Exposition Matured

It was easy. Almost too easy. But she was too distracted with her supposed success, too proud that she was winning. A miscalculation really.

There is always a fall. Always a misstep. When she thought she was more; smarter, better... She forgets she wasn't alone. She forgets she needed him.

It was too easy really. Anyone as careless as her, walking the night, as if she had achieved something through her own damn efforts...

He grabs her, almost harshly (not yet...no). Hidden in the shadows of a tree, and her overlooking another's presence, she doesn't see him until then.

And she tries to yell...

"It's me."

She quietens, and he turns so they're in the light. It's dim, the streetlights spread thinly and moonlight obscured by passing clouds.

"What are you doing here?" She asks instead, wrenching her arm from his. She rubs the skin insouciantly and he thinks, good, let it hurt.

"You betrayed me."

She snorts. "And what do you mean by that?"

"You hurt her," he snarls. "You hurt my Tejo!"

She laughs, so mockingly. Fury and irritation twist into a tight knot inside him, and her behaviour draws more and more. He fists his hands, nails digging into his palms, trembling with the force of restraining himself. He doesn't want to touch her yet. Not before she answers to him.

"Didn't I tell you Angadji, all's fair in love and war. We can't expect to succeed without a little sacrifice, can we?"

"That doesn't mean Tejo had to be in pain! Admit it, you just wanted to see her suffer."

"So what? I'll admit it right now. I want her to suffer. She's going to suffer so much for all that she did to me. I'm going to ruin her. What are you going to do about it?"

He grits his teeth at her words, restraining himself. He isn't sure if she's worth being angry over.

"You promised. You promised that she'll be fine. That she'll come to me."

"Oh, she will. Once she's completely broken and you play your role as her saviour."

"You dare-" He cuts himself off, taking a deep breath to calm down. "I made you this situation. I can damn well rip it out of your hands."

"With what? You did all you needed to do, Angadji. I don't need you anymore."

And he's blinded momentarily, by the anger reaching its peak and his control loosening. He reaches out, almost grabbing her before he remembers to be patient.

"Oh, is that it?" He says instead, crossing his arms, staring her down. "You don't need me anymore? No take backs, Ms Sandhu." He starts laughing now and he sees the mirth in her eyes die down.

"No..." she says, shakily, and then, repeats it louder, steadier. "No, I don't need you."

He's overcome by another fit of laughter after her false bravery. He sees through her. Like a mouse that can bite. Bite really hard. Jasmine looks uncomfortable.

He sobers then, pulling himself up to his full height that she seemed so small. "Very well, I won't help you anymore. Do whatever you want... But don't think you can distract me. I know you. You might've fooled me into spending on your stupid plan, but don't think you can get away with hurting her. I'll always be there for her."

"You can't be monitoring me 24/7!" She yells, frustrated.

He just smirks, and then strikes, finally, finally, grabbing her by the chin, pulling her face closer. She struggles, clawing at his hand but he doesn't relent.

"Don't underestimate me. I'm always watching you."

Then he let's go and she scrambles away. He doesn't look at her, but marvels at the hand, the fingers that just held her and thinks, I want to do it again.

_____________

It's several days later of watching Tejo crying and being helpless to her plight that he feels a tinge of regret... If he hadn't colluded with Jasmine, none of this would be happening.

He knows, they've unknowingly pushed together what they wanted to rip apart. And he, Angad, is now stuck between wanting to ail her pain and aggravate it.

And he blames her all for it. The witch in hiding. Ruining everyone's lives for her happiness, even those who helped her. The innocent man that died... himself, who gave her the power to put all her machinations into work.

They're just stepping stones, easily discarded... Angad felt used after a long, long time.

And he wants to do something about it. To put her in her place.

But he can't... It's not right... Tejo said he needed to work out his issues without harming others... does that count on Jasmine though?

His hands hurt through all the clenching he'd done for days... he needs control, he needs to be in charge- he can't, he shouldn't have let her get to him like that.

But he can't help but think of the sudden rush, the relief he felt when he grabbed her like that. To use his hand for more than signing checks for her.

It's the same hand he had raised on Jasmine that he uses to pat Tejo on the shoulder comfortingly. The difference is stark, and made him obsessively fidget, rubbing his hands to get rid of the phantom feel of her skin.

She's slipping away from his hands, and he's unable to stop it. He could've moved mountains for her, but now he wouldn't even be able to entice her with the moon. All he can do now is to just be with Tejo and hope that she keeps him in her life.

But it still made him livid- all his efforts just wasted in a split second.

And it's all her fault.

That witch. He wants to make her pay for all that she’s done to them.

______________

Maybe it has been coming. Maybe he had been spiralling all along and restraining himself was futile, because somewhere, somehow, he would’ve always wanted this.

She’s there before him, unconscious, tied up, gagged. All possible ways to escape having been taken care of.

Uncharacteristically quiet, but it’s better to see her like that. Mute, harmless, like a little pixie caught in his net. With its wings clipped.

She’s really nothing special now that he takes a good look at her. Beneath the harsh, white, flourescent light, secured to the arms and legs of a chair in the centre of the room, highlighted against the dark, unseen corners, she has all the glory and attention she wanted.

From him.

A pitcher of water appears in his peripheral as he shifts on his feet. He looks away from her momentarily, his fingers curling around its handle and takes a healthy gulp of water. Still, there was good amount of water left in the pitcher as he stares into its depths.

He raises an eyebrow at her figure, pauses, looks down at the pitcher and then throws the remaining water in her face.

She gasps awake, choking on inhaled water, and coughs, all the while struggling to raise her hands. She freezes as realisation finally dawns on her.

He had been watching her the entire time, from the moment she opened her eyes to the panic slowly sliding into her expression. He smirks at her when her darting eyes finally land on him.

“Hello,” he casually says. Her responses are muffled, but he could understand her body language with her murderous eyes and frantic attempts to break free. He stands by, hands in his pockets, just out of reach, letting her wear herself out.

It doesn’t take long; tears of frustration spring to her eyes and she topples over sideways, like a marionette glued to furniture.

He doesn’t move until she begins to weep, begging him, helpless and sets her back upright, not wanting to have a conversation with her looking so pathetic on the floor.

“Now,” he says, softly, but firm, “you’re going to listen to me, without saying a single word, or else...” he leaves the threat hanging, and she nods through her tears.

Slowly, he reaches behind her head, and unties the knot holding the rag over her mouth, pulling it away. The screams start almost immediately, much more audible now and he sighs, knowing he should’ve expected that. Nevertheless, he calmly discards the rag by the abandoned pitcher, and returns to hover over her, wrapping his hands around her arms.

“Shh...”

“HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY-”

“I said shut up!” He squeezes her arms, hard, making the already tight ropes dig into her delicate skin, and she yelps in pain instead, quieting down almost immediately. She stares at him, eyes wide, tears frozen on her lashes. A whimper leaves her mouth and he relents, lessening the pressure on her arms.

“Do you know how much of a nuisance you’ve been?”

She doesn’t respond, staring mutely.

“Answer me!”

“I wasn’t-”

“Shh...”  He presses down on her arms again and she winces. He lets up. “Just nod your head. Up and down... good, just like that.” He nods along with her as she follows his instructions.

“Do you know how much I wasted on you?”

“No, please-”

“I told you I’ll be watching you, didn’t I? That I wouldn’t let you hurt my Tejo.”

“I didn’t, I swear!”

“Liar.” He laughs in her face and she chokes on a sob.

“Please, Angadji, we can talk about this. Just let me go. Please.” The tears start falling again, without a sound.

“Why should I?” He asks, raising a hand to catch a tear on his finger. He studies it for a moment as she contemplates her answer silently and flicks it on her face. She flinches, turning her head away.

No, that wouldn’t do.

He drives that hand into her hair and twists the strands around his fingers painfully, wrenching her head back so suddenly that she shouts in surprise.

“Look at me when I’m speaking to you.” He growls, and he finally, finally, sees the fear commingle in her eyes, the fear he saw the first time when he touched her, and it makes satisfaction flood his veins.

“Why am I here?” She tries again, and he has to commend her ability to be stoic. Anyone else would be a miserable wretch right now, but she had pulled herself back from her initial reactions. No matter, he can get her there sooner or later.

“I thought I could teach you how to listen...” He pulls away to a further distance, straightening himself. She raises a haughty eyebrow at him, but it looks downright comic with the tear tracks on her face that he has to bite his tongue from laughing.

“You know... things like listening to advice, to refusals, to elders... you’ve got these big ears,” he flicks her left ear and she flinches again. He continues speaking, unbothered. “That everything goes into one ear and out the other, so I decided that you need a lesson now.”

She snaps. “I won’t listen to you!”

He lets out a chuckle. “Do you think you’re in a position to decide that, hmm? I don’t think so. Look at yourself,” he gestures at her appearance, half-drenched and she glares at him indignantly, “you’re all tied up, helpless... at my mercy. No, my dear Jasmine, I didn’t ask you if you wanted to listen to me. You will listen to me because I make all the decisions now.”

“Tejo will not let you do this. Let me go now if you want her to be with you.” She struggles, trying to get out of the binds once more but they only cut deeper into her skin.

Yes, what would Tejo have thought, he wonders... if only Jasmine knew the decision has already been made. Because Tejo never wanted him and never would. And he can’t do anything about that... But he can still protect her. He can save her from Jasmine’s evils.

He knows then that he should’ve just packed her off to a remote village far away. No explanations, no confrontations. He shouldn’t have prepared this entire encounter just to satisfy his own need for her to know he one-upped her. He should not have touched her.

This wasn’t about Tejo at all...

This is about him, and only him. The need to retaliate against whatever Jasmine has done against him. His need for her retribution.

And this makes an evil smile appear on his face.

“That does not matter at all.” He states, and her gaze snaps to his face, her body immediately stiffening.

“You said... you said...” She stutters, her chest moving up and down rapidly with her quick breaths.

“I said, you’re here to mend your ways to listen to simple instructions. I never said anything about Tejo.”

“But- but you’re doing this for her, right? You said... it’s because I hurt her... you-”

“Too bad. I lied.”

“But why?”

“If you can deceive me, lie to me, use me, can’t I do the same? You think I’m just an aggressively lovesick fool?”

It made her pause, and she swallows harshly as the full grasp of the situation finally hits her.

“No, you can’t do that. No... Help- HELP! Somebody, help!”

“First lesson,” he says, ignoring her. “No shouting unless I give permission.”

“HELP! HEL-”

He moves before she notices, before she can prepare herself and her shouts cut off halfway as he wraps his hand around her throat. With the same hand he used on her that day. He closes his eyes for a moment, relishing it and repeats his words for her slowly.

“No shouting, unless I say so. Understood.” He urges her to nod alongside him and she acquiesces. “Good.”

Good. Maybe he could actually train her to be an obedient girl, if all she needed was a firm hand from him. She certainly isn't going to be missed by anyone.

Her pupils are blown wide; he can see them, practically hovering right above her. The utter fear encapsulated in them without any remaining shred of courage that she held on to... all gone in the face of his power. His power over her. The thump, thump, thump of her pulse against his palm, increasing rapidly as he presses harder against her throat, to feel her heartbeat drumming against his skin... and harder... he wants to crush her, destroy her, eviscerate her.

"An-gad," she croaks out, barely.

Who is Angad Maan? He's just existing. Holding her life with the power in his hand. The only thing that is not beyond his control now.

"Please..." She tries once more and for a moment, he wonders if she's said that to anyone else at all.

He reluctantly lets go, and hears her take in violent breaths. His gaze is somewhere off to the dark edges of the room, unfocused, his right hand resting just over her shoulder.

It was as hard as restraining himself from touching her to letting her go.

His hands begin to shake and he steps away from her hurriedly, his back to hers. He can't see her but her coughs echo around, ringing in his ears.

They're still shaking when he raises them to eye-level. Tainted, because he let himself indulge in something he never should have. He's afraid he can't stop.

"Will you... let me go now?" He hears her ask, her voice scratchy, but slightly more composed than he himself feels. It brings him out of his trance.

He mulls it over as he makes his way back to her, sliding into her line of vision. She's just given him a choice. To be rid of her indefinitely or... not.

But then, he thinks, he'll lose whatever fragment of power she had given him, a part of her sister so irrevocably twisted that he could keep shackled, a shoddy imitation, a reminder, to exact his vengeance for her deception.

She's cost him; almost everything that he's worked for. He should've left her to her devices and pursued Tejo on his own. He sought a shortcut that he now realises had just led him to a ravine rather than the key to her door.

It's all gone however, and though he can't do anything about that, he will make her regret. He will make her rue the day she was born. She won't get away with undermining him, his authority.

"No."

"What- what do you mean?" She looks up, her expression still laced with fear that he had implanted.

"You think one lesson is enough to teach you how to obey? Not to mention how much you taunted me with fake promises and swindling my money. Do you think I'll let you go just like that? No, Jasmine," he takes hold of her chin just like then and pulls her face up to his, "you're gonna pay it all back, cent by cent, tear by tear. I'll wreck you, and by the time I'm done with you, you'll thank me for it."

And he pushes her away so violently that the chair scrapes over the floor, nearly tipping over.

She glares at him in alarm and disjointed ire. He stares back coldly.

A trace of her defiance still runs through her stature, of her inability to yield, but there's also fear and anxiousness taking root. In time, he'll rip her apart and make her anew.

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