CHAPTER 5: Beyond the facade

Tariro opened the door, and Victor's eyes locked onto hers. He was even more handsome than she remembered, and her heart skipped a beat. She closed her eyes briefly, taking in his strong cologne. He always smelt good and....expensive.

"Little one," he said, his voice low and husky. "I've missed you."

Tariro rolled her eyes, trying to appear nonchalant. "I've been busy."

Victor chuckled and stepped inside, his eyes scanning the room. "Busy? Is that what they're calling it these days?"

Tariro felt a flush rise to her cheeks, but she refused to back down, to give him the satisfaction of knowing she missed him too, maybe more than he did if he missed her at all. "What do you want?"

He smiled, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "I want you, Tariro. I want to taste you, to touch you, to make you scream my name."

Tariro's heart raced, her body responding to Victor's words despite her best efforts to resist him. The more she tried to resist him was, the more her body wanted him and only him. She knew she should send him away, but she couldn't seem to make herself do it.

"I don't even know your name." she whispered, her voice barely audible. She hated herself for how weak she was to him.

He cocked his head to the side. "Victor. "

"Victor." She repeated after him, his name rolling smoothly out of her pretty mouth.

His eyes bored into hers, silently commanding her to bow down and submit to him. He had so much power over her that it scared her sometimes. This was the third time they were meeting, and this was the longest conversation they had ever had, but somehow, her body was already addicted to him like a drug.

"I want to tie your hands up. I want to see you on your knees, taking in my cock with your pretty mouth like a good little girl. I want to see my cum smeared all over your face."

Her breathing hiked. "Victor, please."

He stepped closer, his eyes burning with intensity. "Please what, little one? Please fuck you? Please make you come?"

Tariro's face was on fire, her body throbbing with desire. She knew she was in trouble, but she couldn't seem to help herself. She loved the kind of trouble he always brought her.

"Victor, stop," she whispered, her voice breaking

But Victor just smirked. "I'm just getting started, little one," he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear. He hated physical contact, but tonight, he was going to make an exception, just for her. Maybe it won't be so bad. After the night he had, he wanted to feel something different apart from anger. He wanted to be normal just for a few hours, and he wanted it to be with her.

He couldn't explain it, but he was drawn to her. The fact that she didn't know who he was made him sure that she wanted him, not because of money and status, and that he excited him.

He pulled her closer to him, capturing her trembling lips. He released a satisfied grunt as bolt of electricity rushed through his body. He kissed her hungrily, his hands squeezing her butt. His dick was hurting in his pants, excited to just be buried inside her tightness, but he had to be patient. He had to remind himself every second to be gentle to her, just for tonight.

"My flatmate is around." Tariro said against his mouth. She felt dizzy and her legs wobbly. What was this man doing to her? It was their first kiss, and oh god, she loved feeling his soft and cold lips on her mouth. The feeling was fulfilling.

He picked her up like she weighed nothing and walked to her room, closing the door with his foot. He gently laid her on the bed and got on top of her. He..#REMOVED

**

Gloria sat on the bed as she watched Elijah getting ready for a day at the office. He didn't usually go there, but he popped in from time to time just to see how things were going.

He paused and stared it his wife. "Do you have something you want to say?" He asked, his voice cold.

She dropped her gaze as she couldn't hold the satre anymore. She had a lot to say to him after what she witnessed the previous night. Her son. Her heart was breaking for him. She knew that he didn't want the marriage. At first, she thought Elijah was playing, but after the engagement party, she snapped out of the bubble she was living in. Elijah never played. She didn't know why she thought he was this time around. Maybe if she talked to him before, she might have been able to change his mind, but it wasn't too late, right?

She released a shaky breath, her heart pounding. At her old age, she was still scared of her husband, just like she had been the first time she had met him. She always walked on eggshells around him because she didn't know when he would snap.

"It's about Victor." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What about him?" Elijah asked, his cold stare never leaving her.

"I don't think it's right what you are doing to him. He shouldn't be forced to marry someone he doesn't love. His heart is already closed off. This is going to make him worse. After what happened to him -"

"I dare you to finish that sentence." He warned, his voice deadly. "I told you to stay out of it."

Gloria's heart raced, but she didn't back down. That was her son. If she couldn't stand up for him, no one else would. "You are the reason he is like that!" She regretted her sentence after she had finished. "I... I'm sorry."

"What did you say?"

"I'm sorry."

"No. Repeat what you just said about me."

Gloria kept quiet fidgetting with her fingers. Elijah angrily walked over and grapped her by her throat. His grip tightened on her throat as he glared her angrily while she struggled to breathe.

"Why are you blaming me for your sins? Must i remind you what you did, dear wife? How is it my fault when you are the one who cause all of this?!" He roared, pushing her back to the bed. He loosened his grip and let go of her neck. She gasped for air. "Why do you always love testing me? You see what you always make me do? Why can't you just shut up for once in your life!?"

Gloria held her neck, tears threatening to pour, but she held them back. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her in tears. He thrived on her pain.

"Don't paint me as the bad guy. You know what happens if you keep on testing me, Gloria. Don't force my hand." He clicked his tongue, then picked his watch and walked out.

Gloria's lips trembled. Her hate for Elijah grew day by day. How she wished she could just stab him in his sleep, but that would break her daughters. She sighed, massaging her neck. She failed her son, again.