Trapped In Beastly Desires

Her idea

June was yet to recover from the shock that felt like she just had a face-to-face encounter with some gunmen, and from the look of things she might never recover from it. Throughout the meeting, June felt uneasy, suffocating herself with thoughts and immeasurable anxiety. She couldn't focus for a second, and Anthony made it difficult for her by questioning her as though she were learning in the classroom. Questions she barely answered.

June worried herself sick at the end of the day because she finally lost the family business to an old enemy. The same Kings family her family battled with many years ago. God knows, June might end up hanging herself to death due to the level of depression she felt.

The meeting came to an end with June condescending and being laughed at by the shareholders. Out of mortification and depression, she carried her briefcase and walked out of the building. June almost plodded like a sad loser, but she would rather die than to have her dignity removed for a second; therefore, she walked like a winner and endured the chaos warring inside her.

June walked to the underground parking lot with brisk steps that often evolved into a sprint. She puffed out a little of her depression as she went. June avoided seeing Anthony Kings again; therefore, she must hurry home. Stepping closer to her car, she opened the door and made to enter.

“Not so fast,” a deep, gruff voice interrupted, making June cringe and turn around immediately. Her car key dropped to the ground in the process of the sudden shock. Fear surfaced all over her, her fingers twitched, and her lips trembled.

A 6'2” bronde-haired man stood in front of her, his flaming, sky-blue eyes gazing at her. His good-looking and charismatic nature, coupled with his domineering aura, was desirable, but unwelcoming. Through his attire, one could still see his tasty, muscular build that with only a glimpse, a woman would be found wanting him. The fine, neatly shaved bronde stubble on his flawless face was tempting to touch. His perfect-shaped reddish-pink lips was tempting to kiss.

June's enemy had perfect qualities.

June reduced a little of the fear that left her quavering —the enemy she avoided now stood in front of her, and she must be strong to confront him. June swallowed the massive lump in her throat and raised her brows with her lips pursed, still battling to kill the fear within. “Clinton?” the first word came out tensed; she knew it. “Is this you?” the second words still came off jittery.

Anthony quirked an eyebrow, which gave a hint of his fury. “Are you staring at a ghost?”

June still couldn't defeat her fear. The situation was quite incredulous and terrifying. Clinton died and everybody knows. Or was it a lie? She was doomed, and that's the fact. “Oh.” she was confused whether to ask how he managed to come alive, or to ask if he truly died. But then she folded her arms like a boss and said, “You’ve got the company, so I believe it's about time I leave.” she intended to enter the car.

Anthony grabbed her by the arm to stop her. June glared at him. How dare he grab a woman at her age like that? How she did wish she could slap him right through the face, but where can she borrow such audacity? All she did was stare in wonderment.

“Are you fleeing from your mistakes or your punishment?” he asked. “If you think you can escape your punishment… what about Kayla, can she escape hers?”

Exactly what June expected of him. To wreak vengeance on Kayla. Hearing him mention Kayla's name swept anger into June — the kind of anger that overcame her fear and made her pull her hand off his grip. Pointing at his face, she warned, “Don’t you dare mention Kayla's name, or even think about hurting her—”

“Don’t give me that, June. Maybe the Christopher family knows the truth about what happened that year.” he slid his hands into his pockets. “I am just beginning to punish the Christopher family, June. So, you just sit back and watch. Also…” he paused. “Make sure you tell Kayla to get ready for a new life.” he walked off.

June was completely appalled. Nothing in the world had ever broken June's heart to the point of forsaking her unbreakable dignity. June felt an overwhelming heartache that stirred up tears in her eyes. To avoid more shame, she got into her car, leaned her head against the steering wheel and wept.

She wished she could turn back the hand of the clock as that was the only solution left, but it was impossible. What could she do to save Kayla? What would life be when her family gets crippled by shame and destitution. Anthony Kings gave her his words, and he would definitely keep to it. What now?

June endured the heartache until she returned home. She was supposed to be happy to see her family, and make them happy to see her after eight months of being away. But instead, June seemed doleful from the moment she stepped into the house. Her obvious uneasiness provoked worries in her children and made them ask questions. Her children were supposed to celebrate and ask about work; they were rather troubled.

“You’ve never been this sad before, Mom. Did anything happen?” Kayla, who just hugged June, gave her a worried look and asked.

“Anything could have happened,” Pinky said with a mouthful of cereals she scooped from a bowl of cereal she held, then waved her hand with disgust and went upstairs. Other daughters who misunderstand their mother walked away, only Kayla and Sam remained. Jonathan wasn't home.

“You aren't saying anything, Mom,” Sam complained, frowning.

“Sam, I need to take a nap. It was a long day today. We'll talk about everything later.” June couldn't fight the tiredness and worries in her voice; it was conspicuous to Sam and Kayla. Giving them the assurance, she plodded upstairs.

June and her family were supposed to celebrate her homecoming at dinner, but things took another turn. Nobody had the appetite to eat.

June’s heart was heavy that holding a spoon felt impossible. Her memory with Anthony lingered, especially the things he said about Kayla.

“Don’t you mind sharing the problem with your family? Or we can talk about it later in the bedroom,” Jonathan supposed. Sam and Kayla switched their eyes from Jonathan to June as he spoke, hoping his words work on June. But it didn't, it rather made it worse because June now placed her head in her hands with her eyes closed.

“Okay, fine. I'm out of here.” Pinky pushed out her chair to leave. She was fed up with the boredom — dinner felt boring as beans. “In fact, I'm leaving this house.” she left the dining room.

Maria rolled her eyes and sighed. “Other than losing Asrijet, what more should you worry about?” she asked. June said nothing, and her silence chapped Maria’s hide. “The last time I checked, you're an overbearing woman who feels nothing.” she dropped the fork she held and left.

Tally broadened the left side of her cheek in scorn and looked up. “Erm…”

“Not a word from you, Tally. If you want to leave, then just do it civilly,” Lena disrupted. Although her voice came off quieter, the sternness on her face affected the impression it made on Tally.

Lena was an illegitimate child in the family, who June had in her early age for another man. Lena was innately strict, and people avoided her because of her cold demeanor. Moreover, she was wealthy from her pocket.

Tally scoffed with her mouth dropped open in disbelief. “Really? You're not even a part of this family, you illegitimate —”

“Quiet!” Jonathan yelled, glaring at Tally.

Tally got angrier to have heard her own father yell at her because of Lena. She threw the spoon she held on the table, and stormed out of the dining room.

After a few minutes of silence with no one eating, June stood up. “Come with me, Lena.” she made to leave; Lena stood up to follow her.

The very fact Jonathan worried himself sick about June and asked her to speak to him about her problems, and now June rather decided to share her problem with Lena, angered Jonathan.

He smothered a bit of his anger and said, “Seriously, June? Am I your husband or a stranger to you? As your husband, I've been asking you to—”

“Jonathan, is there anything wrong with me having a talk with my daughter?” June shrugged, now turning from sad to furious. “Go to hell.” she left the dining room with Lena.

Kayla felt bad about the little quarrel June and Jonathan just had. One thing Kayla hated was argument and trouble, and the little that just happened had a big effect on her mood. She was nervous about speaking, but then she said, “Forgive her, Father. Maybe something terrible happened on her way—”

“Do you always beg on people's behalf?” Jonathan shot her a raging glance that caught words in her throat. “Could you for once keep your softhearted instinct aside?” he walked away.

Since the situation was nothing June could handle on her own, she took Lena to a bedroom to share the problem.

Lena wasn't only something like her, Lena was that person she shared her ups and downs with, also the person with whom she confided her deepest secret. Lena had never seen her father before, yet she loved her mother, and could do anything for her.

There in the bedroom, June sat on the bed, shaking like she were held at gunpoint. She stood up often, paced and sat back down. She was devastated to the point where she wept.

Lena stood with her arms folded, trailing June with her eyes to examine her complicated gestures. Lena felt no worries because she was stone-hearted, she wanted to know what has happened to June that shattered her to such extent.

“Won’t you tell me, Mother? You know you can't drown in your pain while I'm here.” she stepped closer and stood in front of June. “Is it about Asrijet?”

“No, Lena.” she wiped her tear with a flick of her fingers. “It’s — I may sound crazy, but —” she ran her hand through her hair, confused how to say something that impossible. “Clinton Kings is alive.”

Although Lena got stunned on hearing June, doubt kicked out the fear that would have dashed into her. Lena didn't show any sign of shock or whatsoever, rather a glimmer of doubt could be spotted in her eyes. “Are you seeing things, Mother?”

June got on her feet because of the height of shock that came with Lena’s unbelievable question. Her brows arched with anger, she was about hitting the roof. “No. I saw Clinton Kings with my own eyes. He's all grown up, he called me Lady Bossy, and he confronted me. Worse being he’s the buyer of Asrijet.”

“What?” Lena’s arms unfolded, and her eyes widened, her brows met in the middle — Lena was dead shocked. At first, she thought June told a lie, but this time it clicked that June might be right. But how possible? A boy who died has come alive? The part that ruined Lena’s mood was Clinton buying Asrijet. Moreover, she knew Clinton has returned for revenge. Lena scoffed after she quenched her fear, and anger replaced. “It seems Alicia is good at playing chess.” she looked at June. “Clinton is back, but he can do nothing.”

“I wish he can't, Lena.” she teared up again. “He threatened to ruin this family, which he already started by buying Asrijet. According to him, Kayla should get ready for a new life.” she held Lena's arms. “Don’t you understand that Clinton wants to harm Kayla as he swore in Court?”

“He swore, Mom. But he cannot predict the future.” she wiped June's tears with her fingers, then placed her hands on June's shoulders. “Don’t worry, Mom. I'll take care of him.”

June's eyes widened in apprehension. She took Lena's hands off her shoulders. “No, Lena.” June felt displeased with Lena's assurance, and it frightened her because being up against Anthony would definitely cost Lena's life. June cannot afford to lose any of her children. “I will not let you take on Clinton.”

“But, Mom—”

She gestured in a fit of anger, and yelled, “Don’t, Lena. And if you want me dead, then go ahead and take on Clinton.”

“What then are we going to do to save Kayla and our family?” Lena asked with a shred of worry in her voice; her eyebrow quirked.

June sat, abounded with a million thoughts that left traces on her bleak face. Lena knew she was thinking about something, and could end up with a pointless idea.

June raised her index finger in the air, “Yes,” she tilted her head to the side. “Yes. Nicolas Hudson.”

Lena sighed and wagged her head in disbelief, she knew June was going to come up with an unfavorable idea. “Nicolas Hudson cannot save Kayla from Clinton, trust me when I say so.” She folded her arms.

“Of course, he can. Clinton will beat feet when he learns that Kayla had mar…”

A knock came at the door — a knock that shut June up on the thought that whoever it was had heard their conversation. And when Kayla introduced herself, June gasped out the deluging fear that came on hearing Kayla's voice. She felt it was necessary for the ground to open up and swallow her. If there was something June needed Kayla not to hear, it was Clinton's return.

On the contrary, Lena had no problem with Kayla being at the door, and June's frantic reaction annoyed her. What will happen if Kayla hears about Clinton? She'd abide in fear and more regret. What more? Will she snuff it?

“Get ready to talk to Kayla about Nicolas,” Lena supposed. June wiped away her tears but never stopped looking pale, regardless of her attempt to look even a bit cheerful. “Come in, Kayla.” Lena glanced at the door, then shifted her glance back to June.

Kayla walked inside and went straight to June. Kayla now seemed angry and not sad because June still couldn't stop worrying, and June did not attempt to say a word to her. “Will you tell me what's wrong?” her angelic voice now mixed up with annoyance.

June said nothing; instead, she put down her head and burst out crying.

Lena realized that June would not speak, so she became June's spokesman. “Kayla. Mom's worried about Linksway. And—” she placed her hand on Kayla's shoulder, her face looking like she was about to say something unpleasant to Kayla.“She wants you to marry Nicolas Hudson as quickly as possible.”

For a dismayed moment, Kayla gazed into Lena's eyes, then at June. Her feelings entangled, yet June's desire was comedic to her. Kayla couldn't grasp why June suggested she marries Nicolas now. She scoffed in disbelief — she was near having a fit.

“Why’re you doing this to me, Mom? I'm supposed to be married at this age of twenty-seven, but I'm not because you keep stopping me from being in a relationship, claiming you want the best for me and every man I want is contemptible. You asked me not to marry Nicolas, now you want me to go ahead and marry him?” Kayla's heart brimmed over with sadness, tears clouding her eyes. Wagging her head, she concluded, “No, Mom. I won't marry him.”

June was angry to insanity because of Anthony's plans, but she unleashed her anger on Kayla's negligence by yelling at her, “Kayla, you must get married to Nicolas.” regret and despair were obvious in June's eyes.

“I won't let you keep telling me what to do. I won't marry Nicolas. Instead, I'll marry Chax,” she yelled, almost about tearing up.

Lena took Kayla's choice as a good idea. She looked at Kayla. “If Mr. Anonymous loves you… then marry him.” she faced June. “If you want Kayla to get married, I'll suggest you let her marry the man she loves.”

“A man we all know nothing about? A man she hasn't seen before?”

“I don't have to see him face-to-face, Mom. Being familiar with him is more than enough.” her tone now shifted from anger to a sweet convincing voice, though a bit sulky. She hoped to win June's heart through some possible means.

“Familiar on social media?” June asked, getting furious.

“Believe me, he’s good.” Kayla sat next to June, and pulled June into her arm, making sure June looked into her eyes. Then she kept that childish expression that could penetrate June's heart and change things. “Chax and I love each other so, so much, and I know he's my Mr. Perfect. He even had my name tattooed on his back.” she offered a smile that melted June's and Lena’s anger, replacing it with bashfulness that curled a sheepish beam on their lips. Kayla gave June a gentle push. “Come on, Mom. Let me marry him. I promise you'd like him.”

“We’re talking about a quick marriage here, Kayla. Can you convince him to marry you very fast?”

Kayla feigned a child-like frown — the fact they wanted her to marry quickly was annoying. “Why do you people want me to get married this fast? Isn't it just for Linksway?” she asked. “Well—” a smile of anticipation went across her face, her expression raised questions in Lena's and June's mind. “Chax proposed to me on the phone, and I agreed.”

“What?” Lena imagined what kind of love it was. Whatever it may be, she felt happy for Kayla at least.

June was happy, for Kayla would escape Anthony once she gets married to Mr. Anonymous. Nevertheless, she must get acquainted with this Chax her daughter loves that wants to marry her. “Sweetheart. If you both love each other, then it's fine by me because I'd seen such a relationship before. But…”

Kayla's mood changed to apprehension when June mentioned ‘but’. “What now?” her voice came off as though anxieties drew her nearer to shedding disappointed tears.

“Your family would love to meet this man who loves you this much. When should we figure on your long-awaited Mr. Perfect? You know he has to propose to you in the open, so that everyone witnesses your engagement.” she flashed Kayla an approving smile that lit up Kayla's mood.

A radiant smile dazzled on Kayla's face. “My Mr. Perfect came home today. Already, he'd planned to propose with a ring tomorrow. I was going to tell you about it earlier, but you threw a fit.” she feigned a childish frown but replaced it with a warm smile before she continued, “Now I know you support our relationship, I'll bring him home tomorrow.”

“Are you sure he minds coming to your house to meet your family?”

“I know Chax, he doesn't mind. Besides, isn't it a responsibility he meets my family before proposing to me?” she shrugged questioningly and glanced at Lena, who shrugged as well. She held June's arms. “Before he comes…” she pointed at June's face; narrowed her eyes in a suspicious but joking manner. “Your cold face must transform amicably.” she touched the tip of June's nose with her finger. “Chax is quite a shy person, so I beg that you all make him feel comfortable.”

“We’ll see to it that the necessity is done. He just has to show up tomorrow,” Lena said.

“And he'll surely come. Tomorrow is just by the corner.”