Nine days later, dressed in a wedding gown Arthur had paid for, Matilda walked down the aisle as if embarking on her final journey. Her first kiss took place at the altar, in front of strangers. That evening, she entered Arthur's house, her hands trembling.
And behind the closed door of the room, Arthur spoke first.
"Matilda," he began softly, "before anything happens, there's something you need to know."
She remained seated, stiff, on the bed. The silence was heavy.
“I know this marriage wasn’t your choice,” he said. “But I want you to know: I didn’t bring you here to hurt you.” He swallowed hard. “I was born… different.”
He explained, in a hesitant and painful voice, that his body could not fulfill the functions of a traditional husband. He would not be able to have intimacy. He would not be able to have children. He expected disgust, anger, rejection.
Instead, Matilda felt something unexpected. She understood what it meant to be a prisoner of silence. To live invisible. To be alone with herself.
Arthur stepped back, his voice barely audible.
"You are free, Matilda. I won't touch you if you don't want me to. You can have your own room. I only ask for company. Someone to have dinner with. Someone by my side. I... can't stand being alone anymore."
For the first time, she looked into his eyes and saw not a stranger, but a wounded heart, like her own.
They slept in separate rooms that night.
In the following days, Matilda explored the library – walls covered in books. When Arthur caught her reading, he simply said, "Everything in this house is yours. Nothing is forbidden."
It was the first time in her life that someone had given her permission to exist.
The weeks passed. She learned how the farm operated, how to keep the accounts, how to make decisions. She absorbed everything, her mind having never had the opportunity to develop before.
One evening, on the veranda, Arthur asked her softly:
"Matilda... are you unhappy here?"
She answered slowly and sincerely:
"No. For the first time... I can breathe."
Soon after, Arthur fell gravely ill. Matilda stayed by his bedside, watching over him day and night. When he finally awoke and saw her asleep beside his bed, he whispered:
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