I dreaded what answer she would give me, but I felt the need to address this change. Possibly, there was something I could do to have things go back to the way they had been.
One Saturday afternoon, I went to her sanctuary and knocked. I waited for what felt like an hour, until I heard her unlock the door, making me flinch, then opened it. There stood Dreya, cool and detached in a way that had become the new norm. I did not like it one bit.
“May I come in?” She had once said I could come in anytime to work while she read, and I hoped that general invitation was still on the table.
She stepped back allowing me in. I took that as a good sign.
She stood in the middle of the room, her arms crossed. I closed the door to ensure privacy for this conversation.
Her tone came out calm and detached. “Yes?”
That was all she said.
I looked at my blood wife, the change in he posture, her tone, her expressions. I wasn’t sure how to approach this topic with her. I rubbed the back of my neck, hoping to relieve some of the tension there, but it wasn’t working one bit. I looked back up at Dreya, who was simply standing there, waiting.
“You seem different somehow.”
“Oh?Do I?”
“You have not been acting like you did when you first came here. Why is that?” I tried to sound concerned, not anxious.
She replied in a flat tone, “I am simply doing what a blood match does.”
“What does that mean, Dreya?” I felt frustrated.
“Well, about a month ago, I overheard you talking to someone and explaining what this,” she pointed back and forth between us, “really was to you. That I am merely here for my blood match.”
I flinched. “You weren’t meant to hear that.”
She shrugged. “I’m glad I did. Made me realize I had been wasting my time hoping for a true husband, and not just someone who needed me for my blood.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry about what you heard….”
She cut me off. “I’m not. I will be here for the blood, and nothing more. Just as you wanted it.”
I shook my head vehemently. “No, no that’s not what I want. I want us to go back to how we were.”
“Oh. You mean how you practically ignored me, shut me down whenever I would ask you about your day, try to spend time with you?” I felt like she had knocked the wind out of me. “Or how the only time you seem to want anything to do with me is in bed?”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, but she continued talking.
“Since we are discussing this topic now,” she spoke with such a formal tone. “I think it would be good for us to discuss a mistress.”
I felt like she had slapped me. “A what?”
She shrugged. “A mistress. When you want a mistress, do let me know. But once that occurs, I will no longer have sex with you.”
Again I felt like I had been slapped hard.
I heaved out a loud breath. “I do not plan on ever having a mistress.”
“Hmmmm. Well, that is your prerogative. But at some point you may get bored with this,” she waved her hand between us.
She was being very matter-of-fact about this topic, making me uneasy.
“My family values loyalty.” That made me pause. “Doesn’t yours?”
Dreya shrugged, looking bored. “I do not know what goes on between my parents. I have suspected my father of having a mistress as he is often gone from the home, but that is business I’d rather not know of. Besides, I assumed it was normal for allmen to have mistresses, based on what I had heard among the house staff.”
