It was the type of night he usually enjoyed. The charcoal sky above District 12 was riddled with stars that winked at the earth below. It was March, early spring, so the chilly evening air made for good sleeping weather under warm blankets. And for those like Peeta Mellark who were wary of the stillness of night, the wood frogs provided a soothing chorus.

But he couldn't rest. No matter how hard he tried, he could only wonder where she was. Katniss. His wife.

Five months ago, Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen disembarked the train from the Capitol to a cheering District 12 crowd. They'd won the 74th annual Hunger Games, the first time in Panem's history that there were two victors. Peeta had admitted to the entire nation that he was in love with Katniss. And in the arena, when she nursed him back to health and kissed him ardently in a cave, he and all of Panem thought their 'star-crossed lovers' moniker was real.

But it was not real. She'd acted for the cameras. And before they'd stepped off of the train and returned to District 12, Peeta realized heartbreakingly that they weren't on a path to becoming lovers. They weren't even friends. He moved into the stately home next door to hers in Victor's Village with a new survival strategy: avoid Katniss Everdeen at all costs.

That lasted about 24 hours.

He was at his kitchen table, slicing into a loaf of pumpernickel when his phone rang. It was Katniss asking him to come to her house immediately. Her voice sounded strained; he was hopeful that he would arrive to find some need that required a (sober) man's strength (that would eliminate Haymitch). Even if it were something as simple as fixing a faulty lock or lifting a heavy piece of furniture. He just needed her to need him.

He didn't expect to see President Coriolanus Snow seated in Katniss's den, stroking the tail of Prim's cat. What President Snow said next made Peeta lightheaded. Rebellion in the districts… because of Katniss's defiance… the actions of a girl in love with her fellow tribute… she and Peeta were to be married immediately… a grand Capitol wedding in two weeks.

"Let me be clear," President Snow said gingerly, his voice an abyss. "You are not doing this for me. Oh no, dear children…" An image of Gale kissing Katniss behind the Hob flashed on the tabletop viewer. Then Peeta's father and oldest brother at the front counter of Mellark Bakery. Then Prim and Maura Everdeen picking fresh herbs in the meadow. Even Delly, Peeta's best friend, swinging her arms lightheartedly as she walked home from school. President Snow's voice lowered menacingly. "You're doing it for them."

They both sat in shocked silence for nearly an hour after President Snow left. Prim brought the ringing phone to Katniss; Effie Trinket was on the other end, chirping about planning her nuptials to Peeta with less than two weeks to make the arrangements. Peeta stormed out and returned to his home where he put his fist through a wall. She didn't need him. She didn't want him. And now, she would be forced to marry him.

Cinna, Portia, Effie and the rest of their prep teams arrived the next day. Peeta contacted his family and asked that they meet at his house immediately after closing the bakery. Peeta's mother was thrilled by the news because she saw opportunity in her son's impending nuptials.

"Daniel, we could sell wedding cookies as favors for months," Nance Mellark said excitedly. "We'll make a lot of money from the Merchants who wish they could attend the big wedding."

But Daniel Mellark solemnly watched his stone-faced youngest son as Portia examined the fit of his ivory-colored suit. Daniel was Peeta's confidante, and Daniel already knew that his son was heartbroken over Katniss's deception in the arena. This elaborate wedding and fake marriage would only deepen his pain.

President Snow sent a camera crew to film the excitement leading up to the big wedding. The camera crew followed Katniss, Peeta and their immediate families for four days, taping their scripted "private" conversations and watching as Katniss tried on a series of wedding dresses that were never meant to be the dress. Every evening once the cameras finally stopped filming, the star-crossed lovers quickly retreated to their respective homes where they locked themselves in a closet or bedroom and wept bitterly.

President Snow spared no expense on the wedding. The most ornate church in the Capitol decorated in glistening white mini-lights, elaborate ivory and gold décor and fragrant flora that reached halfway to the vaulted ceilings. Dignitaries in matching cobalt stoles with Panem's seal stitched on the front. The wealthiest Capitol citizens in their pastel-colored skin and attire. Capitol children holding figurines of Katniss and Peeta in their Hunger Games uniforms.

Peeta waited at the front of the church with his father as his best man, Katniss's wedding band in Daniel Mellark's coat pocket. Prim walked that extremely long center aisle as the sole bridesmaid, Peeta's wedding band tucked into her palm.

Peeta had practiced his facial expressions for this day so his face wouldn't betray him in front of all of Panem. After all, this wasn't a joyous occasion; he and Katniss were doing this under duress. Then the church doors parted and she stepped into view on Haymitch's arm. And through some miracle, Peeta managed to live the next few moments without a beating heart. The sight of her stopped it, and he wasn't acting when tears streamed down his face as she approached.

When they returned to District 12, Katniss moved into Peeta's home. For the first few weeks, Katniss played by Snow's rules. She only left home for a solo trek into the woods and it would seem that she and Peeta were behind closed doors so much because they were enjoying each other as newlyweds.

But in reality, he was sleeping in the downstairs guest bedroom and she was in a secondary bedroom upstairs. They barely spoke, rarely ate together, and they very often cried in isolation.

Then one day, she was defiant again. She spent her Sundays hunting with Gale and they traversed the Hob during the week when his 12-hour shift ended in the mines. She would usually return home around 7 p.m., just before nightfall.

She and Peeta had several heated arguments about her actions. She was being selfish and endangering everyone, he'd shouted. Snow wasn't going to hurt anyone because he needed them all to advance his star-crossed lovers agenda, she'd argued. They ended up slamming doors and widening the chasm in their relationship. Shortly before New Year's, Haymitch sat them both down for a stern talk. Snow was always watching, Haymitch cautioned, producing a nauseatingly perfect long-stemmed white rose that was on his doorstep that morning. Snow's silence shouldn't be mistaken for lack of surveillance.

Peeta brokered a truce with Katniss. He apologized for resenting her actions in the Games. He thanked her for what she did to save both of their lives. He told her he only hoped that they could be friends and survive their new lives outside of the arena.

Her eyes softened and she said, "I'd like that."

There was much improvement in the months that followed. They made an effort to eat dinner together every night and they each took turns asking questions about one another – a learning process. They planned walks into town, holding hands to show Snow and anyone watching that they were indeed a couple. Her tormented screams sent him running to her bedroom one night, and she asked Peeta to stay with her and hold her while she slept. They migrated to the king-sized bed in the master bedroom upstairs.

Peeta went on a personal mission to make her laugh more often, and he was winning. With each smile, she warmed up to him and he let down his guard gradually slip. They were surviving and becoming friends. This was working.

But in the past two weeks, there had been a marked difference in Katniss. She was again aloof, distant, and short with Peeta. She'd been avoiding their walks into town and she started coming home after nightfall. And now, as Peeta turned again to watch the stars from the open bedroom window, it was after 11 p.m. on a Sunday, and Katniss still hadn't returned.

The clock on the nightstand mocked him with each passing minute. She'd left home at daybreak to hunt with Gale. The previous Sunday, she'd been gone all day but returned home around 8 p.m. Technically, if Gale was her "cousin," as Snow told everyone, there was no harm in them spending time together on Sundays, which was Gale's only day off from working in the mines. Ironically, Sundays were Peeta's only day off from Mellark Bakery, where he continued to work for his parents.

He couldn't stand it any longer. He flung the covers off his body and trotted downstairs to call Maura Everdeen. Maybe Katniss had gone to her mother's instead. It didn't even matter, so long as he knew she was safe.

The phone receiver was in his hand when the front door creaked open. Katniss trudged in, a scowl shaping her lips when their eyes met.

"Hey," Peeta said, his voice tinged with concern. "I was just about to call your mother to see if you went there for the night."

"Why?" she shrugged, brushing past him into the kitchen and half filling a glass with water.

Peeta followed, staring in disbelief. "Katniss, it's almost midnight and you hadn't made it home. I was worried about you."

"I can handle myself, Peeta," she snapped. "You don't need to worry about me."

Peeta dragged his hand roughly from his forehead to his chin. He'd had enough with this silly and potentially dangerous game she was playing.

"What's going on, Katniss?" he said pointedly, his tone causing her eyes to snap to his. "You and I were doing fine the other week and lately you've been treating me like I offended you and I don't even know what the hell I did."

She rolled her eyes, gulped her water, and placed her empty glass in the sink.

"I've had a full day and I'm in no mood to argue with you, Peeta," she said, tightly, brushing past him toward the living room. Peeta reached for her arm and she spun to face him, yanking her arm away.

"What are we arguing about?" Peeta stretched his arms in exasperation. "I would love to know what I did or what I'm doing to cause you to treat me this way."

Her gray eyes glowered. "Not everything is about you, Peeta. Do you realize that all of this," she circled her hands in the air, "is your fault? Because you told all of Panem about your so-called feelings for me, we had to get married and live this farce!"

Pain and confusion vied for control of Peeta's face as he stood there, his mouth agape.

"So-called feelings? Farce?" He stepped closer to her, his anger surfacing. "Katniss, I've been nothing but honest with you. In fact, I'm the only one in this house who's been nothing but honest."

She had a response on her lips but clamped her mouth shut at his words. He was right; she'd lied about her feelings for him during the Games and had broken his heart in the process.

"And where is all of this coming from?" Peeta demanded. "It sounds like someone else is filling your head with head with these thoughts."

She found her voice again. "Don't you dare bring Gale into this."

"I never said who, Katniss. You just told on yourself." He mounted the first two stairs and then glared over his shoulder. "Let's try to make to the next reaping in six months. Then hopefully someone else will have the Capitol's attention and you and I can quietly annul this – what's that word you used? – oh yeah, this 'farce' of a marriage."

She watched him until he was out of sight and jumped when the bedroom door slammed shut.