Silence engulfs between us as I drop the words. My knees begin to shake; my heartbeats crack like fireworks. The insults I'm anticipating from him start to play in my mind, scaring the hell out of me, even before I feel his rage.
"Ella – "
"James, believe me. I'm also shocked," I begin to reason out, expecting that he's going to accuse me of seducing Mr. D.
"Ella, if I'll ask you some favors, will you do it for me?" Finally, after what seems like an eternity, he opens his mouth again. I nod vigorously without thinking.
"Do you understand why I have tasked you to negotiate with Mr. D?"
"To seek revenge for what you are going through now." The words fall bland from my mouth, despising him for his refusal to concede. He committed a crime, so he should have accepted the consequence of his evil deed and not blamed anyone else.
"Do you actually feel an ounce of my suffering and humiliation?"
"Yes, of course," I tell him. He should have likewise known them beforehand so that he would be so accepting of his fate.
A deep sigh follows from the other line. And noticing his authoritative tone, I feel I don't know him anymore.
"Let me tell you this again, in case you have taken it lightly," he says, and I can imagine him staring at me.
"Huh?" I exclaim, wondering what he means. I then hear him chuckle.
"Baby, look. I'm not used to this kind of hell I am in now. Imagine the sleeping space, the congested environment, the rot-smelling cell, the kind of food — they are all killing me. And believe it or not, I'm forced to do what I am paying leisurely to my men like cleaning, mowing the grass, and all those menial kinds of stuff. Everything here is taking my sanity away that I would do everything it takes to get a warm, scented bath."
I keep my silence. Of course, I can feel the worst of his discomforts. The struggles he is fighting just to get a day done and over with.
James is probably born with a silver spoon that the sudden change of his environment is making him crazy. He gets what he wants, even the luxury of freedom to do anything he likes. Even those things that are against the norms of societies.
He has always been inclined to do wrong ways. He probably made friends with bad guys during his youth that had influenced the kind of person he is now.
"I want the man who caused this hell of a hardship pay," he says, his voice cracking. I bet he's cursing Kim under his breath. And after Kim will be Zed and his team.
"So, Ella, I don't care about losing a little fortune. I want to see Kim crawling on the ground. Do you get me?"
"Yes," I whisper into the phone's speaker, fighting against the shivers that start to creep down my spine.
"If Mr. D asks for your hand in marriage, accept him. Anyway, you can arrange a divorce afterward."
I stare into the phone screen, wondering if he's in his right mind. What the hell!
Can he bear the thought of his fiancée fucking with another man? Can't he lose his mind over the idea that his fiancée is marrying his pawn?
"Ella? Have you followed? Do you get my point?"
"Of course. But James, maybe there are ways other than losing your fiancée in a marriage with another man."
"Baby, I'm not going to lose you. It's just a matter of time, and I'll have you back. All I want now is to satisfy Dennis' whims. That man is a fucking genius. He's worth more than billions."
"Getting him to our side is more like winning a lottery. He's the mightiest weapon against Kim. And it's not our fault that Kim is too stupid to restrict his capabilities."
I close my eyes, summoning all my willpower to stay calm and collected. I can't lose my sanity the way James does. James, whose whims and caprices are always at the flick of his fingers, now loses his rationality. He no longer identifies the things he should value the most – just to get what he wants. And I know that when everything gets out of hand, and fixing them is beyond his power and capacity, he will resort to suicidal and lethal measures. And that is to kill Kim and the rest of those who aggrieve him, including Zed.
"Okay, James. I understand you well."
Silence follows for a few seconds as if my reply surprises him.
"James?"
"Yes, baby. Are you sure?"
"Anything for you, James. Whatever it takes."
"Thank you so much, babe. I'll promise to take you back as soon as possible." He sounds so happy, like a child who finally gets his craved candy.
"But James, how do you do that? If you don't mind me asking." I hold my breath, praying he'll take my bait."
A burst of soft laughter then tickles my ear. It even makes the hair on my skin stand on its end.
"A little more patience, baby. I'll promise to be there when you give birth to our son."
"Have you bailed out?"
"That's impossible with those charges that fool files against me." A sweeping sharp pain slices into my heart at the mention of Zed's name.
"So, how will you do it?"
"Baby, do you have a cousin who looks exactly like you? She can be your scapegoat." His laughter rings again. It's soft and rich but sounds devilish in my ear.
I cringe in fear, my brows turning into a hard frown. And along with my shock are goosebumps creeping into my entire body.
"I don't understand," I tell him, hoping that he'll buy into my lies.
"Don't bother. You'll understand soon, anyway." Who doesn't understand that he's only waiting for the chance to get his blade-transformed version admitted to jail?
"Whatever you say," I tell him, conceding to his ways. "But James, be careful. Can't wait to see you soon."