Hide and Seek: Married to My Master Part 2

5. Aria

Ok I think I'm going to repost the first book and continue the second book on AO3! I'm still waiting for my invitation to join that site, so until then, I'll continue to post on here. :)
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Ever since Lara and Alejandro had shown up that day, I was a nervous wreck.

For a week after they showed up at my door, I stayed home. I had to call into work "sick", and I kept Daniel home from preschool. But then I started getting worried about falling behind on law school and bills, and I did not want Rurik to feel like he needed to lend me money.

So, unfortunately, life had to go on. I informed Daniel's school that his father was not a good man and that they should never, under any circumstances, allow him to leave the school with anyone but me.

I bought pepper spray and a taser. I changed my locks and upgraded my security system. Rurik offered to teach me some self-defense moves at the gym, and I gratefully accepted his offer.

I was on high alert at all times, jumping at the slightest noises and reading into everything way too deeply.

Why was that cashier at the corner store looking at me like that??

Was my front door mat always at that angle?

Are my curtains thick enough?

Am I being followed??

Eventually, I realized that I was, in fact, being followed. Those creepy black SUVs that had been surrounding my neighborhood never went away. A few of them were usually tailing me whenever I left the house. But nobody ever approached me or threatened me, which somehow made me feel more insane.

I went from paranoid to full-on hysterical. Rurik was my only comfort, often coming over in the middle of the night, bringing over dinner or groceries when I was too afraid to leave the house, encouraging me to call my therapist when I felt a panic attack coming on, or popping in just to check on me.

Just 2 months ago, I was cautiously allowing Rurik to enter my home for the first time...and now he practically lived with me.

Most nights, I found myself crying on Rurik's lap after tucking Daniel into bed. Our relationship had gone from romantic to mostly friendly and supportive; he knew I needed some time to breathe right now. He never said a word about the change in the dynamic, though. He merely shifted his role in my life from boyfriend to best friend and protector.

Tonight, I was once again curled up on his lap, crying miserably while he held me. It suddenly hit me that this could be my life with him.

This was what a marriage with him would be like. No pressure to have sex or be "allowed to serve him" if I was upset or going through a hard time. Being cherished, understood, and never made to feel like a burden.

I'm sure when Rurik first approached me, innocently trying to make a new friend, he never would have guessed that my life was such a massive shit show. I was barely showing when we met, and my uniform was loose enough to hide my tiny baby bump for a while.

I can only imagine the delight he felt upon learning I was pregnant, about to become a single mother, recently divorced from a psycho, and I had absolutely no interest in a romantic or sexual relationship.

And now here we were, almost 3 years into our friendship, and it kind of seemed as if nothing had really changed. In fact, it had gotten worse for him, since I'd fully pumped the brakes on the romantic aspects of our relationship. He may as well have been Ebony or Jade now.