yours.” Her chest suddenly felt heavy, not from the weight of his body, but his words. He continued, “You are right.” She didn’t speak, unsure of her correctness. “The conversation is done and I am in total control of your activities, including where you will sleep and which invitations you will accept.” The tears began to pool in her eyes. “However, you are also mistaken. I don’t consider you a spouse. I know you are my wife. You belong to me.”
His forearms pushed against her shoulders causing them to ache. His words weren’t a revelation, Claire knew she was his possession. He continued moving his face closer. “You are staying here tonight. You are not leaving me, my bed, or my presence.” The tears flowed. “Now it is time for you to respond appropriately.” His weight shifted slightly.
Claire remembered times in the past when she hadn’t replied quickly enough or to his liking. She focused her energy on keeping her body from trembling. However, she couldn’t concentrate on that and tears, so her words became muffled sobs. Swallowing hard, she tried to strengthen her voice. “I will not leave you. Even if I left your bed tonight it would have only been because I’m upset, not because I want our marriage to be over.” She took a ragged breath, imagined his dark eyes, and thanked God that the room was too dark to see them.
“Continue.”
“I will not leave your bed. I’ve agreed in the past, I agree now and forever to submit to your authority. I’m sorry if I’ve given you cause to break your promise.” Inhaling, she tried desperately to defuse his temper. “If you recall, this entire incident started because I asked if I could be with you when you went away. I don’t want to leave you. I want to be with you.”
“Your ability to respond appropriately has benefited you on multiple occasions.” He released her shoulders and laid his head on his pillow. She stopped sniffling and tried to regulate her breathing. “Now take off that robe.” As she obeyed he added, “I believe we will experiment with some other forms of response.” He rolled back toward her. “But you are my partner. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to. So perhaps you would you rather go to sleep?”
Claire knew this was one of those offers you can’t refuse her grandmother used to talk about. “No, I would rather respond to you.” She successfully avoided the trembling and had almost stopped the tears, but the end result was that her head pounded to the beat of her heart. Currently, that was too rapid.
“This time it will not be verbal.” His hands seized her petite frame as his domineering tone claimed her spirit. “As you may recall, this conversation is over.”
Claire closed her eyes and nodded. She did her best to ignore her headache and respond to her husband.
Just before they drifted to sleep, Tony offered more information. “Courtney and Sue have called multiple times, I will think about their invitations. Emily has called and e-mailed. John has called, he respectfully declined Tom’s offer. I believe Emily can wait.” Claire’s heart sank.
This new information no doubt influenced Tony’s temperament. She wanted to believe Tony’s offer was made in good faith based on John’s credentials. His refusal didn’t surprise Claire, even though she was sure it did Tony. He doesn’t often experience rejection. This wasn’t the first time she received the consequences of John’s actions. What concerned Claire the most was her relationship with her sister, would she be allowed to speak to or see Emily?
She kissed Tony and sounded as compliant as she could muster. “Thank you, I would really like to see Courtney and Sue.” Claire wanted to move away from him, to the far side of the king-sized bed, or better yet upstairs, but instead she rested her head on his chest. “And I promise my memory is better.”
“I am glad to hear that.” He slowly embraced her shoulder as his voice softened. “I need to be in Phoenix next week. It has been in the seventies there. Perhaps you can join me.”
She nodded her head. “Thank you, that would be nice.” They fell asleep.
The next day, using Tony’s iPhone, Claire was allowed to call both Courtney and Sue. She didn’t utilize the speaker phone, and although present Tony didn’t question the content. Both of the ladies wanted to catch up and hear all about married life. Claire said she would