Chapter 10 - Time's Up
533 Words
I picked up the phone with trembling hands and called my grandmother, but the person who answered was my younger brother, Ohm.
(Hello, Aey.)
"Where's grandma, Ohm? I want to talk to her."
(Grandma is paying my tuition fees. Is there something you need, Aey?)
"Tell grandma not to pay yet," I interrupted quickly.
(Grandma already paid. Is there something wrong, Aey? If I don't pay soon, I might get expelled because I've been behind on tuition for months.)
"Did grandma say where she got the money from?"
(Why are you asking as if you don't know anything, Aey? Grandma said your boss sent someone to give her the money. It's an advance payment from your supervisor.)
I slowly lowered the phone and hung up.
It felt like the walls were closing in on me. I didn't blame grandma for using the money because she thought it was from my work. The last time we talked on the phone, I told her I got a job and that my boss was very kind.
Besides, Ohm's tuition had been delayed for months because I couldn't find the money to pay. Grandma was probably afraid that the school would expel Ohm, so she hurried to pay.
"Do you feel better after calling your grandma?" Mr. Plerng, who had been silently listening to my conversation, asked. His piercing eyes never left me.
What peace of mind could he offer me when there's no way out now?
"I know it might be hard to get used to at first. But after a while, you might get so attached that you can't leave me," he said arrogantly.
"I want to do any other work to pay off the debt, anything but that," I said.
"There's no other work. Your only job is to be with me."
It was impossible for me to accept. We didn't know each other before, never dated, so how could I do something so shameful?
"You might think I'm cruel, and maybe I am. For someone I desire, I don't care how evil I'm seen, as long as I get what I want."
"Why me?"
"There's no reason."
I pondered what excuse I could use to make the man in front of me let me go, and came up with a flimsy excuse, "I already have a boyfriend."
"So what? I don't care," Khun Plerng leaned in closer and spoke again, "because I want your body, not to make you my girlfriend."
Suddenly, a large hand grabbed my arm before my body was dragged into the bedroom by Khun Plerng, as I struggled and protested.
"Please, Khun Plerng, don't do anything to me. I'm begging you."
"Khun Plerng, let me go. Let go!!"
With a thud, my body was mercilessly thrown onto the king-sized bed, and his sharp features looked at me with displeasure.
"Your time is up, Eung Aey," Khun Plerng said as he slowly untied the belt of his robe.
Yes, I had made a mistake.
I took a deep breath before asking in a trembling voice, "J... Just once, right?"
"The contract states until you graduate,"
For me, that's a very long time. It would feel like an eternity in hell.
- Writer
