Isabelle's POV
"Open the door, Isabelle." His dreading voice echoed from the other side of the door.
I shook my head on my own as if he can see my actions. With my trembling hands, I clutched the hem of my dress and rested my head against the door. My breathing was abnormally harsh and trust me, I wanted to scream at him for making me feel this helpless but not a single word came out of my mouth. My fear was playing scenarios inside my head that what's the worse thing he can do to me with those spiders.
"I'll count to ten, Isabelle and if you don't open the door before it, I swear I'll lock you inside the room full of hundreds of spiders." He said, his tone now turning more dangerous than before.
I pressed my eyes shut as a horrifying image of me locked up inside the room flashed before me. The ugly spiders, their ciliated legs, their tiny head, roaming on the floor as my body numbs in fear. It's either I crush them with legs or let them crawl over my flesh. There's nothing in between.
"Seven, Eight..."
I bite on my lips and quickly unlocked the door. My body drenched in sweat started shaking as I folded my hands together in front of him and cried. "P-please. Don't...don't do this. I-i promise I'll do whatever you say, just don't d-do this to me..."
I know he might be laughing at me for behaving like this but if only he knew what actually it means to have a phobia of a small creatures. It's terrifying. I swear upon my life I'll not be able to bear if the spider touches my skin or I'll get a sight of them in hundreds. I'm sure I won't be able to breathe again, I'll lose my sanity.
Tears continuously streamed down my cheeks as I pleaded him. I don't know why he's doing this to me. Isn't it too much for a revenge? I only disrespect him. That's all. Then why he's trying to break me?
I hate to admit but right now I just want to run out of his house and never see him again. I know that then I'll never be able to meet my mother but I'm no saint. All I know right now is that I'm very scared of spiders. If given a chance I'll choose running away from them instead of letting them crawl all over me just to meet my mother.
I'm pathetic to even think like this but I can't help it. I just can't.
"I like this. I like the fear in your eyes." He chuckled, taking a step closer to me and wiping the tears from my cheeks with his thumb.
I replied nothing at his sadistic comment, just stayed still at my place.
"So, where I was...yes, your wedding gift." He added, grabbing my hand and placing the box on it.
My first reaction was to flinch my hand away but let's do the maths. One spider will be less worse than hundreds in number. I really don't want to piss him.
"Now, open it."
My mouth ran dry and even after knowing in my heart that he's straight definition of psychopath who'd never in a million years hesitate to kill me, I forced myself to open the damn box.
My fingers trembled as I struggled to open the lock of the box. My stomach churned and for sure I was going to puke right here when the metallic sound of unlocking the box clicked into my ear.
But I couldn't dare to open the box. I'm scared. My body was sweating profusely sending me warning signals to not open it. I'm going to faint. I don't have enough strength to see the spider's head poking out of the box.
Few seconds passed and I don't know when my fingers grow this weak that the box slipped from my hand and fell on the floor. I gasped and somehow my eyes caught a glimpse of the box which was now opened but there was no sight of the spider. Crinkling my eyebrows, I take a more clear look of the box and found a picture inside it.
Quickly I picked it up and found photography of a familiar woman. A tiny mole under her lips, jet black hair and a scar on the corner of the forehead. She looked a little pale but happy. She was at beach, admiring the sea, I guess?
She's my mother.
Twelve years did the work on her appearance. Her jet black hair was now hiding the grey strands, there's a little wrinkle on the corner of her eyes but her smile was bright. She seems genuinely happy not like the hollow person she used to be when I was a child.
My lips curled up as I traced her picture with my shaky fingers in disbelief. She's my mother and she's happy. It's been twelve years since I last saw her walking out of the door of our house with a promise that she'll come back for me.
"Where do you find this?" I asked, trying to hide my smile.
"I know exactly where she is." He said.
I looked at him in disbelief and couldn't help myself from asking. "Where?"
"Japan."
My lips parted in surprise. No. Shit. She always told me that someday she'd like to visit Tokyo. Woah, she's actually living her dream life!
"And I promise you that you'd never be able to meet her. Never." He clenched his teeth, sounding dead serious.
I looked at him all over again and burst out into fits of laughter. "Seriously?"
Soon my laughter died in the air when I sensed no reaction from him. His face was stern, devoid of my emotion as if he was a calm before the storm.
You've got to be kidding me.
"What do you mean?" I stared at him confused.
He blinked, taking back the photograph from my hand. "I did something."
"You did what?" I asked.
But he didn't say a word.
And that's when anxiety hit me.
"You did what, Iskandar?"