Jete had no idea what was in store for her-not until several dayster, when she and Leif finally arrived back in Africa.

Now, standing in front of two crumbling red-brick houses, she waspletely stunned.

This had to be a joke. Wasn''t Leif supposed to be African royalty?

A creeping sense of dread settled in her chest as she stared at the dpidated buildings. Slowly, she turned to look at Leif, searching his face for answers.fnbf21 ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? find?novel/fnbf21

He was staring right back at her, but there was none of the tenderness or affection she thought she''d seen before. His expression was cold, calcting, almost cruel. Still, Jete clung stubbornly to her fantasy-she refused to believe her dream of marrying into royalty could shatter so easily. She stared desperately at Leif. "What''s going on? Can you exin this? Didn''t you say you were royalty?"

Leif''s grin stretched wide, shing his blindingly white teeth. He finally dropped the act.

"Royalty? Oh,e on. You actually believed that?"

Hisughter shook his entire chest, deep and mocking.

Jete''s eyes widened as she remembered the news stories she''d seen back home-her heart skipped a beat and fear swept over her. Her lips trembled, but she couldn''t form a single word.

Just then, three women stepped out of the red-brick house, each cradling a child in her arms.

When they saw Leif, their eyes lit up. All three hurried toward him, their faces full of joy, like wives weing home a long-absent husband.

Leif slipped an arm around each of them, speaking in rapid, affectionate tones in his nativenguage. Jete couldn''t understand a word, but it was clear they were all delighted.

It should have been a sweet, touching scene, but Jete only felt a chill run down her spine.

She silently begged for this tender moment tost, but her hope was in vain. It ended all too quickly.

The women—all still holding their children-turned their attention to Jete, surrounding her with sharp, appraising looks. It felt as if they were sizing up livestock, not another human being.

Jete recoiled, stumbling backward in fright.

One of the women looked her over for a while, then said softly to Leif, "Well, looks like we finally have someone to handle the chores." There was a smile in her eyes as she spoke.

The other two nodded in agreement, grinning at Jete with the same unsettling delight.

Jete''s face went pale. Without another thought, she turned and bolted.

No. No way. She was not spending the rest of her life in this miserable ce.

But Leif''s expression darkened. He caught up to her in a few long strides, grabbed her hair, and dragged her back. Without a word, he pped her twice, hard.

Her ears rang; blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Finally, she saw Leif''s true nature-cruel, merciless. Regret crashed over her. She should never have broken up with Chuck.

Leif grabbed her by the cor, his words slow and venomous. "Trying to run? Where do you think you''re going? Your passport''s already in pieces. You''re not going anywhere."

Before Jete could protest, his voice, cold as ice, cut her off. "Who else would have you now? You''re already pregnant. You think you can get away?"

Jete, already shaken to the core, went sheet-white.

She thought of the pills she''d taken, and her eyes hardened. "Pregnant? That''s impossible. I took birth control every single time."

Leifughed like it was the funniest thing he''d ever heard. "You really didn''t know, did you? I swapped your pills ages ago."

His grin turned cruel. "And those handbags and jewelry I gave you? All fakes. Honestly, I didn''t think you''d be so easy to fool."

"No, it''s not just you. You international students from

Northriver are just so gullible. I spun

a story about being royalty, and you

all fell for it. Not one af, you saw

through me. I have to admit, I''m impressed with myself."  s

He sounded almost proud.

The three women by his side looked at their husband with admiration and chimed

in, "You''re the smartest."

"We''re lucky to have you."

"You''re so charming."

...

Jete stood there, ghostly pale, herst spark of hope extinguished.

That night, she was locked in the pigsty, forced to sleep among the animals.

At dawn, Leif''s wives came to let her out, watching her like hawks as she tried in vain to look for an escape. They trailed her everywhere, making hole-chore. sure she didn''t shirk a single chore. shedidn''t  s

From sunrise, Jete was hauling muck, scrubbingundry, cooking, minding the children, and feeding the livestock. By midday, her face had lost all color, exhaustion etched into every line she seemed to have aged years in just a few hours.  s

For the next several months, Jete''s only thought was escape. But after countless beatings at Leif''s hands when he caught her trying, she finally gave up. She stopped trying to run.