Present Time

It had been a few weeks since Anita and I renewed our vows, and things were finally starting to feel normal again after the incident at the cabin. I tried not to think about what could have happened if things had went south. What if I ticked her off, and provoked her? Would she really have killed me?

Just the thought of Anita in that rabid state me shudder. Her warm breath wafting down my skin. Her ragged, short breaths. Her piercing brown eyes that screamed that she wanted me.

In the aftermath these past couple weeks, Anita had been...different. More clingy, more intense in her affections. Not that I was complaining or anything- her smothering kisses and aggressive hands made me weak in the knees. But there was also a hint of something darker there, an edge of jealousy and obsession.

Like when I was hanging out with my buddies from university she blew up my phone with messages and calls, wanting to know where I was, who I was with. Raining down a barrage of questions when I came back home from a simple walk. That itself, made her add another rule to her stupid agreement clause, but I decided to play along. It's just little things like these that on their own weren't that strange, but added up to be...well, a bit unsettling.

But I chalked it up to trauma from my threat of a divorce. She had almost lost me, just as I'd almost lost her. Of course she would be feeling insecure and overprotective for a while. I just had to wait it out and keep reassuring her of my love and loyalty.

Besides, makeup sex with Anita had been mind-blowingly incredible. Maybe I was into the whole wildly possessive wife thing more than I cared to admit. I sighed as I started to play out last night in my mind.

-

'You are my entire world, my darling,' she whispered, gently stroking my hair.

"I will never hurt you again."

Her words should have been reassuring, but they carried an undercurrent of possession, of a jealous maniac, that made me shiver despite the warmth of her embrace.

Even with her messy hair and flushed cheeks from the afterglow of love-making, she looked like a goddess enjoying her routine after-sex smoke. A sly smirk spread across her lips as she caught my admiring gaze.

"Did you have fun, babe?", she murmured, her voice feminine, yet raspy.

I nodded, unable to find my words, trying to take in deep breaths. Anita's eyes sparkled with delight, seeing me so flustered. Stubbing out her cigarette, she got on top of me, running her fingers through my sweat-dampened hair.

"You're so delicious.," she cooed, planting soft kisses along my jawline, the smell of tobacco stuck onto her.

"You could ravish me for hours on end and I'd never grow tired of your body, your passion..."

Her lips found mine in a hungry kiss.

Finally sated, at least for the moment, we lay catching our breath, Anita tenderly tracing the curves of my back with her fingertips.

'My handsome husband,' she murmured possessively.

"All mine."

"Yours", I agreed with a content sigh, resting my head on her chest. Her heartbeat was my most soothing lullaby. Anita ran her fingers through my hair, making it feel incredibly therapeutic.

-

I shook my head daydreaming and recalling last night. I chuckled to myself as I headed out the door for my classes. Anita called out in a sickly sweet tone,

"Have a wonderful day at university, my love."

She pulled me into a kiss, her body pressing against mine. When she finally released me, Anita's eyes burned with unmistakable desire and possession.

"Don't let any of those college girls get any ideas about flirting with you," she said with a slight edge.

"Because if I catch even a whiff of it..."

Anita trailed off, but the implied threat hung ominously in the air. I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile and nodded.

"You know you're the only woman for me, babe. I'll come home as soon as I can okay, honeybug?"

Appeased by the nickname, Anita gave me a brilliant smile.

"There we go. Now run along, and focus on your studies."

With one last peck on the cheek, she sent me off. I tried to shake off the vague sense of unease her words had sparked as I made my way to campus.

During the days while I attended classes, Anita remained busy working at her firm. Wherever I went on campus, I couldn't shake the eerie sense that I was being watched.

Anita had always been somewhat...intense in her actions. She went from beating me with a whip to crying in my arms at the thought of a divorce, all while I was inside her. But ever since the renewal of our vows, her actions had definitely crossed over to a new high.

-

Throughout my morning lectures, I couldn't quite concentrate. My mind kept drifting, wondering if Anita really did have someone watching my every move. Or was it herself? I immediately glanced around the class, over the hundred or so students, trying to see if I could see her. Maybe she snuck in with a disguise? The idea should have been ridiculous, even for her. And yet...there I was.

-

During my lunch break, I pulled out my phone and saw seven missed calls and a flurry of texts from Anita.

"Having a lovely day, my darling? Can't wait to meet you~😘"

"Just checking in on you!"

"Why haven't you answered my calls? Everything okay?"

"Adrian? Hello?!?!?"

The messages continued in increasingly anxious tones until the most recent one which simply read:

'You'd better not be ignoring me.'

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I knew if I didn't respond, Anita's imagination could quickly spiral out of control into panicked thoughts that I was ignoring her or even worse, cheating on her. With shaky hands, I typed out a reply.

"Sorry babe, just got out of a lecture and my phone was on silent. Everything's fine, I'll be home at 5 like usual. No need to worry! Love you ❤️"

I hit send, hoping that would be enough to pacify her for the next few seconds. Wait what was I even thinking? I keep forgetting that she too, would be pretty busy working her ass off at the firm. I should wait a bit.

Sure enough, a response came through the next hour when I was in the middle of another lecture. I immediately swiped on her notification and my heartbeat hitched as I read the message:

"Okay good 😘 I know you'd never dream of betraying me. You're MY husband, after all. See you soon, can't wait!"

I exhaled slowly, feeling a mild relief. At the same time, her choice of words - "you'd never dream of betraying me" - set my nerves slightly on edge. Anita's possessive love was starting to weigh more heavily, like a pair of handcuffs chafing my wrists completely bloody.

Shaking my head, I tried to cope with the doubt in my mind. I tried to focus on the material taught by the professor in the class, but I couldn't stop thinking about her. This was just Anita's way of love- intense. She loved me more deeply than anyone else could. I was the luckiest guy in the world to have a wife like her. If I just played along and didn't give her any real reason to doubt everything would be fine.

Right?