Broken Promises

Prologue

1914

My dear husband...

The sharp sound of a window shattering filled the otherwise quiet street in Small Heath that afternoon. The few individuals that had been walking down that street found themselves unable to look away from the large home that rested on the corner. The collection of blooming flowerpots that always resided just outside the door were now decorated with shards of glass, glass that also coated the cracked pavement. Through the freshly broken window anyone and everyone were able to hear the argument brewing inside the home. A home that usually brought no attention to itself nor the small family of three that resided inside its walls.

"David!" The typically calm voice of one Martha Solomons formed a shriek in the aftershock of the shattered window. "What the hell did you do?"

"I don't fucking care." David Solomons all but snarled at his wife. His darkened eyes focused solely on the trembling frame of their daughter— Esther Solomons. The young nineteen-year-old woman couldn't bring herself to meet her father's gaze, instead finding her tear-filled eyes darting around the room, never resting in one thing for too long. Somewhere in her mind she knew that she was in shock, frightened from her father's sudden outburst. For the David Solomons that she knew never lashed out, he was a kind and loving husband and father. "You. What the fuck did you say?"

"I-I'm married," Esther's voice trembled as she repeated the two words that had started the chaos. It was only in that moment that either of her parents noticed the way her right thumb toyed with a thin silver band that rested on her right ring finger, a ring they had never seen before.

"And when, pray tell, did this happen?" David's eyes narrowed and his hands balled into fists at his sides.

"Last week," Esther cleared her throat. The teen finally seemed to find the courage within herself to glance between her parents, truly taking in the looks of anger and disappointment that filled their features. "Before he went to France."

"Thomas?" Martha guessed, the frown on her face only seeming to deepen at the thought of the second eldest Shelby boy. The older woman could feel a headache starting to form behind her eyes as she watched her daughter nod. Confirming the very thing she and her husband had been trying to avoid for the last four years. "And where did this wedding take place?"

"Out in the field, near his uncle's stables. His whole family was there, a-and some friends." Esther shared, almost feeling relieved to get it off of her chest.

"And what did you do?" David pressed, catching on to what his wife was trying to get at.

"What do you mean?" Esther's brows furrowed at the question, her eyes shifting between her parents once more. "We said our vows and declared our love for each other. Promised an eternity by each other's side, in life and death, that was sealed in blood."

"Blood!" David clapped his hands together, the sudden noise causing Esther to jump in place. The man couldn't stop the chuckles that fell from his lips as a wave of relief washed over he and his wife. "Fucking blood!"

"So it was a gypsy wedding?" A smile now played on Martha's lips.

"It was our wedding, why does it matter what customs were followed?" Esther shook her head, as if trying to unscramble her own thoughts. "We're married."

"Married? All you fucking did was shake bloody hands, that's not married-- you're not a fucking Shelby." David rolled his eyes at his daughter's foolishness, silently thanking God for his daughter's lack of brain cells. "Those gypsy weddings-- nothing but rubbish. No real priest and no marriage license. All you've done is spout some nonsense and cut yourself, nothing more."