24 You Will Be At My Feet

DEVON

I was furious, to say the least. I needed to vent out my anger, and the opportunity arrived when Christine said she would go to the nearest city to get her phone repaired.

She also needed to get some more things now that it was clear that we had to stay in Swindon for longer than we first expected.

Alone in the guest house, I took that time to take it all out. How?

By engaging in hardcore workout sessions along with punching the wall if needed. The habit I had developed during my...

I shook my head to keep myself from walking those dark alleys of the past. It took me years to find the light, and I promised myself to never get lost in those forbidden spaces again. NEVER!

"My. Past. Cannot. Decide. Who. Am. I!" I grunted with every knuckle pushup.

I counted to one hundred and thirteen before I lost count.

My body was burning hot, drenched in sweat. At some point, I took out my t-shirt and tossed it away. With every push, my hands trembled with the force and pressure I was exerting, and sweat dripped in rivulets on them and from my back.

My muscles coiled, and rippled and my chest puffed with the amount of air I consumed. And yet I found no relief.

Today was one crazy day of my otherwise normal life. This was different than sitting in the air-conditioned office, typing on the laptop and signing the piles of files and documents while attending the numerous calls and presiding over the hundred meetings.

That's not what a businessman does, that I have learned from my father. I still remember how he used to spend long, long hours on the ground with his workers, with his people every time he came up with a new project.

How he had to spend days if not weeks away from the family to grow this massive empire.

Though I never wanted to be who I am today, I have always dreamed of working so hard for whatever I would choose to do in my life. And today was one of those rare days when I got to live his style of life.

And... I won!

I won against Elena Bell. The game was over!

There was nothing that could stop me from getting this factory started, and then I would show Mason where he belonged... at my feet!

I grunted when pain shot through my knuckles. I couldn't help but look up at the wall ahead of me. The chapped old plaster gave a sneak peek into the bricks underneath it and the blood stains around it.

I won... and yet... I was not happy. Why?

Even after Smith congratulated me, Christine beamed at me for a great job, I couldn't bring myself to even reciprocate their relief.

The corners of my lips didn't even twitch into a grin. And when I was finally left alone by everyone, Elena's pain-filled honey-coloured eyes came to haunt me down.

The pain of betrayal in her eyes when she realized that her own father was standing against her unsettled me on so many levels. I tried ignoring that feeling but failed miserably. I couldn't shake off her hurt eyes from my mind.

And that made me feel guilty. Did I go overboard? Was that douche move even necessary?

But then, everything is fair in love and war. And there was no trace of love between us. Even the word 'love' didn't go well with the name Elena Bell.

She was not that lively woman with burgundy waves tied on the top of her head, and full pink lips I met in France six months ago.

Our very first meeting in Swindon was enough to prove that I was a fool to believe the woman I met that night. She was not who I thought her to be. And I was glad that she didn't recognise me, or things would have become more awkward between us.

Everything happens for a reason! That was what I believed. Maybe by crushing my hopes, she made my way easy to get what I want. Because there was no way I was willing to sacrifice my aim for anyone, especially not her!

My body finally gave up, and I slumped down on the floor. I lay on it, staring at the ceiling before my eyes dropped on their own.

Not ten minutes later, they shot open at loud noise from the living room. I frowned, checking the time on the wall clock to my left.

Christine was back so early?

Another crashing sound made me stand up on my feet. But before I took a step ahead, I heard footsteps approaching me. But the sound came more like the clinking of heels against the floor than the heavy thumps of shoes.

"Christine?" I called her name.

But the woman who walked through the door of my room was the last person I expected to see.

"You?!"

Elena stood at some distance from me, still in the navy blue cigar pants that she wore in the morning and a black tank top tucked under it. Her navy blue blazer was not there to cover her bare shoulders.

Her hair that were styled in a ponytail was now a messy bun on the top of her head with some loose strands sticking out of it.

She looked... just like I liked her then...

I shook my head, getting a grip on myself.

"What are you doing here? And how you entered inside?" I demanded with an authoritative tone.

I expected her to roll her eyes or even lecture me on how I shouldn't claim that property as mine. But what I didn't expect was for her to silently raise her hand and point at the door.

"Thhrroough the doooorrrr"

My eyes widened. "Are you drunk?" Why It came more like a concerned shock than a statement?

She moved that same hand to bring it in front of her face. She made a pinching sign with her thumb and first finger. Closing her left eye, she held it close to her right eye.

"Onlyyy thhissss m-much", She hiccuped.

God!

I ran to the window to look outside if Joanna or even that punk Steve was there, but all I saw was her beaten-up white Chevrolet crashed into the gate.

Great!

I was angry now. She shouldn't be driving while so drunk, and how could she roam alone in the night even though it was her hometown?

I turned to give her some piece of my mind. My breath hitched when I saw her standing only at a hand's distance from me.

When did she get there?

I gulped, getting over the shock. "Elena?"

She had that strange look in her heavy eyes. She searched my face for something I didn't know.

"What d-do you want, D-Devon?"

My name rolled off her tongue like a dollop of butter on hot toast.

I remained silent, not understanding what she meant by that.

"Why did you... you t-turrrn my f-fatherrr against me?"

Oh!

Well... in my defence, that was the easiest and most harmless way of winning this battle!

"D-do you know how... h-humiliated I f-felt? Not b-because I c-couldn't do anything but b-because... I saw that in dad's eyes."

Her voice came thicker than before as if she was in pain while speaking about it.

"What did you see?" I couldn't help but ask in curiosity.

"Pity... I.. saw pity in his eyes. As if... as if he was m-mocking me saying i-ttold-you-so."

A small, sensitive chord was struck by her words. Why it sounded all too familiar?

"I didn't mean to create any problems between you and your father, Elena. I just did what was necessary to help myself."

That was the truth that I had to offer her.

She blinked once before she burst out laughing. She doubled over clapping her hands. I watched in pure confusion as she laughed at something that only she understood.

For a second, I wondered if she had indeed drunk only alcohol or if was she high on something else.

I almost gasped when she suddenly stopped laughing and was right in my face with an angry glare directed at me.

"I d-don't care... if you meant problem or not. I am here only to tell you that... today was yours, but tomorrow will be mine!

I will bring you down, Sanders! You just wait and watch! You... will be at my feet" She pointed at her feet to emphasize her point. "begging for mercy. But I will not show any. Do you get that?

I will not show any mercy on you! Instead... I w-will laugh... laugh l-loud, enjoying your misery. You just watch!" She poked constantly in my chest with her first finger.

That was enough!

I grabbed her wrist tightly in my hand. She clearly didn't expect that. She began wriggling her hand out of my hold, but I only tightened it.

"Leave.... I s-said lettt goooo!"

She was yelling too loudly for my liking. But it was not so easy to get away from me, and she would realise it now!