Chapter Two

DISCLAIMER: Just a fan, own nothing.

I had not seen Dwight all day and the first thing he had done when he came into our room was to criticise my outfit for the dinner. I was getting really frustrated with him because I had tried on a few outfits and he had not approved of any of them. "Fine, Dwight. I'm gonna let you pick out my clothes and my shoes. Is that what you want?"

"Yeah, it is. You want to make a good impression on Negan, don't you?" Dwight rifled through my clothes and pulled out a simple yet elegant blue dress. He also picked out wedge heels. "Try this on."

When I took off the blouse and skirt I was wearing I was surprised to see Dwight staring at me. Before he would just turn his back whenever I was getting changed. "What are you doing?"

Dwight shrugged at me. "I'm not gonna keep looking away when you change. It's just stupid. We're married, so it doesn't matter. Don't get any ideas, though. You're not my type."

I bit my lip, looking down for a moment. It hurt, but it was true. He only wanted Sherry, and I was nothing like her. "I know I'm not." I put on the dress and the wedge heels, although I hated the whole outfit because it looked similar to what Sherry would wear. "So, do you want me to cut my hair? Then I'll look even more like Sherry."

"Don't say her name." Dwight snapped, his eyes flashing with anger. "Are you seriously trying to piss me off just before we go out to dinner?" He opened a drawer in the dresser and took a little bracelet out of it. It was very simple, knotted string with a wooden heart on it. "Here, put this on." He pushed the bracelet into my hands. "And I wasn't picking you that outfit so you could look like Sherry. I picked it because I know you look good in that dress. I thought you'd want us to look our best, as a couple. You said we should playact together, and I had a long think about that today. I'm willing to try...even though part of me still thinks this is all just some fucked up joke to Negan and you're his spy..."

"I'm not, really I'm not, Dwight." I replied, as I struggled to fasten the bracelet around my wrist. I was getting tired of telling him I was not a spy, but in time he would know I was truth. I hoped. "This is such a pretty bracelet. I smiled at him tentatively. "Thank you for making it for me."

His face stayed set in a stony expression. "Don't thank me. I only made it so it looks like I'm into you. That's what you wanted, for us to pretend to be happy together."

I sighed, my smile fading away. "Can you just come help me with this?

Dwight scowled at me as he snatched the bracelet back from me. "Hold out your arm," When I complied he tied the bracelet around my wrist, then took hold of my hand. "Let's just go and get this over with."

I nodded, but did not say a word as he started walking out of our room. I just wanted to savour the feeling of holding his hand. It was stupid that I felt so happy to walk by his side when he did not feel anything for me. Yet, I was foolish enough to marry a man who did not love me so I had a lot of experience in letting my heart run my life instead of my mind. Dwight always looked good to me, but he looked extra good tonight even though he really was not wearing anything much different from his usual clothes. I wished the walk to Negan's private quarters were longer, but eventually we reached there.

Fat Joey let us into the rooms, and led us to where Negan was standing by a dining table, his arms wrapped around Sherry's waist. "Finally, you guys are here. You look stunning, Jena, just as stunning as my sweet wife here," Negan kissed Sherry on the cheek, then pulled out a chair at the table for her. "Sit down, honey."

She complied, giving Negan a frown as he sat down next to her.

Dwight's grip on my hand had gotten tighter with Negan's little display with Sherry. I tugged on his hand, trying to pull him in the direction of the table. "Let's go and sit down, babe." It was hard to keep a straight face as Dwight looked at me as if I was crazy, but I did notice that Negan looked surprised. I hated the word babe but what better term of affection than such a cheesy one.

"Sure, babe..." Dwight pulled out my chair for me, and I thanked him. He sat down too, and we all sat in an awkward silence until Negan broke it.

"This is nice. This is so damn nice!" He exclaimed, slamming his hand down on the table. "Me with my wife, Dwight with his wife...Sherry, you know Jena, right?"

"Yes, of course I know her," Sherry replied acerbically as she grabbed hold of a wine glass. "Fill it for me, honey."

Negan looked at her for a few moments and smirked before he opened a bottle of red wine. He not only poured out wine for Sherry, he poured out wine for himself and us too. "Fat Joey's going to be here with our main course soon. I figured we'd skip a starter. I barely have time for dinner as it is, got some things to take care of afterwards."

Sherry took a sip of her wine. "Maybe we should cancel dinner, if you're so busy."

"Nope! I wouldn't want to disappoint these two lovebirds, would I? I'm sure they've been looking forward to this dinner."

"Yes, we have, Negan," I replied, though I was feeling very uncomfortable and I hated the way Dwight was looking at Sherry. "Thank you for inviting us to dinner."

Fat Joey came in, loaded down with two side dishes. Behind him came a few other Saviours, all carrying different dishes to the table. After they left everyone helped themselves to food. It was simple yet very tasty, chicken pie with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Negan tucked in with gusto, and I ate a lot as well. It had been a long time since I ate such good food. Sherry played with her food, barely eating it. Dwight ate his, but I could tell he was not really enjoying it.

"Dwight, I'm gonna give you a few days off work so you guys can have a little honeymoon. You can stay for a few days in one of our other settlements, spend some time together. I was thinking Alexandria, and while you're there you can keep an eye on Rick for me. I got a feeling he's planning something, and you guys being there will be a good distraction. It'll be like an exchange; I'll grab his son Carl and keep him here for a few days while you guys are there. What do you say?"

"Yeah, sounds good, Negan. Thanks, we appreciate it." Dwight forced a smile. "When do you want us to go?"

"You guys can pack a bag tonight and head out there tomorrow," Negan ate a few more bites, clearing his plate. "Whew, that was good. Think it's time for dessert..."

"I'll pass on dessert," Sherry stood up from the table, resting a hand on Negan's shoulder, staring at him coldly. "I'm tired, honey, and my head hurts. If you'll excuse me, I'll leave."

"Of course, sweetheart," Negan smiled, looking amused. "Give me some sugar before you go."

As Sherry leant down to kiss him, I knocked my wine glass over. "Oh, I'm so sorry." I stood up, blocking Dwight's view as best I could while pretending to wipe up the spilled wine. I knew Negan had just asked for a kiss to spite Dwight.

"No problem," Negan stood up, a serene smile on his face although his eyes showed he was annoyed with me. "Actually, I think we're gonna have to skip dessert. Go on ahead, Jena, I need to talk to Dwight."

Dwight hugged me, all of a sudden, enveloping me in his scent. It did not last long before he pulled away. He smiled at me, for Negan's benefit. "I'll see you soon, babe."

"Alright," I quickly kissed his cheek then walked out, almost bumping into Simon. I moved around him and carried on walking, only to have him fall into step besides me.

"This seems familiar, sweetheart." He remarked as we walked. "You and me, taking a walk together..."

"Just go away, Simon," I replied, not in the mood to deal with him.

He shook his head slowly. "I don't think you're in a position to be unfriendly to me, Jena. I mean, you know Dwight is still on Negan's shit list, don't you? I mean, he's low on the list but he's still fucking on there. And I'm Negan's right hand man. He listens to me, you know. If I told him that Dwight couldn't be trusted, he might not agree but he'd listen to me. He'd think about it. And you know his mind goes to some pretty fucked up places..."

I stopped walking. "No, you can't- I mean, don't do that." I could not believe what I was hearing. And yet I could. Simon was almost as twisted and sick as Negan was. That was why Simon was Negan's right hand man after all. "I'm sorry if I was rude to you before."

"See? I knew we could be friends, sweetheart," Simon grinned at me, grabbing hold of my face and kissing me before I could even protest, then he walked away as I stood there in shock.

When I made my way back into the room I shared with Dwight it was not long before Dwight himself came into the room too. There was a strange glint in his eyes as he advanced upon me. I backed away until I hit a wall. "Dwight? What's-" I did not even get the chance to finish my question as Dwight pressed his lips against mine, at the same time grabbing my wrists and pinning them to the wall. He kissed me very forcibly, although I was not trying to get away from him and I even reciprocated the kiss, despite knowing something was not right with him. This was very different from the chaste kiss he had given me when he had gotten married. I had thought Simon's kiss was unsettling, but this kiss, while I did enjoy it, also made me feel uneasy. Dwight was just not himself. He hated me, he had no reason to want to kiss me at all. I was willing up to a point, but I stopped him when he let go of me and tried to unzip my dress.

"What's wrong, Jena? I'm not good enough for you?" Dwight crossed his arms, "You can fuck Simon but not me?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Dwight?" I snapped. "No, I haven't slept with Simon or anyone else not that it's your business."

"Really, because you two were pretty close when you were kissing him!" He exclaimed, looking furious with me. "I knew you were a liar...Did you have sex with Negan too? Maybe you're just a whore."

I saw red, and I slapped him across the face so hard my hand smarted a little. "Fuck you, Dwight. Don't you ever, ever talk to me like that again. I'm not a whore. You're acting like a real asshole right now. I can't believe you'd even say something like that to me. Simon kissed me, I didn't kiss him and I didn't want his kiss either. All I ever wanted was you, but you just can't see it..." I took a mismatched pyjama set from the dresser. "I'm going to have a bath and get ready for bed. I can't even look at you right now."

Dwight ignored me, going to sit on the bed. I left our room, making sure I slammed the door shut behind me. I kept up the pretence of being fine until I was alone inside the bathroom and I had locked the door behind me. As I was filling the bathtub with water I started to cry. Hot tears flooded my eyes, blurring my vison for a few moments as I shut my eyes. I was being pathetic, I knew it, but I just felt so hurt inside. Dwight just kept attacking me while all I wanted to do was get him to open up to me. To see that I really was not a bad person, that I just wanted him to be happy. I had thought today we had started making progress but then Simon had ruined it. I also wondered if Negan had something to do with it, but I was not sure about that. Simon was just as devious as Negan was. I stayed in the bathtub until the water turned cold. I was really dreading having to go back and see Dwight again. I just hoped he would already be asleep. However, when I returned back to our room he had disappeared. I was alone. Like I had been since the start of the world slowly coming to an end.

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