My Words Are Law

Neighbor (8)

The time Amaryllis spent in the hospital passed quickly with the help of everyone. Mia, Tobias and Samantha often came, and in the midst of her recovery, Aunt Rosa frequently fought with Chryses over who would be staying at night. It was mostly Aunt Rosa who kept watch, and to everyone's surprise, Chryses ended up volunteering as Ivor's sitter for the times nobody was free to look after him. Rosa looked distressed everytime, and even more so when Ivor started to feel comfortable around the guy.

Amaryllis felt the same, so she would always ask Ivor how Chryses was treating him. Unexpectedly, the two boys are getting along, and she came to know that Chryses is quite adept at household chores from Ivor's stories. Chryses who was beside them at the time, explained that he once lived independently overseas during his rebellious phase. 

She imagined Chryses acting out like a delinquent, but the image looked ridiculous while looking at him who is always calm and composed. A small chuckle escaped her throat, and it didn't go unnoticed by Chryses who raised his lips curiously while staring at her.  

Now that she's at home, arduously following the Physical Therapist's instructions under Chryses and Rosa's supervision upon her insistence that she needn't finish the last week of her therapy in the hospital, she quietly asked Ivor again who was busy watching an animal documentary. 

"What have you been doing with Taylor, lately..?" 

"He's helping me study." Ivor glanced back to look at his sister, then narrowed his  eyes at the man who was peeling yet another fruit in their kitchen. "How does he know everything I ask him? It's creepy." 

She followed his line of sight to look at Chryses in contemplation. Rosa doesn't like him coming in their apartment, but Ivor would stubbornly go to his, while caryying study materials. In the end, Rosa relented while gritting her teeth, and allowed him to visit them instead, whenever Ivor asked for his company, muttering how it wasn't safe to let their youngest go in a snake's den without supervision.  It's amazing how he could influence her aunt's decision by getting close with Ivor. All according to plan... Huh. 

It's really strange, however, Amaryllis thought as she continued to walk slowly, back and forth behind the sofa. 

"Rest for a bit, and drink some." Chryses called out from the dining table who prepared two apple shakes. 

"He even makes perfect dishes." Ivor looked so disconcerted, but he couldn't hide the look of excitement as he stood up to go towards the tall glass of fruit shake waiting for him. 

Amaryllis paused as she followed her brother, and as she silently took a seat, Ivor stretched his legs and went back to seating in front of the TV, still engrossed with the micropinna microstoma. Probably, because she'd been listening to the narration for a long time, she had now memorized the name of the fish. 

"Your Aunt will be back around five o'clock, right?" Chryses said as he glanced at his watch. 

"Y-Uh." Amaryllis nodded instead when the straw impaired her tongue from forming words. 

"I have a meeting at six, so I need to go soon. Will you be okay?" 

Amaryllis slowly looked at him before raising her brows. Ever since the stabbing incident, he's become very considerate of her wellbeing. At his expectant face, she nodded yet again.

"Okay. Don't push yourself too hard."  

She didn't expect his behavior to take a dangerous turn as soon as she was able to attend classes. Everytime she moved, he was one step ahead of her. Every plan she made had to include him. Every place she needed to go, he made sure to be with her. If not, bodyguards would be following her, and though they tried to be conspicious, Samantha noticed it. 

"Are you okay?" The rich heiress asked while ordering milk tea for them. Mia and Tobias where elsewhere, since they needed to attend a wedding of Mia's close relative as bridesmaid and groomsman. They weren't too observant, so they didn't notice the men comouflaging in the background whenever they were out and about, however, they did take note of Chryses' overprotective behavior and often joked with him regarding his clingy actions. 

Though Tobias often pulled him away to talk about it, no change of behavior came out of their conversation to her dismay.

Amaryllis sighed as she took big gulps. A few moments later, and her phone lit up. "Mr. Hayes says you're in a cafe with Samantha. Drink carefully. Your wound has not yet recovered a hundred percent."

It was Chryses' again. If he was here, he'd probably be holding the drink for her. Fortunately, he was getting busy with meetings because of his company's expansion. That didn't stop him from constantly checking in on her through the men he hired, however.

"I'm getting scared, Sam..." Amaryllis honestly replied as she shut the screen. "I mean- I admit I was a bit anxious after being stabbed, and honestly, having body guards helped in making me feel secure, but lately-Taylor, he's-" She shivered as she recalled him once muttering how it was probably better if he just whisked her in a place no one knows so she would never get hurt. 

"Don't you think so too, Amaryllis?" The way he smiled as he cupped her face with an unnerving gaze terrorized her even in her dreams. 

Sam sympathized with Amaryllis as she pat her on the back. "Why don't you try asking him to tone down his obviously exhorbitant concern?" 

"I did-!" Amaryllis exclaimed. "But he said he's only doing what's best for me... and he always brings up the contract, so there's nothing for me to refute." 

In the end, Amaryllis confessed about the contract to Sam when she asked about what was really going on with them. She'd sneaked in the hospital once while Amaryllis was still confined without telling anyone to make sure they were both alone, and when she finally heard what happened, Samantha could only stare at Amaryllis mutely. She couldn't believe Chryses would go to such lengths to keep Amaryllis by his side. It was probably obsession, and it was becoming dangerous with his increasingly aggressive manner of holding Amaryllis captive within his reach. 

"Did you tell him you're scared?" Sam asked. 

The anxious girl shook her head. "I don't want him to think his actions are negatively affecting me..." 

Samantha's curls cascaded from her back to her chest as she leaned forward while tapping her forefinger on the table. "Listen Amaryllis..." her quiet voice snagged Amaryllis' attention, making her pull her eyes away from her lap to meet Samantha's gaze. "Why don't you try telling him honestly how you feel about his actions..?" 

She snorted, rolling her eyes heavenwards. "So he'll get the satisfaction of knowing he's making me feel miserable?" The girl opposite Sam shook her head. "No way." 

Samantha backed up a bit, sighing. "You won't know for sure until you tell him. As early as now, you need to tell him your boundaries, Amaryllis, contract or no contract. And as far as I know, that contract isn't supposed to be only beneficial to one party. What exactly are the terms written there that you're letting him control you this much? Your life was threatened, Amaryllis." 

The dark-haired girl covered her face with her palms, clearly distressed. She did a breathing exercise and a few seconds later, she managed to calm down, sitting up straight with a determined look. "You're right." 

"Of course I'm right." Sam agreed confidently. 

Amaryllis grabbed the milk tea, and sipped vigorously, thinking she has yet to use her last pass in compelling Taylor with her words. She's glad he's always reminding her to use it wisely whenever she fumed at him for being too controlling. She finally managed to come up with a way of using it without putting it to waste.