TIES THAT BIND
Prologue
Ayla's heels scrape against concrete as she runs, desperation etched on her face. Footsteps echo behind her, closing in. Her breath hitches, heart racing.
"You won't go anywhere. You are mine, and mine alone."
The voice is low, menacing, and sends shivers down her spine. Ayla's eyes widen, and she dares a glance back. Liam's eyes burn with intensity, his face twisted in a snarl.
Suddenly, she's back in her mother's kitchen, the warmth of Harare sunshine streaming in...
"Mama, ndinoda kuenda(I want to go)," Ayla says, her voice steady.
Her mother's hands freeze, dough-covered, eyes pleading. "Ayla, why my daughter? Stay safe for me."
The memory shatters. Ayla stumbles, caught off guard. Strong arms grab her, pulling her into shadows.
"Fight, Ayla! Lwaaanaa!" her mother's voice echoes, distant.
His voice growls in her ear, "You'll never leave me."
The warehouse door slams open. Chaos erupts. Ayla's scream gets lost in the night.
CUT TO BLACK.
Valeria didn't rush.
She never did.
Inez was pinned beneath her, wrist locked overhead, the hold precise and impersonal. Not pain. Control.
Inez scoffed anyway.
"That's it?" she sneered. "I've had tutors scarier than you."
Valeria said nothing.
The silence pressed in.
"You don't scare me," Inez added, louder. Brattier. "You just-"
"Enough."
One word. Flat. Final.
Valeria lifted Inez's chin with two fingers, detached as a correction.
"Look at me," she said coolly. "If you're going to embarrass yourself, do it properly."
Inez laughed, brittle.
"You think this makes you powerful?"
"I don't think," Valeria replied. "I decide."
Her gaze never wavered.
"You provoke because it's the last control you have."
"I don't belong to you," Inez snapped.
Valeria leaned in, voice razor-thin.
"You are my wife. You belong to consequences."
She released her grip.
"Say it."
A"No."
Valeria waited.
The quiet broke Inez, she hated being ignored.
"...I'll behave, I'll be a good girl" Inez muttered.
"Specify."
Inez swallowed hard.
"...I'll be your good girl"
Valeria stepped back, already distant.
"Good," she said.
"Remember why."
#1 older women-13th February
(FAST PACE BOOK)