"I'd like to take a small trip, James.  Please understand" said Ashley, as she presented her husband with a request to let her go on a small trip over the weekend.  She'd been nervous about how he'd react to this.  She'd been researching on their computer under a private account.  Surely he would realize that these two things were related.

James stood there and looked at her for a moment.  There was a blank expression on his face, but it soon turned to a small smile.  He nodded to Ashley and said "Of course, honey.  We all need to get out and be alone sometimes.  Just be careful, okay?"  James wasn't really excited about his wife going out on a trip by herself, but he would respect her wishes.

Ashley was very surprised at how well he took the request.  She was keeping secrets from him, blocking him out of her account on their laptop and wanted to leave for a trip.  She expected him to be more hesitant to let her go alone.  She was happy, though.  Things were going well for her.  She smiled and wrapped her arms around him as they lay in bed for the night.  "Thanks, hun.  I appreciate it" she whispered.

That night, Ashley lay in bed, arms around her husband, who was asleep.  He was resting easy, whereas her mind was wandering.  All she could think about was this trip she was about to embark on.  It would be quite a long drive, and a girl by her lonesome on the road wasn't exactly the safest situation for her.  

As she looked at him, she began to feel guilty.  Everything she'd been hiding from him was popping up in her head.  She knew that it was all for him, but she felt terrible keeping it from him.  Married couples weren't supposed to have secrets, no matter the reason.  As she thought about everything, her eyes started to water.  

Blinking, Ashley felt a tear start running down her cheek.  She felt an icy-cold chill run through her face and took a deep breath.  Slowly removing her arms from around James, Ashley stood up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom, which was connected to their bedroom.  Upon entering, she saw her own reflection in the mirror.  Her face was dark red, tears running down both cheeks.  She turned and closed the door behind her.

Reaching down, she picked up a tissue and began wiping herself off.  As her face dried, she began to fight off her tears.  The voice in her head began speaking to her as she stared at her own reflection.  "Hey!  What are you doing?  Crying?"

Sniffling, Ashley replied to her reflection.  "Of course I am.  I'm keeping secrets from my husband, from the only person who's ever cared about me.  The only person I care about."

The voice continued: "But you know it's for the best right now.  You can't afford to tell James about what you're about to do.  You can't get his hopes up for this, and then let him down if this woman turns out to be a faker"

"Well…I guess that's true" said Ashley, talking a little clearly.  "But it's still wrong to keep things from him!  Every night that I lay in bed with him, I feel worse about all of this.  I don't know how long I can keep this up!"

"Then get this finished right now" said the voice.

"What?" replied Ashley.

"You heard what I said" said the voice.  "You've already got everything ready, don't you?  You know where this woman lives.  There's a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit in the car already.  Just pack tonight or tomorrow night and leave to see this woman."

"I…I couldn't do that!" said Ashley, shocked at the voice's suggestion.

A creaking noise came from behind.  Ashley turned and jumped as the door slowly opened up.  Ashley's heart began beating rapidly.  She nearly froze as she saw James pop his head into the room.  "Hey, Ashley.  I thought I heard something.  Are you alright?"

Ashley slowly replied "Y-yes, James.  I'm..okay"  James saw her as she was replying, noticing remnants of her tears.  He began to feel concerned for her.  'Why is she in the bathroom, crying?' he thought to himself.  He stepped a little further into the room and took the tissue from Ashley's hand.  Reaching his hand up, he wiped it across her face, just below her right eye.

"You missed a spot" he replied, smiling towards her.  Ashley didn't know what to say.  He'd noticed that she was crying.  Had he heard anything she was saying?  She just stood there for a moment, looking at the tissue.  James, not wanting the awkward moment to persist, put his arms around her and leaned his head by her ear.  

"Honey, try not to stress yourself out too much.  Those tears are unbefitting of a beautiful lady such as yourself.  Why don't we just go back to bed?  I can kiss your feet if it will make you feel better."  Ashley blushed at this statement.  Despite not having a foot fetish herself, she enjoyed having her feet worshipped.  To everyone while she was growing up, they were like a grotesque mole, the cause of much mental abuse, both from her friends and even her parents.  To James, though, they were beautiful and a magnificent part of her.  He always told her how much he loved her feet and it made her feel great.

"O..okay, honey.  I'd…like that" she said, trying to crack a smile as James pushed himself up and away from her ear.  He smiled and clenched her left hand.  Walking back to the bed, he waited for her to reach the bed and kneeled down.  Planting a soft kiss on her big toe, he said "Your bed awaits you, my goddess"  

Ashley, beginning to enjoy the pampering he was giving her, lifted herself onto the bed and laid down on her pillow.  Without saying anything, James stood up and pulled her blanket up to her shoulders, and straightened it over her.  Reaching out, he put his hand over her forehead and pushed back her bangs.  "Honey, try not to worry so much.  No matter what's happening right now, I will always be here, waiting for you.  Now, try to relax and let me take your mind off whatever is stressing you out so much.  

He let go of her forehead and walked to the end of the bed.  Although their bed was Queen-sized, they were almost too tall for it.  When laying straight,  Ashley's feet were almost dangling off the end.  This made things very easy for what James had planned.  Moving over to her feet, he got down on his knees and put his face right in front of her feet, bowing before them.

"Goddess, may I worship your beautiful feet and take away your worries?" he asked, with a shaky tone, something he did often to make himself act weak in comparison to her.  Ashley laid there, almost in tears from what he was doing because of her own actions, tried to reply.  She couldn't, though.  She was too upset about everything.  

'Come on, he wants to help you!  Do what you want to do!' said the voice in Ashley's head.  Ashley began listening to it and tried to force her tears back.  It was hard, but she let out a statement.  "Yes, my pet.  They are tired and in need of loving.  Worship them until I command you otherwise!"

As a response to her statement, James said "Yes, my goddess.  It is an honor to be of service to you" as he rose his head and began to plant kisses all over her feet.  This session lasted nearly 2 hours.  Ashley was thinking about what the voice had suggested to her the entire time.  Should she just up and leave in the night so she wouldn't have to worry about this anymore?

The thoughts racked in her brain until she overwhelmed herself and fell asleep.  James heard her doing this and stopped kissing.  Standing up, he walked over to the other side of the bed and laid down next to her.  "That's right, Ashley.  Just stop worrying and sleep."  

Looking at her for a moment, he continued speaking, as if she could hear him perfectly. "Listen, I know you've been doing a lot lately and have not wanted to tell me what it is.  I don't know what you're feeling right now, but I want you to know that I'm okay with it.  Don't worry yourself so much over me.  Just do what you have to do.  I love you, and always will.  I have complete trust and faith in you."

He kissed her forehead as he said "Sweet dreams, Ashley" and went to sleep himself...