De - Bright Academy

CHAPTER TWENTY

CONTROL OVER ME By MORUFAT AJANI

Between two kinds of love

When Jayden arrives there, he sees Amirah sitting outside the shop, looking so exhausted. He gets out of the car, and moves to her. Getting close to her, he sees blood dripping out of her wrists.

When Jayden sees the wounds, looking like she had been scratching it roughly, he feels concerned. But beneath it, there is also a dark satisfaction that she still reacts deeply to disobeying him. It's makes him happy somehow.

He walks to her. “Are you okay?” he asks.

She looks up at him with red eyes. “I am sorry, sir. I am sorry…sir.”

“You don’t have to talk now. Let’s go.”

He helps her into the car carefully. Getting inside the car, he uses tissue to wipe the blood from her hands and uses his handkerchief to tie it.

Then he starts the engine and drives her to the hospital.

After the doctor cleans and dresses Amirah’s wounds, Jayden takes her to his house.

Amirah sits still in the passenger seat, her hands resting on her lap. Jayden is glancing at her from time to time, but he does not speak.

When they get inside the house, he tells her to sit down.

She obeys and lowers herself onto the couch carefully. Jayden remains standing for a moment, then sits on the chair directly in front of her. He leans forward slightly, his elbows on his knees, his eyes fixed on her.

There is anger in his face, even though he tries so hard not to show it.

“You know you deserve to be punished, right?” he asks Amirah.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry.” Amirah says, her head remain lowered.

“You’re sorry?” His voice tightens. “I did not expect you to walk away with him like that. You did not even resist. It looked like you wanted to leave.”

She says nothing. Her fingers press into her dress.

He studies her for a short while and finally says. “Why do I feel like you are with me against your will? Why do I feel like you do not want this relationship anymore?”

She shakes her head quickly. “No, sir. That is not true.”

He holds her gaze for a few seconds, then leans back. “You already know there is a consequence for every wrong action, do you? What you did today won't go unpunished either.” Amirah clenches her hands tightly, feeling every bit of wrong and the fact that she has nothing to do about it.

“You are quitting that job. Tomorrow.” Jayden adds and Amirah head lifts before she can stop herself. “Sir—”

He cuts her off sharply. “Did I ask you to speak?”

Hearing that, Amirah goes quiet at once and lower her head back.

He stands up and walks down the hallway. A few moments later, he returns holding a whip in his hand.

The moment Amirah sees the whip, she slides off the couch and kneels on the floor. She bends forward slightly, exposing her back while she lowers head. She's ready to be punished.

Jayden steps closer, brings the whip down across her back. This time, the whip is landing on Amirah's back painfully. The motion is slightly hard and mildly painful.

Amirah winces slightly in mild pain as Jayden continues landing the whip on her skin, again and again.

She does not cry out even though she's feeling pain. She just keeps whispering, “I’m sorry, sir,” under her breath.

After the tenth strike, Jayden stops. Then he crouches down in front of her, breathing hard. He is looking at her for a while before he speaks.

“Amirah, I want to be gentle with you. I really do. But…” He breathes out loudly, throws his head back before twisting it back to Amirah.

“But you are not making it easy for me. You have changed so much and I hate it. You let yourself got dragged away earlier and it took you more than an hour to call me to come and pick you. I am sure you have thought about and tried out like a hundred ways out of me at that moment but can't executive it because of this.” Jayden points at the wounds in her hands. He continues,

“Because you were itching so badly for disobeying me and what can help you out is coming back to me. I’m sure this sudden change of yours is because of that religion you say you are now serious about. Or that therapy. It's affecting this relationship more than I think. I will have to stop you. I need you back to me fully. I hate what's happening between us. I hate what your parents did to us. I hate that they sent you away from me. I hate that they hired a therapist for you who gave you an option of free will. You ain't supposed to have any. Your wish has to be whatever I wish for you...”

Amirah keeps her head down even though she has a lot to say.

He continues, his voice is hard and intense now. “I know you are thinking of leaving me. Just like you did a year ago. After you left, I searched for you like a madman. I would have torn the whole Dubai down to look for you if I had known you went there. But your parents were so discreet about it so I was just searching blindly…No, I refuse to live like that anymore.” He shakes his head and continues,

“I will tell you this clearly today. I am never letting you go again. You are not leaving my sight ever again. And you are quitting that job. Whatever it takes, I will have you to myself.”

His voice grows colder, louder and possessive.

“You are mine. And if I see even the smallest sign that you have feelings for that Imran guy, I will destroy him. Do you understand? I will ruin him completely.”

Tears begin to roll down Amirah’s face. Seeing the tears, Jayden grits his teeth, hating the fact that he doesn't know the reason behind the tears and he wants to know it. He wants to know everything that's happening in his head. That's how it used to be.

Amirah hesitates, then says softly, “Please, can I talk?”

Jayden stands up and returns to his chair while she remains on her knees.

“Talk. Say what you want.” He says, voice tensed.

She wipes her tears and takes a deep breath. “I need to work at that company, sir…. because… because…” The way Amirah is stuttering is getting on Jayden nerves.

“Talk straight and stop acting like I will devour you. I already gave you permission to talk. Why the hell are you sounding like I am a demon?” He sounds loud and angry. Then he controls his voice and continues,

“You are supposed to be safe with me, remember? No matter the situation, you are safe with me. Don't forget that.” Amirah nods, breathe in and out deeply again and continues,

“I said I need to continue working at ARA company because…my father’s company is struggling and we need them. After what happened a year ago our main branch went bankrupt and the only company my family believes can help us is ARA. That is why I went there. I want to work there and later try to secure a partnership with them. Please do not make me quit. This is my parents' only hope.” Amirah's voice is shivering.

For a moment, Jayden stares at Amirah. Then he suddenly burst into loud laughter. After laughing for a while, he speaks.

“Do you hear yourself? Like do you even listen to yourself? Who is ARA compared to my company? Have you forgotten that Dantata Industries Limited is the biggest company in Nigeria?” He frowns deeply, then continue talking,

“I am here. You should have come to me. You should have asked me for help, to rescue your parents' company. You are not supposed to be thinking on your own about how to save your family’s business. That is my role. I am the one who should handle that for you. You need to stop thinking for yourself and let me think for you. As it used to be, as it used to be, stop thinking, stop having opinions for heaven sake.” His voice is loud and cold.

He breathes in and out to calm himself. He doesn't want to be talking to her angrily in order not to scare her but he can't help it.

He kneels in front of her again, after managing to calm himself. He pats her back gently thrice and then lifts her chin slightly.

“I already told you, you are safe with me. You don’t have to struggle. Just tell me what you need. I will do it. That is how it used to be, remember? Remember how you went to school without stress. How I handled everything for you. How I took care of you and everything that concerned you.”

His tone softens.

“I will help your family. I will speak to them myself. I will fix their company. So, please,..” Jayden presses Amirah's shoulder down, “please stop thinking for yourself. Stop disobeying me. It irks me so much.” He emphasizes the last statement.

As Jayden speaks, Amirah screams silently in her mind.

I don’t want your help. I don’t want you involved with my parents again. That will only make things worse. If you help them, they might feel forced to accept you into our lives and I might be forced to marry you. And if they refuse your help, you will turn against them and ruin them even more. Please just stay away from my parents.

“Sir, can I speak again?” Amirah says carefully, “

“Yes.”

“Please let me do this on my own. My parents trust me. I want them to be proud of me. I want to prove I can fix this myself.”

Jayden’s face hardens again.

“I am not accepting that. That guy told me you look like someone he loved and lost. Do you understand what that means? He already sees the girl in you. So he will chase you. He will try to connect with you. And maybe you also fall in love with him.”

His eyes narrow.

“It is obvious you are not fully with me anymore. You are here because you feel attached to me, because you have no choice but to, not because you choose me freely. So I am not going to take the risk of losing you to someone else. Never.”

As Jayden keeps talking, Amirah shakes her head slowly. Tears runs down her face continuously.

She didn't know the depth of Jayden’s feelings for her before now. Hearing him speak like this now makes it clear to her that he is obsessed with her and it frightens her so much.

Jayden grabs Amirah's arm firmly.

“I am never letting you go to him. Never. Not him. Not anyone. Anybody who tries to take you away from me will have to face me first. You know who I am. You know what I can do, right.”

His grip on her tightens. His voice rises loud and aggressive.

“I am sure you know If I can't have something, I can destroy it. Including you. If one day that therapy works and you suddenly decide you are free from me, I will not accept it. I will find that therapist and k!ll her. I will deal with your parents. I will deal with anyone who stands between us. I will destroy all the important people in your life. So think very well before you ever consider leaving me.”

Amirah’s heart is pounding aggressively in fear.

He is still talking and his voice is shaking with emotion now. “You did this to me. Before you, I had many girls that I controlled easily and I had no problem walking away from any of them. But when you came into my life, everything changed. I couldn't stand any of this others again. So I let them all go.”

He runs his hand through his hair.

“When you disappeared for a whole year, I was not myself. I was just existing because the company depends on me. I kept hoping that when you finally returned, I would still be alive to see you. So no, I am not letting you go again. Never. Just so you know.”

He suddenly stands up and walks into his room. A few seconds later, the door slams shut.

Amirah remains on the floor, crying profusely. And when her leg is aching, she slowly lowers herself to sit properly and continues crying quietly.

“What kind of situation is this? What kind of problem is this?” She whispers to herself.

Now that she knows what Jayden feels for her is no longer just control. Knowing It is a deep, dangerous obsession, she feels trapped and scared.

She doesn't want to be in a relationship with him anymore. She wants to break free but how will she do so when he now knows what he will do if she dare do so? And the fact that she doesn't want to go through that itching pain ever again

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A story by MORUFAT AJANI