by J. A. Delese
“Oh my God!!!”
She screamed and covered her body with her quilt.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!!” She yelled at him.
Thomas Sharpe was looking at her in surprise. He looked around her room. There were many candles and rose petals in her bedroom, and she felt so embarrassed that he was seeing this.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him again.
He turned his body to her and faced her.
“You told me to come in,” he answered in a calm manner.
“BECAUSE! I thought you were…” she couldn’t finish her words. She didn’t know why, but she felt that it was not wise to mention Patrick’s name to him.
“Anyway, my mistake. Please leave!” she said. She pointed the way out with her finger. She knew it was rude, but she really could not think of courtesies right now. In spite of her urgent tone, he didn’t react at all. He just looked at her in silence. She didn’t like this. This guy liked to keep quiet, and his silence made her uncomfortable.
And how can he keep quiet in this moment!
“Mr. Sharpe—”
“Hello.”
She heard Patrick’s voice. Patrick cautiously stepped into the house. As soon as she saw Patrick, she could not help but run into his arms with the quilt on.
“What happened? Are you alright?” Patrick asked, holding her in his arms. She replied by nodding.
“Who is this man?” Patrick whispered in her ear.
She glanced at Mr. Sharpe as he walked out from the bedroom. She shook her head.
“He accidentally came in,” she explained. “I thought it was you, so I asked him to come in,”
She thought Sharpe would say something to defend himself, but he didn’t say a word.
“Well, then he can leave now, right? Do you have anything to tell him now?”
Patrick gently asked and she shook her head again.
“Then would you please only visit her again after contacting her first next time?” Patrick said politely but firmly to Tom and walked to the door.
He opened it wide. Catherine could feel that Sharpe was looking at her, so she was afraid he would say something crazy again, but he left quietly. He didn’t even say sorry or excuse me. He just walked out of the door without a word. As soon as he walked out of the door, Patrick closed the door behind him.
“Are you okay? Who is that man?” Patrick asked and walked towards her.
“He is Thomas Sharpe.”
“Oh….”
It seemed that Patrick remembered his name. Patrick wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t worry. I’m here now.”
She finally felt that she could breathe. It was so good that Patrick was here with her now. It was always so good to be in his arms. She felt so safe and warm.
She didn’t know how many minutes passed. She could tell that she was calmer already after that shocking incident, and Patrick was just keeping her in his arms all the while. She felt that this was a good time to do what she had planned.
“Well, then, it’s just two of us now,” she said, blushing.
Then, she took off the quilt that was covering her.
Tom
He couldn’t focus on work today. He didn’t really listen what the rest of the staff said during the meeting. He’d been looking outside of the window for long time in his office. He didn’t even remember how long he’d been sitting likes this.
He got reports about her everyday.
No, it’s not exactly about her. It’s about them.
He asked for daily reports about them. He wanted to know everything about them— what they ate, where they went, what they did. Until yesterday, it seemed like the same routine everyday. They went for lunch together, went for dinner together, and later went to his or her house together and went to work together in the morning. They were just always so TOGETHER.
Since he had asked for more of her photos, he could see how happy she was now. In the photos, she showed that smile that he saw many months ago in the opera house. Today, he found a slight difference in their routine. She went home alone and this guy, Patrick, visited somewhere unusual. He visited the Tiffany’s boutique. The photo showed him talking to an employee while holding a ring. It was so obvious. He bought a ring there.
He knew what was happening. Patrick was going to propose to her, and she would probably say yes. He just didn’t know what he was going to do. Should he go and tell this Patrick to back off? Would this man listen to him? Tom shook his head. He would not. If he were this young boy, he would never give up the girl he loves. Besides, even if Patrick gave up, it didn’t mean that she would accept him. As far as he’d found out, she was very stubborn and didn’t seem to change her mind easily.
If they get married….
Would he meet her again? Could he? Would there be a chance? What if she got pregnant? He pictured her with a baby in her arms. He felt like he wanted to tear his hair out. Should he wait? If he did, how long should he wait? He knew that there was no way out from this. All he could do was just give up, unless….
Ridiculous! he told himself. What he was thinking now was just so crazy and ridiculous. It was too risky, and he could not take a needless risk because of this kind of girl.
But do you have any other options? The question popped into his head.
Are you going to lose her like this? Another one followed. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He had experienced the same feeling long ago when he found Liz with that other guy. He could still remember it vividly, how shocked he felt in that moment. He opened his eyes.
“No,” he answered, his voice low and thick. “I will not lose anything anymore.”
He picked up the phone and pressed the person’s contact that he only did if it was very necessary.
“Mr. Macson, I need to speak to you.”
Patrick
“We are checking on it. Please wait with a little more patience,” they repeated the same thing.
Police just told him to wait, but he felt he was reaching the end of his patience. It had been four days since the last time he saw her. She said she was going back home to take a shower and get some sleep before seeing her later. He needed to stay in the office a bit longer, so he let her go home alone. That was the last time he saw her. She looked the same as usual, nothing different.
Police said she probably left for a holiday on her own, since her passport was gone, too; but he highly doubts it. Why would she do that? Why would she leave for a holiday without telling him? The detective said she might have left him like this. Even if he could believe that, he didn’t believe that she would leave her work like this. He knew that Catherine took her career very seriously. She would never leave her job without properly notifying them.
He also thought about the possibility that she went back to Korea in the case of an emergency related to her family, but police said they couldn’t find her immigration records so far. He even called her mom in Korea. It wasn’t easy to communicate because she didn’t speak English well, but at least he understood that Catherine was not with her.
Where did she go?
Restless, he stood up from the chair and walked anxiously around her house. He’d been waiting for phone calls, but no matter how long he waited, there was no news of her. Ever since he found she was missing, he couldn’t sleep or work. How could she disappear like this? Police said they saw her in security cameras at the office building, and they said she just left the building normally. So, she obviously disappeared on the way from work to home.
Might be kidnapping.
He didn’t want to think about it, but he couldn’t help it. She would never leave her things like this. She disappeared completely. No one has seen her since that last day.
But who did it?
Who kidnapped her? It was definitely someone professional. Otherwise it couldn’t be done so quietly like this. There was no evidence and no witness.
It’s impossible.
He couldn’t believe that sh
e was kidnapped. Why and who would do this to her? For what? For money? For vengeance? He recalled the plaintiff of her last case. She had told him that the grandmother of the victim poured water on her face.
No, it’s not them.
She wasn’t the only lawyer who defended Mr. Culp, and that family didn’t have the money or power to do this. This kind of crime requires money. He should think of someone who could afford this.
There’s only one.
He remembered how Thomas Sharpe looked at her. He came into her house by some sort of accident and left without saying sorry. Until the moment he left the house, he hadn’t taken away his eyes from her. Patrick hadn’t felt good about it at all in the moment, but he had never imagined that the man would kidnap her.
If it was really him….
Patrick sat down in the chair again. What should he do first, if Tom Sharpe really kidnapped Catherine? If it was really Tom Sharpe, he would hire professionals, and those people would not leave any evidence behind. It will be extremely difficult to fight against him without evidence.
“Cathy,” he called her name.
He was planning to propose to her. He bought an engagement ring and even planned to introduce her to his family. They had only been together for several months as a couple, but he had known her for more than a year and was sure that she was the one. He was completely in love with her and didn’t want to spend a single minute of his life without her.
He took the ring out from his pocket. It was not a big diamond, but it was the best he could afford. He believed she would love it. He could imagine how happy she would be with this ring on her finger.
I will get you back!
He grabbed the ring with his hand. He should approach it carefully. If he did anything wrong, it would risk her life as well as his.
“Don’t worry, Cathy. I won’t give up on you.”
Catherine
She didn’t know how many days had passed. She had just been sitting in this small room all day long. She didn’t know what exactly had happened, but she roughly knew that someone locked her up here and was taking her somewhere. She could feel the room wobble and tilt. From the way it moved up and down, it meant she was on a ship.
I’ve been kidnapped!
She couldn’t believe what was happening now. Who did this? Was it human trafficking? Thinking of organ trafficking made her tremble in fear. She sat down on the bed, hugging her knees. She looked around the room. It looked luxurious. She recognized the furniture and displayed items as famous designers’. If it were really organ trafficking, they would not keep her here. Besides, they treated her quite well. They regularly brought food for her whenever it was time to eat. They didn’t abuse her at all. They just came to her room—always one man and one woman—and the woman cleaned the room while the man watched. She tried to talk to them many times, but they just didn’t respond. If it was only the woman, she might talk, but with that scary-looking man around, she didn’t speak at all.
Catherine tried to think of what really happened. That night was the same as usual. She went back home, without Patrick, to take a shower. She was waiting for an elevator in her apartment building, and that was the last memory she had in the city. After that, she woke up in this room. She felt so disgusting for the first few hours and had a bad headache for several days.
She suddenly heard someone unlocking the door. The doorknob turned. She jumped out of the bed and stood beside it.
Maybe dinner?
She hoped that it was. It was slightly early for dinner, but they had already come for cleaning, so it was very likely for dinner. Someone came into the room, someone who was tall and slim and had blonde hair.
“Mr. Sharpe,” she said it unconsciously. Of course, it was him. Who else could it be?
“Hello, Catherine,” he said hello with a smile. She didn’t say anything. She couldn’t say anything. She couldn’t believe she was actually seeing him now.
Did he just say hello?
He was the one who locked her up here. He kidnapped her and now he was smiling to her and saying hello?
“Are you out of your mind?” she spoke without knowing what she was saying. “YOU KIDNAPPED ME!” she yelled at him. She wanted to slap his face, but she restrained herself from it.
He didn’t respond to what she said. He just looked at her. She really didn’t like this. He liked to just stare at her without a word, and it made her very uncomfortable. Even in this situation, he still did it!
Someone knocked the door and came into the room with wine and some food. The well-displayed room service made her angrier. She opened her eyes wider and shouted out loud, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU PLAN TO DRINK WINE WITH ME?”
“I thought it would be good to drink when we talked,” he answered in a calm tone.
“I don’t want to TALK with you anymore! I WANT TO GO BACK HOME!”
She yelled again, but it seemed he didn’t really care. He poured some wine into the wine glasses.
“You will go back to your home eventually. I don’t know exactly where your home is though. If you mean the small apartment you rented at New York, I don’t think you can go back, since you will stay here, and once they don’t get rent paid, they will rent it to someone else. So I don’t think you will be able to go back to the same place you stayed in New York City,” he finished his long words and had one sip of wine.
She was a bit surprised he was actually this talkative. He’d been always so speechless, so she didn’t expect him to speak like this.
“If you mean to go back to your home country, I don’t think your mother will welcome you either, since she’s busy being abused by her new husband. Honestly, I don’t even think she cares where you are. Do you agree with me?” As he spoke, he drank another sip of wine.
She just looked at him with her eyes wide. He had checked her background again.
Of course. Otherwise how could he bring me here from the first place?
She didn’t know how to fight back. She sat down on the bed and felt that he wouldn’t let her go easily. She had to find a way to negotiate.
“What do you want from me?” she asked.
She looked at his blue eyes. She could tell that he was thinking through his answer. She hoped that it wasn’t something crazy.
He already kidnapped you, what would be not crazy now? she asked herself. Her thought made her feel even more pathetic.
“Everything,” he answered.
She sort of expected it. She sighed heavily and covered her face with her hands.
“But, don’t take this situation so bad. I’ll definitely send you back safely with sufficient rewards when I don’t want to keep you anymore,” he finished talking and smiled again. His tone made it sound like he was offering something nice to her.
“And when do you think that will be?” she asked, lifting her head up and looking him straight in the eye. She wanted him to know that it would be very difficult to keep her quietly. She would never be an easy target.
“I don’t know,” he answered. He put the wine glass down and took one step closer to her.
“Maybe I can tell you after I get to know everything about you.”
“But you already know everything about me. About my career, about my family history,” she said sarcastically.
“That is not important information.”
He took one more step closer.
“I want to know more important things. What you like, what you don’t like, especially in bed.”
She shuddered as she heard what he said. She jumped out of the bed and raised her hands to keep him back from her.
“Please! I’m sure it’s far more pleasant to bring someone professional to your bed.”
He stopped walking toward her at her words, but instead of what she wanted, she made him more upset, and he ran to her and grabbed her wrists with his hands. She tried to resist but couldn’t fight such a man.
“You really like to jump to conclusions, don’t you? You just don’t wan
t to listen to anything. If you have listened to me at least one time, I wouldn’t do this. You made me to do this. You gave me no fucking choice!”
He pushed her roughly, and she fell onto the bed.
“But it doesn’t matter anymore. You must listen to me from now on. You won’t go anywhere. I won’t let you go.”
Tom
He was looking at her sleeping. She was more beautiful without the heavy makeup she always wore. He touched her cheek and touched her breasts. She felt it and turned to the other side while asleep. He knew that what he did was wrong, but whenever he saw her in the morning, all those feelings of guilt disappeared. Though, it’s still a bit sad that he should tie her up by one hand to stop her from escaping when they slept.
She showed her stubbornness as he expected. Ever since she arrived at his home in London, she’s been yelling, crying, screaming and even begging. Sometimes, she does two things together like crying and begging at the same time. He felt so bad whenever he heard her crying. It sounded like Liz.
Her crying reminded him of the time he spent with Liz. She cried easily. Every time she saw something that stimulated her sympathy, she shed tears. She almost fainted because of crying too much when she found her cat was dead. He tried to comfort her, but she just refused to eat and cried for days. He was really scared that she might get hospitalized again.
Liz….
He touched Catherine’s arm. He could see her curvy form from the back.
Now I have a poor copy of you. Are you angry for what I did? Or happy instead?
He saw some bruises on her body. The things he made last night. He didn’t want to hurt her at all, but she had been so resistant. He was not sadistic, so he also didn’t enjoy pressing her down or tying her up against her will. He would be much happier if she just stayed still. He put his head on her arm. Her body temperature was higher than his and he liked to feel her warmth. He loved this peaceful moment, though he knew it would not last long. Once she woke up, she would cry out again or yell at him. He seriously didn’t want to hear any of them.