Grey Clouds On The Horizon

Our New Normal

Ana's POV

I awoke disoriented, as I often did when taking mid day naps, and slowly made my way into the living area of the house just in time to watch Christian chase a sobbing Emilia through the great room and give up on perusing her when her hand hit the stair railing.

"What happened, Christian? Em was doing fine just a couple of hours ago and now she's balling her eyes out." I rubbed my eyes sleepily and watched the puffy eyed girl take small bounds up the stairs until she disappeared down the hall.

My husband shrugged his shoulders. "Emilia is fine, she's a good sport."

I rolled my eyes and watched his twitching palm dig deeper in his pocket. "Then why is she crying?"

"We talked, I established her submission and then I spanked her for good measure." Christian paced towards the window and looked outside for a moment before turning back to me. His expression was at peace, as if nothing odd has just occurred and he was unconcerned with the pain he'd caused.

"You did what?" I saw red and had to remember that my bump would be a disadvantage if I chose to tackle my husband right then and there. "Why the hell would you spank her? She just got home a few hours ago. I don't even think Em has gotten a chance to unpack any of her things."

Christian raked his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "Don't fight me on this one Anastasia."

"Oh I will fight you on this one until I get an answer that I'm happy with!" My voice rose and I watched the way my husband's eyes darkened. "Now tell me why the hell you'd do this to her because if this happened to me then I would be out that door in an instant."

"That's the point."

I pursed my lips at his poorly disguised effort to confuse or belittle me. "What's the point? And don't say that like it's so obvious."

He reached out and took on of my hands, kissing my knuckles and resting it on his cheek. "You're a different person than Emilia. If I had done that to you then you would leave. It would be a violation of our trust and our agreement because I'm your husband and you're my wife. Things are different with Emilia. She needs discipline to feel safe and loved. What happened in there was far more painful for me than it was for her but it had to get done. Otherwise Emmy would be up night after night wondering where she and I stood. Am I her dominant? Am I only the father of her child? Are she and I something more? And that would be much more harmful to her than any swat to the bottom ever could be."

His words flew in front of my face like a swarm of gnats and I wanted to swat them back to read the blurred sentences. "I don't understand."

"Maybe I'm not explaining it correctly." Christian gestured for me to sit down and joined me on the sectional. "Em needs to know where she stands otherwise she'll assume that it's on unstable ground or this is somehow a temporary arrangement. My words before this meant nothing to her, I assure you. That's not how Miss Stewart communicates."

My mind swam with confusion and I wished that it would all come into focus. "Why does it have to be like this? Can't you just try to treat her like an equal partner? She seems like a reasonable person and she would make it work."

Christian rose and eyebrow. "I'd never describe her as reasonable, Anastasia. Logical, maybe but Em knows what she wants and she wants to be dominated. I'm confident she'd risk her life to do so and has before. So you would be doing both her, yourself and me a favor by leaving this alone. Do you understand?"

My jaw hit the floor. "Do I understand? I'm not your daughter or your sub, Christian! I am your wife so do not talk to me like I'm a naive child."

He pursed his lips and shook his head with doubt. "I meant do you understand what's at risk? Do you have any grasp what could happen if I don't make this work with her? Can you imagine what she might get herself into trying to find guidance if I won't offer it here at home?"