Ryxel on any other occasion would stride and catch up with the person running but this was a different case. The body was speeding and only waves of wind were heard in the air just like the footsteps that sporadically replaced each other with a loud thud on the tiled floor.

Ryxel ran as fast as he could and the person he was running after sped right through the back door which led to a wide swimming pool.

It was Caramel.

Just before she would jump into the source of water, Ryxel grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She fell hard on his chest and fell into slumber.

"What was that?" Ryxel wondered. He was both confused and scared for her. His hands tightened around her body.

She had been dream walking which had turned into running. She had run like her life depended on it. As if a certain force was pulling her like a magnet to the water. It was altogether worrying and scary.

"I wanna drown." She vaguely mumbled against his chest.

"I won't let you, Caramel."
He assured but he was merely talking to himself because the pretty Caramel was sound asleep. She was only sleep talking.

That night, there was no way Ryxel was going to let her sleep on her own.

He put her to sleep in her bed and slept in the couch in her bedroom.

In the middle of the night, someone crept up his body. Slowly by slowly Caramel climbed his body.

"What are you doing, Caramel?" He asked her completely startling her. She thought he was fast asleep and could not hear anything but she was wrong.

"I---i...." She shrugged as her eyes met his cold ones in the dark.

"You, what?"

"I---Ryxel----i"

"Are you trying to take advantage me?"

"No." She shouted in denial.

"Then, what?"

She kept quiet.

"Perhaps, friends do this?" He questioned.

"No, Ryxel."

"Then speak up, why are you on top of me?"

"Don't act like you are not enjoying it?" She said and rolled her eyes.

"That's the worst self defense I have ever heard. Try something more convincing."

"Okay, fine. I'm scared of sleeping alone." She admitted her hands playing with the neck part of Ryxel's shirt.

He didn't say anything after her confession. He just calmly shut his eyes.

"Ryxel." She whispered in the dark as if someone was watching them.

He hummed in response.

"Can I share this place with you?"

No response.

"Ryxel, please." She whispered again.

He pulled her body to his.

"Sleep." He commanded.

"Thank you but can I go first get us something to cover?" She whisper yelled.

He did not use any force. He peacefully let her go by removing the circle of his hand from around her body.

She tiptoed to her bed like she had done before as she was coming to where Ryxel was sleeping. She grabbed a blanket and silently run back to the chair that was going to be hers and Ryxel's bed that night.

When she reached there, she stood. She was afraid of climbing onto him for the second time. "What now?" She thought to herself.

A strong hand simply pulled hence dismissing her worries and solving her problem of having to climb him again. She fell on top of her roommate's body and the blanket she was holding fell on to the floor.

Ryxel, with one hand, held her tense body to his and with the other, picked up the small duvet and covered them.

"Thanks." Karmale said but received no response.

She lay quietly on his heated body taking in all the warmth it was giving off. His lingering scent eased her tension and fear. She was no longer scared, warm enough but surely bored.

"How was your day, Ryxel?" She asked in effort of starting a conversation but all in vain. The person she was asking was not replying at all.

When he didn't answer, she gave him a list of things to pick from.

"Boring, interesting, dramatic, crazy, sad, terrible, amazing?" She listed but still the guy sleeping below her said nothing.

"Ryxel." She called and poked his cheek and chest.

His body just stayed stiff even after she had touched it.

"Ryxel, say something. Am so bored. Gosh!" She complained.

Still, nothing was said.

"Okay, I will tell you about mine. I sat in the chair. Tossed and turned all day. It was so boring."

"Then, ummm... nothing happened."

"So, your turn. Tell me about your day."

"Ryxel."

"Caramel." He called sounding a bit irritated and tired.

"Finally, you talked. I thought you had turned mute overnight. Okay, yes. Tell me all about your day."

"Should I first bite your lips to make you understand the word, 'sleep'? I said sleep."

"Ryxel, am really bored and I'm not sleepy at all. I have slept for long enough and----"

"Hush!" He whispered back just like she had been doing ever since she had lay on top of him. Just that his whisper was more of a command unlike her chanty gossip.

"Silently go to sleep. I don't want any other word coming out of that pretty mouth of yours."

Karmale fell numb.

Thirty-five minutes later.

"I want ice-cream." She whispered. This time to herself. And she only dared to talk again cause she was sure that Ryxel was now in deep slumber.

"I really miss it." She said again and then the arms of Morpheus lovingly enveloped her. She dozed off.

+±+++++++++±+++++++

"Morning, Diana." Karmale came down stairs all jolly. She was skipping about like a teenage girl who just had her first kiss.

"Morning, miss." Diana whispered.

"What's for breakfast? I am terribly hungry."

"I am glad you are hungry. Join me. Let's have the morning meal together." A rough voice echoed from behind Diana.

Before Karmale would say anything, Ryxel was pulling her by the arm and dragging her into a room full of mouth watering aromas.

In the room, was a mammoth wooden table varnished with black and a big white table cloth covering it. The table stretched to half of the room. It was oval shaped. Long and wide. Every inch of it had food.

Not just food but every type of food and that too in plenty. At first Karmale was eager to dig in but when she heard Ryxel's next words, she was at loss of appetite.

"Sit, down and eat up all the food at this table."

"What?"

"Yes." He calmly answered as if it was something so simple to do.

"I'm hungry but I cannot eat as much food as this." She said her voice almost breaking.

"Did, you have lunch yesterday?"

"Yes." She answered confidently mastering her own lie.

"Dinner?"

"Absolutely yes. A full saucepan of beef." She lied again. Quite smoothly.

"Okay, if you did eat a full saucepan of beef, then this should be nothing. Eat up, honey."

"I can't eat all that food, Ryxel."

"I said sit and eat!" He angrily and impatiently said.

Seeing the anger written all over his face, she wondered whether he had somehow caught her lying. She decided to sit silently and somehow eat all the food. Ryxel placed an empty plate in front of her.

"Dish up. Keep in mind that you have to eat everything at this table."

She picked up an apple, toasted bread, vegetables and a banana. The meat section was left untouched. Seems like she had had a lot of it the day before.

"I don't want you choking. Get something to drink."

"Diana, fill up three glasses. One of milk. Another water and lastly juice."

"Yes, sir."

"Diana, don't go through the trouble. I'll do it." Karmale offered just to buy sometime and avoid eating that much food. She was hoping she would serve the drinks like a snail and Ryxel would leave before she finishes. That way, she would escape that punishment. To her dismay, Ryxel refused to grant her that opportunity.

"I told her to do it. Not you. Sit down and start eating." He said to Karmale.

And then he said to Diana. "Go ahead."

"Yes, Sir."

Diana did as instructed.

Karmale looked at the filled up glasses and mentally fainted. She could not drink all that. She there and then started regretting why she had lied to Ryxel. "This guy doesn't like being lied to. If I hadn't lied, I wouldn't be in this situation of having to eat everything on this dinning table."

She picked up her apple and bit into it. All this time Ryxel was looking at her but she could not return the same look. She wasn't courageous enough to look him in the eye. Not after she had lied.

She bit into the apple again. When he was contented that she was eating, he picked up his plate and dished up some food for himself.

They ate in pin drop silence. Only the sound of cutlery would be heard.

Karmale had only eaten half of what was on her plate when she dropped her fork.

"Ry---"

"Save it. Eat." He interrupted her.

"I can't eat anymore."

"At least have ice-cream." He suggested.

"Really!" She shouted in elation.

"Yeah, it's at the end of this table."

Karmale looked at where she had been told her craving was and found there something even more pleasant. Her phone.

"Oh, wow!" She happily exclaimed and sprang up from her seat.

"Not so fast!" Ryxel grabbed her wrist.

"Food first."

"Ryxel this is unfair." She complained.

"It's not like I care. Sit and eat. It's high time you touched the meat. What you had for supper last night makes it sound like you are a meat lover. Eat!"

"Ryxel, am sorry. I lied."

"I know and it's okay. You can go have your ice-cream. I forgive you." He left her arm.

"Thank you." She euphorically said and left her seat to the one at the extreme end of the table. It was exactly opposite the one the head of the house was sitted in.

Karmale sat and mindlessly savoured the vanilla ice cream. Her favourite.

Ryxel cleaned his mouth and prepared to leave.

He moved to where Caramel was sitted, bent down, kissed on her forehead and picked up the phone he had earlier on placed on the table.

"Ryxel, my phone!" She practically shouted as the tin of ice-cream fell out of her hands. Ryxel walked away.

"My phone! Ryxel, my phone!" She bolted after him.

She was too slow for him so she decided to pull his coat. When she did that, he stopped. She hurriedly stood in front of him, in the door view. He was obviously towering over her. Given that she was barefoot right now, he was way taller than her.

"Ryxel, can I have my phone, please?"

"Learn how to behave and then you will have it."

"I am not some sort of kid for you to control, Ryxel." She raised her voice.

"Keep it down, Caramel!"

"No, I won't. I want my phone!" She screamed.

"Hold the sass!"

"I want my phone, Ryxel."

"No, you won't get it. Learn how to behave first."

"Ry-yy-Ryxel." She was on the verge of breaking but shouted again, "I want my phone."

"Do away with lying, eat your meals right and then I will give you your phone."

"I said I was sorry about the lying, Ryxel and you had forgiven me, right?" She said her voice almost pleading.

"No, I hadn't. Had I done that, you would have lied again about something else."

"Am not a liar by birth, Ryxel. Just please give my phone back. I have even eaten food. You have seen me doing that. Please return my phone."

"No, Caramel."

"Please." She desperately begged as a glowing layer formed on the sclera of her eyes. She bit on her lower lip to fight back the tears forming on the white part of her eyeballs. She wanted to cry. She was angry and at the same time suppressed. It was real oppression on her side. She held onto his coat.

"Please, Ryxel." A tear dropped. One of anger, oppression and desperacy to be free. She wanted to be free from the control freak.

"Please." She begged for the last time as another tear fell from her eye.

Ryxel felt his heart break into a thousand pieces when he saw the salty river cascade down her visage. Ryxel's thumb raced for her face. He wanted to ease her pain but there is no way he would do that. He needed to tame her in order to keep her safe. She needed to learn to say only and only the truth to him. She needed to trust him. She needed to learn to do so and he was going to teach her just how to do that. He didn't care in which way. Hard or easy, he needed the hot-headed lawyer to succumb to him. Even if it triggered both their emotions, he was still going to do it. He wanted her safe. Very 'safe'.

He moved forward to erase her tears but she took a step back.

"No, don't touch me. Don't sympathise with me at all. You are not a good friend. You don't want to protect me, you just want to oppress me. You just want to control me!" She shouted.

She cried and ran upstairs to her bedroom.

Ryxel turned and he could see her figure ascending. He could also hear her soft sobs. Her faint sniffing. It all made him angry with himself. He wanted to protect her and not oppress. He wanted to comfort her and apologize but he didn't. He just cursed at himself for that was the only way he would go. It was the only solution. 'Oppression'. Even when he didn't intend to, he had to do it.

"Fuck! I don't ever want to be the reason you cry, Caramel. Trust me, it's all for the best." He said his eyes looking at the stairs she had just disappeared from.

"Diana!" He called.

"Yes, sir." She hurriedly responded and came running.

"Monitor, Miss Karmale."

"Sure, sir."

"This time, I get back home and you give a fucked up displeasing report, you will lose your job. Am I clear!" He shouted at the poor lady.

"Very clear, sir."

"I hope it has sank in your head." He said and exited the place.

"Yes, sir."

________________________

Karmale had lunch at exactly one in the afternoon.

But she refused to have supper.

"I don't want to have supper, Diana."

"Why, miss?"

"At what time is your boss coming back?"

"I don't know, miss but he usually gets back at nine in the evening." Karmale's assigned guardian answered.

"Okay, I will wait for him. We'll have supper together."

"It will be late, miss.''

"Don't worry, Diana. I'll eat." Karmale gave her an assuring smile.

Seven in the evening

"Good evening, Sir. You're back so early?" Diana greeted.

"Any problem?"

"No, sir."

"Where's Caramel?" He asked.

"Did she have something to eat ever since I left?"

"Yes, sir."

"Where is she, now?"

"Dining Room, sir."

"Didn't she have supper?"

"No, sir. She insisted on waiting for you. She said she wanted to have dinner with you."

"Caramel." He exhaled and marched to the eatery.

Karmale sat on the chair she had sat on during breakfast. It was the chair on Ryxel's right hand side. She hit the forks and spoons and created something musical. She banged the equipment on each other till one fork fell down. When she bent to pick it, she felt odd. It felt like a pair of eyes were watching her. Not just any pair but a particular one. She slowly picked up the tool and turned.

The ocean blue eyes stared right back in her Bambi ones.

Ryxel looked at her eyes and sought everything he wanted to know. Her eyes were still swollen. That only meant that she had cried for some good hours. More to it, she was tired and obviously sad.

When he didn't stop looking at her, Karmale gave him one of her best fake smiles but he was not going to fall for that. He had already read her emotions. They were clearly written all over her face and her brown orbs did nothing to hide them. They were so transparent and the traitor category.

"Welcome back, Ryxel." She surprised him by taking the first move.

"Thank you, Caramel. How are you?"

"I'm a hundred percent fine." She said and yawned. She was tired like he had noticed earlier.

"Oh, sorry. I must be a little bit tired." She quickly put in.

"It's okay. Have you had supper already?"

"No and i am so hungry. Go freshen up. I'm waiting for you. We'll have dinner together." She said and smiled again.

He nodded in affirmation and headed for his bedroom.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

The two frenemies had supper together. It was silent but the silence was comfortable.

Karmale had changed her attitude. Perhaps she was ready to adjust accordingly. Ryxel hoped but he still doubted it. She was too stubborn to change just like that.

"Caramel."

"Yes."

"Mind a movie?"

"No, I don't."

"Come then." He said and led her to a big Lounge. It was his V.I.P Lounge with a bar, enormous maroon sofas. Some small duvets, multiple cushions and a huge television screen.

"Pick a movie. I'll get the popcorn." Karmale offered.

"Sure."

She set off for the kitchen and returned with one big bowl of popcorn.

She placed them on the table before them.

Ryxel had picked a Netflix thriller. They sat at opposite ends of the sofa. No one touched the popcorn. Ryxel was not interested and Karmale was scared to move even a finger. The main actor just kept murdering people non-stop. It was creepy and disgusting.

It became worse when he mercilessly cut off his colleague's head.
Karmale was forced to leave her seat and go to where Ryxel sat.

"Ryxel, can we have ice-cream instead of greasy popcorn?" She asked acting as if she was unbothered about the movie.

"No, problem."

Ryxel, dialled on the landline that was in the lounge and a certain maid came in with a big tin of vanilla ice-cream.

"Come here, baby." Ryxel said to Karmale and she unhesitatingly shifted to his lap. She was too tired to refuse.

She ate the dessert and by the time she was fed up, she did not realize when she fell asleep in his arms.

Ryxel turned off the system and covered Karmale. They slept like they had the night before.

"Sorry, for that movie, Caramel. I really need to sleep by your side and protect you from those nightmares. I really need to hold you as you sleep. That's when I will be able to sleep cause I will be sure you are safe. You are only safe in my arms. I know you are not happy with what I have done. I am sorry but it's for the best. I hope you understand it some time to come cause I am not going to change anything about it. I am not going to let you go. The commands will keep increasing, you must adhere. Be the strong lawyer I know cause this is going to be one hell of a ride. I am not letting you go anywhere. You now belong to me. You are mine to hold, treasure, tame and protect." He pecked her forehead and he drifted off to sleep. Her vanilla scented hair as his blanket.

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Andria 💋