16. Survive his Hell

I stamp my feet and walk down the stairs of the barbarian king.
My eyes run through his weird paintings and it somehow made me angrier. They all have nice golden borders and prolly don’t wake up with a splash or spank.
I still can’t believe he would do that.
Suddenly the marble disappears under my feet and blue water with fishes flow in a line like river under the solid glass I am standing on.
*This arse has an under-floor aquarium!*
And his drawing room has more drawings on the wall that I have ever seen in an art gallery. This man is living a life I couldn’t even imagine with my creative head.
*God! I hate him even more.*
I hear some foreign dialects and I follow the sound. I pass the long corridor and finally see him draped in his expensive black suit, looking as tall as the god of death.
I watch from behind as Dakota gives money to the old man while whispering something softly, like *sorry.*
Look at him! Look at this bastard. Trying to act all humble and apologetic. I grit my teeth, knowing a servant is getting treated better than me.
The old man gives a butler nod and exits from the back door. Dakota picks his plate from the platform and turns around, finding me beside the fridge. Like gravity, his eyes drop to my clothes and a frown climbs up to his cruel forehead.
“What?” I ask in the air as I walk around the counter with a nose as high as my brows.
I ignore him take a deep breath of agitation, followed by his fury. “I am forty-five minutes late, for the first time in my life. I missed my meeting. I had to call Pablo to make breakfast, which was supposed to be your work.”
“Maybe if you didn’t send all of your helpers on holiday, you wouldn’t be late.” I tell him as I pull out a high stool from underneath the counter and hop my spanked ass on it. *Gosh! I hate him so much.*
“You are not my wife, Miss Stone.” His voice sour, just like his face.
“Do not think you will sit here looking pretty whole day while I’ll go work my ass off. You will cook for me, clean for me, and come for me, if I allow you.” He says every word with an unflinched authority.
*And I hated it.*
I hate how he proclaims he has some kind of right on me. Like he owns every bone of my skeleton.
“Fine.” I spat annoyingly. “And I am not your wife. So, do not yell at me again.”
“Fine.” He growls and walks away with his sour face to the couch opposite to the counter and face the television. News flood in the background, and he focuses on his breakfast, that he was yelling for since the sunrise.
*How can people eat so early in the morning? I can still taste my toothpaste.*
I look down on my plate and my brain zones out completely. As if my cassette is stuck on his words *‘looking pretty’* and runs in loop. *Do I really look pretty?*
I don’t remember when was the last time someone complimented me. Probably my mother.. Coz she always tells me how pretty I am.
But then I noticed, she calls my brother pretty too. Since then my self doubts started.
I take a bite from the tortilla sandwich. I don’t know what is it but it seems like a mixture of taco and scrambled eggs, spinach with tomato salsa on the side. It’s exotic and flavourful.
*I would rate it eight pistachios out of ten almonds.*
“Emara.”
I look up. Dakota switches off the TV and shifts his all the unwanted attention on me. His plate is empty and his monopoly stare on me.
“Come here.” He says like an order.
“Crawling or on my feet?” I ask him, like a genuine question.
His eyes narrow down to a lane I would call dangerous. “On your feet.” He grits his teeth and I gulp hearing the grind. *Oh boy!*
I pick my plate and walk towards the couch as he pulls out a white box from his suit’s pocket and I eye him in suspicion. *What slutty thing he brought for me this time?*
A black glossy square glass with golden borders glare back at me. I observe him carefully as he pulls out leather straps and attaches to its sides. What is this, a choker?
*Or worse, a cult choker?*
“Give me your hand.” He asks like a gentleman, which clearly he is not.
Warm fingers brush under the soft side of my wrist and my heart races with his touch. He fastens the leather around my hand and pushes the round button, which makes the glass glow in magic.
*Oh! It’s a watch.*
“Eve, connect to the new apple device.” He says in the air, still holding my hand.
“Pairing completed.” A female’s computer voice echoes in the background.
“I will set up alerts and my schedule so you can work accordingly. It is waterproof, scratch proof and fireproof, so no need to remove while working. Charge only at night.”
Now that I notice, he has the same watch on his wrist, but black in colour.
“I’ll put an alarm of 7 AM on repeat, so you won’t oversleep like today.” He says while going through the watch’s setting.
“Wait.. AM as in morning?” I ask with a surprised Pikachu face.
Dakota looks up at me with his executive face. “Did I stutter?”
*What? Even the sun doesn’t wake up at seven in the morning!*
“And I am very peculiar about my diet. There is a timetable on the board for what I eat in a day at different intervals. Make sure you start preparing an hour before because I prefer my meals on time.” He tells me in his kingly emperor tone.
I roll my eyes the half way when I hear him growl. “*On time* or you will find history repeating itself.”
I grit my teeth as my ass tingles with his slaps and I curse his black soul.
“I want my clothes washed and steam-ironed every day. All the gym equipments must be sanitized. Vacuum the furniture once in a day, and no need to touch the paintings. They are old and more valuable than your life.”
I control the sudden urge to throw a flip-flop at his twisted artworks and watch him go bananas. “Got it.” I say with a smile as I keep that adventure on my bucket list for the seventh day.
“I’ll show you around now that I am already late. Thanks to you.” He mocks me and lets go of my wrist.
“You are welcome.” I pull my hand back and give him a sarcastic smile.
Dakota narrows his eyes and stands up to his tall figure, looking like a freaking mountain. If he were any taller, his head would be in clouds.
I stand up after him. With my erect frizzy hair on top of my head, I still fail to reach to his shoulders.
His modular kitchen is like walking in between walls. Drawers are flat and open with a slight flick of touch. What fuckery shit is this? I need handles on drawer.
The countertop is of plain white colour, with no burners or stove. “Where would I cook?” I ask him like a dumb villager who doesn’t understands a shit.
Dakota walks behind me. I feel heat radiating from his suit as he leans down and speaks softly behind my ear. “Turn on.. The blaze.”
A quiver runs in between my legs and instantly, blue light flares in the shape of rings on his white counter. “Do not touch directly. It’s hot.” He whispers in my ear.
I twist my head and glare at him. “I don’t even wanna touch it, indirectly.”
“Turn off the blaze.” In a second, the blue rings fade out and appears like a normal countertop. I keep my expression controlled, and try not to show my surprise.
*Whatever! I have seen better magic tricks.*
“What if I want to toast something on fire?” I ask him like a customer.
“Barbecue grill.” He points out at the back door. “Fire outside. It’s hazardous.”
“Since when?” My eyelashes blink at him.
“The house is operated by artificial intelligence which is integrated with all electrical appliances and flames don’t work well with current.”
“What if the electricity goes out? You won’t be able to open a drawer or boil an egg.” I scoff like a climate concerned activist.
Dakota smirks and I hate he looks handsome. “Every bulb to gadget is connected to the power unit which is bridged to the solar panels on the roof. Even if the currents are cut out, the battery can generate electricity up to 72 hours continuously. So don’t worry, my drawers will open, eggs will cook, I’ll netflix and chill all night, while the whole world falls into darkness.”
*Gosh! His mouth is so irritating.*
Arrogance oozes out of him like fragrance as he shows me his million dollar house, along with amenities like.. Dish washer. Air fryer. Oven. Electric chimney. Laundry area. Gym machines. Mopping robot. And self cleaning windows, which change colour on command.
*Fuck! This man is living in 2050.*
“And yes. Feed the dogs.” He says, while checking notification of his watch as we step outside.
“You have dogs?” I love animals. *Except him.*
“Yes. Two. Beside the garage. Just don’t go too near to them. They will try to have a taste of your flesh.” *Oh.. Of course, they are his dogs.*
A black car awaits for him in the driveway with a logo of a growling animal on it. “I think I explained you your work clearly. Use the iPad to search for recipes. Or ask Eve for assistance.” He informs me while he fixes his tie.
“Do you want me to pack a lunch for you?”
Dakota pauses. Creases form on his head as he stares at me with a stupefying face. “No.”
“Do you want me to kiss you goodbye?”
His lips come into a thin line as he narrows his hooded eyes at me. Warnings float in them like toxic as they stare back at me hot and hard.
I smile. I gulp and smile like a lovely wife, which I am not.
Dakota takes a step at me, his fingers curl around my wrist and brings them behind my spine dominatingly. His sour face lowers on my scared face and my heart beat fastens instantly.
His green eyes flick to my wet lips, then to my heaving chest. A shiver runs through me and an ungodly smirk appears on his cruel majestic face.
“I’ll see you tonight. *Nicely*.” He adds with a grin and walks away to the awaiting car.