Chapter 26: I Own You

Henry sat me down on the porch of the house. The dried leaves and a thin layer of dust carpeted on the floor seemed like no one had cleaned it for several days. I doubted whether a human had lived here or not? He headed to the wooden door and knocked twice into it. But no one answered. Again, he knocked patiently, but I could feel his anger. Minutes passed, but no one answered the door.

“Who the hell is living here? I’m gonna break it down if no one answers the fucking door in the next minute!” He growled and slammed his fist against it.

I had to calm him down. I cleared my throat, catching his attention. “Henry, have you watched ‘Mamma’?” I studied the horrible structure of a wooden house. “Don’t you think this house looks exactly like the ghost house in that movie?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Will you stop your rubbish talk?” He was angry but seeing him like this I was amused and laughed at him. I didn’t know what was wrong. Did I drink too much alcohol? “A few minutes ago you were crying like a baby and now you’re laughing at me!”

“Whenever you were angry with me, I hated you, but now I feel it is so sweet. You are looking so cute.” I grinned and pulled my knees together and rested my head on them, staring at my beautiful husband.

“Are you drunk today?”

“I don’t know, but I am thrilled today,” I said, smiling.

Suddenly, the door creaked open and an elderly woman stepped out. She observed Henry and me. I frowned because she was watching us as if we had come here to rob her house.

A moment later, her eyes narrowed. “What do you want, young man?”

“Your house,” Henry said as if he had owned her house. God damn him! “We need your house for…” Before he could finish himself, she cut him off.

“You've come here for robbery?” she exclaimed. “I must call the police.” She quickly stepped back into the house and slammed the door in front of his face hard.

“That old witch!” he hissed and punched his fist on the door as hard as he could. “How dare she call me robber? Doesn’t she read newspapers and magazines?”

I know you’re popular, but it doesn’t mean everyone knows about you. I wanted to tell him that but I kept quiet and approached him. “Let me try,” I said, and knocked on the door softly. One minute passed, then two, three, and after fifteen minutes she opened the door.

Before she could open her mouth to say something, I held her hands gently. “We have not come here for robbery, ma'am.” I smiled. “Our car has stopped in the middle of the deserted road and we have nowhere to go in the middle of the night. After a few miles of walking, we found your house, so we came here hoping you will help us.”

She stared into my eyes, searching for the truth, and finally, she found it. “You’re reliable.”

“Thank you. We only stay here for a night.”

“And you can charge as much money as you can. I am ready to pay you even a hundred thousand dollars,” Henry snapped at her.

“Young man, don’t give me attitude. Just learn how to talk to the elders with the use of that money,” the woman retorted back.

Henry balled his fists and narrowed his eyes. “I know very well how to talk to people, especially people like you, and I don’t need your damn advice,” he said through teeth.

I squeezed his hand softly to ease his tension. “Henry, at this moment, we need her help. Be polite,” I said, and he snatched his hand from my grasp. Obviously, he didn’t like my advice. He would never be polite to anyone else except his father.

The old lady led us into her house, and we stepped in, following her. I looked around; the house was old and broken; it had dark wooden flooring and a cracked wall in each corner. The only furniture in the house was a table, a chair, and an old portrait of a man which was hanging on the right side of the wall.

“Damn! I have to spend the entire night in this trashy place!” Henry hissed.

“We have no other option either,” I whispered.

“Young lady, your legs are swollen,” she said, looking down at my legs. “I'll give you warm water, it relieves your pain.”

I nodded with a soft smile. “I appreciate it.”

“You know very well how to talk. Teach some manners to your boyfriend,” she taunted Henry, and his grip tightened around my waist due to rage-fueled within him.

“He is not my boyfriend.” I glanced at him, squeezing his hand. “He is my husband.”

“Oh, I feel sorry for you. I would say you have chosen the wrong man in your life.”

“And you’re messing with the wrong man right this fucking now!” He clenched his teeth, glaring at her.

Before they could start fighting, I interrupted them. “Where is our room, ma'am?”

She glared at him for a few seconds before turning around. “Follow me,” she ordered us and Henry’s nose flared with rage.

I grabbed his hand softly. “Let’s go.”

She led us to the room where a single bed was set in the middle, a cabinet beside it, and an armchair next to the window. It was small but clean.

“I hope you both will enjoy your night.” She glanced between us before walking out of the room.

As soon as she walked out, Henry slammed the door shut behind her and closed his eyes, gulping down air to calm his anger. “How could she talk to me like this!”

“Just ignore her words.” I looked at him, but he didn’t turn at me. His broad back in front of me, rising and falling rapidly as he was trying hard to control his fury.

I reached for the bed and sat down, waiting for him to join me. But when he didn’t join, I lay down and stared at him. He was looking across the dusky clouds through the window. The light of night shone on his face, making his skin glow. I wanted him to lay down next to me, but it was only possible in my dreams.

*****

The next morning, my ear echoed with birds chirping, and the rays of sunlight gleaned on my face through the open window. I rubbed my eyes and looked across the room. Henry was nowhere in sight. I got off the bed and my swollen legs were recovered. I checked the bathroom, but he wasn’t there. I went out of the room and checked the hall. Not there either.

I stepped out of the house and looked around for him. Except for tall trees and the quiet road, I couldn’t see anything. Panic hit me hard when my mind drifted to his revenge. What would I do if it was his other trick? I dragged myself back into the house and sat on a chair.

“What happened, dear? You look upset,” the woman asked and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Have you seen my husband?” I asked her, whispering.

“Has he not come yet?” she glanced at the entrance. “I saw him in the morning, he was in a hurry and I couldn't get a chance to ask him where he was going.”

Immediately, I stood up. “Didn't he tell you anything?”

“No.”

My body shivered with blind terror as my heart throbbed under my chest harder. He left me alone. That was the reason he was behaving like a loving husband yesterday. He was talking to me softly, and most importantly, he had asked me out and brought me here so that he could abandon me. All he wanted was to hurt me and he achieved it. Why did I let him do this to me? How could I be such a fool and stupid?

She held my hand and squeezed it softly. “He'll come.”

“He won’t come.” tears welled up in my eyes and ran down through my cheeks.

“Why are you crying?” she asked.

I bit into my lower lip to stop myself from crying. “I-I need some fresh air,” I said and rushed out of the house. I plopped down on the porch and hugged my knees together. My body was shuddering with pain. I observed the area, the tall palm trees, the rustling of leaves, and how deserted that area was. It was the reason he had brought me here. I rested my head on my knees, hearing my heartbeat. How stupid I thought that he cared for me.

“Why are you crying?” I heard a deep, and masculine voice.

“He hurt me,” I said absentmindedly.

“Who the fuck?” he growled and startled me. “Alice, look at me.”

I shot my eyes at him when I recognized his voice. “Henry,” I whispered, and found my husband standing in front of me.

“Why are you crying? Did that old lady…” he grabbed my chin and made me look at him. “Did she hurt you? Tell me I won’t leave her this time.”

I smiled at his words, even as tears continued rolling down my face. “She did nothing.”

You did.

“Then why are you shedding damn tears?”

“I thought that you left me alone here.”

“Really!” He stared at me with a fixed expression. “But the idea is not that bad. I can leave you here but it’ll make your life easier, which I never want.” He leaned forward, his hot breath blowing across my face. “Because I own you, Alice.”

*****

“Can you please pass me some strawberries?” I asked Harley, and she hurried down to pick some strawberries. I came to Vivian’s house to spend my Sunday with my little girl. Harley loved sweets, so I decided to bake muffins for her.

“Mmm…delicious! My mouth is watering.” She licked her lips playfully.

I pinched her nose sweetly. “Control your water, otherwise it will drip in the batter.”

After forty-five minutes, we finally finished our baking, and the muffins were ready to serve. “Wow! Princess, it looks so delicious.” Her eyes filled with light. She stood up on the kitchen island to catch my height and softly patted my back. “You’re a great chef, Princess.”

"Without your help, how could I bake such delicious muffins?”

“Mmm…can I have one?”

“Wait let me call Joseph first, then we'll eat together,” I said.

After a few minutes, Joseph stepped in and we all sat on the kitchen Island, eating delicious muffins.

Harley took a huge bite. “Yummy,” she mumbled, and I laughed.

“Are you all eating alone here?” Vivian’s deep voice echoed in the kitchen. We snapped our heads to see him. He was in his black suit and looked like, gorgeous father. “And you little, you don’t even care about your dad?” He said to his daughter.

“But you told me that you'll be late today,” Harley said, chewing.

He ran his fingers through his long hair. “Yeah, but today is your holiday, and I thought to spend my time with you so I finished my work early and came here directly.”

We continued to eat our muffins, ignoring Vivian’s intense look at our muffins. “Where is my muffin?” Vivian demanded and my eyes popped out in surprise. He was demanding like a baby.

“Harley told me you don’t like sweets so I baked only a few because It was my first time and I didn’t want to waste time and things.”

He plopped down in the chair beside me. “But you guys can share with me, right?”

Harley took a big bite of her muffin. “Please dad, don’t move your ass between me and my muffin,” she mumbled, and my eyes snapped at her. She was speaking vulgarly.

Vivian looked at Joseph. “And you, Joseph, would you like to share a few bites with me?”

Joseph quickly gulped the last piece of muffin, swallowing. “Sorry, my lord, I already finished it,” he said through his mouthful of muffin.

I held back my laugh.

Vivian frowned and looked at me like a hunter. I quietly slipped my plate near to me. “D-don’t look at me like that, I am not going to sh—” before I could finish, he lunged at my plate and stole away my muffins.

“Sorry, Alice but it’s mine now.” He ran faster across the hall.

“Give my muffins back,” I screamed at him and jogged behind him. Before I could catch him, he escaped, putting the chair between us. I put my hands on my hips. “You are behaving like a child.”

He stopped in the middle of the hall. “You would have shared it with me. You are the one who forces me to do this.” He laughed and I moved towards him carefully, and now he was a few inches away from me.

Immediately, I jumped at him, but he already gulped down the muffin. My blood went ice cold. I grabbed his tie and pulled him down. “How dare you!” I growled, and he laughed. “You took away my thing and now I'll take yours.” I threatened him. “Harley, tell me your father’s favorite thing.”

“Condoms.” She didn’t take a second to reply. “Condoms are his favorite thing.”