Saturday afternoon, Maya debated whether or not she should do as her husband had instructed and refuse to make their marriage public. What was the worst he could do to her if she refused?
"Remember what I told you," Jason whispered into Maya's ear as they waited for their parents to exit the cars. Maya still felt uneasy after what Jason had said when he visited her. "Good afternoon, Mr and Mrs King," Maya said with a polite smile. "Oh please, dear, call me Julia, or better yet, call me Mom. You're part of the family now." Mrs. King told her and pulled her in for a hug. After some time, Maya wrapped her arms around Mrs King and tightened her grip. It had been so long since she saw anybody other than the house staff. "That's enough now, Mother." Jason hissed. His mother glared at him, and he stepped back. Maya let go as soon as she saw her parents. She ran up to her parents and hugged them both. "I missed you guys so much." The family goes to the dining room to enjoy their lunch. Jason knew Maya wouldn't disrespect him after their last conversation, so he had nothing to worry about. He knew he wouldn't have to make it public. "So tell us, Maya, what have you been doing to keep busy?" Her mother, Charlotte, asked. "Funny you should ask ma," Maya said while she stabbed a potato with her fork. She looked over at Jason, who was eager to hear her response. She smirked and looked over at her mom. "I've just been doing a lot of reading. I drive around now and then, but I must say, I'm not the best driver. It's insane that Jason trusts me with his precious cars. He's just so sweet." Jason's eye started to twitch. He just wanted this lunch to end right there. Maya gave Jason a challenging look, and in that moment, he knew lunch wouldn't go his way. Jason quietly ate while everyone spoke. "Oh, that's lovely. I sure hope you didn't crash any." Everyone laughed, everyone except Jason. "You'd be surprised, ma." Maya giggled. The entire family thought she was joking around. Jason didn't find it funny at all. He even contemplated burning the villa down while he was in it. "How's Blake?" Maya spent a lot of her time thinking about her little brother. Her parents rarely called to tell her about his progress, so she saw this as the perfect opportunity to ask about him. "He's doing just fine, honey." Her father, Anthony, nervously said. Maya knew he wasn't doing well. If he were, he would have joined them for lunch. Whenever she saw Blake, he would always pretend like everything was alright. Maya hated that. He was only thirteen years old. He didn't have to be strong for her. Blake was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was only four years old. He sent his entire life in and out of the hospital. "Maya, listen. We have all been talking. We think maybe it's time for you and Jason to make your marriage public. We know it's a big step, and it would be okay if you wanted to hold it off a little longer." That was the conversation Jason had dreaded since his parents had brought it up. He had no say at that moment. All eyes were on Maya, and Jason prayed she would refuse. Maya looked over at Jason and tried to hide her smile. It was at that moment he knew what her answer would be. "I would love that," Maya said with much enthusiasm. The entire table started cheering. Jason clenched his Jaw at her response. He never thought she would have the nerve to disobey him. He would make her jump through hoops to keep him happy at his penthouse. "That's amazing!" Julia said and gave Maya another big hug. Maya was enjoying every second of this. What she enjoyed most was watching her husband try not to flip the table. Maya knew living with him wouldn't be easy, but she needed to be in the city. She would deal with all the disrespect when she got there. They enjoyed their lunch and had small talks here and there. Jason hadn't said a single word all afternoon. "Lunch was amazing, Maya. I can't wait to see you once you move in with Jason." Julia placed her hand on the side of Maya's face and gave her a soft smile. "I can't wait to see you again... Mom." Julia's smile widened at the sound of Maya calling her mom. She had always wanted a daughter of her own and she was so grateful to have a daughter as humble as Maya. "Nathan! She called me mom!" Julia yelled out to her husband. "That's amazing, darling!" Nathan yelled back. "Bye." Jason and Maya waved at their parents and watched them drive off. As soon as the cars disappeared, Jason grabbed Maya by the arm. "What the hell were you thinking? I thought I gave you clear instructions on what to say!" Jason barked. "I thought about it and realized I didn't want to be stuck at this villa for another year. I would much rather spend time with my husband in his penthouse." Jason dragged Maya inside, where the two continued their argument. "For the last fucking time, I am not your husband, and you are not my wife!" Maya wasn't phased by anything Jason said anymore. She knew he was trying to keep her away from him. "Whether you like it or not. I'm moving in with you in your fancy little home, and we can play happy family." She mocked. "With how you're behaving, you should be glad I'm not bending you over this table and disciplining you right now!" Jason scoffed hotly. Maya found it quite amusing. "Yea, because you would like that wouldn't you, Jason? I'm sure you would just love to bend me over this table right here." Maya crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. Jason stared at Maya with wide eyes. He was too stunned to speak. Maya had a devious smile on her face and walked to her bedroom to get all her things packed.Jason was on a business call most of the car ride back to his penthouse. Maya sat silently and read one of many books she packed. Jason glanced over at her and admired her features. "If you want to say something just say it." Maya told him without looking up from her book. She could feel Jason staring at her but she chose to ignore it until it became unbearable. He just turned away and stared out the window. He had no idea how on earth he was going to survive with her in his house. She had her feet up on the car seat while she read. She didn't care what he thought about it. Once the pull into the driveway she jumps out the car and takes everything in. She thought the villa was beautiful but his penthouse was absolutely breathtaking. She waited for him to show her inside because it would be rude if she just busted the door down and walked inside. "You're bedroom in upstairs, fifth door to the left." Maya doesn't pay attention to anything he was said. She was mesmerized by the insi
The following morning Maya felt sore around her neck but ignored it. She took a shower and as she brushed her hair she noticed the bruising around her neck. Panicked, she grabbed her makeup and tried her best to cover it up. She struggled to cover it up so she wore a turtleneck. Thank God it was winter. She made her way downstairs for a cup of coffee. Jason was nowhere to be seen so Maya assumed he was at work. It didn't make sense to work on a Sunday but she knew he was a busy man. "I'll be there in thirty minutes." Jason said Maya hoped he wouldn't notice the bruises. Though she feared him, part of her really hoped that he would soon accept her as his wife. "Well tell him to wait! If he really wanted to discuss this with me he would have no problem waiting a little longer!" He yelled and dropped the call. "Rough morning?" Maya asked, hoping to score a conversation out of him. Jason ignored her and grabbed a cup of coffee. "Should I make anything specific for dinner?" She t
"You fucking strangled her?" "What? No. I just had my hand around her neck." Jason defended himself. "So you strangled her?" Liam let out a sigh. He had never been this disappointed in Jason. "Barely." "She has bruises you fucking idiot!" Liam yelled. Liam stared at Jason in disbelief. He knew Jason was a bad person but he never though Jason would ever put his hands on a woman. "That's low mate, even for you." Liam told Jason while they went over a new contract. "I fucking know that!, You think I don't know that?" "Did you at least apologize?" Jason bit his bottom lip and avoided eye contact. Liam immediately picked up on it. He knew Jason didn't apologize. "Jason put your damn pride aside, you dick. Go apologize." Liam felt bad for Maya. He had only met her the day Jason married her but he genuinely felt like she deserved better than Jason. "I'll do it after work." Jason never cared about anyone's feelings. As long as he was happy nothing else mattered. "No, you'
A few days later the bruising around Maya's neck had disappeared. She constantly avoided Jason out of fear. On her way downstairs to get breakfast she bumped into Jason, whichwas thelast thing she wanted."Join me." He instructed while he chewed on his bacon. Maya sat down and the chef placed her food in front of her. This was the first time she sat down and had breakfast with Jason. "I'll be working from home today then right after we can go see your brother. Sound good?" Maya nodded her head and they ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. After breakfast Maya went up to take a shower. As soon as she stepped into the shower she felt the hot water running down her body. It immediately calmed her. She took her time in the shower. She shaved her legs and washed her hair with her favourite Vanilla scented shampoo. When she was done, she wrapped a towel around her body and one around her hair. "I won't be available tonight Celia. I'll see you another night." Maya heard Jason res
"Maya, darling!" Celia called out as she pulled Maya in for a hug. "You are absolutely gorgeous, what are you doing with a grumpy man like Jason?" She continued.A very familiar, nauseating scent hit Maya's nostriles as Celia embrased her in her arms. Surely Celia just used the same perfumeas the woman Jason was seeing. Maya tried to convince herself that Celia wasn't the woman Jason was seeing."You're Jason's secretary?" "Yes honey, just call me Ms Clark."She grabbed Maya's hand and got into one of Jason's cars. Maya would have much rather went alone."So tell me sweetie, how long have you known Jason?" Celia asked." Nearly five years." Celia gave her an awkward smile and placed her hand on Maya's thigh."I'm so happy Jason found such a beautiful lady." Maya smiled and removed Celia's hand from her thigh before shifting away from her. "Thank you." "Why are you going to cut your hair? Jason doesn't even like short hair?" Maya suddenly felt uneasy around Celia. She hated all t
Jason punched the wall causing Maya to flinch. "Don't you ever talk about her like that or else-""Or else what Jason? Are you going to put your hands on me? Or throw me on the fucking floor again?" Maya fired back. "What exactly are you going to do this time?"Jason stepped back and stared at Maya. He knew if Maya ever said anything about this his reputation would be destroyed so he let her go.Maya went up to her room and shut the door. A few minutes later she heard Jason leave the house. She grabbed a towel and took a long bath.Maya contemplated telling somebody about what Jason had done but she knew it would ruin so many lives, including Blake's. She wasn't willing to take that risk no matter how many times Jason cheated on her.After getting dressed she heard Jason groan downstairs. She went downstairs to see what Jason was complaining about this time. As soon as she got downstairs she saw Jason covered in cuts and bruises."Jason, what the hell happened to your face?""I got
When Jason got home, he went straight to Maya's bedroom and decided to knock on the door, which surprised Maya. "Come in." He heard Maya say softly. When he opened the door, she quickly wiped away her tears and turned to look at him. "You're home early." She said calmly, while trying to sniff away the snot that was aggressively gushing out her nose. "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something." Jason knew he should ask her what was wrong, but he hated when people got emotional because he had no idea how to deal with it, and there was no way she would allow him close to her after all the harm he had already caused. "Okay, I'll come down in a minute." Maya got off the bed and walked to her bathroom to freshen up. She had been crying all morning at the thought of Jason cheating. What hurt Maya the most was that she couldn't tell anybody about it. All she could do was pretend to be in a happy and stable marriage. " I just need us to take about last night." He started, which ca
The question caught Jason off guard. He remained silent, trying to figure out how to respond to Maya's question. He had no reason for treating her foul, and it bothered him. The realization had just hit him. Even if he tried to love her, it wouldn't last long. He was used to getting his way everytime, but he couldn't with Maya. Maya was her own person. She had her own opinions. She would always call Jason out when he was wrong. It would infuriate him. Nobody dared talk back to him. It took him aback when Maya would talk back, so he thought being violent was the only way to assert dominance. "It's okay. You don't have to answer. Let's go." Maya sighed. She sat back in her seat and put her seat belt on. The couple completely forgot about the paparazzi, and they knew that; there were a few good shots the paparazzi took of them that would be plastered all over the internet. Once again, the car ride was silent. Jason didn't mind it this time. He knew she wasn't mad at him for what he ha