Promised wedding

I was kept as a trophy wife for ten years. He never gave me the wedding he promised, not even before I died. Then I woke up, back ten years ago. To avoid that nightmare, the first thing I did was find his future nemesis. Back then, he was just a struggling mechanic, dirt poor. I slammed my debit card on the table. "Marry me? All my paycheck is yours after we tie the knot." He gritted his teeth. "Three grand a month, and you've got a deal."

1.

I proposed to Jake. He looked at me, cigarette dangling from his lips. "What do you see in me?" I thought for a moment. "You're hot?" A scoff made me blush. I pushed on, "So, is that a yes?" He stared, like he could see right through me. I held his gaze, hoping he'd see my sincerity. Finally, he grinned. "A wife practically throwing herself at me? Why not?"

Just like that, I was married. The second day after I came back. Clutching the marriage certificate, it still felt surreal. I'd met Jake in my previous life. It was during my seventh year of being locked up by Ashton. I’d escaped the mansion with nothing but the clothes on my back. I ran into Jake on the street. By then, he was a successful entrepreneur, sharply dressed, with an aura of "don't mess with me." I begged him to help. He arranged a place for me to stay, and a plane ticket out of town. But Ashton found me.

Not wanting to dwell on the past, I looked up at Jake. "Where to now?" "Take you home." I paused. "Aren't we… married?" "So?" "So, aren't you going to… take me home?"

2.

Jake lived in a pre-construction condo complex. The building wasn't even finished. Construction workers milled around everywhere. "I used to lay bricks here. Got a deal with the foreman. Crashing here till it's ready, saves on rent." He must have seen the question in my eyes. The apartment was raw, industrial chic. Empty except for a cot. The bathroom didn’t even have a toilet, just a faucet for a shower. Jake looked at me. "Second thoughts? You can still run." "No regrets." I put down my bag. "We're sharing this tonight, right? It's a little small." Jake’s eyes narrowed. "It'll do."

That night, I lay on Jake's cot. He'd spread some newspapers on the floor for himself. There were no curtains, and the moonlight streamed in. "Jake, are you asleep?" "Yeah." Worried he'd catch a cold, I shifted over. "Want to come up?" The cot was small, but we could squeeze. After a few seconds, he replied, "If I come up there, you won’t be getting any sleep." I clutched the blanket. "I don't mind." The moment the words left my mouth, Jake was on me like a wild animal. I flinched, turning my head away. He got off, a mocking look on his face in the moonlight. "Don't say things you don't mean. I'm a simple guy. I take things literally." He started to lie back down on the newspapers. Seeing his intent, I grabbed his shirt, my fingers tracing the lines of his body. He shivered, his eyes darkening. "I mean it," I whispered, and to prove my point, I ran my fingers lightly over his abs. His voice ...