The doors close behind me, and the elder directs me toward the center of the room. On the seat in the front sits the president.
When our eyes lock, it’s as if the earth has been set on fire, and I’m dancing on the charred remains.
“Sit,” the president barks.
I do what he asks and peer up at him on his little throne.
“I want you to know that I only brought you here because of my daughter,” he says.
“What did she say?”
He glares at me as though I said something I shouldn’t have.
“You’re lucky you’re still alive, you know that, right?” he growls.
I nod. “I am aware.”
“Then you should be thankful for every minute.”
I avert my eyes because if I’d look at him now, he’d realize how badly I’d like to murder him. “I am … very thankful,” I say in the softest tone I can muster right now.
“The only reason you’re still alive is because of her,” he says. “Because you have made a child with her. Because she begged for me to keep you alive.”
She saved me?
She’d … do that for me?
I didn’t know I had a heart until it suddenly started beating at right this very moment.
“However, I cannot overlook the choices you’ve made,” he says.
I breathe in and out slowly, trying not to panic.
Everything, all I’ve worked for, my entire life’s plan, could go up in flames from his command.
“You chose not to tell me that Natalie was my daughter. You chose not to tell me that she was pregnant.”
“For her safety,” I mutter.
“Yes, I’m aware, she already told me,” he barks. “You still defied my rule, and for that, I cannot forgive you.”
“I apologize,” I say. “I only did what I thought was best.”
“Then you shouldn’t have let her escape to begin with,” he says, tapping his chair with his fingers. “In fact, I’m starting to wonder how she managed to escape the first time, at such a young age …”
“There is a reason I went along with all those trips my father made,” I explain. “I was searching for her all this time.”
He narrows his eyes. “Convenient.”
“I wanted her back more than anything,” I say. “And I did bring her back.”
“The first time, perhaps, but you failed the second time.”
“I was trying to keep her safe. She was in a very bad mental state because of the pregnancy,” I explain.
He waves it away. “Excuses, excuses …”
“I apologize if I have taken too much time or if anything I said was offensive,” I say. “But I did everything in my power to bring her back safely and unharmed so that she could remain my wife and we could have our child together. It’s all I ever wanted. To continue the legacy of this great Family.”
The silence that follows seems to last forever. I look up into his judgmental eyes, hoping he’ll believe my words and won’t see the truth resting in my eyes.
“I wanted nothing more than a grandchild, and I will not let anyone risk its life, do you understand?” he says. “Not even you.”
“Yes, president,” I reply, licking my lips.
“My daughter will be taken care of properly from now on. You will see to it that she is treated well and that her needs are taken care of,” he says.
Oh, yes. Yes, I’ll most definitely take care of all her needs.
“But …” he adds, pointing at me with his index finger. “If I even catch a whiff of something going wrong …”
I know he doesn’t trust me, and he’s right. But if I’m to survive, if I want this plan to succeed on its very last possible thread, I have to give him something. There’s only one more thing I can try.
“I vow to keep her safe,” I say.
His brow rises. “You vow?”
“Yes,” I say, without hesitation.
“You do realize the gravity of that word?”
I nod. “I am aware …”
“A vow is sacred. It can’t ever be broken or …”
He makes a gesture around his throat, slicing it through with his finger.
No words are necessary. I get the picture.
He leans back against his makeshift throne. “Fine. I accept.”
A weight is lifted off my shoulder, but at the same time, another is added, and this one is much, much heavier.
“Now get out and don’t get in my way again,” he growls.
I quickly get up and bow. “Thank you, President Lawrence. I will do my utmost best to uphold the rules of this community and let it prosper.”
Then I leave as quickly as I came, not sparing a second to even glance at the elder who opens the door for me. There’s no more room in my mind or heart for frivolous, fake greetings and merry smiles.
My soul has darkened, and my conscience has left the building.
My own life is on the line now.
It’s either time to forever fake it or break this entire community into half.