Loving Him

s e v e n

Somehow, I had convinced Braden to not confront Adam and that I would talk to Adam during lunch at T.G.I.Friday's.

I lied.

I just needed Braden to get off my back and I need him to trust me. But he'll never understand that I love Adam and I'd do anything for him. I hated giving false promises but I had to do it in order to protect Adam.

That night I came home after hanging out with Braden all day. I had missed Braden and didn't get to see him as often when I got married. So I was pretty happy today. In fact, as I opened the door to our house, I couldn't stop humming and smiling to myself.

To my confusion, the house was completely lively in the sense that the lights were on. The lights were never on whenever I came home because Adam worked later than me. But then again, I did come home late but not late enough that Adam would be home already. In fact, he should still be at work.

I hesitantly took off my shoes and put my bags away. I was about to go off into the spare bathroom to wash up but was stopped when I passed by the living room.

Adam was seated on a chair in the living room. That was weird. He was usually always in his office room at home.

"Hi, Mr. Pember." I said as I stopped behind a couch.

Adam's cold gaze rested on me for a bit.

"Sit." He commanded.

I had no choice but to obey and so I sat on the sofa in front of him. I wanted to ask him if he was okay or if he wanted to talk but I didn't want to worsen his mood so I kept shut.

Adam leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees as he glared at me menacingly.

"So you're cheating on me now, are you." Adam stated instead of questioning.

My head shot up. Fear coursed through me as I stared at his eyes. Why would he say that? "Excuse me, what?" I asked with worry lacing my voice.

He suddenly stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking around for something. Adam pulled out his phone briskly and read aloud.

"Braden Somers."

Chills ran up my spine. How did he know? He knew Braden but why bring him up on the one day that I hang out with him? Could Adam be...tracking me?

Inwardly, I calmed myself. I can't freak out. I have to be strong. And I cannot think and jump to some absurd conclusions. There must be a more reasonable explanation.

"What about Braden?" I asked, collected. In fact, I was surprised I was able to act detached. I should do that more often.

"Don't act stupid, Belle." Adam growled as he stalked closer to where I was sitting.

I moved my eyes downcast, fear finding its way once again into my system. Before I knew it, his hand was tangled in my hair at the back of my head and he roughly forced me to look up. Pain starting stinging at my scalp where a few strands of my hair were being tugged.

"You. Belong. To. Me." Adam stated in a low tone.

"Your mind, body, and soul. Everything is mine."

When I didn't respond I felt a slap come down on my face.

Then another.

And another.

Tears stung at the back of my eyes. But I swallowed in a sob. No more crying. No more tears.

~

After I came back home that night, Adam had made it very clear that I was to not leave the house without his permission. He told me the same thing that he has told me before. That my place, as a woman, was at home. And at home was where I stayed.

I was dusting off all the countertops when I heard a ding signaling that I had gotten a text message. I found myself hoping that it was Braden but Adam had gone through my whole phone and blocked every "suspicious" person in my contacts list.

Turning my phone screen over, I read that the sender was Adam. He said that he would be home late today because he was caught up in a lot of work.

I chided myself for the sudden feeling of relaxation and happiness that bloomed through my body. How could I be so shameless and disrespectful towards my husband's lack of prescience? Shaking my head to myself, I turned off all the lights in the house and walked to our bedroom.

Fortunately, ever since Adam and I started getting intimate, he told me that I would sleep on his bed from now on. It was an improvement from the beginning and that was good enough for me.

Stretching my arms above my head, I crawled into my warm, white, comforters and pulled them up to my chin and turned to my side. I pulled up my phone and decided to scroll through my social media one last time.

Some old high school classmate of mine shared a link about recognizing abuse and domestic violence in a relationship on my Facebook. That peaked my interest. I don't know why but I found my senses heightening and my thumb automatically tapped once on the link.

After I read the article, I was a changed woman.