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Father pats Sienna on the back and leads her back to her seat as Greta trudges back into the room.

“You know I don’t like the shuffling,” he says. “Walk with proper form.”

Greta rolls her eyes behind Father’s back, but she stands up straighter as she comes to sit beside me. Imelda enters the room as well. She looks at her feet as she finds a seat.

“What’s going on?” Greta demands.

Father sighs, sitting down across from us. He stretches out his long legs and places his hands on the back of the couch like he has no care in the world. He’s always one for taking up a lot of space. It’s his way of showing dominance.

“I have some news I need to share with you girls.”

We remain silent, waiting for him to continue.

“So, you need to understand. I’ve recently fallen into some … money troubles.”

“Money troubles?” Greta asks. “What does that mean?”

Father scratches the back of his neck. “It means that I made some deals with people I shouldn’t have, and now, our family is in debt. And I need a way to pay it back.”

This is big news. Father never shares about business, so the fact that he’s telling us about it now means that something big happened.

“How much do you need to pay back?” I ask, fiddling with an eyebrow brush.

Father waves a hand. “The price doesn’t concern you. All you need to know is that I have to pay it back.”

“Will something bad happen if you don’t?” Imelda asks, her voice quiet but steady.

“Well …” Father steeples his fingers together. “You see, we could possibly lose … the house.”

“What?” Greta asks, her eyes popping. We exchange a look.

“How do we make that not happen?” I ask. “There must be a way for you to pay this money back.”

Father nods. “There is a way.” He looks directly at me in such a way that I become uncomfortable. Something tells me I’m not going to like what he has to say. “You can marry.”

I grow still while Greta sucks in a breath. Sienna looks between Father and me while Imelda stares into her lap.

“Marry?” Greta asks for me.

“Eva,” he says to me, “You knew this day would happen. It shouldn’t surprise any of you girls that you will marry someday. That day has just arrived sooner than expected.”

“Who will I marry?” I whisper.

Father presses a hand behind his ear. “What was that?”

“Who will I marry?” I repeat louder.

“Well, that will be determined.”

Greta sputters. “Wait, so you don’t even know who Eva will marry? Then why bring this up?”

“And how does my marrying help you with your money troubles?” I ask.

“When you marry, that man will pay for your hand,” he said. “The money I receive will help our family.”

“Why would a man pay for my hand in marriage? Who would do that?” I ask. The brush is still clenched between my fingers while as I hold onto the edge of the couch.

“You’re marrying Eva off like she’s an animal,” Greta snaps.

Sienna has miraculously not said a word during the conversation so far. Her normally bratty expression has shifted to worry as she looks back and forth between our father and me.

“I know the families have arranged marriages, but I’ve never heard of a husband buying his wife,” I say.

“It’s a business deal like any other,” Father says.

“Except it isn’t,” Greta says, almost yelling. “It’s Eva. She’s the one some random man will be putting his hands on. She’s not just a business deal, Dad .” Other than Sienna, he hated us calling him “Dad.” He preferred the formal “Father.”

Imelda holds up a hand. “I don’t understand something.” Her quiet voice cuts through the room. “How will you find a husband for Eva. You said that would be determined. How?”

Father looks at me with no shame, like he hasn’t done anything wrong, even though he got us into this in the first place. And now I’m the one suffering the consequences of his actions.

“There will be an auction.”

All of us go silent. After a moment, it’s Sienna who speaks. “An auction?”

“You mean men will bid on Eva for her hand in marriage?” Greta asks. “Like she’s a prized horse?” The horror is quite definite in Greta’s tone.

“Yes,” Father says simply. “They will bid on her, and whoever offers the most will win her hand.”

“And you get the money,” I say, blinking back tears.

Father opens his hand in an expression of “what would you have me do?”

“That’s how I’ll pay off my debts,” he said. “This way, we get to keep the house.”

“But what if the man who wins me doesn’t offer enough money to pay back your debts?” I ask.

Father looks at Greta, then Imelda, and finally Sienna. “Then, each one of you will be offered at the auction after you turn twenty.”

I wrap my arms around Sienna’s shoulders. She looks like she’s about to cry.

“How can you call yourself our father?” Greta asks.

“Both you and Eva are over eighteen. Eva’s already twenty, the right age to marry. I’m not doing anything wrong.”

“It’s definitely wrong!” Greta screams. “And illegal. You can’t sell us off.”

“But I can arrange a marriage for you, and this is what I’m doing. Any arranged marriage is a deal. In this instance, money will be exchanged. Whether it be power or land, there’s always something at play. It’s just a fact.”

“What happens if I say no?” I ask.

“Then your sisters will pay the price.”

“But if the man who pays for me doesn’t offer enough money, you’ll just put them up for auction next.”

“If you don’t go through with this, then they will definitely be next after they turn twenty. And by then, my debts will have grown much larger. If you follow through, there’s a chance I won’t need to offer them up in an auction.”

And with those words, I know my father has me.

I could never willingly put my sisters in a position of danger.

Greta looks at me. Her expression says she knows what I’m about to do. “Eva, no …”

“All right,” I say, dropping my head. “I’ll do it.”

And with those words, I seal my fate.