ログインDianeHis smile is triumphant. Our "adventure" is limited to the bridle path bordering the property, a one-kilometer loop of packed earth, surrounded by hedges trimmed to perfection. He has it raked every morning, so that no stone, no branch might threaten my balance.Outside, the air is sharp, heavy with autumn's damp smell. The trees have shed their leaves, their black skeletons silhouetted against a leaden sky. He takes my arm, slips it under his, his hand covering mine. A protective embrace. A gentle taking of possession.— Slowly, my darling. Take your time.We walk. Slowly. Each step is measured. He speaks, in a low, continuous voice. He tells me about his plans for the park, for the baby's room, for education. He speaks of private tutors, foreign languages, chosen sports. He has planned everything, right up to adolescence. His voice is a warm murmur against my ear, a filter between me and the world.I watch our feet moving forward, sid
Time stops.His hand, on my neck, freezes. His eyes, so penetrating, dilate. One second, two. The silence of a cathedral after a collapse.Then, something breaks in him. Not anger. The exact opposite. A tension of a year, of a predator on the alert, of an anxious possessor, dissolves in an instant. His face, usually so controlled, cracks. His mouth parts. His eyes, of such a cold blue, fill with a light I have never seen in them. A light of an intensity almost painful.— What? he whispers.He did not hear. Or he dares not believe.— I'm pregnant, I repeat, a little louder, the words foreign on my tongue.Then, it happens. A tremor runs through his entire large body. His hand leaves my neck and comes to rest, with incredible delicacy, on my stomach. He places it there, as one places a hand on a sacred relic. His fingers spread, covering the flat surface, already seeking a curve, a warmth, a proof.— A child, he breathes. Our child.His voice is unrecognizable. Hoarse, broken by an emot
The day is a fog. I walk, I sit, I stand up again. The housekeeper, a silent woman with a shifting gaze, offers to prepare lunch. I refuse with a shake of my head. I cannot swallow anything. The nausea has become a certainty, an animal crouched in the pit of my stomach.I need to know. I need to be sure. Before him. I need to have one moment, one single moment of truth that is not his.The idea germinates, fragile and desperate. The housekeeper. She goes out. She goes to town for the shopping. I have never spoken to her, except for murmured politenesses. But today…I wait for her in the entrance, when she passes with her coat. She startles when she sees me there, standing, like an apparition.— Madame… are you alright?My voice, when it comes out, is a hoarse thread.— I… I need something. From town.Her gaze lowers, wary. She knows the rules. She is paid to know them.— Mr. Delarive said that…— It's for a feminine emergency, I interrupt, my cheeks burning with shame and despair. Ple
I think of the woman I was. Her memory is blurry, like a distant dream. A creature of fire and pride, reduced to ashes.Under the arm that holds me tight, under the weight of routine and possession, something inside me has fallen asleep. Not healed. Asleep. Buried under layers of resignation and familiar sensations.I close my eyes. I feel the rhythm of his heart against my back. A dull, constant drum. The beat of time in this new life.And, in a dark corner of my soul, a small voice, growing fainter, wonders if this is what love is. If this is what it is to be a wife. If this stagnant calm, this suffocating security, this total possession, if this is not, ultimately, what I always secretly wanted.The thought is so horrible, so convenient, that I chase it away. I focus on the warmth of his body against mine. On the fatigue finally spreading through my limbs.Tomorrow, there will be another day. Another cycle. Another night.I fall asleep.DianeSpring had been a season of rain and mu
DianeHe sits on the edge of the bed and draws me between his legs. He unbuckles his belt, slides his pants down, freeing himself unhurriedly. Then his hands settle on my hips. He draws me towards him. I place my hands on his shoulders for balance. It is a dance we have rehearsed. A choreography of imposed intimacy.When he enters me, it is without violence. A gentle, deep taking of possession. I hold my breath. My nails dig into the fabric of his shirt. He looks up at me, his hands firmly anchored on my hips, guiding me in a slow back-and-forth motion.— Look at me, he murmurs.I obey. I look down at his face. His features are taut with contained pleasure. His eyes do not leave me. They drink in every expression on my face. Concentration. Resignation. And, sometimes, that furtive, shameful glimmer of physical pleasure that ignites deep within, where my will has no hold.He knows my body better than I do. He knows exactly the angle, the depth, the rhythm. He knows when to slow down, w
DianeTwo months. Summer burned the hills to ochre and gave way to a dry, windy autumn. Time has passed not in days, but in cycles, in rituals.My body knows his. His hands. The weight of his gaze when he enters a room. The intonation of his voice when he says my name, in the evening, from the threshold of our bedroom—our bedroom. He no longer says "the bedroom." The possessive has become a fact, a stone in the foundation of this world.I am sitting at the vanity, the one he had installed in the first month. A piece of antique mahogany furniture, with a large three-panel mirror. I am brushing my hair. Fifty brush strokes, every evening. A routine he appreciates. He likes to see me do it. He says it makes me serene. I look at my reflection in the glass. The face is paler, the features smoother, as if polished by constant wear. The eyes have lost that flame of acute panic. They are calm. Deep. A dormant lake under a winter sky.I am wear







