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He certainly doesn’t look at me as if I’m a ticking bomb that’s nearing the explosion point.
Sometimes, the atmosphere is so comfortable, I forget that I have this chronic psychosis that could manifest itself in the worst scenarios possible.
Short of our usual visits to Dr. Blaine, he doesn’t ask about the pills and never brings up any of the conversations we have in her office. It’s become so habitual that I almost believe I’m normal.
Almost.
Mama slides her hand around my shoulder and squeezes me closer to her. “If there’s anything you want to tell me, I’m all ears, hon.”
“It’s nothing I can’t take care of. Don’t worry.”
“Is Eli giving you a hard time?”
“I’m the one doing that. I mess with him as if it’s an Olympic sport.”
“And how does he react to that?”
“Silence mostly. Sometimes he’ll glower or pinch the bridge of his nose.” I stop before I say he punishes me with my arse in the air.
I didn’t think I liked spanking with sex until my enigma of a husband trained me to be wet just by hearing the words, “Behave.” “Make no mistake, if I see you smiling at others, I’ll take it out on your arse, beautiful.” Or, “You’re just begging to be punished, Mrs. King.”
“Bitch, please,” Ari says. “He can’t have the goddess without some drama. He should be thankful, if you ask me. And if he’s not, we can go with my glorious assassination plot.”
“Stop threatening your brother-in-law with murder,” Mama says even as she smiles.
“Only if he treats my sister right. I take no prisoners.”
“Oh really?” I cross my arms. “Heard he’s providing you with constant intel on Remi.”
“Asidefrom that.” She mirrors my stance with a sneaky smile. “He’s still my brother-in-law and family. Compromises, Ava. Have you heard of them? Word on the street is they’re good for marriage. Right, Mama?”
She laughs but nods at me. “They are for sure. There’s no such thing as a harmonious marriage without compromise.”
“What if I’m compromising on things I don’t want to compromise on?” I ask in a low voice.
“Have you tried communicating that?”
“Eli isn’t the communicative type. He’s worse than an army general who expects all his orders to be met.”
“Are they always met?”
“Hell no. I defy him for fun, like, eighty percent of the time.”
“Does he retaliate?”
I pause, thinking of all the times he just narrows his eyes, shakes his head, then walks away. “Not really.”
“Then there’s compromise from his side. Just because you fail to see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
“But he’s infuriating, Mama.”
“You still went to hell and back to marry him.”
I roll my bottom lip between my teeth as I meet Ari’s gaze and she shakes her head. She doesn’t want me to bring up the fact that my insistence to marry Eli has brought trouble for our parents. I apologized after I heard about that, but Mama said there was nothing to be sorry for while Papa remained silent.
“Honestly, I didn’t understand why you were so insistent on it back then.”
“Then why did you help me, Mama?”
