EpisodeTwo
1117 Words
He knocked on the door, but no response came through. He repeatedly knocked with no response, then he burst into her room only to meet with a lost Claire staring at a blank space.
He felt a bit sorry for her but quickly dismissed it; he called her out loudly with silence in response.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” He shouted.
Claire jotted up and hit her hand on the dressing mirror. She winches in pain
“Where were you lost? have been calling for the longest, this must not repeat itself as what I hate the most is people wasting my time,” James said in a cold and firm voice.
“Met me in my room when you’re done,” he ordered.
“Met me in my room when you’re done”, Claire mimics him and hisses.
Do I need to obey him? She thought to herself, as she lay down and covered herself with a duvet.
All the memories replay in her head, she thought of her helpless sister and wished for her quick recovery. With all the memories playing in her head, she drifted into a deep slumber.
Claire wakes up feeling refreshed with new hope, she prays for the best of the days ahead and gets ready for the day.
A knock came in through the door, “come in,” said Claire.
Marinet enters with a tray of food,
“Good morning ma’am, your breakfast,” said Marinet.
She collected it and thanked her.
Claire was about to start eating when the door burst open, revealing a furious James.
Although scared, Claire questioned his actions to hide her fear.
“Why did you enter my room like that?What if I’m not dressed up yet?What if…” asked Claire.
Before she could complete the last sentence, James shut her up.
“You made the terrible call,” James growled, dragging her toward the door. “And I will answer that call. Do you think you’re in control here? You think you have a say?”
James was pacing up and down his room waiting for Claire to show up, but to his surprise and annoyance, she didn’t show up and this did nothing but increase his anger toward her.
Claire! You dare to defy my order; he thought and left for his study.
He buried himself in work to suppress his anger, but to no avail, he vented his anger on the punching bags.
The following morning, he burst into her room and she welcomed him with questions.
“Who the hell are you to question what and where to enter in my own house?”, “This is my house, beware of how you speak to me because I can make you disappear without any trace.” Said James in a dangerous tone.
He grips her hand, bringing her closer to himself
“What gives you the effrontery to go against my word? I asked you to come last night or didn’t I?” Answering me, he shouted.
“yes.ss” Claire shuttered,
“Why didn’t you come?” He asked
“Nothing,” replied Claire.
“Oh, you want to know what I will do right, let me show you,” said James.
“You made the terrible call and I must answer,” he dragged her out of the room.
He called two of his maids and said, “Take her down and lock her up in the darkroom; do not open until I say so”
“Yes, sir,” they replied in chorus.
At the mention of the darkroom Claire’s body shivered, she pleaded to be let go, she pleaded with James, but he paid no heed. They dragged her to the room and locked her up.
Claire sat curled up in the corner of the darkroom, her breath shallow, her fingers trembling against the coax floor. The room was so dark with no ray of light.
She has been here before, not but in the darkness. Her uncle’s voice rang in her head
“you’ll stay here till you learn”
That room where he kept her had no windows, no escape, no ray of light, just her and the darkness. She had sworn she’d never return to that kind of prison, but here she was, trapped, isolated, and waiting to escape.
Tears bested up her face; it wasn’t just a memory; it was real,she gasped for air, the darkness, the weight of powerlessness, her heart pounding against her ribs, fast and erratic. She clutches her chest, desperate to breathe, but it all seems impossible and surrounded by darkness.
James was on a videoconference with some of his clients talking about investment, planning and strategies, but he barely registered their words; his thoughts kept drifting to Claire.
After negotiation here and there, the meeting ended, but James was still seated there, lost in his thoughts.
A flicker of something, perhaps guilt, nudged at the back of his mind, but he shook it off.
“She needs to learn. “
“James”
Victor’s voice cut through the air, bringing him back to the present.
He sat across from him with a folded arm.
“I heard the maids talking about Claire, about what you did to her”
James tensed, his fists his hand with a little too much force.
“And ?”
Victor sighed, “It’s been over six hours, whatever point you were trying to make l, I think she learned her lesson, let her out “
“Stay out of it Victor* James restored and stood up to leave
Victor shook his head
“She's your wife, not some prisoner. You need to treat her like one .”
James shot him a cold glare before leaving the room.
Victor sighed, rubbing his temple and muttered to himself, “This is not right and I hope you won’t regret this one day.”
The house was silent with the dim light from the hallway as the only rays of light, his footsteps echoing off the marble floor as he made his way to the darkroom. His intention was not to lock her up this long, he just wanted her to understand that obeying him the most.
“Claire”, he called his voice form
No response
Was she ignoring me? He stepped into the room with his phone flash on, the beam of light cutting through the darkness and revealing her lying unconscious on the cold floor.
His breath hitched
“Claire?” He rushed to her side, his hand shaking as he held her in his arm; she was pale, and she breathed shallowly.
- Writer
