A walk on thorns

Chapter 49| Perfect Choice

MJ's POV
2 days earlier

The air in the room was suffocating, thick with tension and the bitter stench of Junaid’s cigar. I could feel every muscle in my body coiled tight, ready to snap. He sat there like a king on his throne, legs crossed, eyes cold and calculating. His presence alone felt like a noose tightening around my neck.

“Where did you find this, and why the hell are you tracing every bit of my life?!” I demanded, my voice rising with each word, vibrating with fury.

Junaid’s eyes didn’t waver. He leaned back slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk. “Lower your voice, young man,” he said, his tone mocking but laced with an underlying threat. “You don’t talk to your father in such a manner.”

I could barely contain the rage bubbling inside me. Every fiber of my being wanted to scream at him, to push back against the invisible chains he had wrapped around my life. “Now, sit down,” he ordered, and for a fleeting second, I considered defying him. But Sabrina’s safety was on the line. I needed to play smart, tread carefully.

For her.

Reluctantly, I sat, fists clenched so tight my knuckles turned white. “Tell me what it is you want,” I said through gritted teeth. “Why are you scrutinizing my life? And what the hell is your problem with Sabrina?”

He chuckled, a low, menacing sound that sent a chill down my spine. “Calm down, lover boy,” he sneered. “I have no problem with Sabrina Tahir Ribado… yet.”

The way he said her full name made my skin crawl. How did he know that? How much did he know?

“What do you want?” I pressed, voice steady despite the storm raging within.

Junaid’s gaze hardened, all traces of amusement vanishing. “Stay away from her,” he said, his tone sharp, final.

I shot up from my seat, my chair scraping loudly against the floor. “Impossible!” I roared, my voice echoing through the room. “You have no right to meddle in my life, to dictate who I can or can’t be with. You have no right, old man!”

I was shaking with fury, each breath coming out in ragged gasps. “I’ve sacrificed enough for you,” I continued, voice trembling but defiant. “And now you either appreciate it or you don’t, but I’m done caring about your threats or your boundaries. You’ve filled me up with your control, and now I’m taking back what’s mine. I hope you understand?”

Junaid’s smirk returned, but it was colder now, more dangerous. “Yeah, I understand,” he said, voice smooth like silk wrapped around a blade. “But I hope you’ll understand me too when you hear the news of her sudden disappearance from planet Earth.”

I froze. My blood ran cold. The room seemed to tilt as the weight of his words sank in.

“Did you do it?” I asked, my voice low and dangerous. “Did you attack her with acid?”

He laughed, the sound hollow and cruel. “Acid?” he repeated, shaking his head. “Cool. But no, I’m not that wicked, young man. I’d warn you first before showing my kind of mastery.”

He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with a sinister light. “But do you know who wouldn’t warn you? Nadeera and Mukhtar. They won’t tolerate nonsense, and the girl is very daring.”

I clenched my jaw, fists shaking with barely restrained fury. “How do you know that? How do you know everything that’s going on in her life? Hell, why do you feel the need to do all of this?”