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Edited on 03/20/2022, including revisions and corrections, no changes about the story.
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On Sunday morning, when I woke up, she wasn't in the bed. I left the room to see that she was in the living room. She was sitting and probably was thinking of the latest events. I sat beside her and wanted to learn what happened and to clear some troubling parts on my mind. I said "What are you thinking?"
She looked at me but didn't answer.
"I am troubled about last night. Please tell me what the hell that was about."
She turned her head away and didn't answer.
"Amy, I need to know what's going on."
She said "Nothing that you need to worry about."
She wasn't there to decide what is qualified for me to worry about or not.
"There were things I cannot unsee, please do not keep me in the dark. I need to know even if it hurts me."
Silence.
I turned my head away from her, tried not to continue pushing but it wasn't possible.
"Amy, you can't decide what's important or not. Tell me everything." I insisted and she started talking.
"What do you want to know? I was drunk. That's all."
"Who is that Mike guy and what's going on?"
"Are you jealous?"
"When you go out with me, everything you do affects me."
"Are you jealous I said." She looked curious.
"Yes."
"How did you feel, tell me."
"I lost it last night, my brain melted when I saw you dancing like that."
"Why didn't you demote me to an 'ex' and leave?"
"You were drunk, I didn't want to leave you like that and end this before learning what that was. I even wasn't sure whether you were aware that it wasn't me or not."
"I was. I knew what was going on."
"Why did you do that? Are you trying to end this? Is this the way you could find?"
"I'm not trying to end this. It's complicated."
"Complicated? That brings us to the Mike subject then."
"Please let it go, I'm sorry about that."
I wanted to stay silent but it wasn't possible.
"Tell me everything, I'm not mad or anything, I want to learn."
"OK, I was with him, as a couple since last year, more than a year. We even got engaged six months ago."
My jaw dropped.
"But you broke up, right?"
"Yes. Kind of." she exhaled.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you really want to know? I never asked about you and your wife."
I said "Yes, I want to know and I didn't make you witness such things with my wife when you're around. Such scenes never could have happened because she's not even here."
"Our relationship was good for the first few months but then it started to get dull. I don't like those vanilla marriages where everyone acts their traditional part. I feel comfortable in certain setups in my relations with people, this is true for every social relationship, not only the romantic ones. I like being in control in the environment I am in and sometimes of the people in my life but I generally don't show that. Did you ever sense such a thing before our thing started?"
"No, never. I still cannot believe your difference between now and then."
"Anyway, the relationship started to be less important for me, I even considered ending it along the way. I was always thinking that he was too over his head giving me suggestions on things I knew better, acting as the leader of us and this made me want to hurt him time to time."
"This is natural, this doesn't require you being..." I couldn't find a right word because she didn't use such a word. Good thing she continued.
"I read books or articles about gender balance, not just on gender equality but also about the lack of the atonement, compensation of centuries of unfair conditions. Being equal does not look satisfactory to me. I'm telling that because this feeling may be one of the reasons of, I am who I am."
"Fair enough, I share your feelings on that."
"See, I don't feel like thanking you for your words. But you probably felt that you deserved a pat on the back, just stating the obvious. That's what the society made to us."
I smiled and felt somewhere in between respecting her and worrying about being in the presence of a mind locked to an idee fixe. But I didn't see anything to object.
"I also read a lot on different people's lifestyles; women establishing their desired respectful status in the relationship or their rule over their partners, partners adjusting to that naturally or in non-consent. Of course, I'm not talking about professional mistresses or products of your porn universe."
Mine? "Why my porn universe? Where did you see me watch one?"
She smirked "Your mind makes you live in a porn, you see legs, nylons, everything can turn you on. And don't tell me that you don't watch porn at home. Especially considering your..." she stopped.