Haven And Chaos

2) Follow my orders

The devil had shown up to collect his debt as promised. That thought made my heart tremble with fear.
"Time to go," he whispered before pushing me off of him like a rag doll, with no gentleness at all.
I gasped, all courage evading me till I turned into a little scared rabbit.

For an entire year, I had lived in fear. The threat that had been hovering around me all those months made me want to unalive myself, but he had said I'd pay for my mistake even in death. He'd make my family suffer through hell and no ground would hold my remains.
For the sake of my parents, I had to suffer through the trauma and live with the impending doom.

And now...now he was here. Here to take me away to pay for the mistake I made unintentionally.

*********************
*********************

It was around seven in the evening when we arrived in his luxurious modern mansion, but the twilight glow was still visible on the glass walls of the upper floors.
He had relocated.
As expected.

The doors unlocked and a brunette woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties walked out dressed elegantly from the maroon gown to the black heels.
Her eyes enlarged with curiosity upon falling on my timid self trying to hide behind thin air. 
"Um...I, I didn't know we were having a visitor!"

A rough thud from the car behind me made me jerk to the side. Then came the chills on the back of my neck before Gale Grayson even spoke.
"Don't mind her. A visiting acquaintance."

"Oh! Okay. Please, welcome home, both of you."

I didn't move. Too afraid to walk forward and too scared to turn back. But there was no hiding from Gale. He had managed to track me down to another city and brought me back to Redvile.

My hesitation led to a hand soft-slapping my back before it nudged me forward. "Walk!" He whispered and my legs suddenly regained their energy.
With a mid-sized gray suitcase in hand, I dragged my feet on the ground and made it inside the warm house.
The air smelled of lemon and vanilla, an odd combination but refreshing.

The brunette's eyes were now fixed on the suitcase, an indication that my presence would be more than a 'visit'.
But she brushed it off with a smile, one which carried an underlying negative aura.

"Let me help you with-"

I jumped back, yanking the suitcase from her reach, and accidentally bumped into the man who had been walking behind me.
"I'm so sorry!" I apologized dashing to the side and dropping my eyes.

Gale snorted, his polished shoes turned towards me, followed by a finger pushing my chin up to face him.
"Oh you'll be sorry alright?! I'm not yet even started." The hatred in his gray eyes shone like a million diamonds under the bright sun. It made his attractive looks feel even more dangerous.

"Ahem!" The woman cleared her throat, but it wasn't enough to break the scowl Gale had fixed on me.
When he did look away, a tear made a quick escape from my left eye, cursing myself for the past.
I was only nineteen, I deserved to have a beautiful life and even friends. But since my eighteenth birthday, my world shattered and my best friend's dad became a vengeful enemy who would control my life.

He had ordered me not to join any college till he permitted me, or else I'd suffer. He wanted me to join college when he wished, and I'd study whichever major Cindy was to study.

"Get the maids to prepare the third bedroom."

"Thi-third?" The woman squeaked in shock.
She sounded displeased and as if questioning his authority.
Was she his new girlfriend?
Or one of the countless women who wanted to get close to him?

Gale let go of my chin and straightened to his full height. His focus was redirected to the brunette.
"She'll be staying there."

"Oh!" She exclaimed disappointed. "Okay."

With one frowning gaze at me, she walked away, her heels squeaking on the clean tiles.

He gave me only an hour to settle in, bathe, and go down for dinner.
To reduce my punishment, I opted to be as obedient as I could be, even hurried to show up ten minutes early.
The maid in charge of my poor ass was kind enough to help me find my way to the dining room.
Upon walking in, two pairs of feminine eyes immediately stripped me of my clothes and skin. They tried to hide their frowns under the flat expressions, but I could feel the inhospitality lingering in the air.

"Sit down," Gale ordered, not sparing me even a single glance.

I hurried my feet and chose the furthest seat away from him.
How could a grown thirty-eight-year-old man hold such grudges? Cindy had forgiven me, so why was he still so bitter about the past?

"Um...who is this?" The younger woman next to the brunette asked. Her blue eyes were still tearing me apart piece by piece to search for something I wouldn't give up.

"No one. Ignore her," came Gale's cold and cool reply. His eyes were firmly glued to the screen of the iPad he held.
'No one' the words echoed in my mind, leading to my heart bleeding a little. There was a time when I was someone. A time when he would joke around me, and buy me gifts alongside his precious daughter.
And now...now I was a nobody.

"Here..." The iPad was dropped on the table before being slid towards me. "Redvile University, accounting major, classes start at nine." His formal words made it to my ears as a harsh reminder of the reality I was about to go through.
With shaking hands, I picked up the iPad, and then glanced at Gale.

"Bu-but my math-"

His eyes darted at me like daggers.
"But nothing. Classes start tomorrow. The driver will drop you off alongside Mia and pick you up at-"

"She'll join me?!" The so-called Mia squeaked, her eyes popped out. "Why can't she have another driver-"

"Quiet!" Gale snapped shooting her a fierce glare. "I'm in charge. I'm paying both of your tuition fees, so everything will be according to how I want."

Mia's gaze dropped defeated.
She looked around my age, so it made sense that she was or would be in college as well.
However, by then, her dislike had already been established, just like the woman beside her.
From their similar features, she was her mom or aunt.

"Calm down." The older brunette comforted, squeezing Mia's hand gently. "He knows what he's doing."

"Classes end at three. The driver will pick you up and drop you off at the office for your coffee duties."

"Coffee duties?" I echoed taken aback.

Gale's flat look met my surprised eyes, immediately instilling deathly fear in my weak heart.
"Yes, Maya. From tomorrow, you'll learn how to make all kinds of coffee. Perfection will be appreciated."

"But, but I'll be learning accounting, not a barista course!" I argued innocently. But this only made Gale's anger rise.
His right hand clenched into a hard fist, and his gray eyes hardened like marbles scowling at me with all the vile in his heart.
He hated me. Deeply.