A question

Those tortuous thoughts tease and taunt. Pangs of jealousy have your stomach tied in knots. There's a heaviness in your chest and you begin to have trouble breathing as you're consumed by self-pity, bitterness and loathing...

... if only for a fleeting moment.

Then you choose... to simply shake everything off and resume life as it were,

or, to indulge.

There's always some point in a relationship, no matter how secure, where we wonder if we're the only one... am I the only one he thinks about, am I the only one he fantasizes about, am I the only one he has eyes for. Or she.

Sometimes it's warranted. Other times, and most times, it's just a "feeling". Regardless of the existence of evidence, the thought can make us just as ill.

But why?

Of course, I can understand if we're being short-changed somehow. But, what if our significant other was truly endearing, loving and caring; what if they did everything we could ever ask for; what if they were always there for us when we needed them; what if they fulfilled every obligation they had towards us... would it still matter if they had someone else they thought of or someone else they spent time with?

We never care if our parents love two or four other siblings (okay, most of us don't care) so long as we were loved. We never care if our friends have other friends they care as much about as they do us. Then why is this love, between us and our significant other, so different?

Why does emotional and physical exclusivity matter so much in this relationship, even when it gives us all we require from it and more?

And when and why did society deem this form of possessiveness, this form of selfishness acceptable?

Perhaps there is a hidden virtue in this that isn't immediately apparent. I understand not all questions have answers. I suppose jealousy is that bit of our dark side that we just have to deal with every now and then.