Eternal Love

Chapter 8

Jhie’s POV

“Please… just let me go home. I need to get back. What will happen to my studies if I stay here?” I pleaded with him.

He raised his right eyebrow and narrowed his eyes at me. I took a deep breath, mustering all my courage to beg again.

“My family will definitely worry if I don’t call or text them. I always keep in touch with them every single day. And my boss will wonder where I am too. I might even get fired from my job. That is the only thing helping me support myself so I can finish school. Please… please let me go,” I cried, begging him over and over again.

He just stared at me intently, listening to every word I said. It was like he was trying to read my mind, figuring out if I was telling the truth or just making up excuses to convince him.

“And… I also need to buy something. So if it’s possible… Can I just go home? You already got what you wanted from me anyway,” I added, speaking as bravely as I could.

His eyes narrowed even further. His expression turned dark and dangerous. I’m dead. I thought. It looks like I will never be able to leave this place. I guess I’m really going to be locked up here forever.

“And what is it that you need to buy? Just tell me and I’ll buy it for you. You don’t need to go out at all,” he said.

My mouth fell open in shock. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

I was just about to walk toward the main door when he grabbed my arm tightly. I turned around sharply to face him.

“I said you are NOT leaving! Starting today, you are going to live here with me! Do you understand me, Jhie?!” he shouted. The veins on his neck were bulging out from how angry he was.

“That’s impossible, Si—”

“Whatever it is you need to buy. I will get it for you,” he cut me off, speaking calmly but with so much authority and finality in his voice.

I shook my head. No, he can’t buy it for me. What I needed was contraceptives. And more than that, I really needed to find a way to escape from him.

“I’m sorry but—”

“WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BUY?!” he asked impatiently, clearly losing his temper.

I flinched, especially when he tightened his grip on my arm even more. It actually hurt, but I endured it. Fear was taking over my whole body, and I wanted nothing more than to get away from him as fast as I could.

I had no choice but to tell him the truth. I took another deep breath, my hands and body trembling in fear, scared that he might hurt me if I said something wrong.

“U-uhm… I ju-just need to buy… contraceptives,” I stammered, looking down at the floor in embarrassment.

There was a long, heavy silence between us for several minutes before he finally spoke again.

“Why? Don’t you want to have children with me?”

I heard something in his voice. Was it sadness? Or pain? I couldn’t tell for sure. I looked up at him and saw the hurt and longing reflecting in his beautiful eyes. I didn’t know what to say. I was afraid that if I gave the wrong answer, I would never get out of here and I might even put myself in more danger.

He already took what was most precious to me. I didn’t want to give him anything more than that. I also couldn’t just leave my family in the province; they were all counting on me.

“WHAT?! Why aren’t you answering me?! Am I right, Jhie?!”

“It’s not like that… it’s not that I don’t want to…”

He raised his left eyebrow, waiting for me to explain further.

“I mean… I’m still studying. I want to finish my degree first and give my family a good life before I get married and have children. That’s all.” And you are definitely not the man I want to do all those things with. I wanted to add, but I bit my tongue. I was too scared he would get angry and hurt me if I said that out loud.

I was shaking as I spoke. I felt like I was going to faint any second from how nervous and terrified I was.

“Okay. I’ll go with you. I can’t just let you go alone, you might run away from me,” he said doubtfully.

I stared at him, completely stunned.

“But…”

“No ‘buts,’ honey. I know exactly what you are planning. You can’t fool me,” he said as he walked closer to me.

As soon as he was near enough, he pulled me close by the waist and guided me out of the house. I had no choice but to follow him. We got inside his car. He even helped me get seated and fastened my seatbelt himself. As if I could ever escape from him anyway! Hmp!

“We’ll stop by your place first so you can get your things. Just take what’s important, then we’ll go buy those pills you mentioned.”

“Are you really serious about me living here with you? You can just call me or ask me to come over whenever you need me, right?” I asked, acting like I was already giving in, but still hoping for a chance to escape.

He glared at me. It was so scary, I immediately fell silent.

“That psychopath… he just smirked. So annoying!” I muttered under my breath.

“You know what, Jhie? Why don’t you just say whatever you want to say out loud instead of buzzing like a mosquito over there? You sound like you’ve gone crazy,” he said with a wide grin.

My mouth hung open in disbelief. This psychopath is really something else. I shot him my sharpest, most dagger-like look. He just laughed at my reaction. “Oh my… I think I’m really going to lose my mind now that we’re living under the same roof,” I thought to myself.

“By the way, we are getting married next month.”

I froze. I looked at him to see if he was just joking, but by the serious look on his face, he meant every word. What am I going to do now? Is there really nothing left I can do to get away? This can’t be happening!

I felt like all hope was slipping away. But I had to think fast. I couldn’t just give up. I still had time. I would find a way to stop this wedding from happening.

We drove the whole way to my boarding house in silence. It was nearby, so the ride didn’t take long. When we arrived, I still couldn’t get out of the car even though I wanted to. I couldn’t figure out how to unbuckle my seatbelt! What kind of seatbelt is this?! So annoying! I complained inside my head.

I turned to look at him when I heard him laughing. That jerk was treating me like I was some kind of clown just for his amusement!

“I’ll do that for you. I actually had this installed on purpose so you can’t run away from me,” he said, still laughing.

I just let out a long sigh. “Relax, Jhie. Calm down. Think of a plan,” I told myself, closing my eyes for a moment.

A few seconds later, he got out of the car and walked around to my side. He unfastened the belt and even helped me stand up.

“Acting like a real gentleman,” I whispered. But he must have heard me because he raised an eyebrow and gave me a warning look. Duh!

“I am a real gentleman. You’re just too picky and stubborn. That’s why I had to use force to make you mine,” he said with a smirk.

“You! You psychopath!”

I couldn’t stop myself from shouting the word out loud.

Oh no! I think I just said the wrong thing. You’re in big trouble now, Jhie. Go call for a superhero to save you!

He leaned his face dangerously close to mine. I tried to back away but there was nowhere to go; the car was right behind me. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, my heart pounding rapidly against my chest from fear. I even bit my lower lip.

“DON’T. EVER. EVER. call me that again! Unless you want me to punish you… and unless you really want to find out what that word truly means!”

His voice was low and soft, but every word was sharp and full of warning. I could tell he was trying his hardest to control his anger.

“It’s Jake. My name is JAKE. Call me by my name, Jhie!”

I opened my eyes. I saw darkness in his gaze… Mixed with desire? Or something else? There were so many emotions swirling in his eyes. What kind of punishment is he going to give me? I felt chills run down my spine and the hairs on my arms stood up. My goodness!