Page 206 of The Professor's Wife

He bent down and delivered a kiss to the top of my head. “No, sweetheart. Just relax today. I’ll sort this out and be back before dinner.”

I quickly said, “Louise is coming with groceries before three.”

He paused, thinking. “I’ll have the alarms down.”

My heart jumped at that. “Okay. I’ll pan fry chicken for you—”

“I really need to go.”

Before I could respond, he was out of the room and down the spiral staircase, his movements fast and aggressive.

A moment later, the door slammed shut, and I was alone.

I roamed the house, restless and agitated. I passed the laundry room repeatedly, wringing my hands together. The alarms were down. If I wanted to make a run for it, I could do it. But it wasn’t fear that stopped me from doing it. That horrible dream sat at the fringes of my mind, messing with me. As a result, I was unusually jumpy. Maybe I was coming down with something because my throat was sore, and I was unusually tired. I couldn’t eat or sit still.

Yes, the alarms were down, but I didn’t make a run for it.

It’s a test. It could be a test.

But the commotion from the office—

I’d never seen Oliver leave like that. What could have had him fleeing in such a hurry? To agree so quickly to turn the alarms off, too? The appointments with his students were always straightforward. I was used to genuine thank-yous from his students, and maybe even some grovelling for extensions on assignments. Never had he appeared so panicked. Something was very wrong, and it had to do with one of them.

Lucy?

It didn’t matter. If he was angry, one wrong move and I was going to eat a fucking pill. If I ran, and he caught me, there was no knowing how long and torturous the punishment would be. When Oliver turned, he was unpredictable.

Louise knocked on the door around 3pm. She helped carry the bags into the kitchen, determined not to let me lift a finger.

“I thought about what you said this morning,” I found myself saying. I was feeling guilty that she was doing all this work while I walked around my house in a pretty fucking dress all day. “I sat alone and cleared my mind and let that dream in.”

She smiled genuinely, teasing, “Was I right then? Were you living in a different reality that didn’t come close to this?”

I turned around to place the cheese in the fridge. “Something like that.”

“Your birth control is in the bag with the Glad bags.”

I froze, my heart crashing to my stomach.

Louise’s smile faltered. Her eyes flicked toward the corner of the kitchen, though I had never told her where the camera was.

I breathed through the horror and quietly replied, “Thank you, Louise.”

She recovered, too, but her face appeared contrite. “Anything for you guys. You’re the best. Honestly. You keep my head floating above water these days, you know?”

I turned around, feeling weak. “You’re a good person, Louise. We’re lucky to have found you.”

She blushed and waved my compliment off, though her demeanour had changed. She eyed the cameras now, appearing thoughtful as we walked back to the front door. “Anyway, I’ll see you again next week?”

I nodded. “Sure thing.”

She left a minute later, and I wanted to fall to the ground and breathe through the panic attack. Instead, aware of the cameras, I continued to unpack the groceries, hoping he wasn’t listening, wasn’t watching, and wouldn’t rewind to this conversation.

By six o’clock, I had made salad, pan-fried chicken with his favorite curry, barbecue and paprika spices, and filled a pitcher with iced tea. I had a light violin instrumental playing in the background. Then, with my hands clasped on the kitchen island, I waited for his arrival.

Waiting.

Always waiting.