Chapter 20: To Tame A Tiger.
1069 Words
Layla ran a hand through her thick, disheveled hair as she stared at the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her as if mocking her —a scrawny old woman with a dirty aura and a repulsive face.
After the press conference, she had locked herself inside her room for days, refusing to come out, or to see anyone. The voices of the taunting crowd still played in her head and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get rid of it.
Was this how she fell?
From a popular queen in her queendom to a worthless butterfly?
“No!” She screamed, throwing everything on the vanity table. “No! I refuse to go down like this…! No…no…”
Blood roared in her ears and her stomach clenched like it was refusing to accept her words. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears, almost like it was trying to break free from the bleakness of her future.
The humiliation.
The national disgrace.
Adrian's mocking eyes, that bastard.
A click sounded as the door pushed open forcefully. Layla jumped as she turned to look at the intruder. At the sight of her mother, she sighed. “How did you get my keys?” She asked, trying to hide her shaking hands.
“Is that the goddamn question you should be asking?!” Elizabeth scolded. “How long would you keep staying in this dark room? Would that make your frustrations go away?”
“Leave mum,” Layla's voice was low. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone today.
“Freshen up and come downstairs in five,”
“No, I won't,” Layla said firmly. “I said you should f*****g leave. Don't barge into my room again without permission,”
“If I don't see you down in five, you'd be sorry for your decision,” Elizabeth said with a note of authority. “I didn't give birth to a weak, pathetic b***h, so you need to get your f*****g acts together!”
With that, she turned around and left the room, leaving Layla more frustrated.
*****
“How are you here? You're supposed to be at the office?” Layla said weakly to her husband.
“You have been avoiding me,” Ryan said, ignoring her question. “Mum brought me to see you,”
Layla turned to her mother, but quickly removed her eyes. Seeing Ryan and her mum reminded her of her pathetic defeat. The feeling was so strong that she fought the urge to throw up.
“Are you ready to tell us what happened?” Elizabeth said calmly, but the anger in her voice was thick.
“Would that solve anything?” Layla replied with a careless shrug. She knew she shouldn't provoke her mother, but somehow she needed the fury to keep her sane.
“But how could you kidnap his sister?” Ryan shuddered, his mouth open as he stared at his wife as if seeing her for the first time. “You deal with drugs too? Really? H…how can you be this secretive and…dangerous,”
“If you came here to judge me, then you can leave and shut the f*****g door behind you!” Layla glared. “What I don't need right now is judgment and pity,”
“What other secrets are you hiding from me?” Ryan said, his gaze intense. At first he didn't believe that his wife would stoop so low to kidnap another human when he first saw it on the news.
He thought, maybe she was being blackmailed to spill stupid lies to defame her reputation. He thought all of that. Not until…his mother-in-law called him and told him the truth; the rival between her family and Adrian's.
Elizabeth had confirmed that she also had a hand in the kidnap of Adrian's sister. She and her little b***h of a daughter were doing drugs —with men of the underworld.
The news made him sick to the stomach. Yes, he was a mischievous little bastard sometimes, but that didn't mean he was a criminal.
When it came to being dangerous, heartless bitches, his wife and mother-in-law took the crown home. How could he have been so blind not to see Layla's deceptive nature before he got married to her?
“I have reporters thronging my company daily, creating a scene just because I'm your husband,” Ryan gritted, finally revealing why he was here. “My stock prices are in complete chaos as there are many petitions to bring it down! You know how much profit that company brings me daily, so how dare you drag me down with you?!”
Layla remained silent. She just stared at her husband, her eyes blank, almost like she couldn't see him.
“You tried to mess with Adrian and brought his wrath upon yourself. How would you fix this? How could you get caught?!” Elizabeth added. “Now he knows about our involvement in his sister's situation,”
“Doesn't mean I'd sit still and watch him win. No doubt, he's probably giggling and wiggling his ass at my loss,” Layla said, but her voice came out weaker than expected.
Elizabeth scoffed. “Still so cocky when you've lost everything, aren't you? Your company has been under investigation by the government, and sooner or later, you'd be found guilty of the charges,”
“Doesn't that mean we should stop it before it happens?” Layla said, turning to her mother. “You have lots of connections, so you could easily let me off the bait with a single phone call,”
“It isn't as simple as it sounds. Not everyone is swayed by money,” Elizabeth said, even though she was twice as angry with the way things were going.
“How could you be so careless?” Ryan seethed. “I can't lose my company because of you,”
“I made a f*****g mistake and I'm sorry!” Layla gritted, the frustration almost choking her. “I'll look for a way to amend my mistakes,”
“And get me screwed the second time?” Ryan chuckled dryly before standing up. “No, I won't let you do that to me,”
“Where are you going then?”
“To tame a tiger,” Ryan replied, but there were no emotions in his words.
- Writer
