FORTY-SIX
Yalda’s heart pounded heavily against her chest with every passing second in which she sat there waiting for him to speak. Her breath faltered; it was almost as though she feared breathing would make him change his mind. All the while, he sat there staring at her seeming completely unaffected as he combed his fingers through Loki’s fluffy fur.
“I was very young when I knew her; I can’t remember much about her but I do remember that she was beautiful, and she was always with my dad.” He told her.
She felt a lump materialize in her throat as she thought it through; she was always with him.
“She was nice.” He told her. “But my mother didn’t like her.”
She hung onto every word he said as though her life depended on it.
“Can you guess why, Yalda?” He asked her.
She thought it through for a moment. Nadia had indeed been a pretty woman, definitely prettier than Lana, and she had always been around Gabriel; Lana was probably jealous of her.
“Because she was…..jealous?” She asked him quietly.
He chuckled, a cold and humorless sound that had a shiver running down her spine.
“Well, that’s a way to put it.” He said, and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “My mother didn’t like her because she said she was a whore.”
Her eyes widened slightly in shock and horror.
Whore…..
That word always bothered her deeply; it always felt like a knife slicing through her heart painfully.
“Mom didn’t like her at all. Oh, she’d be completely furious at dad for letting Nadia hand around him; I shared in that anger.” He told her. “And you indeed bare a great resemblance to her, I saw it from the moment I first set my eyes on you.”
A shuddering breath left her as she finally let herself around. If he was angry at Nadia then why keep her around and have her remind him of her every day?
“You said I remind you of everything you wish to forget. You were obviously talking about Nadia.” She said. “What I don’t understand is why you still let yourself be reminded of her every day.”
“You see, Yalda, my father wasn’t a happy man; but whenever he was with her I noticed he smiled more often, I noticed his eyes weren’t always so dark.” He told him. “Nadia undoubtedly made him happy.”
Would she ever understand him?
“Then I don’t understand why you’re angry at her.” She told him.
“Why not? She was a whore, and she seduced a man who had a wife and a son. I think my anger’s justified.” He replied. “She needed to be punished.”
He still sounded so very calm yet the darkened look in eyes had her shuddering ever so slight. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach as yet another lump formed in her throat. She was beginning to understand what this was about.
“So you punish me in place of….her.” She said quietly, her voice trembled as tears pricked the back of her eyes.
He didn’t respond immediately, rather, he stared at her with those darkened eyes that almost scared her, and after a long moment of silence, he nodded.
“I keep you around because I am my father’s son, Yalda, and I’m not a very happy man.” He told her. “Being with you; punishing you, makes me feel better. It makes me happy in a way.”
She shook her head as the first stream of tears went streaking down her cheek. This was scary, too scary! It was toxic and she wanted to run from it; from him.
“I…I didn’t agree to this.” She said as she stood up. She wasn’t sure where she was going but she just couldn’t stay seated.
He gently set Loki down before also standing up.
“The contract….”
She shook her head once more.
“I don’t care about the contract!” She snapped. ”I didn’t sign up to be someone you torture in place of a dead woman! This is sick.”
One moment he was standing by the couch, and the next he had grabbed her and backed her against a wall while she stood there crying almost hysterically.
“Yalda, it’s not just that; you make me feel better.” He told her. But she shook her head once more. She wasn’t going to hear anything of it.
“You don’t even care about me.” She cried. “You don’t care about how you make me feel.”
“I make you feel good.” He said.
She tried pushing him away but he grasped both her wrists and held them above her head to keep her still.
“Yalda, I make you feel good, I make you feel complete.” He told her.
He was right, but…
“You make me feel worthless….” She croaked quietly. “You make me feel like you hate me.”
His darkened eyes stared into hers deeply before he suddenly crashed his lips against hers in a deep and almost fierce kiss which weakened everything about her until she was breathless and almost crumbling. His tongue explored her mouth with such dominance that had her wanting to melt immediately. And when their lips finally parted, he leaned his forehead against hers.
“You are not worthless; you are everything to me.” He told her. “I cannot live without you.”
She blinked and more tears left her eyes.
“No, you cannot cope without me; without hurting me.” She said. “You do not care about me.”
“I care about you.” He said, his lips a breath away from hers. “I know I do not express it well enough, but I truly cannot help it.”
She blinked and more tears wet her cheeks.
“Tell me you believe I do not care about you.” He said as he released her wrists to wound his hand around her waist. “Tell me I’ve been completely unkind to you.”
And she couldn’t….
She couldn’t possibly say he had been unkind to her when he hadn’t. He cared about her, she knew it, but she had thought it had been in her head. But that didn’t change the fact that whatever they had was sick and sinful, she couldn’t deny that it scared her so very much.
She couldn’t help but wonder if he was actually sane, she couldn’t help but wonder if he needed more help. A lot of things bothered her deeply, but the fact that he was holding her like this made her not want to leave, made her want to be whatever he needed.
“I’m so scared.” She cried quietly.
“I know. But you truly don’t have to be.” He assured her.
She shook her head.
“I don’t know what to do.”
“Let me take the lead, as always. Let me take care of things; of you.” He told her.
This was the first time he was truly talking to her, this was the first time he was making her feel heard, and just like that, he had captivated her all over again.
“What do I do?” She asked him.
“Come with me to the penthouse. Stay until you’re alright, I don’t like you being alone when you’re like this.” He replied. “Is that okay?”
It wasn’t like she had a choice; he had gotten into her head all over again and there was absolutely nothing she could do. She nodded.
“Good girl.” He said before claiming her lips in a calmer kiss.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
