Rule #1 ()

There was to be a proper first “date” between them, set two weeks from the day of that phone call. He would set the time and he would set the place. If there was some pre-existing plan that might get in the way of her attendance, she was going to cancel it. Her schedule mattered little in the face of his whims. That was where he wanted her so that was where she'd be.

Making this complicated situation more complicated, he was strict about what she could could communicate with you. It would be easier to help prepare if you could actually look at the messages he sent her. To him, that was a no-go. One of his first commands was that messages between them were to remain private. She couldn’t show you what they said. She couldn’t even tell you about it without his permission.{if Bully = true}

(Bully) He justified this rule saying that otherwise Kaori would just “run off and tell the teacher”. Funny.{endif}

“We could, I don’t know, try to cheat on that rule? Like, if I told you about one of the messages it’s not like he would find out about it, right?”

The hopeful thought ended in a defeated sigh.

“It might be too risky though…what if I, like, told you something. Then, he discovered it later? I’m not being paranoid, right? I mean, he went all that way to **** me. What if he’s even, you know, listening in right now somehow? I feel like I’m going crazy…”

You and your wife spent several hours talking it through. You agreed it was probably safe to cheat here and there. However, the risks of defiance were very costly. He hadn’t held back at all when he’d declared how upset disobedience would make him. The only way to keep her safe was to accept being kept out of the loop.

Though, you didn’t forget the sad, lost look in her eyes when you’d agreed on that. You were the only other person who she could have possibly talked to about all this with. Now, she'd have no one to commiserate with.