The Dress - part one

The recently discontinued Writers Island has been reborn as Matinee Muse. I have used the prompt Life in the Shadows as my prompt this week.
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She thought she was alone, but she wasn’t. Day and night she was followed, watched, her every move observed. He never showed himself. He crouched in long grass, hid behind trees and always kept out sight. He moved from doorway to doorway, watched from coffee bars and hid himself in crowds on a pavement. At night he peered through cracks in closed curtains and watched her shadow as she moved from room to room. No, she was never alone.
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He never meant her any harm. In his mind he was looking out for her – protecting her. From what or whom ? Who knows.
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She led a normal life. Although she lived alone, her social diary was crammed full. She was always the first to be invited to parties and never short of invitations to the theatre and restaurants. There were men in her life, but she preferred the company of several, rather than the commitment of one.
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She didn’t want to run the risk of entering into a steady relationship again. The last one had been disastrous. It was alright at first. Not particularly exciting, a little dull in fact. But as time went on he began controlling her. Becoming unnecessarily suspicious, jealous of her other friends and constantly monitoring her every move. When it became intolerable she asked him to leave.
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It was strange. He didn’t argue. He didn’t beg her to change her mind. He said she would never see him again but whatever happened in her life he would be there to protect her. Quite what he meant, she never really understood. But he left, and to this day, years later, she’s not seen him or heard anything about him.
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But unknown to her he is still there. She is still part of his life. A life he lives in the shadows.

.To read part two click here