Chapter 31: The Domineering trait

Brielle's POV

Just up ahead, I could see that we were arriving at the facade of my studio apartment and not Jace's place. I stood my ground that he should take me back home because I was still mad at him.

I opened up the door of the car even before he could park. I caught him grimacing as I slammed the door. It did not take longer than a few seconds before I heard the tires screeching as he reversed and spun the car violently around to go back.

"What was that? Is he mad at me for being mad at him?!" I asked myself, feeling bewildered. "This guy can be so insensitive, and it hurts."

I could hear the sound of television blaring from the inside, which meant either Hera or Ona was around. It was a Friday evening which meant they could both be back too. I knocked at the door for a while before someone unlocked it. It was Ona, and I walked right past her, ignoring the big welcoming smile she was flashing at me.

"Brielle-"

My hand cut across the air, silencing her. The queen of all Mexican soap operas series sat comfortably on the couch glued to the television. Hera was digging into a bowl of popcorn and a juice pack laid by her side.

"Hey, Brielle," said Hera without turning her attention away from the television. "Brielle?"

I was sure she realized I was gone because I heard Ona explaining to her that it seemed like I was in a bad mood. In my bedroom, I sat down on the bed, unbuckling my heels. It felt good to get rid of the stupid shoe finally.

Hera and Ona came inside, and I groaned at my stupidity for not having securely locked the door. Right now, they looked and felt like intruders to me.

"Brielle, what's wrong with you?" Hera said.

"Look, can you both just beat it! I need my space right now, and I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone," I snapped uncontrollably.

"Alright, just take your time; we'll be there when you need us!" Hera said, turning to take her to leave.

"We can find you a suitable replacement if Jace is being a jerk," Ona said, and they both began giggling as they marched off.

"Hey, Ona, it isn't fair to assume she's angry because of Jace..." Hera continued, but they were already gone, and the rest of the conversation was faint.

I locked my bedroom door and began to cry. The truth was it was possible to replace Jace in a minute, but I couldn't think of who else would make my toes curl or my stomach flutter like the way he did. I lay in bed, sobbing and all the while thinking about how Jace wanted to control every aspect of my life. It did not just end with the sex. He wanted to be the boss over me at work, in bed, and now over my mind!

I did not sign up for any of this, and to be frank, I thought he was becoming a changed man but today revealed that he had every tendency to be worse than I had an idea of. Later, Hera came back to me to speak, and I felt more inclined to open up. She said she was not comfortable going to bed without seeing me cheer up.

We were both sitting on the bed as I began to pour out the thoughts and feelings I had been harboring.

"Hera, there's something I need to tell you about Jace," I said, whispering. "However, you have to promise me that you won't divulge this to anyone, especially Ona."

She looked at me, shocked. "Is he a serial killer?"

I recoiled. "How did you know?"

She recoiled too and said, "Wait, what?!"

"I'm joking, he's not a serial killer, but he's a dominant!"

"BDSM?" Hera said, gasping! "Jace, but he looks nothing like it."

I cocked my head to the side and gave her a stare that seemed to say, "Really?!"

"Really? Haven't you noticed how he used to behave right from our school days?"

"Yeah, okay, so what's the issue? You don't want to be submissive or what?" Hera asked, and I gasped. "On a scale of one to ten, just how domineering is he?"

"In bed, he's still gentle, but he likes to control what I eat, how I dress and—" I paused because I did not want to open up the neuroheadset case.

"And what, Brielle?! This is interesting," Hera chided.

"And I have a feeling if it was possible, he would want to have control over knowing what I'm thinking!" I think I told a white lie, or maybe not. It was true, but I did not give Hera all the details about it.

"So, is that what's getting you riled up?"

"Honestly, I just can't deal with it any longer!"

"Okay, I know this might sound weird, but do you know how many girls would want to be you right now?" Hera asked, greeting her face with her palm. "I love to be dominated, but I'm too scared to admit it to anyone. This is my dark fantasy."

I stared at her, becoming absorbed in our conversation and feel oblivious to the passage of time.  "You think it's cute to be controlled?"

She gave me a silly nod. "Totally, but I can understand if you don't want that."

I did not blame Hera, and I too, thought it was cute until I got into the real deal and saw that I needed my freedom. So now what? I wondered about what I would say next. I thought that Hera would have strong opposition towards Jace, but instead, here she felt it was cute that he wanted to bind me with rope, tell me what to eat, and read my thoughts.

"I'm not comfortable because, well, Jace...." I trailed off. "Jace, I-"

Hera snickered. "It's alright, Brielle! You don't have to enjoy the same thing as I. Let's develop a strategy to get him to start rethinking about you. He should start seeing you as someone who wants to be equal with him."

Honestly, I felt like she had just opened up the issue. I wanted some level of equality with Jace. He was high and mighty, and I had just to do what exactly? Be submissive or something. While the idea struck me as adventurous, I saw that there existed certain loopholes in the contractor's mind.

Yes, the contract made it seem very consensual because I was signing up for something I read and thought I understood. There were things of the paper that happened. Who was I to turn to if things got out of hand? Certainly not a lawyer!

"Brielle!" Hera called, snapping my attention back to life.

"I'm sorry," I replied. "Yeah, we should come up with some ways to leverage me."

We both develop a strategy to make Jace realize some of his wrongful acts. Jace was not aware of the depth of his actions. I did not think he understood just how unjust he had been earlier, and while I might have enjoyed being a sex slave, I was no slave on the other spheres of life.

It was beautiful the next day. I woke up to the sound of sweet melodies. There was a rollercoaster of throwback songs coming from the opposite room, and I knew Ona was playing them. I felt a little lighter, and tapped into the energy that the song brought and used it to get ready for work.

"Brielle," Ona called through the open door. I could see she was working out, but she stopped to chat with me. "How was your night?"

"It was short damn!" I said, noticing the hint of complaint in my voice. I spent more hours awake and restless before I could finally get the last few ones of sleep. Also, I had a disturbing dream about Jace.

"You know you can stay home if you don't want to go to work," Ona suggested.

"No, I'll just manage to get by today!" I replied. "Where's Hera?"

"She's taking her bath; do you want me to call her?"

"No, it's fine; just tell her I've left already for work, and uh, I'll be coming back right on time today."

"Okay, sure, have a great day Brielle and wishing you the best."

"Yeah, I suppose, thanks!" I said.

"If only wishes were what again?" I thought while leaving. "Yeah, horses! The lame will ride."

I stepped into the warmth of the day and braced myself for where the storm would come from or where I would meet with it. I got to the office just in time before my boss, thankfully. Jace was not in his office even though we were both late, and I wondered why.

A staff member came to immediately tell me that there was a business partner who had been waiting a couple of minutes for either Jace or me to show up. I immediately requested for him to come over. He was dressed elegantly, unlike anyone I had ever seen with Jace. He looked like an American who spoke eloquently well too.

"So what does building a ship entail, Miss Brielle?" Henry said after we introduced ourselves.

I spread a sheet of paper and took a deep breath.

"During the shipbuilding process, each ship block is brought to the building-dock, where they are erected with cranes, by the welding sequence. After each erection, welding is carried out on block joints.

The alignment of blocks is a significant factor determining the shipyard's productivity, and quality assurance measures ensure proper alignment. Improvements in alignment have been made by use of proper jigs for curved shell panels, proper welding techniques that have lower heat input, and by the use of laser alignment tools."

He was smiling at me like I had demystified a vast subject. He was a rich dummy looking into building ships and starting a logistic business.

"Okay, miss Brielle, I want this company to handle it."

After a few hours later, it became clear that Jace had skipped work for the entire day. It was time for me to go home, and I felt a little panicky over the fact that he had not shown up or called to say why. My number was switched off because Hera and I agreed to make myself unreachable. Also, it helped that my line was switched off because, at the moment, I felt like calling Jace.

Later that night, Hera and Ona took me to go to a musical concert as a way to take my mind off things. Despite the crowd, the live performances, and the cheery atmosphere, I still felt my day ending with frustration.

Hera gave me a nudge and said, "Brielle come on, groove to the music! Jace will come around."

"Yeah, I'm not thinking about him right now!" I yelled over the blaring music that seemed to crescendo around us.

Ona looked from me to Hera and then back at me again before saying, "Brielle, you have that look that tells us it's Jace you're thinking about!"

"Wait! What do you mean?" I asked, sounding alarmed.

"The one where your face turns all gloomy and your eyes become like those of a sad little puppy," Hera explained over the music. Honestly, I need a mirror or, my phone, but I left it at home.

"You guys are making fun of the situation," I said, musing.

"Shh! Guys, King Mackenzie, the artist we've all been waiting for!" Ona announced. She was a massive fan of the artist, and he was the primary reason she came to the music concert.

The singer held the mic to his lips, and for a moment, all we could hear was his breathing. From where we stood, I could see that his eyes were shut. Silence engulfed everywhere for a while until the slow tempo of instrumentals began to play.

The singer opened his mouth to start singing, and I felt for a moment that he had been sent from heaven because of his golden voice. It was the first time since I left the house in the morning that I felt an energy of happiness surge back into me. Music seemed to be a very therapeutic measure when I was down.