Faisal muttered to Samir, "Looks like we're in for a lecture now."
"Sister-in-law is the god, and the god is sister-in-law," Samir mumbled while looking at Faisal, "Ava's the only one I take orders from today."
But both were wrong. The tension had drained Ava completely. The moment the machine lurched to a halt, her legs gave way, and she crumpled to the rough cement floor, her knees scraping painfully. Tears finally streamed down her face.
What else could she do? She was a woman at the end of her rope, with no strength left to fight. There were no defiant words left in her, no grand pronouncements of rebellion. She had lost. Back then, it had been her brother's life on the line, a threat that had forced her to marry Ibrahim. Today, it was Tanin and Lalana. She became Ibrahim's prisoner once more..
Ibrahim's jaw clenched seeing her like that. Was it regret? Remorse? It was impossible to tell. Only he knew what demons wrestled within him.
He turned towards Samir, a curt nod the only communication needed. It was a silent order – they were leaving, and Samir and Faisal would handle the rest. Both men inclined their heads in understanding.
Then Ibrahim sank to his knees before her. He didn't kneel with reverence, but with a predatory grace, his broad shoulders dominating the space above her. His dark suit strained against the powerful muscles beneath. He reached out, his thumb brushing a stray tear from her cheek.
"You know," he began, "you play a dangerous game, Ava. You dance on the edge of a very sharp blade, and this time, you've cut yourself so deep. You always manage to unearth this... weakness I have for you. But you take it, twist it, and use it against me by running away. You haven't seen the other side of me, Baby Girl ..... You haven't seen."
Ava kept staring at him.
"The part that doesn't flinch at a whimper or a tear. You haven't seen the lengths I'll go to keep what's mine."
She looked away. Didn't want to hear any of his 'speech'. But Ibrahim wasn't finished. He hold Ava's chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, "I, Ibrahim Rahman, walk through the world like I own it. This city, this country, they all bend to my will. And you are mine, my little runaway bride. My property. And property doesn't get to choose where it goes."
With a jerk of her head, Ava swatted his hand away from her chin, "I'm not your property, not some employee you can order around!. I'm a human being, and I can think for myself! I have a f*cking brain."
Her defiance seemed to backfire spectacularly. When without another word, he reached down and scooped her up into his powerful arms. A gasp escaped Ava's lips. She thrashed against him, her fists pounding on his broad chest like a trapped bird. "Put me down! Let me go!"
But Ibrahim was an immovable wall, her struggles seemingly inconsequential against his superior strength.
The moment the cottage door slammed shut behind Ibrahim and Ava, Tanin, his eyes fluttering open, croaked out, "Hello, brothers. Put us down too. My arms are feeling rather detached from their sockets."
Lalana, following suit, stirred and mumbled, "Jeez, that was the most intense third-world war reenactment I've ever witnessed. This Ibrahim guy is something else. When Ava screamed about the machine, I almost jumped out of my skin!"
Faisal chuckled, expertly maneuvering the controls to lower them both to the ground, "You both did great. A little stiff, maybe, but convincing nonetheless."
Tanin stretched his arms above his head, wincing slightly. "Just a touch of a crick in the old waist, I'm afraid. Hanging in mid-air for what felt like thirty years will do that to a fella."
"That acid looked real enough to make me sweat." Lalana added, "Now the bigger problem is what to tell Aunty and Uncle. Why didn't Ava come with us? Or… do we tell them the truth that Tanin already knew everything from last night?"
Samir raised an eyebrow at Faisal.
"Leave it to me." Faisal said with a dismissive wave. "We'll tell Somchai about the whole ordeal. No need to drag you two and your little performance into it. Consider it a secret between us."
Ibrahim marched towards his car with Ava still held tightly in his arms. The car was parked behind the cottage.
"Stubborn little thing. So much fire inside you." He clearly muttered under his breath.
Ava vowed silently to herself. Just get to Malaysia. That's all that mattered. Once there, she'd go Elara.
He flung open the passenger door and deposited her in the seat. He leaned in further, his breath warm against her ear as he fastened her seatbelt with unnecessary force.
"I'm not a child. I can buckle myself in." She spat.
He met her glare with a dark chuckle. "Highly doubt that," he drawled, the car's interior light casting harsh shadows across his face.
Ignoring her angry face Ibrahim slammed the door shut and shed his suit jacket in a single tossing it carelessly onto the back seat. With a sigh that seemed to hold more than just frustration, Ibrahim slid behind the wheel.
Her frantic struggle earlier had jostled him that much, the injury on his stomach throbbed with a ache. He gritted his teeth, a low hiss escaping his lips. Lifting his shirt slightly, he could see the simple bandage covering the wound. Thankfully no blood was there.
The car started. Neither of them spoke. She stole two hesitant glances at him, each one met with an unreadable expression on his face. It was safer, she decided, to remain silent. But a nagging curiosity gnawed at her.
Though she didn't know the directions of Hat Yai but it was clear that they weren't heading towards the airport. Lalana had mentioned the airport being just a five-minute drive from the stadium. Yet, Ibrahim seemed to be taking them in the opposite direction.
"Aren't we going to the airport?" she asked.
Ibrahim's gaze flickered towards her briefly, "The airport? Why would I take you there, Ava?"
"W-what do you mean?" she stammered. "Didn't you… weren't we going to Kuala Lumpur?"
"Eight days, Ava. Eight long days I've spent hunting you down. Now, it's Elara's turn to play hide-and-seek."
Ibrahim's words were cryptic, their meaning veiled in a darkness that chilled Ava to the bone. Was he saying he wouldn't take her to KL? Did he plan to keep her hidden?
She shot the third glance at Ibrahim, his focused gaze fixed on the road ahead. Seizing her chance, she fumbled with the buckle of her seatbelt. With a silent click, she released the restraint. One more move, just one, and she'd be free. She was so desperate to be free that she ignored the voice in her head telling her it was dangerous to jump from a moving vehicle. She was willing to risk anything. Freedom at any cost.
But as her fingers brushed the cold metal, she heard Ibrahim's cold laugh. He hadn't even bothered to turn his head, yet it felt like he could see right through her, like her desperate plan was an open book before him.
"Thinking of escape again." Ibrahim drawled, "How naive. Don't you know these doors have child safety locks? A little precaution, just in case my little runaway bride gets any… ideas."
Ava's face drained of color. She yanked on the door handle, a futile effort that only confirmed his words. She slumped back in her seat, defeated.
He stole a glance at her with hungry glint in his eyes. After days of searching, she was finally here, within his grasp. He could feel the raw hatred radiating off her in waves. Despite the hatred that flickered in her eyes, a primal fear burned alongside it. And that fear, twisted as it was, felt… intimate.
The car cut through the darkness like a knife, its headlights illuminating the winding road ahead. The forest pressed in on either side, a dense wall of trees that seemed to stretch on forever. Their gnarled branches reached out like skeletal fingers, creating a web of shadows that danced across the forest floor. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and decaying leaves, and the silence was broken only by the steady thrum of the engine and the occasional hoot of an owl. It was as if the forest held its breath, waiting for something unknown to break the stillness.
After what seemed like hours, the car lurched to a halt infront of a wooden house. Ibrahim emerged without a word and rounded the front of the vehicle. Then, he yanked open the door, not with a gentlemanly gesture, but with a force. There was no warmth in his touch, only a cold command in his eyes: OBEY.
Ava stumbled out of the car. The absence of a moon turned the world into an inky blackness, broken only by the faint glow of the car's headlights. Had Ibrahim not stopped, she wouldn't have even known a house stood nestled within the dense forest – a well-built wooden structure that seemed to blend into the shadows.
No light emanated from the windows, making the house appear like a giant, empty eye staring sightlessly back at her. Fear, cold and sharp, clawed at Ava's throat.
She slowly turned her head, her gaze locking onto Ibrahim. Though Ava couldn't discern the details of Ibrahim's face butt those eyes – oh, those eyes. It was as if he could devour her soul with just a glance, the darkness in his eyes promising nothing but doom. Her voice trembled as she spoke.
"Are you… bringing me here to… to kill me?" she whispered, her eyes wide with dread. "Just like you killed your father? Is that it? You'll kill me and leave my body in the forest, no one will ever find me… You'll just… get rid of me here in the woods?"