My wife has been peeking at me from around corners and behind furniture. It's gone from weird to terrifying

We’ve been married four years now. My wife is dear to me. She’s the love of my life. I’ve never once, even jokingly, considered cheating on her. I tell her I love her a hundred times a day and I mean it each time. <br><br>But despite that, ever since the beginning of our relationship, she’s had this quirk. I guess it’s not a bad thing. It’s even adorable. But also, it’s really, really weird. <br><br>When we first started dating, I’d catch her peeking over at me from around a corner. Like I’d turn from the stove and catch her peeking from around the corner of the hallway door. Or we’d be walking down a hallway at work or school and I’d catch her looking at me over her shoulder, like she was checking to make sure I was still following her. <br><br>I’d catch her peeking at me from behind pieces of furniture when we were in a classroom or a restaurant. Like she’d be sitting at a table with her upper body hidden behind the back of a booth and her head would poke out above the top of it and she’d smiled widely at me, like she’d just pulled a fun prank. <br><br>At first, it was so subtle, I wasn’t sure I was even seeing it. But then I started catching her more and more often. To the point where she was doing it several times a day. I’d go to the fridge and catch her peeking over at me from around the other side of the counter. She’d be sitting on the toilet and I’d hear her chuckling to herself in the bathroom and I’d go in there to look at her and she’d pop her head out from around the side of the shower curtain. I’d go to change a light bulb in the living room and find her hiding behind the couch, peeking out at me over the top of it. <br><br>It’s something she’s always done and she keeps doing it now that we’re married. It was so sweet and fun and playful for years. But lately something feels different. Something bad. Like when she’s doing it now she’s not just being playful, she’s actually hiding from something. But she’s the one hiding. <br><br>Like I’ll be talking to her in the kitchen and she’ll dart off to the living room and hide behind the couch. I can hear her giggling back there. Or I’ll be reading a book in bed and look over to see her peeking out at me from behind my nightstand. <br><br>But lately, she’s stopped making noise when she does it. So I never hear her until she actually pops out. But she used to always make some noise, even if it was just a little giggle. Now it’s total silence. <br><br>It’s made me start to jump whenever I see her. Even when we’re both sitting on the same couch, she’ll stand up and walk to other side of it and then pop her head over the back of it in my direction, like she’s sneaking up on me. Or she’ll stand up from the dining room table and walk across the room and then slowly peek around the corner at me. It gets me every time. Every time, my heart races from her popping out at me. Every time, I jump in my seat. It’s like she’s trying to scare me now. Like it’s stopped being a game where she tries to be cute and has become a game where she tries to scare me.<br><br>But it’s not just that she’s stopped making noise. It’s that it seems so much more serious now. Before, she’d dart out and then immediately pop back behind the thing she was hiding behind. Like she was too shy to even be out for more than a second. But now, she’ll pop out and stand there for a few seconds. Sometimes she’ll even walk towards me a bit. <br><br>So instead of just seeing a face pop out, I get to see her entire torso and sometimes even her legs. She’ll stand there for a few seconds. Sometimes she’ll advance a bit. Sometimes she’ll just turn around and go back the way she came. It’s so strange. <br><br>This morning, we were both sitting at the island in our kitchen. She got up and went into the hallway. I turned back to look at what she was doing and saw her peeking at me around the corner of the wall. I could only see her eyes. Her face was mostly behind the wall. It spooked me, even though I knew it was her. <br><br>I called out to her. I said hi, but she didn’t answer. Her eyes were fixed on me. She didn’t blink. She just kept staring. I started to feel uneasy. It wasn’t a game anymore. It was bad. Something felt bad about it. So I turned back around. I didn’t want to be staring at her when she came back into the kitchen. It felt too weird. <br><br>I heard her come back into the kitchen and sit back down next to me. She never said anything about it. Like it never even happened. But I felt bad. I felt creeped out. She was playing a new game now. One where it wasn’t about being cute. Where it was about genuinely trying to scare me. So I decided I’d play the same game.<br><br>I waited until she was really focused on her work and then snuck into the hallway. I stood there just out of her field of vision, just like she had done. I watched her, waiting for her to notice I wasn’t there anymore. When she turned to look for me, I quickly peeked around the corner and into the kitchen at her. <br><br>I could see her jump in her seat. She let out a little shriek. Like a startled yelp. It was so satisfying. I didn’t care that I’d just scared the hell out of her. I felt like I was getting her back for scaring me, even though we’d both agreed we were playing this game. <br><br>I didn’t retreat back into the hallway. I didn’t want to just pop out and then immediately dart back behind my hiding spot. I wanted to teach her a lesson. I wanted her to see that if she was going to scare me, she should be ready to be scared too. So, I started walking towards her. I walked across the floor and I got closer and closer before she finally turned around and saw me. <br><br>I could still see the look of genuine fear on her face as I got closer and closer. I walked all the way up to where she was sitting and I stood there right over her. “Why do you keep doing that?” I said. “Why do you keep peeking out at me like that?”<br><br>She looked up at me. She didn’t look scared anymore, just irritated. “I was just playing a game.” She said. <br><br>“When you do it now, it doesn’t feel like a game.” I said. “It feels like you’re trying to scare me.”<br><br>“Maybe I am.” She said. She sounded annoyed. <br><br>We talked about it for a while. We both agreed we wouldn’t do it anymore. But I haven’t noticed her stopping yet. I haven’t caught her since our talk, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. <br><br>It’s hard to explain, but the house feels different now. I think it’s a problem with the perspective. When she’d do it in the past, it was always from my viewpoint. Like I was the one watching her try to sneak up on me. But now, it feels like I’m on her end of things. It feels like when she was doing it to me, now I’m the one doing it to her. <br><br>I don’t think she’s stopped. I think she’s still doing it. It’s just now I’m her. She’s the one who’s being watched. I think something’s happening in our house now. Something bad. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.