Pledge

Next day arrived with a bright sight. Shreya had no concussion and she was free to go.

Unfortunately for them, Vansh couldn’t come pick her up without blowing their cover away so it was her mom who picked her up.

The keys jingled in Mrs. Sharma’s hands as she unlocked the front door and repeated the doctor’s instructions for the fifth time.

“Mom, I get it. No exercises, eating health, taking tablets on time, no stress, no banging my head, no jumping, no goofing around, just sitting on the couch like a potato” she shouted, clearly irritated.

“Okay, okay. Don’t shout, don’t you know what the doctor…” she started but shut up as soon as she saw the death glare her daughter shot at her.

“It’s already 8:30, I’ll go get ready so I can go to office.” She stated and started running up the stairs.

“Shreya” shouted Mrs. Sharma.

“Sorry, sorry” she said and slowed down to a walk. She went upstairs and in her room, only to see another person lying in her bed. The blanket covered the person completely so she didn’t know who it was, but it seemed like a man or a very bulky woman.

She grabbed the first thing her eyes saw. With a big fat book in her hand, she walked slowly towards the bed and screamed, “Mummie! Come…”

A hand covered her mouth at the exact same time her book hit the face of the intruder.

Before she could hear the groan of pain, she saw his hand. She could never mistake these hands.

These hands seduced her in dreams and enticed her in reality. These hands brought her to her knees and up to the skies.

“ow” groaned Vansh.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry” she whispered and then heard the footsteps.

“Shit! Shit! Shit! Hide, hide somewhere quick. Mom’s coming!” she whisper-shouted as she pulled him off the bed and pushed him in her bathroom.

Her mom entered not a second later.

“What happened?” asked her mom, concerned.

“my…my face!” said Shreya.

She wrinkled her face and stared at her face for a minute, almost creepily, “Your face? What happened to your face, it seems right to me.”

“Mom, the dark circles. See? Here” she said as she pointed her hand under her eyes.

“Oh God! You’ll scare me to death someday. What am I to do with her?” her mom looked up to the ceiling and sighed.

Mrs. Sharma left her room and she let out a breath of relief. She locked her door, and unlocked her
bathroom.

“Dark circles? Really?” he asked as he laughed.

“That was all I could think of” she replied defensively.

“I can’t believe your mom fell for that, makes me question, have you actually screamed like that for dark circles before?” he asked, his brow wriggling up and down.

“Dark circles are a valid concern. You have no idea how hard and expensive it is to cover them and how sick you look with them” she said and crossed her hands.

“Sure” he sang, and then added “by the way, what the hell were you doing throwing that book on me?”

"That's called self-defense"

"You wound me. Why would you need defense against me?'"

“How was I supposed to know it was you?” she pouted.

“Who else but me baby?” he smirked, but the tad bit of possessiveness in his voice gave her chills.

“I don’t know, burglars, serial killers” she shrugged and after a pause said, “or maybe peeping bastards”

He snatched her waist and pulled her close to his body. He lowered his face and a breath away from her lips, said, “Peeping bastards, huh?”

“hmmm” she nodded lightly.

He tightened his hold on her waist and whispered, “Well, this peeping bastard awaits your pleasure over his knees at sharp 12 pm today. Don’t be late”

“Never” she breathed out.

He smiled the I-have-you-wrapped-in-my-fingers-and-I-know-it smile and jumped out of the window.

She sat on her bed, love-struck by the man who just left. He was her boss, and though it was only for a month it felt wrong. The fact that she was his assistant brought a lot of doubts in her head and even after trying to push them away, they returned like a boomerang every single time. If she wasn’t his assistant, they would never have gotten so close.

If he didn’t need an assistant, there was a chance that they’d have never gone on the second date. Because he had already paid in kindness for her virginity, why then, was a second date required?

Were they together just because he needed an assistant?

‘Too much credit to yourself’ she thought and rolled her eyes.

What really frightened her though, was that she was not just his assistant but a submissive too. She always knew she had a submissive bone in her body, but when she realized just how much she wanted those beautiful hands to redden her behind, her anxiety shivered.

He controlled her work/college, he controlled her in bed, he controlled her emotions and he still had control over her sex tape. The extent of control she had lost of herself frightened her more than the possibility of heartbreak.

What if he someday decided being good wasn’t good enough and exploited her?

What if he exploited her right now, could she save herself?

What if when he eventually left, she wouldn’t even know how to control her life?

And the answers frightened her just as much as the questions did.

‘I cannot let this happen. For now, I have only given him power in my head but this noon, the control will be physically handed over to him. He’s not forcing me, but before I give him control over another part of my life, I have to take some control back from him. Yes, that’s a good idea, that’s what I will do” she mumbled to herself and stood with her back erect and her right arm forward.

“I, Shreya Sharma, solemnly pledge that I will never give more control than I can take back. I will only exchange control. If he controls my work, he won’t control my body. If he controls my emotions, he won’t control my pride.” she pledged.

“Shreya. Who are you talking to?” came the call from downstairs that snapped her awake from the dialogue and pushed her back into the present.

“No one” she shouted back and started getting dressed.

She was going to dress to control.

She was going to dress to kill.