There was a short rap at her door. It was already late in the evening and dinner was served hours ago (vegetables, mainly). After, all the wives had retreated to their own rooms to escape Negan. Nora had done the same, trying to follow the lead of the others as much as possible. Slowly but surely she was learning how to behave and what rules to follow, but she was far from understanding the place.

Another impatient knock followed, which prompted Nora to pull on her silk robe as she had already taken off the skintight dress she had on that day. The concrete floor felt cold on her bare feet, but the heels she had been wearing were already beginning to take its toll. Her muscles were aching and her feet hurt like she had been walking for days on end. She wasn't used to this kind of footwear anymore and she longed for her sturdy boots that had served her so well.

Nora opened the door, finding Dwight before her. The scar that covered his cheek reminded her very much of her own and even though she knew she should hate these people, she felt bad for him. Negan was playing a dirty game. Mutilating his face and then marrying his ex-wife. That must have been hard on him.

But then she remembered Dwight was here by choice, just like she was. Did he have some grand plan for killing Negan as well? Was Sherry part of that act? What if… No. She lowered her gaze to the ground. She couldn't trust them. Not yet, anyway.

"Negan wants to see you," he spoke.

Nora adjusted the wrap around her waist and pulled it tighter before nodding slowly. It seemed like she was the lucky one today, but she didn't mind. Her objective was to get closer to him, and closer she was going to get.

She stepped out of her room, closing the door carefully. Dwight placed his hand on her elbow and tightened his fingers before pulling her softly towards Negan's room. Her gaze went from his hand to his eyes. She wasn't going to be dragged around like an infant. She wasn't going to take this.

Before thinking, she took a step aside and yanked her arm away.

"I don't need a fucking escort to see my husband."

Dwight let out a sigh as he bit his lip. "Just come with me."

He was practically begging her not to make a fuss, but Nora didn't want to be treated like she was a child. Perhaps the other wives didn't mind, but she couldn't let this slide. This entire marriage thing was patronizing enough and the only way to salvage some of her pride was to at least have some form of independence. This place wasn't going to break her. Nora couldn't allow it to.

"Don't hold me by my arm like I'm your dog," she scathed.

Dwight hesitated for a moment, his fingers twitching as if he was instructed to take her to Negan and he couldn't disobey the orders given.

A door on the opposite end of the hallway opened. Negan's door.

"What the fuck is going on here?" he ordered before stepping out. He was still fully dressed and his right hand was wrapped around Lucille. She was relieved to find the bat wasn't stained crimson with blood.

Nora took her cue and hurried towards him with Dwight following not much later. As she stood before Negan, she crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised her eyebrows.

"Next time you want to see me you just have to ask."

Before he was able to reply, Nora had already slipped past him into his room. With her back towards him, she waited for him to come to her. When Negan murdered Abraham and Glenn in cold blood, he made clear to them that there were rules he expected them to follow. It was now time to let him know that she wasn't going to abide to all of those rules.

The tension in her muscles disappeared when she heard him chuckling. She didn't yet dare to face him until he closed the door, and as soon as he did she spun on her heel.

"I don't appreciate the escort, Negan. I'm not a child."

He licked his lips as cocked his head. "You know," he then began, completely ignoring her statement. "When I first proposed to you back at Alexandria I was just interested in you because I knew you were with Rick. Marrying his girlfriend? I'd be fucking stupid not to propose."

His body was merely inches away from hers and he had captured her with his eyes.

"But now you're actually my wife? I have to admit you're surprising me Nora."

If it weren't for the constant smile on his lips Nora would've started to grow concerned. She knew that as long as he was smiling she was relatively safe, and luckily for her, Negan loved to smile.

"I didn't think you would defy me so much."

"Let me guess," Nora interrupted. "I'm not like your other wives?"

Negan extended his arm and grabbed her by her waist as he pulled her closer. His fingers felt hot through the fabric of her robe. Her body still shuddered at the contact.

"That's correct."

He was wrong there. Nora was exactly like the other wives. They were all struggling for survival, doing whatever was necessary to stay alive. For them, it meant offering themselves in exchange for protection. Negan was a man of his word, that he had proven. Security was worth a lot in this world. For Nora, surviving meant killing him.

"You'd be surprised how alike we are," she replied, allowing her body to touch his.

Negan placed Lucille against the couch and slid his gloved hand up and down her thigh. Against her wishes, a soft moan escaped from her mouth.

"A little bird told me you are getting bored. Am I not providing enough distraction?" His tone grew darker and his smile disappeared.

"I hardly see you," Nora replied, trying to think about rotting corpses and the lifeless bodies of her friends lying in the dirt. Negan's fingers were still on her skin and she felt her body growing hot. She was fine with having sex with him, but enjoying it wasn't part of the deal. "What am I supposed to do while I wait?"

"I don't know. How about you read a fucking book?"

Nora chuckled. "Your library section isn't that well-stocked. I get that books aren't a priority while scavenging, but you can't expect me to entertain myself with a couple of books. Hell, I had a better selection of books while I was living in a prison."

"The others are fine with it," Negan replied. "You'll adapt."

Their bodies were still touching. The tension between them grew with every second that passed as the room seemed to close in on her. Every conversation with him was a constant battle and while she was dying to get out there to fight, she was tired of fighting this one.

"I don't know where the other wives come from, but I can't sit around doing nothing all day. At Alexandria, and before that, there was so much stuff to be done. I'm not used to this kind of life. I want you to find me a job. I don't care what it is. I'll even work on that fence of walkers if that's what it takes. Anything to get me out of this fucking place."

Negan raised his eyebrows as he shook his head ever so slightly. His grip on her waist firmed. "You'll work out there?"

"I'm experienced. I know I can handle it."

"I don't doubt you can, but you're my wife. I can't have you working those fucking jobs meant for the prisoners. In fact, I can't have you working at all. What message would that send to potential fiancées? Marry Negan and you'll still have to work? Nobody'll sign up for that."

She was losing the argument. A job was out of the question, she realized that now. Her mind was spinning as she was trying to think of something else. While the wives led a comfortable life surrounded in relative luxury, Nora couldn't allow herself to become one of them. If she were to kill Negan she had to gain his complete trust. Killing him was the easy part, escaping was harder, and how the hell was she getting out of here if they wouldn't allow her in, around, or out of the gates?

"Then take me with you," Nora suddenly said. "Take me back to Alexandria."

Negan opened his mouth to protest.

"Just hear me out."

She placed her hands on his chest as she looked down for a moment, gathering her thoughts.

"Rick is undoubtedly still hurting from my betrayal, as will the rest. Take me to him. I'll put on a nice dress so you can parade me round in front of him. I know you want to hurt him and I can guarantee you this will work."

Negan bit his lip as a smile returned on his lips. "Oh, Nora," he replied. "I didn't know you were so cunning. This is cold, even for me. But I cannot deny that it's not a fucking great idea."

He cupped her face with his hand, his thumb softly stroking her skin.

"But, how do I make certain this isn't all a trick to get me to take you back to your people?"

She continually underestimated his ability to see right through her lies. He caught her every single time, and the only way to defeat him was to beat him at his own game.

Nora placed her own hand over his, never breaking eye contact for one moment.

"You have to start to trust me, Negan," she began. "I married you. I am your wife. You want to break Rick, right? Then use me."

"Do you love me?"

Negan had asked that questions several times, and her answer hadn't changed since. Lying came naturally to her, but not on this matter. Love was a rare thing in this world. It needed to be cherished, it needed to be sincere. This marriage was based on mutual gain. As far as Nora was concerned, love would never even play a role.

"I trust you," Nora said. "Is that not enough for now?"

He bit lis lip, diverting his gaze to the ground for a mere moment.

"You want love? You go and see your other wives."

And on that note, Nora broke free and took a step back, heading towards the door. While she was here mostly to serve to Negan's needs, this was still a marriage, and in her books, a marriage was a two way street. If he couldn't give her what she wanted, she wouldn't give him what he needed.

The door was locked. Of course it was. Her heart rate was slowly but surely increasing and she became very aware that Lucille was in the room with them. No one could come in to help her if necessary. Who was the kidding. Even if the door was open no one would come in to save her.

But then Negan started to chuckle.

"Look at that! Our first fight!"

He almost sounded… happy? Delighted, even. Nora ruffled her brows, and with her back towards him she allowed herself to express confusion. She couldn't figure him out. The line between what she was granted to do, and what she wasn't, was so fine that she felt like she was continuously dancing on the edge.

His fingers were on her arm again. Negan's touch was soft, gentle even, and though she wanted nothing more but to get the hell out of here, Nora couldn't help but turn around to face him.

"Come to bed, baby. We'll continue our talk in the morning."

Nora crossed her arms in front of her chest, cocking her head slightly.

"Promise me you'll think about it."

Negan nodded and smiled. "I promise, my dear wife."

"You know when I said I trusted you?" Nora then said, her tone lighter than before. "I take that back."

He leaned forward and kissed her long and slow before retreating back with his signature smile.

"I'll make it up to you."

Nora could take a hint. She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips against his again. His skin smelled faintly of cologne, and it wasn't until now that it dawned on her how clean he always seemed to be.

His fingers found the bow resting on her left hip and pulled it loose, letting her silk robe fall open. She was wearing the most simple set of lingerie she could find in her closet and suddenly grew very aware of it. Making an effort with her appearance proved to be very hard on her, especially now in this world.

Negan didn't seem to mind as he directed his kisses towards her neck. Nora fumbled with his t-shirt, trying to get it off in the meantime.

The second time was better. She still loathed his guts and longed for the moment she would be able to kill him, but knowing she had gotten through the first time made her hopeful that she could do so again.

In fact, Negan was quite a considerate lover. Was this his way of winning her over? His way of proving himself to her that he wasn't a complete psychopath that she believed him to be?

The silence in the Sanctuary was deafening at night. Negan let out a final sigh of pleasure and rolled onto his back besides her. She wanted to pull up the duvet over her body, but decided against it.

"Do you want me to go to my room, or—," Nora asked carefully as she studied the patterns in the ceiling. She had her hands on her stomach, feeling it rise and fall as she tried to get her breathing under control again. "I get it if you want to see the others wives. I'll be fine to leave."

But Negan replied with a firm "No."

He repositioned himself so he faced her. "You can stay here."

Nora nodded. While Negan liked to think all his wives were here by choice, the reality was that they weren't really. The only choice they made was the choice to survive, but none of them truly loved him. Seven wives, and they were all scared of him.

"Why do you have so many wives anyway?" she blurted out now they were on her mind.

"Well, why wouldn't I?"

A grimace formed on his lips as he propped his head on his hand.

"Point taken," Nora replied.

"How are the others treating you?"

His question caught her by surprise and she had to let it sink in before she was able to reply. The wives had been quite cold to her so far. Perhaps they didn't want to get to know her, fearing she would die soon anyway and didn't want to get attached. Or maybe they saw her as a threat. She didn't have any evidence for it either, and figured that ratting them out to Negan wouldn't win her any hearts.

"Great," Nora replied with as much conviction as she could. "I really like Amber. She is nice."

"How about Sherry?" Negan said, studying her face closely, which made her slightly nervous.

"I haven't been able to talk to her much yet."

A safe answer which Negan hopefully was satisfied with.

"Negan?"

Her eyes were searching for his. She needed to make clear that she couldn't stay in here cooped up all day. It would drive her insane. She needed to get out there. Kill walkers. She needed a job, something to do.

"I understand if you don't want to take me back to Alexandria, but please, find me something else to do. I don't know how your other wives do it, but I can't be in here all day waiting for you to return and hoping you'd pick me over the rest. I can't do it. I'm sorry."

"If you don't want to be here, you are free to go," Negan replied, his face difficult to read. "You know that, right?"

Her fingers laced with his as she gently pressed her lips against the back of his hand.

"I want to be here. I want to be here with you. I just can't stay inside all day."

"You miss it, huh?" Negan replied. "You've been here for just two days."

"And I've been out there for god knows how long."

He slid his hand on her waistline, his thumb stroking her skin.

"We'll talk about it in the morning, okay?"

Nora couldn't do anything but nod. It was his decision, and his decision only. Negan liked to present people with choices, but truly, no one was in charge except for him. Nora knew this, and the only thing she could do was try to influence him as much as possible. Hopefully she made a good case for herself today. Hopefully, she was leaving this place soon, even if it was just for a few minutes.

A/N: Thank you all so much for all the reviews and a big welcome to any new followers. I'm very happy that there is still so much interest in this story :) this chapter isn't my longest, but I still hoped you enjoyed it :) Please let me know your thoughts and until next time 3