“It’s about time the two of you woke up,” Vivian said in the thickest drawl imaginable as Pope and I entered the kitchen. “But I guess after a long night, it’s to be expected.” She giggled as she returned her attention to wiping down the counters.

Vivian wore a lace-trimmed apron over her floral dress, accentuated with a pearl necklace. She had her classic pantyhose and black heels on. Despite the fact that I was wearing the simple blue dress she’d purchased for me, her proper and elegant attire made me feel underdressed. When I had gone to my room to get ready, the only clothes I could find were dresses or skirts. There wasn’t a single pair of pants to be found. I picked the one dress hanging in the closet that seemed casual. Everything else made me feel as if I were about to attend an English tea. Even my undergarments were far too delicate and lacy for my taste. Luckily, she bought me shoes, one pair being simple black flats. I was not a wearer of heels. Long hours on my feet at the diner made the need for heels nonexistent in my life.

“But you do look lovely today, Demi. So very lovely.” She stopped scrubbing and glanced at Pope. “Do you both need breakfast? I saw that the coffee had been made and the breakfast tray gone. Breakfast in bed?”

Pope nodded. “Yes. On the deck. We watched the deer.” He seemed so mechanical in his speech. It was obvious that he struggled speaking to his mother when she was acting like Vivian.

“How lovely. I so enjoy that family of deer.” She looked at me. “I was thinking of teaching you how to make my great-great-great grandmother’s famous peach cobbler. Pope loves this dessert, and the family recipe should remain alive for the next generations to come.”

I nodded and walked over to where a second apron hung over the back of a kitchen chair. “That sounds good.”

Pope studied me for several seconds. “I’m going to go into the shed and finish a project, if that’s all right with you? Clear my head a bit.”

I nodded and gave him a reassuring smile.

Vivian also piped in. “You go on, son. This is women’s work in here. We’ll get lunch prepared and call you when it’s ready.”

Jesus. This was my life. Cooking in a kitchen all day with an insane elderly woman caught in a fucked up version of Betty Crocker.

The minute Pope stepped outside, Vivian turned to me. She appeared excited as she clapped her hands together. “Oh, child! You did so good last night. So good indeed. I underestimated your skills. You certainly can suck cock with the best of them. It must be all the pornography these days. When I first had to take a cock in my mouth, I didn’t know the first thing to do. I actually thought you had to suck it like you would fluid from a straw. Can you imagine I thought such a thing? I was simply hopeless. It took me a lot of tries until I finally felt I got it right. But not you! You are a natural at giving head, child.” She giggled for a moment before adding, “You couldn’t see the expression in Pope’s eyes, but I could. The video doesn’t lie. That boy has it bad for you. I knew he would. I simply knew it!”

The thought of Vivian watching me suck off Pope made me sick. Vomit swirled in my throat, and I worried that I would throw up over the clean kitchen floor.

“It’s made me rethink my plan, however. We have to keep Pope hooked. You obviously don’t have to seduce him into liking you. He clearly already does. So, now we have to move on to the second level. Love.”

“Have you heard from Richard today?” I asked as I tied the apron in the back of me.

“No. Why should I?”

“Is Maria all right?”

“Why wouldn’t she be?”

I nodded and gave her a weak smile. I didn’t want to upset Vivian by pushing for any more information that she noticeably didn’t want to offer to me at this time. “Should we begin on the cobbler?”

“Yes, yes, we will. Plenty of time for all of that. But first, I have to inspect you.”

“What?” I asked as I took a few steps backwards.

“Your kitty, child. I have to check your kitty and make sure it is nice and smooth. Your anus as well.”

“No,” I said as I continued to walk backwards, shaking my head. “No.”

Her expression grew firm. “Now, child. No need for hysterics. It’s to make sure you don’t forget while you are in the training phase of everything. Eventually, cleansing your bottom hole and shaving daily will become second nature, but until then, it’s my duty as your future momma-in-law to help ensure it.”

The thought of her sticking her finger in my ass again, and rubbing the flesh of my pussy with her frail and wrinkled hand every single day I remained in captivity was enough for me to snap. Maybe it wasn’t smart, but I could no longer take another minute of the insanity. “Get the fuck away from me!”

Her eyes widened. “What a foul mouth. A good wife does not speak with such language. Maybe I should soap that mouth of yours to teach you a lesson.”

Warning bells went off in my ears knowing she was serious. Dead fucking serious. “You can’t do this to me. I’ve been doing everything you’ve asked. But this is too much. Too much!” I yelled.

“Did you cleanse?” she asked as she crossed her arms with an eyebrow raised. “Well, did you?”

I hadn’t, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. “It doesn’t matter. This is absurd!” I screamed my words, feeling as if something had been unlocked from deep inside, and my ability to listen to reason was gone. “Stay away from me! You have lost your fucking mind. You need to be locked up.”

“That is enough,” Vivian snapped. She reached for my arm and took hold. Her unbelievable strength surprised me as she tugged me to the sink. “We are going to wash that filth right out of your mouth! Right out of it!”

“Let go of me!” I tried to break free from her grasp, but her impossible hold remained. “Let go now!”

Thoughts of survival flooded my mind. Should I punch her? Claw at her eyes?

“A good wife knows how to speak like a lady. Curse words are never tolerated. A thorough mouth soaping will do you good.”

“Stop!” I said as she stretched her arm to turn the water on at the sink, pulling me closer. “I’m not going to allow this.”

“You don’t have a choice, child. A good wife has to be disciplined often until she learns submission. To be a submissive wife takes a lot of practice and a lot of consequence. Submission is not something you are born with. Heavens no. And the youngsters of today require more training than women of my day. The whole feminist belief and all. But don’t worry. I will lay down a heavy hand and give you the discipline you need. A dutiful wife is a submissive wife, and you will learn. You will learn indeed.”

I struggled to break free from her grasp, only to have her vise-like grip tighten even more.

The kitchen door flew open. “What the hell is going on in here?” boomed Pope as he charged to where Vivian and I struggled, pulling me away from her and into his arms. I clung to his chest, desperate for any sign of sanity. The warmth and familiarity of his embrace gave me a security that saved me from shattering into a million pieces of crazy.

“You better take that girl in hand right now!” Vivian walked over to the knife block, pulled out a butcher knife, and slammed the blade into the nearby cutting board with a force that seemed shocking coming from such a frail hand. “If you let her walk all over you, she’ll lose respect for you. A man must be a man!”

“Momma…” Pope walked toward her cautiously, leaving me trembling without the comfort of his arms to protect me any longer. “Let’s all take a deep breath.”

Vivian tugged the knife free and drove it down into the cutting board again, and then again, and then again. “That girl has the mouth of a sailor. A good wife does not behave or speak in such a way! It’s scandalous.” She drove the butcher knife into the wood with more force than all the times before. “Inexcusable. A punishment is in order.”

“Momma—”

“Don’t ‘Momma’ me.” She pulled the knife out of the board and waved it in front of her as she spoke. “There is a time in every marriage when a man has to show his woman who is boss. It may not be easy, but necessary.”

“All right, Momma. I’ll take care of it.” Pope said the words in the calmest voice with his hands up in a peaceful and soothing manner. “You are right. Just put down the knife.”

Vivian froze and glanced over at where I still stood, completely stunned. “If you don’t punish her, Pope, then I will. Or shall I say, Richard will.”

The blood in my veins froze. Maria…

“There’s no need to get Richard involved,” Pope continued calmly as he took hold of the knife in his mother’s hand. “I will take care of it. Don’t you worry.”

“You’ll take that girl in hand?”

He nodded slowly. “Yes, Momma. Whatever you think is best.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and seeing. But I also saw how Pope was able to diffuse a situation that I had not only believed to be out of control, but a situation that I’d believed would end deadly.

“My daddy used to keep a paddle hanging in our kitchen as a reminder of what would happen if we disobeyed him. And it wasn’t simply a warning for us children either. My momma was just as afraid of the sting of that paddle on her backside as the rest of us.” She looked over at me. “I bet Demi has never had a paddle hanging in her kitchen before, nor ever feared the sting of one.”

I didn’t answer, but only stared at her with wide eyes, rendered motionless by shock.

“Which is why she is such a naughty girl. You need to take this woman in hand and teach her a lesson. A lesson she will feel for several days!”

What the hell was Vivian talking about? Did she want Pope to beat me?

Pope placed the knife back into the block and then subtly turned it away so it wasn’t as easy for Vivian to impulsively reach for. “All right, why don’t you tell me what happened. Why do you feel that Demi should be punished?”

“Her mouth for one. It’s atrocious. And she is refusing to follow one of my rules.”

“Your rules?” he asked as he glanced at me and then back at Vivian.

“I’m helping her. Guiding her in the ways of a proper wife. I have many years of wisdom to offer. But in order for all my time to not be wasted, it is crucial that she follow every single one of my rules.” She crossed her arms and gave an evil smile in my direction. “It would be such a shame for Maria if Demi were to decide to stop following my rules.”

My heart stopped at her second threat. She was serious, and now because of my outburst, I may have just endangered Maria and her helpless baby.

“Richard is waiting for my check-in very soon. After what just happened, I may have to give him the bad news.”

“No need for that, Momma,” Pope said calmly. “I’ll handle it.”

“How?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to Demi and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Vivian shook her head. “No, not good enough. Your daddy was always too easy on me, and I was able to walk all over him. I already warned Demi what happens when a rule is broken. I already assured her you were a strong man. But, I know that you didn’t have a man in your life teach you how to be a strong and heavy-handed husband. It’s necessary, son. So very necessary. So maybe I should show you how to do it effectively this once.”

“Show me?”

“Yes. On how to spank your soon-to-be wife.”

I was going to be sick. This couldn’t be happening. Was this nightmare really transpiring?

“I think I can figure it out,” Pope said in a near mumble.

“You’ll spank her?” Vivian looked at me and then at Pope skeptically.

He nodded. “Yes. I will take Demi in hand. You are right, Momma. She has to be taught a lesson.”

Vivian smiled. “I’m so glad you see it my way.” She pointed to the chair. “Fine. You sit there and have her bend over your lap. I think her behavior today warrants a bare bottom spanking.”

I felt the blood drain from my face.

Pope nodded, still not looking at me. “I agree. A bare bottom spanking. It’s what a man would do.” Pope’s voice had the mechanical cadence I had begun to realize he used to speak to Vivian when he didn’t mean a single word he was saying. I mean… he had to have not believed a single word he was saying.

“Yes. A bare bottom spanking would be enough to make my call to Richard a far more pleasant one, and provide a far better outcome for sweet Maria.”

“But not here,” Pope said. “I will discipline my fiancée in the privacy of our bedroom. This is an intimate lesson she and I are to share. Not with anyone observing. I’m sure your daddy disciplined your mother in private.”

She nodded. “Yes, my daddy always sent my momma to her room to stand in the corner and wait for him.”

Pope glanced at me and then at his mother with a nod. “Very well. If it worked for my grandfather, then it’ll work for me.” He looked at me with an expression on his face so different from the man who’d shared coffee with me only a short time ago. “Demi, please go to our room and find a corner to stand in. I will be in there shortly.”

“Pope—”

“Demi,” he interrupted. “Did you not hear my mother?”

I could hear the warning in his voice. Everything was so out of control, but I had heard his mother. Vivian had once again threatened Maria if I didn’t follow her dictate. I had no choice but to follow her rules or there would be a serious price to pay. Far worse than being spanked like an errant child. I somehow found the ability to make my feet move, and I took the slow steps to Pope’s bedroom—our bedroom.

“Wait for one moment,” Vivian said as she walked toward me, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor like tiny bullets meant to kill me.

I froze, terrified at what she would do to me. At least she still didn’t have a knife in her hands, but she had just proven to me how strong she really could be.

She walked to where I stood and gave me a hug, whispering in my ear, “After your punishment, you will go straight to the hallway bathroom and cleanse your anus, and shave your kitty like I expected you to do before this all started. And remember… Momma’s watching. I am always watching.”

A chill ran down my spine as I walked on wobbly knees to the bedroom. I couldn’t even look at Pope as shame and humiliation threatened to suffocate me. This wasn’t really happening. It couldn’t be, and yet it was.