CHAPTER EIGHT
1336 Words
CHAPTER EIGHT
ELSA
The murmurs brought me back to the present—a few of the board members glancing over as they passed by us.
Dickinson stared down at me.
My breathing grew ragged.
His icy eyes felt as if they could see through my soul, past Elsa and into Isla.
My heart rate spiked.
“What are you doing?” I whispered, looking around. “People are watching.”
He chuckled softly.
“Alll the more reason I shouldn't take no for an answer,” he chuckled.
I didn’t move.
“I ain't interested in taking orders from a jobless stalker either,” I accused him.
“Stalker?” he blurred out.
The sound that left his mouth right after was laughter, low and husky.
“Yes.”
I swallowed.
“Unless you can explain why you are here as a member of my board?”
“I told you, cause I needed to gaze upon your beautiful face, Elsa.”
He was joking—the amused smirk on his face was the confirmation.
“Or are you doing this to get revenge just because I won the bid?" I pressed.
He quirked a brow at me.
“Rrvenge?”
My heart started to thunder in my chest as his expression slowly changed.
His eyes grew darker.
The tension thickened.
I felt as if my chest was being compressed with lead blocks with every passing minute.
My throat clogged.
Suddenly, he grinned.
“I am not that petty.”
Relief washed over me as he reluctantly let go of my waist and stepped back.
I didn't even realize I had been going my breath until I exhaled, deeply.
“Come on, Elsa. I just need less than an hour for this,“ he whined.
“I have a prior appointment,” I emphasized through gritted teeth.
The stare I pinned him was hard.
"Cancel it," he said without hesitation. "We have other business to discuss."
I wanted to refuse.
Every cell in my body was screaming for me to run and never look back.
But I realized before the rejection slipped past my mouth that I needed him to think he had the upper hand here.
He needed to think he was winning.
I backtracked, smiling sweetly at him.
"Fine."
His eyes lit up.
"If you would spare me about ten minutes or so. I just need to freshen up."
His smile widened.
"Of course. I'll wait in the lobby."
He nodded with satisfaction as if I had just handed him a key go my heart.
Let him dream.
I walked away from him with measured steps, my heart racing madly.
I only let myself crash, leaning on the sink, when I closed the bathroom door.
My hands were shaking.
I gripped the cool basin tightly till all of my knuckles slowly became white.
I stayed like that till my breathing grew steady and the anxiety passed.
Then, I straightened and pulled out my phone to text Labano the update.
ELSA: He's here.
His reply was instant.
LABANO: I thought you were at the board meeting with the Dallas executives?
ELSA: He bought the shares of the second largest executive after me. He must have killed him after acquirng it.
LABANO: He's a monster.
ELSA: He wants to take me to lunch. Man the system, I'll use the recording device.
LABANO: I'm active.
Her hands stilled for a moment before she typed the last sentence.
ELSA: Watch the tracker, in case he decides to do something funny to me.
LABANO: Not on my watch. I've activated it already. But Elsa, be careful.
I put my phone down with a sigh and stared at myself in the looking glass.
My makeup was perfect.
The mass of ginger hair on my head was neat with not even a strand sitting out of place.
I bet no one would ever see the fear crawling under my skin with these.
My phone buzzed.
I picked it up to check.
It was a message from Dickinson.
DICKINSON: How long must you keep a man like me waiting, woman?
I scoffed and typed back.
"As long as I like."
Three dots appeared.
He was typing.
I waited.
Then his response came through.
DICKINSON: Need I remind you that choice is a luxury for women, especially with men like me.
The bathroom suddenly felt too small as the walls closed in around me.
For the first time since I became Elsa, fear coiled in my gut, cold and suffocating.
I couldn't breathe.
Those words.
I had heard them before.
Suddenly, I was Isla again.
I was freshly eighteen and recently just been married to him against my will.
And I had tried to run away.
I was hadn't been fast enough because he had caught me in the hallway.
I could never forget how I had felt in that instant, my stomach dropping to my feet.
"b***h!" He had screamed, grabbing me by the neck and then airjailing me.
I had gagged, scared yet angry, but still desperate to live, to survive.
He had thrown me against the wall like a sack of potatoes, snickering.
"I'll teach you a lesson."
His fingers had bruised my wrist as he had dragged me back while I yelled.
"Let me go," I had begged. "I don't want to be with a husband like you."
He had slapped me.
I could never forget.
The sound of the strike had echoed in the empty house as my ears tingled.
Then he had leaned down and whispered those exact words in my ear.
"Choice is a luxury for women, Isla, and especially with men like me."
I was gasping desperately for breath when I came to, jerked from the past.
My fingers were holding onto the edge of the sink for dear life.
Something slithered up my throat.
It rushed forward and I found myself dry heaving into the bowl.
I caught sight of my blurred reflection in the mirror as I lifted my head.
The unshed tears in my eyes broke me.
But I needed to be strong.
No.
I couldn't fall apart now.
I opened my messages app.
I started typing a reply, fingers flying.
ELSA: You do not get to decide what I can or can’t have—
I paused.
Getting emotional on him would only give him power, a sign to do more.
I sighed.
Then, I deleted it.
I set my phone down once again and turned on the faucet absentmindedly.
The water was cool when I wiped my lips, even better as it ran over my palms.
It helped me to clear my head.
I closed my eyes.
{You are not Isla anymore. You are Elsa, and he is walking into your trap.}
When I was better, I opened my eye and looked at myself in the mirror again.
This time I saw Elsa, not Isla.
"You died once already," I whispered. "You certainly can't afford to die again."
But he could.
And come this time, I would be the one who would watch him fall from the peak.
I unzipped my purse and went for my matte lipstick, reappling it slowly, deliberately.
I practiced my smile in the mirror until it looked natural—warm and inviting.
When I was done, I picked up my purse and stepped out of the bathroom.
Dickinson was waiting in the lobby, by the elevator, hands in his pockets.
He looked up when he saw me.
“Took you long enough,” he said.
I smiled.
“Worth the wait, I promise.”
A smug grin took over his face.
His expression was pleased, like a predator who had cornered his prey.
He had no idea that the prey had teeth.
Let him think he was winning.
He had no idea the meal would be his first step into the grave.
"Shall we?" I asked smoothly.
He offered me his arm but I didn’t take it, planning to walk beside him.
"Yes, after you, Elsa."
- Writer
