Escaping Mr. Grayson [UN-EDITED]

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

                               "I wanna steal your soul and hide you in my treasure chest"

                                                         -Billie Eilish (Song: Hostage)

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Mr. Grayson's p.o.v

I know. I know that I probably look like the bad guy here, I know that in some way, shape or form, I essentially kidnapped her, I know that in retrospect I probably should have never drugged Nailea in the first place and I even know that I might have a slight superiority complex. Alright fine... I have a rather large superiority complex.

          It's not my fault that I'm like this. You know that, don't you? Hear me out for a second... I mean, I never met my birth mother, my father was a physically abusive drunk who wouldn't go a day without torturing me, I was consumed and stalked by an old lady that adopted me, my own brother didn't want me to be in his kids life, and the icing on the top? I was sent away into a loony bin against my own free will and trapped in there, completely isolated for almost four years. As though I even deserved to be in there.

          Doesn't that justify me in some way, shape or form? Don't I have the right to be angry? Haven't I earned the luxurythe simple sympathy to go a little mad sometimes? So yes, sure, I will be the first to admit that there are moments when I can be impulsive and insatiable. But, put yourself in my shoes for a split second. Wouldn't you go insane too?

          "What do you want?", Nailea spits, jolting me out of thought. I forgot that I walked down here a few seconds ago after making the finishing touches upstairs.

          What's upstairs, you might be wondering? Refuge. A new life...a new home for me and my dear sweet love. Okay, in hindsight I suppose I might have been a little bit excessive with it but no gesture is too grand when it comes to love. Most especially my love. No gesture is too grand for the woman that I love. Not for Nailea.

          "Miss Tembo...I'm sorry...alright? I'm not a monster. Im really not. Trust me, I get it. I understand that change can be a scary thing sometimes and I didn't give you enough time to process everything and that wasn't okay. I know that now. It's just... I love you too much to share you with anyone else. You need to understand that I'm trying", I plead.

          "Whether or not you think that you're trying", she mumbles, "...you're just a bad person

          "Don't be naïve Miss Tembo. There are no such thing as good people or bad people. We're all the same. It's just, not all of us are good at hiding our bad."

She suddenly has her arms cross across her chest and the fear in her eyes makes me weak.

          I breath. "I understand how aggressive I've been to keep you in here and... well, drug you. But everything is going to change now —I smile— everything is going to be different. Because...because it's ready for you...it's ready for us"

          "What are you talking about?"

          I get closer to her and she starts to back away slowly. That makes me angry. How dare she not trust me to be near her? I want so badly to react, but if I yell at her, she won't agree to go upstairs. I know that much.

          "Please don't come any closer", she whispers. "Unless you're going to give me a clear exit...I don't see any reason to go upstairs with you"

          I grab her by both her shoulders and she doesn't flinch...proving to me that there's still some twisted sort of intrigue. And quite honestly, I would be a fool not to pry on that.