It was morning, and Jeremy lay in bed, sighing with relief. “What a night of sweetness!” he declared to himself. What an incredible night of passion he and his wife had shared! Exactly the way it was supposed to be.

“Is that my incredible husband talking over there?” Aurelia’s voice called from the bathroom.

Jeremy smirked. “Yes it is!” he responded.

She then appeared at the bathroom door, wrapped in the silk morning gown he loved so much. “Hey, powerman!”

“Hey, delicious!”

She then walked up to him, that good old giddy smirk on her face. “What would you like for breakfast, my king?” she asked slyly.

He chuckled. He knew exactly what to ask. “What you wanna prepare for me?”

“Anything your heart desires, my sovereign emperor.”

He fell on the bed, laughing.

This was her language any time he gave her a night to remember. Having experienced it over the past decade, it never got boring. He loved seeing her giddy and excited after a good serving of love.

“Okay then, I guess scrambled eggs, sausages and some bread will do.”

“You sure it’s enough to replace all that energy you spent last night?”

He snickered. “It will do for now.”

“Okay then.” She walked towards the door, then briefly turned to him. “In case you want anything else, let me know, and I’ll do it for you. The way I’m feeling right now, I’d slaughter a cow for you if you asked me to!”

With a wink, she exited the room.

Laughing, Jeremy stretched and sat up on his bed. “Damn oh damn, that woman is sustenance to my soul!” he remarked.

Getting up to go brush his teeth, the relief in his bosom was blissful to feel. He might have messed up with that strange girl, but at least he hadn’t dug any major holes for himself. She didn’t have his number, she didn’t know where he lived… she didn’t even know his name. And she lived far away in Ada, so there was very little chance they’d be crossing paths.

“She’s history,” he declared to himself, standing in front of the bathroom mirror. “A terrible part of history, but history nonetheless. It’s all about the woman I married ten years ago. Always has been, and always will be.”

***

Later that morning, standing before a tidied up living room, Jeremy patted his sons, each on one side of him, on the back. With Aurelia at the market to do her Saturday shopping, he and the young ones took up the responsibility of cleaning up the house. And as he observed the work done, he was pretty satisfied. It felt good to be training Marcel and Terry to be proactive about keeping the house clean and not rely on their mother to do it all.

“Great job, boys! Looks good. Let’s take a break before we tackle the kitchen.”

As the boys moved to the dining table and settled down with some juice and a few cookies, Jeremy found himself succumbing to the heaviness of that breakfast Aurelia had prepared earlier. Still starstruck by last night, she added quite a few more food items to his initial request, which he gladly accepted. Now he could feel some sleepiness taking over.

“I think I need a quick rest, boys. You keep enjoying your snacks, and I’ll be right here,” Jeremy called out to the boys before stretching out on the sofa.

“Okay, Daddy.”

Lying down, he closed his eyes as sleep briefly took over…

He found himself standing in a dimly lit corridor, with walls adorned with faded wallpaper that seemed to pulsate with a strange energy. The air was thick with an otherworldly tension that suggested an unsettling presence was nearby.

“Where the hell am I?” he wondered, shivering as he contemplated whether to move down the corridor or not. While he hesitated, a soft, haunting melody echoed through the corridor, sending shivers down his spine.

“I don’t think it’ll be a good idea to move from here. I probably should just…”

He stopped once he saw her.

A petite-looking woman with long, jet-black hair that concealed her face.

His heart started pumping. “Where did she come from?” he whispered. He hadn’t seen her walk out of the dark or anything; she just appeared there.

She just stood there, saying absolutely nothing. Just breathing in and out quietly.

Jeremy looked around, unsure of whether to turn and run or speed past her-

“You’re not going anywhere.”

His eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he sharply drew his breath in. Was she reading his mind?

“You thought you could escape, couldn’t you? No chance. You’re mine, forever.”

A terrifying chill ran down his spine.

“You are mine… forever…”

He sprung up from the couch, startled by what he had just experienced. “Christ, what was that all about?” he muttered as he rubbed his eyes. He barely had dreams like this, and that was quite unsettling.

“Daddy, is it time?”

Turning to the dining room in the direction of Marcel, he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. “Nah, give me… give me five more minutes,” he murmured. “Then we’ll go deal with the kitchen.

“Okay, Daddy.”

He shook his head, the details of the dream suddenly fading away.

“Ugh, must be the food I ate. Making me dream weird stuff.”

***

Jeremy found himself in the dimly lit corridor yet again. The air was thick with an unsettling tension. This time, he moved down the shadowy corridor, wondering what was ahead of him.

“What is this?” he asked aloud, confusion enveloping him. “Where am I? Why do I keep coming back here-“

As Jeremy turned a corner, the atmosphere grew even more oppressive. A claustrophobic tension began to press on him, forcing him to take quicker breaths than usual.

With his eyes beginning to bulge and his chest tightening as the walls felt like they were about to crush him, a figure emerged from the darkness.

The same figure he saw earlier. Only that this time, he could see her face.

Aside her eyes which glowed an unnatural shade of crimson, he slowly began to recognize her.

And he placed a hand over his mouth in shock.

It was the girl he had that one night stand with!

She drew closer to him, her features slowly contorting into a grotesque visage, a fusion of beauty and horror that made his stomach hurl. Her crimson eyes terrifying to look into, she hissed at him and reached out with spectral fingers, icy to the touch, threatening to scratch him.

“You’re never getting rid of me! You are mine! Do you hear me?”

Jumping back to avoid her touch, Jeremy felt terror pulsate through his veins. “Oh God! She’s gonna kill me!” he shrieked, turning to run back. He had no idea why she looked so ghastly, but the last thing he needed was an explanation.

Turning to run, however, he felt an external force shove him over, and he slipped and fell. He turned over and saw the distorted figure before him, hissing with all the fury it could muster as it stared him down.

Trembling violently, Jeremy tried to get up, yet could not muster the strength to do so. It was like he was stuck. And this frightening being was now screaming at him with a rabid madness.

“YOU CAN NEVER RUN AWAY FROM ME! YOU BELONG TO ME! YOU ARE MINE! DO YOU HEAR ME, MORTAL?”

“Why are you saying this? What do you want??” he wailed miserably.

“YOU ARE MINEEEEE! DO YOU HEAR ME, MORTAL? YOU ARE MIIIINNNEEEE!!!”

“Aaaghh!”

With a scream, Jeremy sprang up from bed, waking up Aurelia in the process. His heart pounding, he gasped for breath.

“Baby? Are you alright? What’s wrong?” Aurelia asked, her hand on his chest.

His breathing stabilizing slowly, he looked at her. “N-n-nightmare,” he stammered. “It was a nightmare. A horrible, horrible nightmare…”

She simply wrapped her arms around him. “It’s okay, my love, it’s okay,” she whispered. “Take it easy, alright? Take it easy. I’m here. I’m here for you.”

As he calmed down externally, his brain could not calm down.

That was quite a vivid nightmare, and he knew what he had seen. That strange girl he slept with was undoubtedly the one in the dream, and she seemed to be claiming he belonged to her.

But how? Why was she saying that? Why would she say that?

Was it really her in the first place? Could this be real at all?

It’s started ooo! She’s coming after him. Boy, this is gonna be chilling…