must marry the man prearranged for her sister.
Hiram Theodore Wolfgang.
His name is just as ominous as he seems.
Hiram can’t marry the woman he wants. Not being raised around the old Society rules doesn’t mean he can escape them. He must honor the marriage clause of New Dominion.
But what will happen when Hiram commits the ultimate crime? Falling in love with Winter instead of living in a loveless marriage? Does he know how incurable love really is? It is an illness with no cure.
Love has no medicine, temporary reprieve, or cure. That is why it is the biggest crime of all.
An Incurable Crime
Copyright © 2021 by Ellie Merlin
Cover: CrownDesigns
Published by Escape with the crown Presents
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Without limiting the right under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Created with Vellum
Prologue
“Don’t move, Winter,” my grandmother says to me as she pulls the corset tighter. I want to tell her that I can’t breathe but she’ll only make it tighter.
Instead of talking, I shut my eyes. The emotions brewing through my head right now are suffocating. I want to run away from here but at the same time, I understand why I am here. Why this is who I am and how life flows for us here. I want to mourn my sister so much; I want to hug her and hold her in my arms again.
No one else but I found Willow. She was so cold when I slowly pulled her out of the tub. She was supposed to be bathing off the filth of a man like Grandmother called it. She let a man touch her in intimate ways and grandmother knew just what to do. I told Willow not to do it. Not to get caught up in the blue irises of that man. Not to look at his skin as it glowed when the sun looks like it rises and sets on him. I’ve noticed the many ways he looked at her, the angles of which his eyes seemed to want more than she should’ve let him have.
I don’t know the extent of their relationship, but I do know that she loved him. She wanted to be with him in ways that weren’t allowed before marriage. In our society, our world, it isn’t allowed. It isn’t right, especially with our last names. We weren’t and still aren’t allowed to do such things.
No one outside of our staff knew how ruthless grandmother was or rather is but I do. I know the most because whenever Willow would mess up, it was me, Willow, who would get the hard end of the stick. But as grandmother said, she does it to keep me pure. The dips in the water made of milk and honey, the purification ceremony each month, the only white undergarments rule but Willow messed that up.
“Are you listening to me, Winter?”
“Sorry, grandmother.” I reply in a meek voice.
“I’m warning you one last time,” she grabs my arm applying pressure. Much more pressure than she usually does. I’m going to be wearing a long sleeve dress, so it won’t show on my much lighter skin. Of the two, my sister was paler, and therefore, I had a little bit of color. “If you let that Wolfgang boy even look your way, I will bring down the wrath of God. Do you hear me?”
I inhale sharply and exhale. “Yes, grandmother, I hear you.” If I say something crazy, she’s going to do something even more drastic.
“Good. Now, here are the rules for the funeral. Don’t talk about Willow in that suicide light, don’t even consider saying you feel bad for her. She was a coward who took her life and that’s not the way we will allow others to think of us. You will walk with dignity in there and not speak to anyone unless addressed. Now, go put on the dress I picked out for you. You need to be presentable to everyone and not suggesting for others to touch or look. Understood?”
“Yes.” Without another word, I walk towards the dress hanging on the back of the door. I slip it on and say nothing.
“She doesn’t even care about her sister.” I hear a whisper. “She’s so dead inside. She has to be because who else would just sit at their sister’s funeral next to their sister’s ex.”
This is too much; this is too hard for me. The little black veil that should be covering my face, doesn’t help me at all. I feel like everyone is watching me instead of paying their respects to Willow.
“I heard Willow killed herself in the bathtub. She just was sick of having a dead family while she was the only one alive inside. They killed her.”
The second I go to stand; my grandmother’s hand comes down on my thigh. Slowly, I look to her, and she glares at me. Rena Hanson is the epitome of grace and fear. Her looks contradict her sternness. Her dark but rich chocolate skin is smooth to the touch with some wrinkles forming here and there. She reminds me of mom sometimes, but mom’s memories are fading away. I don’t even dream of her anymore.
Another hand pats my hand, and my eyes widen as I look up in shock. It’s Hiram Theodore Wolfgang better known as Hiram Wolfgang around here and in the tabloids. One could say that his looks scream out of his German and Greek ancestry, and I wouldn’t deny it either. His blue eyes pull you into this sort of secure place which shouldn’t make much sense, but it does. His light brown hair is always tied back into a braided ponytail, I’ve never seen it loose. He’s a couple of inches or so over six feet and everything about him screams my sister’s type. I can’t take my eyes off him even though I know that I’m going to face grandmother’s wrath over it. I shouldn’t be looking at him at all. I can’t keep looking at him but there’s just something about him.
Hiram smirks and my eyes instantly go to his lips. He has kissable pink lips and he’s rocking a clean-shaven look. “You’re being called to say a few words,” He says to me in his British accent and my eyes widen.
Each and every time that this man speaks to me, which isn’t often I forget that he has an accent. His prestigious family, a bit more prestigious than mine, may I add, moved back here years ago but Grandmother never really let me go there. She had rules upon rules about meeting others when it had nothing to do with us or me. I think she’s still upset that the CEO position in our company was given to Hiram instead of my older brother, William. I could tell her that she was too busy focusing on us girls instead of checking out her grandson and that he was not a businessm
There’s a part of me that isn’t sad or understanding of this love. There's an anger, one that I try to never focus on because it will take me somewhere where I do not need to go. I don’t want to go there or be a part of it. I never want to be a part of the anger that can eat me alive and take me as a hostage.
Hiram Wolfgang stands up with his hand stretched out to me and Grandmother’s nails sink into my arm. I can feel her wrath some more and I don’t know what to do. It will look even more embarrassing if I don’t take it. She speaks about holding the family accountable for everything especially in public so she shouldn’t be mad at me.
Taking a deep brave breath, I stand placing my hand in Hiram’s. His hand is warm, and it makes me feel weirdly alive. I clear my throat and quickly pull myself out of whatever I am or was feeling. We walk over to the podium and instead of letting go of my hand, he holds it in his as if he has every right to. Just then, I feel eyes on me, angry eyes that are filled with vengeance. I look up at Grandmother and she doesn’t have to say a word because I know that tonight, another scar will be added but not physically, mentally. She’s hurting me inside more than she is on the outside. I could care less about my physical body, it’s my soul that I know I’ll never get back because it’s in an abyss floating out somewhere and not in me.
Hiram doesn’t let go even though I try to pull away from him instead, he tightens his hold on me. I don’t say anything because I can’t take my eyes off my grandmother. Even if my eyes are hidden by the veil, it doesn’t mean she can’t see me, and I can’t see her. She knows that I sort of like the hand holding. No one has ever held my hand before. No one has ever made me feel even an inkling of the way I am feeling right now, and I’m scared. I don’t want to have another purification ceremony. I don’t want anything else to happen tonight.
With all my will, I pull my hand out of Hiram’s hold and he plays it off by placing his hand on the small of my back. My eyes widen as I move to get close to the podium but there’s nothing else that can be done. I can’t climb the podium. That’s even more of an embarrassment.
The organ player begins the only song that Grandmother allowed me to sing. I shut my eyes as the words to Hallelujah begins to flow out of my mouth. There’s nothing else that I can concentrate on as the images of finding Willow come to my mind. My heart is breaking again as the scene slowly plays in my head. The running towards the bathtub because her hand was hanging over it and without a shadow of a doubt, I knew she was gone. When I got closer, nothing, no composure, or any rules mattered to me because my sister was gone. I jumped into the bathtub without thinking about anything else.
The scream that I released as I held her to my person. There was nothing there, no Willow, no laughter in this big house anymore or anything else. Even that day, when I found her, I sobbed and sang not caring about a thing. I sang her favorite song, Hallelujah because she said the lyrics spoke to her somehow. I never understood and didn’t want to understand. I just wanted to obey. I wanted her to live.
When Grandmother came into the bathroom, she didn’t bat an eyelash but there was a flicker of emotion on her face that disappeared in the next second, but I saw it. She wanted to hug Willow but instead, she stood back and watched me cry. She watched me mourn my sister and now, here at the funeral, as I open my eyes, I see the tears that have escaped in her eyes. She wipes them away but deep down inside; I know it’s all for show. She wants others to think that we are a normal family and if it wasn’t for this suicide, it would’ve seemed like it.
When I feel a hand wiping away my tears, I gasp and come back to the moment realizing that Hiram touched my face. It makes me realize that I lost composure that although I wasn’t crying out loud, I still let a teardrop which means that Grandmother was forced to do the same. Hiram helps me off the podium and we sit down. Grandmother doesn’t say a word, but my breathing becomes irregular because the touches today were more than I’ve ever received in my life. Maybe Hiram thinks that I’m like my sister when I’m not. That I just allow anyone to touch me even if it’s to comfort me but that’s not true. My eyes slowly look at him and he’s looking straight ahead. Although he’s not crying, I see the genuine sadness in his eyes. He looks like he really is mourning my sister. I lean in, risking my grandmother’s wrath. “Thank you for loving Willow.”
Hiram turns his head towards me. He looks genuinely shocked that I’m speaking to him. I’ve barely ever initiated but before. “Don’t say that, especially in front of others. Right before we are going to announce our marriage.”
“Pardon?” I say.
And before he can answer, I turn to look at Grandmother. “You will not react to this, you hear me? You will remain as stone as you are. Willow was meant for him but since she’s gone, it’s you. Our families have a business clause, and we will continue to agree to it.”
“No one spoke to me about it,” I whisper to her.
Grandmother grabs my face and I turn towards her. She acts like she’s wiping my tears even though there aren’t any. “I don’t speak to you about anything since you want to let this boy touch you like that. We will see what other lies you have hidden from me. Even if the public will see him as your fiancée, he is not to touch you until your wedding night. No more touching. If he comes towards you, go the other way. You understand me?”
She cups my face in her hands, but her nails dig into the sides slightly. My eyes look up at her and then down. The tears fill in again and I go to that space in my head that keeps me sane. “Yes, Grandmother.”
Even though Hiram is attractive, beautiful even, it doesn’t mean I want to marry him. I’ve never loved him or anyone else before. How can I just be with him like this? He was for Willow. She loved him and I know he loved her even if he’s pretending right now. How can I be with him? Why can’t I have someone for myself? Anything for me. It’s always something for my brother, my sister, who sadly is gone, and always for Grandmother. I look back up at Grandmother and her eyes confirm it all. Even if my last name is De La Vega, it means nothing when being a Hanson is more important. I don’t deserve it. I’ve never deserved it. I will never have anything for myself.
Chapter One
Something is off about Willow’s sister, and I should find out, but I owe it to no one. Not even the least bit curious about a damn thing. I just want my father and grandfather to get off my back about what I’m doing with my life. Things in our society aren’t like everyone else’s. It’s never been and sometimes it’s really sad that it’s come to this.
My eyes take in the view outside of my window. My own place filled with solitude and no one to bother me is what I love the most. Anything that disturbs my peace is always like a mistake waiting to happen and that’s something that I don’t want to encounter anymore. At the age that I am, almost 40, it’s completely stupid that they would have me marry someone who could be like a kid sister-in-law to me. I can’t blame it on anything but bureaucracy sometimes.
“Hiram…” Alexa groans. “Come back to bed. It’s like what 4 in the morning?”
I don’t bother to look at her as I stare out my window. “Alexa, go back to sleep if that’s something that’s bothering you right now. You don’t have to be for your next shoot until later, right?” I ask her.
