Rule No. 1: Don’t be too emotional : Chapter 16

On the first page of our story

The future seemed so bright

Then this thing turned out so evil.

I don’t know why I’m still surprised

···

I told the taxi to drop me off right in front of the club. I saw P’Jane get out of his car, his back swaying slightly as he disappeared into the three-story building.

I ran as fast as I could before I lost sight of him.

“Sir, please line up to show your ID first.”

“But-”

“If you cause a scene, I’ll have the other guard escort you out.” The bouncer’s threat worked instantly. I was forced to join a massive line, my heart racing with impatience. It felt like I was standing on burning ground. It took over fifteen minutes to get through, and once inside, I was blind. Damn it. P’Jane was gone. How did he get in without waiting in line like I did? I scanned the darkness. He usually stood out, so I hoped he’d be easy to find, but the club had three floors. It was a new spot, a rising star among Bangkok’s nightlife crowd. I squeezed through the throngs of people heading for the second and third floors, but he was nowhere to be found. Maybe we crossed paths without seeing each other. Or maybe… the universe wanted me to know only this much, and it wwas enough for me to decide what to do next. It was time to go home. I tried to push back down the stairs, but the crowd was too dense. I was already frustrated. I shouted for people to move, but few heard me over the deafening music. I turned around and headed for the fire exit near the bathrooms, intending to use it as a shortcut down. I closed the fire door gently out of habit. The moment it clicked shut, it felt like I was in a different world. It was quiet; the music was a dull hum. I stepped down toward the second floor, but then… ” P’… I’m sorry. But I can’t let it keep going like this.” That was Putt’s voice. Hearing my friend’s familiar voice made me freeze on the third-floor landing. The next voice made my skin crawl.

“Why not? It’s not your business anyway, is it?” That slow, deep, calm voice-there was no way I could mistake it for anyone but my boyfriend. How ironic; the moment I gave up, I stumbled right into them. I held my breath and looked through the gap in the railing. P’Jane was calmly blowing cigarette smoke from his nose and mouth, while Putt looked incredibly stressed. Putt braced himself to speak again.

“P’Jane, let Jane go. I’m begging you.”

“Putt, you’re the one who needs to let this go. It has nothing to do with you.” Putt didn’t answer, his jaw set and his fists clenched. P’Jane took another drag of his cigarette.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out you took Jane to see Thee?” “… ”

“What did Thee tell him?” “… ”

“You know my connections aren’t ordinary, Putt. It wasn’t smart to do that.” A demonic smile spread across his handsome face.

“Do you think it’s only students who owe me favors?” P’Jane’s low laugh sent a chill down Putt’s spine. It was a cold sound that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

“What now? Thought you could convince Jane to believe you?” Putt hung his head as he was cornered.

“Didn’t you learn your lesson when your car got dented last time?”

“Or did I hit it too lightly? Do you want me to smash the whole thing this time? With this bat?””… ”

“Hmm?””… ”

“Do you want me to call in your debt sooner?” P’Jane used the end of a baseball bat to poke Putt’s stomach with every sentence. He had a slight, cruel smile on his face. He poked Putt again, hard enough that it looked like it would leave a bruise.” Let the matter between me and Jane go… why can’t you?”

“I can’t… because… ”

“I know you know.” Know what?

“P’ knows… that I like Jane.” P’Jane’s rhythmic poking with the bat stopped. Normally, I would have been in total shock to learn that Putt had feelings for me beyond friendship. But today, I had been through too much. I stood there frozen like a statue, my body trembling slightly.

“I’ve loved him for a long timne. Ever since the first day of freshman orientation. So please, I’m begging you, let him go. Jane is a good person. He’s innocent. He’s no match for you. Don’t hurt him.”

“He’s just an ordinary guy. He has nothing to trade with you. Let him go.” Putt looked up into the tall man’s eyes with unwavering resolve.

“If you stop playing with him, I’ll be the one to take care of him.”

“Putt, it’s not smart to say that to me.” He gave a cold smile.

“Yes, I knew you liked him. But I never thought you’d have the guts to say it to my face.”

“You don’t even love him. If you don’t love him, stop messing with him. Stop lying to him. I’ll bow to you if I have to. I’m begging you.”” That’s enough.”

“Don’t, P’Jane! Putt!” I screamed at the top of my lungs when I saw P’Jane swing the baseball bat high into the air. Both men jumped, turning to look at me in shock.

“Jane!” They both shouted my name, but I couldn’t listen to either of them. I shoved the fire door open and ran back into the club, hoping the crowd and the darkness would hide me from that monster.

“Jane! Jane!” I couldn’t believe how easily he caught up. I bolted for the elevator, shoving past people and frantically mashing the “Close” button. I didn’t care who I offended. We locked eyes just as the doors slid shut. I saw his right cheek twitch; his eyes were blazing with a fire that looked like it could burn anything to ashes. When the elevator reached the ground floor, I ran out onto the street without looking back. P’Jane was exactly what the rumors said. He was that Soul Hunter. He was the one who got Thee arrested. He was the one who seized P’Dan’s father’s car. He took Jui to see God-knows-who. And I was the blind, deaf idiot who trusted him. I thought about the day he “happened” to catch me skipping dance class-he probably had his henchmen following me all day. It was terrifying.

“Jane.”

“Let go!”

“Jane, where are you going?”

“Let go!! I said let go! Is anyone there? Help!”

“Jane, listen to me first.”

“Listen to what? You hid everything! I know the truth now! Even the part about you getting expelled from Harvard!”

“Fuck!” he cursed at the sky, but he didn’t let go of my hand. Instead, he gripped my shoulders tighter.

“Jane, we need to talk. Let’s find somewhere quiet.”

“You still think you can mess with me?” I screamed in disbelief.” You’re a bad person!”

“Jane, don’t do this!”

“Let go! Get away! Don’t use your ‘mafia’ habits on me!”

“I’m not the mafia!”

“What you’re doing is exactly what people call ‘mafia’! Or do you think you’re some saint helping people with their requests? No! You do it because you want them to owe you! You do it because it’s fun to control others! You make them sell their lives and souls to you. You’re evil!” Slap! I managed to twist away and slapped him across the face. I ripped off the locket necklace and threw it at him. It hit the ground.

“I wish I never loved someone like you.” I spoke through eyes overflowing with tears. My heart was in agony. A silence stretched between us as I sobbed. P’Jane turned his face back toward me. He reached down to pick up the locket, then stepped toward me with a look in his eyes that made me back away in fear. He caught me and pinned me against the wall.

“Let go, let-mmm!” I protested as he pressed me against the alley wall and kissed me fiercely. The more I pushed, the harder he kissed, until I lost the strength to fight. Once he was sure I was subdued, he pulled back. The moonlight hitting half of his face made him look more terrifying than ever. He tilted my chin up to force me to look at him. His gaze was so sharp I couldn’t even cry out. No… I didn’t know this version of Jane at all. He smirked, just like the first day we met.

“Yeah, I’m bad. I’m as bad as they come.”

“But want to bet? One day, Jane, you’re going to come and ask me for something.” It was a devil’s smile.

“And when that day comes, I’ll give you everything your heart desires.””… ”

“And then, you’ll pay me back in full.” “… ”

“You won’t be able to run from me for long.” He let go of my face and my waist. I slumped to the ground, weak as a deflated balloon, as he turned and walked away with a slight limp. In his left hand, he gripped the necklace I had thrown. I only just realized he had run after me so fast he was only wearing one sneaker. My heart hammered in my chest. His words echoed in my head like a haunting prayer. I covered my ears and screamed, hoping the words would disappear. An ordinary person like me? Asking him for something? Me, who never had an ounce of ambition in my life? P’Jane was wrong. It would never happen. Never. I can say with full confidence that I am heartbroken. The poison was so strong I stayed in bed and skipped school for two days. This wasn’t just a breakup; I had been lied to and manipulated. I had defended him while he was exactly what the rumors said. And worse… he never loved me. I still don’t understand: why did he approach me? Why did he mess with a “nobody” like me? Like Putt said, I have nothing to offer him. Nothing at all.

“Jane? Are you going to class today, sweetie? Namkhing called me; she said you aren’t answering your phone.”

“Yeah, I’m going.” I saw my mom looking at me as I buttoned my shirt.

“Want your dad to drop you off?”

“Sure. That’d be good.” I went to the university and walked to my locker. I jumped when a face appeared beside me as I closed the door. I tried to walk away.

“Jane, talk to me first.” I sped up, treating him like air. We were over. It was finished. I didn’t want this man. I didn’t even want to see his face. He caught up easily.

“Jane, I’m sorry. For everything. But can you just listen?”

“P’Jane, enough. We’re done. You admitted you’re a bad person. Didn’t you decide to let me go?” He bit his lip. Everything I said was true.

“Well, yes, but-”

“Stop following me. And stop parking in front of my house. You’re blocking the neighbors.”

“I want you to understand me.”

“Understand!?” I stopped and turned to him.

“Understand what? That you ‘had’ to do these things? No! Your family is rich. You aren’t struggling. Were you forced? No! I saw you do it yourself! Or should I understand that you ‘had’ to lie to me?”

“Jane, I’m not denying what I did.” He seemed to be using all his patience to explain, but I didn’t want more lies.

“Just stop. Like Putt said, let me go. I have nothing I want from you. If you want the money back from the meals you bought, send me your bank details. I’ll transfer it and we can be done.”

“You know it’s not about the money.”

“Oh, right. You have more money than God. So what do you want from me? My body?” He stared at me as I shouted. His chest rose and fell with his breathing.

“My body? Or my heart? Why take it? How much more do you want to hurt me? Since we never had sex, maybe you don’t feel like you lost much? Is there something else? Because sorry, if it’s my body, I can’t give it to you. Humans have sex with humans, not with monsters!”

“Jane.” He stepped in and grabbed my shoulders.

“If you keep acting like this, I won’t be nice anymore.”

“You stopped being nice that night! The night you said I’d come begging for something and you’d make me pay in full!”

“And you think I actually want it to be that way? I don’t want you to be sad!”

“Sad? Ha! Funny. I couldn’t be sadder than I am now. What are you going to do? Force me to do things lke you force everyone else? The ‘soul selling’ thing?” I screamed in his face, not caring who was watching.

“You can’t do it! Because I don’t owe you anything!”

“Now, leave me alone. You’ll never get anything from me again. Everything in the past? Consider it a donation to charity! Goodbye!” I shook his arms off and walked away. He would never have my body or my innocence, because I wouldn’t have sex with someone who didn’t love me.

“Jane.” If it had been his normal voice, I would have kept walking. But it was a low, ice-cold tone that made my hair stand up. His voice sounded like shards of ice. I felt so cold I had to wrap my arms around myself. I didn’t realize I had stopped until he whispered in my ear.

“You chose this, Jane. You chose to treat me like this.” “… ”

“From now on… don’t say I’m being cruel.” His hands slid down my back. Not soft, not heavy, but enough to make my whole body shudder.

“Your body? Don’t worry. I’ll get it.” He pulled his hands away.

“But remember, baby? I said I never force anyone.” The whisper made my heart thud.

“I’m still that person.”

“Because you are going to sacrifice yourself to me.” “… ”

“And when that day comes… don’t you dare run.” He walked away. Once again, I watched his back disappear, just like the night he left me with those terrifying words. This was a clear signal. He had tried to be “good,” and I had rejected it. From now on… he was going to show me just how bad he could be.