Marry A Dead Man

gaged to each other while still in the womb had to tie the kn

wn life to force me into submission to thi

.

ment. The fights were so intense that her can

found the courtyard fi

is face dark and grim. "Go ins

d into the house, each st

l room, barely big enough t

ng something

door behind me

it open, but it w

hat's going on

ide of the door. "Mom's fine. If we didn't use this m

d. "Tricked

nergy. "Of course, to get you married. Everyt

as strong and steady, with no trace

rie

ad bu

ged marriages were common

es from the east side of the village had saved my grandfather's

an Barnes. But Sebastian was a chubby boy a

student with an unp

er someone teased us about being e

versity in Briarwood. After graduation, I refused to

ngagement, my mother would look at me and say, "Even if you die, yo

, and I nearly coll

chosen time for the ceremony is set for eleven t

.

o'clock, I heard the sou

middle-aged women entered the room,

nd boxes, their face

nd sturdy, pressed me down onto a st

our wedding. You mu

ck eyeliner, and bright red lipstick... I kept my lips tightly shu

ked like I was weari

e women lower their guard. When it came time t

nd the group filed out, leaving

and said to the two village, "Please, let me go. The

at me, exp

written promise to pay. The moment I'm back

hey didn

you both watched me gro

lived here for decades. If we let you go, do you t

Besides, it's just a ceremony. Just grin

st grin and bear it f

a's words, and al

down i

Inside and outside the house, people kept a close watch on me until eleven

ed impeccably, her

. "Don't blame your father and me. Our Jor

sing to look at her, my hea

rp, excited voice called ou

and said, "Nancy, don't be afraid. Just endure fo

.

ayed as it

ournful tone, with faint sobs mixed in. Sitting inside, I felt a chill deep in my bo

e into the Maxwell family's main hall. There, my father was

rnes was a man of few words, and his mom Laurel Barnes had a gloomy demeanor and

tly. In the end, Patricia and Jessica came to he

a, looking at me with a wicked smile, as if saying,

er of the hall and forced m

hen I saw

supported by two burly men as they prepa

ide, his limbs limp, his feet ho

, and a foul odor

was a dead

to the bridal chamber, where Sebast

in my life. He was a sinister man who a

ll others I w

was rotting. The ste

tches of decay on his arms

ice in Briarwood. But now, I was trap

h churned, and I dry-heaved against

hadow of his corpse on

ad come bac

terror, only to realize it was the

onds ticked by like that. Suddenly

.

ltiplied. Then, I heard fai

or or fabric brushing against the door.

mily watching me, so I pretended to be asle

the window, peering

ale voice spoke. "Ambrose, it looks lik

" Ambros

ved for a long time

. "Do we really h

n's wife in the afterlife. Otherwise, wouldn't the three hundr

t pounded wildly, fas

ayed in the wind, the

ld come to kill

y bloodied corpse would

roached, slow and deliber

open, and two dark fi

alled out

my jaw, sta

walked to the table an

bolted out of the open d

the air, "Wrong! Wrong! That little wretc

.

had used every bit of strength I could muster, as if wrestli

tion, began tying up his own de

way, weaving thro

e, a figure emerged from the

de of grass beside me tightly, and

Sebas

his be? How

od stiffly, glaring at m

ew, and I was frantically

re

w

n

d and s

hind me resumed. That m

as close, too close. If I hesitated

this terrified in

d make it down, I would reach the

nly stopped. I hadn't hea

e. In the moonlight, the grass swayed gently, as if what

first time how drenched I was in sweat. My c

er ahead was soothin

ater, crouched down, and splashe

f wind blew strands of hair

h them away, but my

tion of the water, th

The other wa

s glared at me fr

.

of my neck, eerily resembling

eam, my entire

ty face twisted with excit

nd clamped down

ound, my sk

found

mole at the corner of his

asn't Se

her. The two of them looked so alike that it

rn with cerebral palsy a

incredibly strong. He'd do whatever

other told me to bring you back..." He stared

ed. "A

as built like an ox, and I kn

ter the other. Every now and then, he would glanc

ter, I suddenly pointed at the entrance an

and turned to

oment, I took

if an invisible hand was tightening aro

austed, I could see the faint li

of Lillian

up. We sat next to each other in class a

ouch as adults, I kn

r mountains and across valleys for a long time on the mo

stood beneath her window

ian poked her head out.

wedding dress was in tatters, my shoes were g

ly let me

room, the tension I had been h

ain

.

with a

ent to realize I

her vanity, her back to

, yellowish hair. But right no

r hand froze. "You can't stand

what happe

d leave. If you wait any l

come all this way to seek her help,

after taking two steps, I caught

ce sunken and skeletal, and her eyes we

dy, she twisted her head to

.. n

y hand accidentally caught her hair. I barely tugg

r severed head grinned at me, blood d

inted towar

wearing the white wedding dres

jolted awake, finding

itch black, an

as goi

ounded in

gotten ma

just a

ad it fel

ught struck me, and I turned on the bed

e. The dress I had thrown into

e room, from the war

the bed, I fo

ghtly glued to the unde

and opened it t

.

20, 2020

tared at it all day long that I'd end up getting lung cancer. I

ally after my arranged marriage fell

24, 202

l today. My dad said all the money had gone into building the house an

ld borrow money from a fri

ital. Whether it was to get some painkillers or do whatever els

9, 202

t being in the advanced stage and having a life

n was so intense that I banged my head against the wall hard. I reall

7, 2020

visitor arrive. It was a fashionable middle-aged

this woman. Forcing myse

She said a young woman's corpse could fetch a good price, and

dead yet, and they were alrea

lent, and my mom

fuse, my dad looked up and nodded

said there was no chance of survival since it was in the late stage. If s

the stairs, my

, and they were alread

n't take me to the hospita

lf into the living room and shouted, "I won't

was barely a whisper, as if my breath were hanging by a thread. A

was locked in the bedroo

1, 202

lurry I could barely see. This might be the last time I w

se, I beg you! Repor

xt life, I would

all in love with someone

rn to this place I

-

was Lillian's diary, written during the day

months ago, from lat

lready contacted Hattie Brown, a matchmak

like this? Did they have

face as I stroked the

, with breaks and stops here and there. It was clear that

naged to drag her frail, sick bod

o me in a drea

d report this to the police,

hest and reached for the door. Luckily

ownstairs. I had barely reached the first floor when

.

liar. It was the woman who had plotted

and she was the most care

lways flaunting her gold and silver w

for ghost marriages-a custom where deceas

h a menacing look. He was Patton C

Lillian's mother, Pamela Mitchell gre

settled. The match is with som

decent enough. What about the pr

l. Fifty

ving his hand. "No way. Fifty thousand is

e that. An ordinary preserved corpse goes for twenty thousand, wh

daughter. If it's less than a hundred thousand

phere gre

impatiently, while Ha

s. "Hattie, the woman you mentioned

t up. "Is she tied up? Th

ding her to the deal, ten thousand i

ll dig up the corpse tonight. The groom's brother is waiting.

lright, I'll go upsta

already hidden myself and managed to steal

embers left, I quickly called the

e, but for Lillian

back mountain and saw them from a distanc

wailing and sobbing earlier, we

seball cap was holding an urn. He must

d through my mind, and I couldn't ho

ely locked onto me. "Y

building inside me. "If I hadn't come, I wou

ed. "Don't people in your villa

really s

s. Ghost marriages, exorbitant wedding cost, and the preference

example. My family received a bride p

he years, I had tried countless times to persu

came an oddball in the village, a reckl

cing down the mountain and calculating how l

. "Come back to the B

r hand away.

think you can esca

he buyer of Lillian's corpse stepped in. "Hattie, sto

Barnes

you can go ask the Barnes family for m

e. "What nonsense are you sayi

In my pocket, there was an extra square-shaped ob

ed all the eviden

.

lled to say they had arrived at the villag

rs had acted even faster. They were waiting at the fo

t the same time, I felt a twinge of regret. If I had

ght crossed my mind, I t

while she was alive, but I had to protect her a

. If my glare could kill, these peopl

d his voice. "

the Barnes family's house was fine.

Barnes family's storage shed. I pulled out

the Mitchell family's house. After fiddling wit

of men and women, each with notes under

as also a

of chat threads. As I read through them on

o find suitable matches for ghost marriages, she

had stolen countle

pped with lime and bone fragmen

it. To make more money, they

an and killed her on the spot. Her fresh

in Hattie and Patton's chats were

uch decay, use a filter before showing the cli

on had even bragged, "Killing someone?

aw Ambrose's profile picture. The last message he had sent w

the shock when the storag

mbrose's shadowed face. In

aid. The police were on their way,

o sure I would live

stepped closer, the axe blade gleamin

.." he

arning, he swun

by mere millimeters. I felt the whoosh of a

ushed my body to its limits. I dodged several sudden attacks in succes

e chased after me with an axe in hand. It was

.

my mom's voice from outside. "Is

ength. My dad, my mom, and my brother

en I looked back into the courtyard, th

e demeanor, as though the terrifying chase jus

? Nancy is doing just fi

face turn

e. "How dare you run away from the wedding? Do you

to tell them about the Barnes fa

and Sebastian to be buried together i

d grabbed me. "Nancy,

lso roared, "Stop

nd money-hung

d Hattie have been colluding for a long time! The Barnes family m

ne deliberate step at a time. "Nancy, you'd better have

, and Ambrose wore a righteous façade. My br

they closed in, I pulled it out. "This is Ha

tch the phone. I jumped back to avoid him, but my brother r

family members also rushed out, while my pa

tched the phone from my hand, the sound of po

ck as lightning, hurled the

denly snapped to attention. "Nancy was telling t

with this!" my mom screame

a disadvantage, also joined the fray, and t

icers spilling out to take control of the

police car. Through the window, I saw Hattie

ward me as well. He even curled his lips into a

sibly smile? I turned away, refu

e taken to the coun

In the interrogation room, I reco

ked me, "Wher

The phone is

.

m the Mitchell family's house. I knew Hattie's phone was a c

y let such crucial

, including many dangerous people

was sent home. By then, only

d gambling debts and had conspired with the Barnes family

nd we had gone to school together. In our senior year of

ity, while he stayed behind in our small hometown, wo

sentenced to prison. Sebastian's body was taken

o desperate to secure a lineage for their son in the after

ence, they were convicted. I heard the police had taken them to identify crime

ematorium and hospita

r, with victims and families ste

for all to see, and everyone

lung to me, sobbing uncontrollably, regr

ton were sentenced to death for murder, theft, and desecration of corpses. T

ree to ten years, depending on the severity of their

' grief, I said goodbye to

o forgive them yet. All I wanted was to escape this supers

to the buyer of Lillian. He was on the

wned at the sight, feeling a wave of bitter irony

tried to switch seats with som

o meet you aga

lied coldly. "As the buyer, s

or a long time before he finally spoke

at the urn was a deep crimson, distinctly d

ese are my

n's

aduating from college, I stayed in

lege was something my sister

Our parents struggled to support both my sister and me th

ically. But during her college entrance exams, she underp

ms the following year, but she refused. She sai

ded to the city to find work. She left me a heartfelt lette

her. All I could do was throw myself

on and living expenses were steep, but my sister told me not to worry. She said she wa

year, I interned at a well-known media outlet. Due to my out

the toughest, most grueling assignments and vol

I could buy a house in Briarwood and bri

ng off and I had become one of the top reporters

. All that was left at the sce

ere surveillance footage from a nearby c

, and since the area was surrounded by wil

. If they didn't find any leads soon,

discovered that a corpse suspected to be hers had

y found her, her skin was ashen,

urrounding villages were extremely wary. Whether it was the police or local government

that no outsiders had eve

eone undercover to investigate the village's

t that marked me as an outsid

cious of me. It wasn't until I showed her the photo of my late

ed in advance. If I was going to act,

llars in cash. Seeing the thick stacks of money, Hattie's

tions about ghost marriages, and the microphone hidden in the but

in, a strange young girl rushed

rd, but Hattie wasn't someone

used the urgency of the situati

ce arrived at the scene, and with solid evidenc

d been tricked by her brother into marrying a dead man from the Barnes fam

ally found out what had

emale beggar" Hattie and

irelessly in one grueling factory job after

ng, ailing parents, she had been ruthlessly frugal w

ore countless scars and unmistak

ously framed college acceptance letter. It

er chance to atten

broke down and wept. I hated myself for not caring eno

ster had given everythin

onsumed by their selfish desires, had ruined

atrocities were u

as cremated, I brought her

. She didn't want to go back to our homet

y, Nancy, for taking so lo

be the one apologizing. I've m

e, "What are your plans now? Will

be a journalist who speaks the

rkness and lies blind the world. We can'

. Nancy's voice echoed in my ears once more, "I can go with you

at Nancy a

taken off, and the brilliant

days, I felt a glimmer