Surviving Gangster's Love

The Xi Mansion

If you ever wondered whether it actually works, after watching it in action movies, a person being knocked out by putting a rag on their nose, let me tell you. It works. Chloroform does knock people out. It smells almost sweet, but also a little pungent at the same time.

I can't forget the expression he had on his face as he was holding me. As things started blurring and the voices around me were going down, I kept looking into his serene eyes. They were so calm that it was the scariest thing I had seen up until then. I felt a chill run down my spine as his hold on my waist tightened. It was the last sensation I felt before I lost consciousness.

I don't know how long I was out. When I woke up, I was on a huge bed in a room I had never seen before. The pain in my nose had spread all over my face and even to my head. I was feeling nauseous. I felt thirsty and when I tried to look around for water, the slight movement made me groan in pain.

"There is a reason why the doctor prescribed you painkillers."

Baldie was sitting on the couch across the bed. I noticed him only after hearing him speak.

"I can't believe I am babysitting a woman." He muttered under his breath. He stood up with a huff and walked to the bedside table. He poured me some water and handed me two tablets.

"Chug it now, Madam." He said in an disinterested tone.

Although I was in a lot of pain, taking any tablets my captors gave me was out of the question. I was wary of everything around me. I did not even know where I was. Also, not to forget, I had kicked Baldie in the crotch. He would never wish me good, that much I knew.

"Where am I?" I asked him hesitatingly.

"Do you really think you are in a position to ask me questions, Miss?" Baldie replied. He told me to take my medicine and be quiet. He was giving me looks as if I was being bothersome or ungrateful.

"She is a married woman, Ronan. Not a Missus." Mr Xi entered the room and I could feel the temperature dropping.

"She sure likes to act like a baby though," Baldie, whose name was Ronan, said in a huff and left the room. I panicked inside while watching him leave. Now it was just Mr. Xi and me in the room, alone. He took a wooden chair and dragged it to the bedside, then seated himself leisurely. He fixed me with his gaze for a couple of seconds, while I was getting all tensed up inside.

"It is advisable to take the pills, Mrs Clements. Or is it that you like the pain?" His voice sent currents to my bones. It sounded like a threat to my ears, yet there was something about his voice, like a hook that was pulling at my heart strings. I felt ashamed of thinking the way I was thinking. I was embarrassed by the reactions of my own brain. In a panic, I took the pills and swallowed them in one go.

The moment I placed the water cup back on the bedside table, my stomach rumbled like an incoming distant avalanche. It was then that I realized that I had' no food for a whole day. I looked at Mr Xi and he was smirking, as if it was funny. Later, a lady came in with a set of towels, pajamas and toiletries. I was ushered into the washroom. I brushed my teeth and took a quick shower. It was all so disorienting. I was literally kidnapped and everyone was behaving as if it was the most normal occurrence. I was shocked at the ease I was taking it all.

When I came out of the washroom, I could smell the food. It was laid on the table, creamy pasta with herbs of some sort and freshly baked bread. But the first thing I gulped down was freshly pressed orange juice, just the thing I needed for my parched throat. I think I finished everything in one breath. It was after eating my full that I noticed the room, the sheer ridiculous size of the room. The chandelier and the curtains. The paintings and pottery. It all screamed posh. And didn't the washroom have a huge Jacuzzi? I went up the curtains and pulled them aside to see outside. There was a big garden with a f*****g fountain in the middle of the driveway.

"What is this place?" I said out loud in disbelief.

"It is my house." Mr Xi was standing behind me. I never heard him entering the room. He was like a ghost.

"Now that you have your food and medicine, you seem energetic, Mrs Clements," he commented, sitting on the couch. He signaled me to get seated.

"Your husband is still not to be found." He was eying me like a hawk. I was sitting across from him. It was time to have the talk. I tried to compose myself and speak as steadily as I could.

"See, Mr. Xi, I have no idea what Austin has done or where he has run off to. We have been married for less than six months and it is more of a contractual deal than a marriage. We keep to ourselves. So I know nothing about his personal affairs. You don't have anything to gain from keeping me as a hostage. Also, I can assure you that I would let you know the moment I get to hear anything from Austin. So, please let me go." My voice had turned smaller and smaller by the last part. I myself was aware of how not-so-convincing it sounded.

"What kind of deal?" He asked.

"Sorry?" I could not understand what he was referring to.

"You said you and Austin had a contractual deal. What kind of deal?" He asked again.

"Oh, that, just to keep to ourselves and not to bother each other and things on that line." I replied. It was somehow embarrassing to admit the sham of my marriage. Mr Xi was giving me a strange look.

"Austin messed with the bidding of an important tender. Simply put, he took my money in exchange for leaking the information and tried to double cross me with my business rivals. Your husband has got some guts for sure." His voice had turned menacing.

"So, no, I am not interested in hearing about his whereabouts from you, nor am I interested in your marriage deal. I am going to get him back here, and I am not letting go of you before that. Either you pay for the damages on his behalf or you stay here as a colatrel."

I was sweating bullets by this point. How was I supposed to repay whatever humngous amount Austin had messed with? And when did I become a colatrel?

"Mr Xi, I don't know how much loss you have incurred, but..but I am sure I don't have the means to pay for that kind of amount." I was stuttering with nervousness.

"I think you do." He replied. There was a strange flicker in his eyes. I was not sure what it was but I felt a deep sense of dread.

"I don't understand what you mean," I said hesitatingly, but I kind of knew where this was leading to and I did not know how to face it.

He stood up and stepped towards me. My heartbeats had spiked at this point. As he stepped closer and closer, I could not keep looking at him anymore and turned my gaze towards the floor. He stopped right in front of me and next thing, I felt his fingers under my chin.

"Look up, Mrs Clements." He said lightly, it was almost a whisper. The moment I met his eyes, I saw something flickering, intensifying with every second.

"I think I have made my interest in you very obvious. The fact that you are in my room speaks for itself." He was speaking very softly. That kind of tone from him was sending shivers through my spine.

"Now it is up to you. Either you repay me the way I want you to, or you take up the path of hardships and risks, which, honestly, I wouldn't like to see you go through." It was as if he was hypnotising me through his voice, his gaze. He lowered his face close to mine. I could feel his breath. He turned his lips closer to my ear and whispered, "I am hoping you choose what I want you to choose." Then he straightened up and left the room, while I sat there in a daze.