"I know." I pressed my forehead against my knees. "And I still love Drake. I want to be with him. He's just not the same guy I dated. The guy I married."
"But Daphne, this can't all be because he met Jimmy," Becca said. "He had already started to change last winter after your wedding. Back when he wanted the collaring ceremony. Not that the ceremony was wrong, but his mindset about it was off. Very selfish. It wasn't like him, then, even. Something started him down this path to destruction. Meeting Jimmy was just a shove further down that road."
"Was anything going on with his job last year?" Malcolm asked.
I looked up to see him running his fingers through his hair. Shaking his head as if in disbelief. I could understand why it was perplexing to him and Becca, and they knew him longer than I did.
"Was there anything at all that would explain his irrational behavior?" he continued. "You decided to move quite suddenly."
I hugged my knees tighter. "He just came home from work one day and said he got the promotion. We decided to wait until after the wedding to make the move. But we had talked for months about the collaring ceremony. We just weren't sure when to have it. The move pushed up the date because he insisted you be there, Becca. I'm sorry it turned out the way it had. But honestly, if I had a kinky sister, I would have wanted her there to witness it. Despite the circumstances, it was a very important day for us. I'm sorry it turned out like it did."
"I know." Becca sniffled again, and Malcolm moved from the ottoman to sit on the other side of her.
Everyone was silent for a few minutes when Becca spoke again. "Daphne? How controlling is my brother? You said these past two months he wouldn't let you work. Do you get to sleep in his bed with him? Wear clothes? Have access to money?"
My cheeks were warm again as I stared across the room at the empty fireplace. "He doesn't treat me like an object."
Darryl snorted softly, and I shot him a dirty look.
"Yes, we share a bed. We're married. And I get to wear whatever I want unless we're in a scene. He gives me a weekly cash allowance to buy us groceries and incidentals. I take the bus since we only have one car. I have a license, but I've never owned a vehicle myself. I go to the gym a couple of times a week. But since I don't have any friends, I usually stay at home otherwise. Especially now that I'm not working, either. Whenever I do go out socially, it's with him."
"How did you pay for your plane ticket?" Darryl asked.
"I had figured out the code for the safe and grabbed my passport before I left this morning. I hadn't thought about money until I saw his emergency credit card for work in there, too. So I took it. As well as a large envelope with two cards," I looked up at Becca before shifting my gaze to Malcolm, "and a couple of short letters. The hand-written kind."
"So he did get my Christmas and birthday cards!" Becca closed her eyes for a moment. Then she turned to her husband. "Wait, what letters?"
Malcolm sighed. "I tried to get him to reconcile. To let him know we still cared. He never responded."
"I didn't know you'd sent anything." I swallowed heavily, the lump in my throat making the action a little painful. A fresh tear slipped down my cheek when I blinked. "I thought you'd cut us off."
Becca's voice seemed strained as she clutched my hand. "Never! I didn't want you to go. We had our differences. But that didn't mean I wanted you out of our lives. Even if you were thousands of miles away, I wanted to keep in touch. I couldn't call him though. It was too hard. I tried you, once..."
I shook my head, feeling more miserable by the minute. "I lost my phone during the move. He bought me a new one...with a new number. Now I wonder if it was intentional. What other signs did I miss?"
"We all missed them," Malcolm said.
"There was also a copy of your wedding announcement in the envelope. I didn't see it until I was on the plane. It was in a smaller envelope that had a Delaware address. I knew you were engaged. I saw your ring back in March." I punched my fist into the arm of the couch, thankful for the padding. "I can't believe he knew you were married, and he didn't tell me! That you'd moved!"
"I'm sorry I didn't try harder," Becca said. "I should have insisted you guys come to the wedding. I had no idea he was hiding stuff from you."
"It's my fault, too." My legs were cramping up, so I lowered them and adjusted my position again. "I should have reached out. I should have known you didn't hate us."
"I can understand why this would all be disturbing," Darryl said. "As it should be. But I'm just curious. You said Drake has been acting like this for months—even with the realization Jimmy was behind part of it. And last night was no doubt traumatizing. But why would you suddenly want to make a break?"
I hadn't wanted to reveal it yet, but the opportune moment had presented itself. It compelled me to release the final secret. I covered my eyes and blurted out, "I'm pregnant!"
"Daphne!" Becca yanked me into her arms as tears coated my cheeks. I wasn't sure if they were mine or hers or a combination of both. She held me out from her for a moment and then pulled me back against her. "I'm going to be an aunt!"
"Yeah,
