Chapter 7 - Jamie

Hearing the key turning in the door pulled me from the sudden daze and frozenness. It all happened so quickly, I was still trying to make sense of it as he left and locked the door. I went from dressing in this gown to married, and now being locked up all in a question of minutes.

“He locked the door,” I breathed out, realizing what had just happened. How dare he lock me in? What or who did he think I was? How was he to decide what was needed, I married him as he asked; locking me in wasn’t part of the deal. Feeling my blood boil as my anger rose, I stepped to the door and tried the handle.

I was astounded to find it was indeed locked. I banged on the door for a bit, but no one came. Turning back, I stood against it as I studied the suite again. It was lavish and quite large, like the bathroom. But I was trapped like an animal. My fingernails dug into my palms from the tightness of my fists as I tried to control my anger.

The veins in my neck pumped, and my head felt like it was about to explode. Controlling my rage has never been one of my strong points. I was furious at him for locking me in but also at myself. It wasn”t my fault that I was in this situation, though. Why did I have to pay for doing what was asked of me?

“I will get you, Ben, and clear my name,” I screamed at the room. Taking a couple of deep breaths, I vowed to get him and get out of this stupid marriage as soon as possible. But first things first. Feeling a bit calmer, I decided to see what the suite held and what was at my disposal. Even though I was still tired and sore, I focused on what was before me.

The room seemed to have more than the two doors Ashan mentioned. The current room I found myself in appeared to be a bedroom/living room. Against the back was a king-size bed, and two double chaise chairs and a large TV were before them.

I noticed no windows in the room, so it had to be a center room, and the others may have windows. The decor was a deep red and black. If not for all the lights, I imagined it could get pretty dark in here. Next to the bed in the right-hand corner against the back wall was a closed door, which he hadn’t mentioned.

On my right was one open door, which I assumed was the kitchen, and another closed door. To the left were two closed doors, one of which had to be the bathroom.

Walking to the left, I felt the first door. It opened into the bathroom as expected. The other door next to it, however, was locked. Moving across the room, I felt the other two closed doors. No surprise there; both were locked as well. Both the bathroom and kitchen didn’t have any windows either. I was locked in, but Ashan didn’t know me that well.

Moving into the small sparking kitchen, I wondered if he even cooked. It was fitted with all the amenities one could need. Yet, the fridge, dishwasher, microwave, oven, toaster, kettle, and other equipment were all silver and appeared brand new. I supposed with a restaurant and kitchen at your disposal, no one ever needed to cook.

The walls and cupboards had a marble look, and even the cutlery and dinnerware appeared brand new. It all looked untouched as if no one had ever lived here.

As I went through the last cupboard, there was a knock at the door. I peeked around the kitchen doorway as the suite door opened. A couple of women entered; some pushed trolleys with food, and others carried in boxes.

Stepping into the room, the women all looked at me. Most nodded, smiled, placed down what they had, and left. One woman remained as the others left, and I walked over to see what they had brought.

“Hi, I’m Ana,” the curious woman beside me said. Her red locks fell softly down her back and over her shoulders. Yet, there was something in her pasted-on smile I couldn’t quite place.

“Hi, Jamie,” I replied, holding out my hand. Ana looked at it as if I had some kind of virus. Stepping back, she turned and pointed at the boxes and trolleys instead as she spoke. “There are about ten meals for you to choose from. You can also save some if you want in the fridge. Just send back what you don’t want.”

Caught a bit off guard, I didn’t respond. This didn’t seem to faze Ana in any way as she strolled to the bathroom door. Stopping in the doorway, she looked back at me before speaking. “In the bathroom are closets. The boxes contain clothing. If they don’t fit or you don’t want them, send them back. The ones you decide to keep…” She trailed off as she pointed to the bathroom.

Grinning, Ana spoke in a slightly pitched voice as she came back towards me. “A new sparkling toy is all you are to him, you know.” She flopped herself down on the chaise, comfortable as can be, before continuing. “He’s a beast in bed,” she added, tapping her nails on the side of the chaise.” He’s going to enjoy breaking you in but will return to me.”

My anger ignited again as she spoke. Who did she think she was making such snide comments and taunting me? I felt sure if he wanted her, he would have married her. Ana rose and glided past me to the door.

Before leaving, she spoke out again. “He can fulfill your wildest fantasies if you let him. Enjoy it while you can.” She closed the door and locked it. Out of anger at her, I threw one of the boxes at the door. Clothing spilled from it to the floor.

It was sweet that he delivered all these things: food, clothing, and everything I needed. Yet, there was no phone or laptop anywhere.

As I collected the clothing and placed it back in the box, I found my mind traveling to his hold and hot lips. Annoyed at myself for allowing my mind to go there, I placed the box back with the others. I felt sure that night had now turned into day, or maybe all the activities and dark room had me confused. Feeling my body weakened and overcome with fatigue, I knew I needed to sleep. Placing the food in the fridge, I lay down on the bed.

Waking sometime later, I was still alone. I didn’t know if it was still night or the next day. Being in the darkness without windows was messing with my internal clock. After making some coffee in his new kitchen, I started going through the boxes of clothing as I ate some of the cold food.

I searched through the clothing, dressed in something more comfortable, and also found something I wasn’t looking for. Sitting back with the hairpins in hand, I glanced at the locked doors.

Unlocking all the other doors, I could go anywhere, I thought. Glancing into each room, I decided to explore the biggest one first. As far as I could see, all the rooms were neat and organized. They also held multiple other doors, which I would get to in time.

Most, like the one we came in through, had minimal decor. Some tables and chairs, another held a wall-to-wall monitor or TV, and the biggest one had only a couple of chairs with what looked like a massage bed. He sure had a strange nature I thought.

Unlocking the doors that led out of this room brought with them some secrets. There was a small dark room with only a single chair and what looked like an old radio. Sitting down, I stared at the device on the small round table.

Reaching out, I jumped in the chair, letting out a tiny scream as voices filled the room. It sounded like some of the staff, but I couldn’t be sure. It sounded like Ana barking orders. Turning the dial more, I found silence, then what sounded like fans blowing and some voices again. The voices in this setting were all new to me.

It could be the guards, I thought as I listened. Suddenly, I heard Ashan’s voice. I was frightened but listened for a bit before turning off the device and leaving the room. If he caught me snooping, he might get angry, and even though I didn’t know what he would do, being locked up was bad enough for me.

The next room I opened looked like a big entertainment area. In the middle stood a large round wooden table; counting the chairs, there was seating for twelve. One wall was lined with shelves and cupboards. On the other side stood an old protector.

I felt sure it was most likely for family meetings and not entertainment. Baking out of the room, I closed the door and made sure it was locked. I was convinced Ashan wouldn’t appreciate me sneaking around there.

Moving to the last door, I glanced around nervously. I couldn’t be sure when he would be back, but I didn’t want him finding me all over his place. I hadn’t found windows in any of these rooms or phones, and it was puzzling. Unlocking the last door, I opened it quickly and stepped into the room, needing to see what was in it before heading back to the main suite.

Doing so, I crashed into what felt like a hard wall. Yet, it wasn’t a wall at all. Raising my hands to his chest, I pushed myself back from the brick of a man before me. At first, I thought it was one of the guards. Looking up as I walked backward, I met Ashan”s gaze.

I had entered his office unknowingly through a side door. This room had the windows, a phone, and a computer I was seeking. But it also had Ashan. The look on this face was positively murderous.

Not knowing anything about him, I gasped as fear stepped in.

“I was on my way back,” he spat at me. “What in heaven”s name are you doing here? How did you even get here?” He continued as he stepped towards me while I walked backward. I could hear the anger in his voice and tried retreating quicker. But he was on me like lightning.

Grabbing me by the arm, he stepped forward and slammed the door behind him. He shoved it so hard that I swore it vibrated the entire wall.