Candle in a Black Hole

Chapter 5

The Dining Hall, The Akkarabadi Manor

To a casual observer, the atmosphere at the luncheon table appeared perfectly convivial. Yet, beneath the forced smiles and polite exchanges, the flavour of the food had turned so ashen and bitter it was nearly impossible to swallow. The Akkarabadi family sat in a collective, stifled silence; only Grandfather Frost remained in high spirits. He was more jubilant than the rest, having finally fulfilled a long-held family ambition—to secure Maya as his granddaughter-in-law.

Moreover, he felt he had finally outmanoeuvred his grandson, whom he considered hopelessly stubborn in matters of the heart. Initially, Frost had expected Alex to refuse; the man lived for his own pleasures, his supposedly fragile heart kept under lock and key. But upon further reflection, Frost surmised that perhaps his grandson was merely too lonely, too hollow. Everyone who flocked to Alex sought only the crumbs of his wealth and power. If that were the case, Frost would use his own absolute authority to place something ‘authentic’ by his grandson’s side.

"Hmm... tell me, old Pin, what colour do you fancy would suit your granddaughter best?" Frost diverted his attention from his old friend to Maya. "Maya, darling, what colour theme do you desire for the wedding? Just say the word, and your Grandfather Frost shall conjure it up with his very own hands."

Maya set her spoon down slowly, her lips pressed into a thin, tight line. "Whatever you deem beautiful, Grandfather. I am quite indifferent."

"Certainly not, my dear Maya! A wedding must be magnificent, befitting your station. Shall we go with a fairytale princess theme? Or perhaps we could fly across the globe to wed in an ancient castle—just as you used to dream of as a child? Shall I conjure that dream into reality for you?"

‘A childhood dream... as if anyone doesn't wish for a Prince Charming,’ Maya mused bitterly, hiding her trembling hands beneath the table. "Grandfather Frost... I am grown now. At your estate, or wherever is convenient, will suffice. That princess business is..."

"Nonsense! If my future granddaughter-in-law desires it, I would put pen to chequebook and buy a rocket to hold the ceremony on the moon if I must!" Frost let out a hearty laugh, oblivious to the fact that the faces around the table had grown perceptibly darker.

"Whatever you see fit, Grandfather..." Maya forced herself to repeat. "But there is truly no need to go to the moon."

"Ha! Very well, very well. I shall stop teasing. Do eat up, child. I’ll send over some themes for you to choose from later."

The luncheon dragged on amidst a mounting awkwardness that felt ready to fracture. Frost remained the sole architect of the bright atmosphere, regaling his dear friend Pin with endless tales of their youth, leaving Maya to sink deeper into a mire of misery from which there seemed no escape.

Pink Bedroom, Akkarabadi Manor

Maya retreated into the familiar confines of her bedroom, her heart hammering a frantic, uneven rhythm against her ribs. The parting words of Alex Zandier continued to echo through her consciousness, looping incessantly like a nightmare from which she could not wake.

"How on earth did he get in...?" she murmured to the empty room, sinking onto the sofa in a state of sheer trepidation. "The door has an automated locking system—it requires both a fingerprint scan and a passcode. Yet he comes and goes as if he owns the bloody place."

A frigid shiver chased its way down her spine as she recalled the thick scent of cigarette smoke that had saturated her 25th-floor flat.

"Worse still, he sat there, smoking and waiting with such chilling composure while I was out for lunch with P’Thee. He saw everything... he witnessed my every move!"

The more she dwelled upon it, the more she felt the weight of his silent yet overwhelming intrusion. Alex wasn't merely asserting his role as her future husband; he was declaring himself her 'master', holding her life firmly within his grasp.

Maya exhaled sharply, a desperate attempt to expel the suffocating tension coiled in her chest. Her trembling gaze began to harden into a final, desperate resolve. ‘If flight is no longer an option... then I must find an opportunity to negotiate with him directly,’ she told herself, clutching at a sliver of hope. ‘If I plead for us to live separate lives after the wedding... if I offer him his continued freedom while I remain merely a legal formality, he might just agree.’

The hope that the Siraphop family would reach out and pluck her from the flames now seemed an impossible distance away—and certainly wouldn't come in time for the "Monday" that was looming just a few days ahead.

The Sira Group Headquarters, 15th Floor

The President’s Office

Within the opulent confines of the executive suite, the atmosphere had grown bone-chillingly cold. Phitak, the sovereign of the Sira Group empire, stood trembling before his own mahogany desk. Yet, the man reclining insolently in the President’s chair, idly twirling a pen, was a towering figure with obsidian hair. Those sea-green eyes stared back at him—indifferent, yet radiating a terrifying authority.

"Tell me, Mr President... it seems you’ve been making grand preparations to negotiate with the Akkarabadi Manor," Alex Zandier remarked, his tone as casual as if discussing the morning’s weather. "Fetch that precious son of yours, Phitak."

"Mr Zandier, sir... we merely wished to assist Bodi Group through their crisis. Their primary issue is a lack of an in-house research team, so we thought—"

"But that firm belongs to my future father-in-law," Alex interjected curtly. The brevity of his words was so heavy that Phitak’s mouth snapped shut instantly. "And it appears your son has been rather industrious in meddling with my future wife... I believe he refers to her as ‘my beloved’, does he not? Your sudden altruism toward Bodi Group is entirely for your son’s benefit, I presume?"

Phitak swallowed hard, a cold sweat breaking out. Initially, he had assumed Alex was here to block a business investment, but the reality was far more sinister. This predator hadn't come for a ledger; he had come to settle a blood debt because Phitak’s son had dared to lay claim to a woman Alex had already branded as his own.

"But Mr Zandier—"

"Barshow... suspend all investments within the Sira Group network. And reclaim every joint project currently in development. Immediately," Alex commanded his right-hand man, his voice devoid of warmth.

"Y-yes! At once! I shall order my son to sever ties with that woman this very instant, Mr Zandier!" Phitak nearly collapsed as he watched his empire crumble, all due to the possessive whim of the man before him.

"Splendid."

Alex rose to his full, daunting height, his shadow completely eclipsing Phitak. "And mark my words... do not let there be a second time. My next warning will leave no room for apologies." Alex leaned in until his face was a mere breath away from Phitak’s. The scent of his cologne and the sheer aura of menace made the older man’s breath hitch in his throat.

"My possessions... those who look at what belongs to me usually find themselves unable to see anything at all thereafter."

He cast a final, loathsome glance at Phitak—the look of a creature at the very apex of the food chain—before barking a single command.

"We’re leaving."

Alex turned on his heel and strode out of the office, leaving behind a trail of ruin that Phitak would have to scramble to mend before all was lost.

The Registry Office

Monday Morning

The morning sun shone with a brilliance that felt like a cruel mockery of Maya’s darkened heart. She sat motionless in the rear of the car, driven to the district office by her father himself. Her body still ached from the events of the previous night—a desperate, life-threatening attempt to scale the estate walls and flee. Luck, however, had not been on her side; she had tumbled down ignominiously, leaving behind nothing but bruises and the bitter stain of failure.

"Father... must it truly come to this?" Maya asked in a frail whisper, attempting to catch Banharn’s eye through the rearview mirror.

"Maya... I..." Banharn faltered, guilt gnawing at his conscience. He had been the one to witness her frantic attempt to climb the fence last night. Yet, he had done nothing but watch from a distance until she fell, looking utterly wretched beneath the cold gaze of Grandfather Pin, who had watched the entire debacle from his balcony.

That incident had led to a unanimous verdict within the household: Maya was too frail. She lacked the basic instincts for survival. Entrusting her to the care of the Zandier family was deemed the safest course of action for a "doll" who proved so incapable of looking after herself.

"But Father, you’ve seen him... and the matter at the flat—"

"That is quite enough, Maya!" Banharn snapped, his patience finally spent. He refused to entertain the nonsensical tales she repeated ad nauseam—stories of Alex Zandier breaching a high-security flat merely to sit and smoke while awaiting her return. To Banharn, it was a laughable fabrication, a desperate ploy to evade the marriage. "Out you get. Mr Zandier has been waiting inside for some time."

Maya could do nothing but bow her head and accept the fate thrust upon her. The agony of having her truths dismissed as delusions was far more searing than the physical injuries from her fall. When she had first confided in Yaya, her mother had seemed unnerved and inclined to believe her; but once the account reached her father and Grandfather Pin, it was treated as a jest—they claimed she was merely "hallucinating" from the effects of the alcohol.

She stepped out of the vehicle on trembling legs and headed toward the registry office—the place that was to strip away her liberty forever. Inside, the predator, Alex Zandier, would be waiting to sign his name as her 'master', basking in the cold triumph of his victory.

The Registry Office

Upon stepping from the car, Maya moved toward the towering figure looming before her. She was forced to crane her neck fully just to meet his gaze; at a natural eye level, she was met with nothing but the suffocating breadth of Alex’s chest.

"My apologies for the delay. The traffic was rather congested," Banharn offered a swift greeting to his influential son-in-law, who stood exhaling cigarette smoke with utter indifference to the 'No Smoking' sign posted directly behind him.

"Let’s get on with it. I’ve a mountain of business to attend to. Do not forget I hold dual nationality; the paperwork is a tedious muddle," Alex remarked flatly. He flicked his cigarette butt to the pavement and ground it into the dirt with the toe of his leather shoe before striding inside, without so much as a sidelong glance at his bride-to-be.

However, as they entered the hall, Maya’s brow furrowed in confusion. Ordinarily, a government office on a Monday should have been swarming with people, yet today it was as silent as a graveyard. Only a handful of officials remained, sitting in wait as if they had been 'instructed' to do so. She faltered, turning to her father in bewilderment, but Banharn merely nudged her back, forcing her to continue playing Zandier’s game.

The bureaucratic process dragged on for three exhaustive hours due to Alex's extraterritorial status. The moment Maya’s heart truly sank was when it came time to declare her title and surname. She attempted to find her voice, to request the retention of her maiden identity, but Alex intervened with a dictatorial command to the clerk. He ordered every document to be altered to ‘Mrs’ and the surname ‘Zandier’.

She had no choice... not even a whisper of a protest.

The instant the crimson seal was pressed onto the two parchment sheets, Alex gathered all the vital documents, keeping them solely in his possession.

"Prepare yourself... I despise being kept waiting." Alex leaned down until his shadow completely eclipsed her. His sea-green eyes bored into her trembling ones, and a firm finger hooked under her chin, tilting it upward with arrogant ease. "My name... do not let a speck of dirt touch it. If you entertain the thought of fleeing again, the bruises next time won't be confined to your legs; they will be felt in the hearts of every soul in the Akkarabadi Manor."

With that, he turned on his heel and climbed into the luxury car awaiting him at the entrance.

Maya stood frozen, watching the vehicle roar away, feeling as though her very soul had been wrenched out alongside her family name. She could only wait there, a defeated figure, for her father to circle the car back and pick up his auctioned doll—returning her to wait for the day she would move into her new 'Golden Cage'.