Remembering You

The Other Women

Sometimes, he was the warmest man I could imagine, and other times, like now, I suspected he had killed before, and I was his next target. It was hot and cold and so nerve-wracking to deal with.

"Yes. I think I have the right to know," I said stubbornly, not allowing myself to be intimidated by him. He was still smiling darkly, watching me, but he put his glass down. It was only when he stood up that I realized he had finished half the bottle since getting home.

He came at me, and I jumped up instinctively, backing away. He didn't stop and stalked me dangerously until my back hit the wall behind me, and I was trapped. My breath caught in my throat, realizing there was no escape. I regretted bringing it up, yet even with my fear of his rapid mood swings, I felt a sharp pain in my chest building. It ached as if I had been punched, yet he had not laid a finger on me. I had started to trust him and thought he wanted me now. I had hoped we would get married as he promised and be happy. Realizing he would cheat ruined everything I had built my dreams on. It was devastating beyond words, and I couldn't even express my pain to him since he was the one who hurt me.

He brought his hand to my face, and I flinched back. He just gently wiped away the tears I didn't realize were falling.

"Anna, you're too nosey for your own good. You always were," he said, his smile fading, and I could see his own pain he tried to hide like a thick mask he needed desperately to hold up.

"So, why would you cheat?" I whispered with a sniffle from crying.

He was quiet, and he traced his finger over my cheek thoughtfully and tenderly. His mood lightened, and I felt a change in the air around us, cracking with an electrical charge.

"Anna, surely you realize you are the center of my world. I will be with you forever, life or death. I took an oath, and I will stick to it. I was foolish to think it would protect you to leave you. You can't stay out of trouble to save your life. Literally, I would lay my life down for you and never even think a second thought," he said quietly, his dark eyes searching for something in mine. A flicker of the person he fell in love with maybe, or maybe just to see if I felt the same.

I relaxed, realizing that he hadn't cheated on me after all.

"So you didn't cheat? What was the message about? Is that why you were so rude when I woke up from the crash? You wanted to protect me?" I asked all at once, almost wanting to have answers.

"Again, too curious for your own good."

He said, smiling a bit before leaning down and kissing me. I knew he was just trying to get me to shut up, but the slow kiss lingered and made me feel alight with a warmth that I wasn't expecting. I ran my hands into his slicked-back hair, messing it up, and leaned into the kiss, soaking up the high feeling it gave me. The same person who moments before had made me terrified now had me under his spell, and I couldn't figure out why. Perhaps it was the fact he was finally opening up to me and showing me his feelings. He gave off the vibe to the world that he was a hardened, uncaring jerk.

Really, he was so much more sensitive than that. It was that very sensitivity that I was getting to know that made me upset when I thought he cheated. I thought I finally figured him out, and we bonded, and clearly, I was right. He moved me closer to him, his hands pulling on my hips, closing the space between us gently. I pulled back, surprised to feel his arousal, and broke the kiss, not used to having him so bold.

"Don't think you're getting off so easy this time, my minx. You have been flaunting yourself around me for weeks now, enjoying teasing me. Wearing next to nothing out of the shower, bending over countless times in the kitchen." He said darkly, picking me up despite me pushing him away. He took me to the couch and laid me down roughly, laying on me instantly, not giving me the chance to run away.

"It's called a towel, and I was bending over to unload the dishwasher," I said, trying to hold back my laughter at his ridiculous antics.

He grinned, shaking his head and kissing my shoulder, not having any of my excuses. He leaned back in and kissed me, his passion tangible and leaving me wanting more even though I wasn't sure if I was ready to take the next step with him. Everything just felt so right, the way he kissed, the way he knew every inch of my body, and how to make it light up with sensation. He was intimidating. That only made me relax in some sort of unconscious way and give up the control I had been desperately holding onto. It was just right. Perfection.

I pulled back, ending the kiss this time, his displeasure at being interrupted evident with his soft groan.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed too hard." He said, not moving off of me and looking over my body with a fever that said he didn't regret it at all.

"You're Mr. Right, aren't you?" I asked the thought nagging at me and not letting my mind settle fully. He gazed at me the activities from earlier forgotten.

"I hope so." He said slowly as if trying to figure out some hidden meaning. I sighed knowing he was playing coy.

"No, I mean you are Mr. Right in my phone. I've been texting you all this time. You didn't try to stage the car accident after finding out the twins weren't yours because they ARE yours. You are Mr. Right, and that was just my code word for you." I said, putting everything together quite nicely.

"Yes, well...I just wanted to protect you."

"That doesn't make sense," I said dryly.

"Anna, there's a lot more going on than you realize. I didn't want to risk you getting hurt again, but I also didn't want to leave you there with no one to talk to." He said in what I could only define as his version of a meek way.

"PROTECT ME FROM WHAT?" I asked, curious and needing to know.

"Anna...I can't tell you that." He said softly.

I wanted to accept his refusal, but the deception and lies seemed to have built on each other.

The romantic mood was gone, and I got up, my mind whirling. What did I need to be protected from, and why?

"I want to take a walk," I said abruptly, needing space.

"You can't leave. Not alone." He said without doubt.

Sera had woken up and I picked her up wrapping her in her blanket making sure to keep my voice lower not wanting to traumatize her.

"Or what? The booggy man will get me? Oh, please. Stop with the dramatics. You just didn't want to be with a whore like me CLEARLY." I said sarcastically, giving him one final glare before storming out, making good on my word to leave.

He was a fool if he thought I was going to stick around and let him treat me like that. I felt free walking outside and down the countless streets in the large city, not having to be someone else for the first time since I had woken up. He wanted me to be the replica of someone that didn't exist anymore. He wanted me to react like her, be like her, love like her. But I wasn't her. I was different and new, and that wasn't a bad thing.

I had spent weeks hating the fact that I couldn't be the old me, yet now I was finally free to love the new me. I was kind, an amazing mother, a great doctor, a horrible cook, but a great decorator. Any man should be happy to have me and be married to me. I didn't have to stay with someone who couldn't love who I was at this very moment and didn't want to respect me.

I was so lost in thought I didn't realize I was lost until the street lights were getting further apart and the area looked more run down than the places I was familiar with. I went to grab my phone out of my pocket in the hand that wasn't holding Sera, who was sleeping, but it wasn't there.

In my haste I had forgotten my phone, wallet, keys, everything. I did not even know our address since I was always driven to the apartment, so I never bothered looking at the signs.

I should have panicked, but instead I just felt lighter and kept walking forward ready to take on whatever adventure awaited me.