Billionaire's Cage

Ishita

The loud sound of vessels and utensils falling on the ground jolted me up from my slumber. I got up on my feet and put on my night robe around my pajamas as I gradually opened the door of my room and peered outside.

I was right.

My eldest sister, Sania threw all the kitchen stuff around the living room, "Ravi, I am done with you!" Sania screamed at her husband who was standing in front of her with both hands over his face as he rubbed it down in frustration.

"Enough, Sania!" He exclaimed, "If you have so many problems with me, you can leave me right now!"

My sister caught me looking at the ongoing drama, the tears which weren't even in her eyes, she began to wipe them away, and she shook her head in agreement, "Yeah, of course, I knew it! You are saying this because I wasn't able to give you a son, right?"

"What nonsense?! You know how much I love you and our daughter, Niya," He says, banging his hand on the dining table beside him.

"No, you don't! If you had loved our daughter and me, we wouldn't be having this conversation at this hour!" She shouted with all her force, making sure she woke up our neighbors as well so they could become witnesses to this drama, trying to show how cruel my brother-in-law is, and how innocent she is.

"I don't even know why and what we are arguing about in the first place!" He remarks, completely confused at the situation.

"Ishita!" Sania called me, "You are there, that's why, right, Ravi? That's why you suddenly act like you know nothing, to trap my innocent little sister in your words!"

"It is not like what you are trying to show! I didn't know Ishita was standing there, I just saw her!" Ravi countered. Since they were aware of my presence, I went downstairs slowly, not wanting to become a part of their fight but I had to do something to prevent this from going further.

"You are lying! As you lied about your affair with Maria!"

And the next moment, Ravi slapped her across her face, it was a gentle slap only to stop her from speaking, "Get one thing straight in your thick skull, I could be anything but not a cheater! How many times do I remind you that Maria is nothing more than my colleague,"

Sania walked backward until her back touched the wall. She began to shed crocodile tears because he didn't slap her hard enough that would make her cry and I saw it with my own eyes. My sister was acting as if she wanted to look like she is a victim and Ravi is an abuser.

I don't know why, and what she will gain from this, but as much as I wanted to support my brother-in-law, I couldn't do it because I promised my mama before I came to the USA to live with Sania and Ravi that no matter what I will always take the side of my sister in all the situations and I won't cross my mother's words.

"Di! (sister) Are you okay?" I went toward her and ran my hand over her back to soothe her. She put her head on my shoulders.

"Ishita, pack your bags, we are leaving, I can't stay a minute more with this man!" She cried out and ran upstairs to her room. I followed her. She took out her suitcase and started to fill her clothes and all the necessary documents.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked her with my hands locked over my chest.

"Absolutely, you saw with your own eyes how he dared to slap me if I won't leave tonight, he will turn it into daily abuse, I can't take it," She said, faking her sniffing nose because of crying so much that I could believe her, blindly. "Are you coming or not?" She questioned.

I nodded my head, I can't leave her alone after all, she is my sister, "I am," I replied, walking back to my room. I packed my things quickly into the suitcase and changed into something suitable as I gave a glance at these four walls and the roof above them, not knowing when I would be able to see them again or never.

I took bags from her hands and dragged them to the living room as she was carrying Niya in her both hands, she didn't even cast a single glance at Ravi and went straight to sit in the taxi she booked.

Ravi gradually approached me, "Ishita, you know, I'll never hurt your sister, I love her, but I can't tolerate this fight every single day," He said, mournfully. His eyes and body gestures looked like he wanted to stop Sania but he prevented himself from doing so because he knew this had to end somewhere so let tonight be that day.

"I know, don't worry, take care of yourself," I said to him, sending him a small smile, I turned to the door when I tilted my head to look at him, "And if possible don't tell this to Mama, she will get worried,"

"Yes, I won't, do take care, especially of Niya, If you need you can ask for monetary help from me," He told me in a brotherly manner. With that, I put our bags in the trunk of the Taxi with the help of its driver as we drove off somewhere. During the whole ride, we didn't talk, I chose to give her some space that she needed.

It all started three years ago when my mother sent me to the USA to take care of my pregnant sister. She didn't come here by herself because Sania got married against our parents' wishes. Their ego was bigger than anything else. I had to leave my successful job as a beautician for her. I didn't complain because I thought it would bring a new start for me but my brother-in-law was against the idea of me working because I wasn't only new to the States but I came here for a reason; to help my pregnant sister.

It was an unplanned pregnancy that's why she and Ravi used to fight over the abortion matter, but in the end, Ravi convinced her somehow to keep their first child, but their fight continued all the way to now.

I wanted to leave right after Niya came into existence but Mom made me stay here with them so I can keep her updated with everything that was going on here. Ravi is a successful engineer, this is why money was never an issue.

All these years, I have seen him working day and night so he can give his family everything they could dream of, but my sister was always ungrateful to him. She began to distance herself only because he used to give more time to his job and then she was finding ways to get rid of him, anyhow. I knew this day would come but I never exactly found out why Sania suddenly started to hate him, her behavior changed, she was living in anger, frustration, and sadness.

If I tell you that Ravi left his family for Sania, will you all believe it? No, right? Neither could I and in the end, all he got was pain and hatred from her side.

I closed my thought process when we soon found the taxi coming to halt in front of a restaurant."Why here?"

"I am hungry," Sania said, getting out. We instructed the driver to wait for us there as we went inside. The whole place smelled of alcohol and was crowded with drunk people. I couldn't locate any empty seats for us to sit in until my eyes landed on a couple of unoccupied chairs over the bar counter.

"Let's sit there," I suggested, pointing at those seats. She nodded in agreement as we sat there, and a female bartender named Bonnie approached us with a smile.

"Indians?" The bartender questioned, curiously.

"Yes," I answered because Di was lost in her thoughts. It wasn't hard for anyone to guess our nationality since I was wearing a pink Lucknowi Kurti and white leggings with my Dupatta draped on one side of my shoulder while Sania was in a plain blue Saree.

"Then would you girls like to have liquor or masala Lemonade?"

"Oh, you also have masala lemonade?" I curiously asked.

"Yes, we do, so what will you both like to have?" She repeated, leaning forward over the glass counter.

"Lemonade," I said, smiling at her.

She switched her glance from me to Sania, waiting patiently for her to say something, "I'll take wine and a chicken wrap," When she finally snapped her thoughts and told her, Bonnie disappeared to get us our order.

"Di, what now?" I inquired about her.

She let out a heavy sigh and gave me a stern look, "I don't know. You haven't landed on earth on my guarantee, you also think of a way!" She yelled at me, drawing the attention of other customers in my direction.

With my head lowered in embarrassment, I told her my plan, "I have some money that we can use to stay in a decent hotel for a few days,"

"If you already figured this out, then why did you ask me? To eat my brain? You know how annoyed I am right now," She scolded me. I looked at my nails and let out a soft sigh through my lips, I need to contain myself. Sania took this big decision of leaving her home, it was obvious that she would be pissed off.

"Well, girls, here's your order, " Bonnie returned with a tray of drinks and a chicken wrap, I picked up my drink and hardly took a sip when she said, "I overheard your conversation by mistake, but if you want I can help you both,"

Sania and I shared a look of bafflement, "How?" We asked together.

"I know a place where you can stay as long as you wish. It belongs to my half-brother slashes half-boss, he has a mansion where he lives all by himself, so he won't mind a little bit of company." She told us, grinning cheerily.

"No thanks. I guess we'll manage," I replied, refusing her. It would be the stupidest idea to live with a complete stranger whom we have never met before that too a man. It is no less than calling trouble to hit us.

"Is it for free?" Sania enquired, she seemed to be interested in Bannie's offer. I elbowed her silently with a slight shake of my head that she shouldn't ask something which isn't right but she ignored me totally and pondered on her statement.

"No, but definitely he can rent out the rooms at a cheap price, at least cheaper than the hotels here," Bonnie stated with her hands clapped in the hope of a positive response from Sania.

"Sounds good to me. Let's go," And she agreed as expected. I rolled my eyes, not liking the idea of living with a stranger. Sania gave me her daughter, Niya to hold as Bonnie led us upstairs to the third floor to her half-brother's office. Bonnie opened the door without knocking, I noticed a large figure of a man sitting behind the desk with his head down, staring at a file in his hand. I took a quick look at the office which resembled a disco with fancy blue-red lighting dimming the room. The wall had posters of rockstars and fake music discs decorated over them while furniture was covered with velvet fabric and artificial diamonds planted as decor.

"Brother? Are you busy?" She called him when he looked up from his file, I am pretty sure he barely give any attention to Bonnie or Sania, his eyes landed right on me as he cautiously leaned back in his chair, shaking his head in response to Bonnie's question, "He's my brother, Damien Wylder, and Damien meet these Indian girls..." She moved to us, eyeing us to introduce ourselves.

"I am Sania, and this is my sister, Ishita, and my baby daughter, Niya,"

When Sania was done with the introduction, Bonni continued her saying, "They want a place to stay for a few weeks. If you could lend them the empty rooms of your mansion it would be a huge help for them."

He raised from the chair, taking a short walk to come to the front of his desk, he sat on the edge of it, his eyes never leaving me. He was wearing a thick black leather jacket, full of chains with a plain black undershirt inside it, pairing it with ripped jeans and high mountain shoes. I looked up at his face, he had a properly trimmed beard and his hair was messily resting on his shoulders, his eyes were resembling the shape of an eagle's eyes whereas his eyebrows were shaped straight upward and his long square nose gave him a killer look.

I didn't notice the burning cigar he held between his index and middle finger, he unhurriedly lifted it to his lips and inhaled the weed, leaving the smoke through his nose. He had an intimidating aura around him that I couldn't shake off.

"How much are you willing to pay?" He asks in an assertive tone to Sania with his focus still on me. I held Niya closer to my chest and looked away to avoid meeting his glance.

"Money isn't a problem, y'know," She replied, hiding the main thing from him.

He just hummed at her, indicating to Bonnie to follow him outside, he inhaled one more time before he got up and vanished from my sight as he made sure to brush his shoulder with mine to make me feel his presence which I was ignoring. Sania and I patiently waited for them to finish, they were a little far from us but still, I could understand what they were talking about. Damien isn't happy about renting out a room to us meanwhile Bonnie was requesting him to help us. Inwardly, I was praying to God that he would decline us, I can't imagine dealing with this man every day.

If eyes could eat, he would have eaten me alive by now. Damien caught me staring at them, and I instantly tilted my head away, even though I knew I was late to do so. They returned and I didn't turn to see them.

"Girls, good news! You are staying with Damien as long as you like, he'll discuss the rent money and other details very soon," Bonnie told us grinning ear-to-ear.

"But at a condition," Damien said as if he wanted to correct Bonnie, "Except for your rooms, kitchen, and living room, you aren't allowed to roam anywhere in my house or touch anything. You have to cook your own meals and keep the house as clean as possible. I am allergic to dust and you can't invite anyone or leave home without my permission," He made the rules very clear. I thought Sania would disagree because she isn't a person who lives on other's terms but to my surprise, she instantly accepted.

"Done. Can we leave now? I am too tired, I want to rest," She said to him, pouting.

He nodded his head with a straight face, "After you ladies," I wanted to leave first but he silently extended his hand, in front of me, blocking my way out when Bonnie and Sania left, he lowered his hand, gesturing to me that I can go now. If Niya wasn't in my arms, I would have sprinted all the way to the Taxi, yet, I couldn't, I had to take small steps and he was taking advantage of it, walking right behind me, not only his gazes, I can even feel his hot nicotine breath fanning over my neck.

"Do you girls have any ride or something?" Bonnie questioned when we came out of the bar, standing in the middle of the open space.

"Yeah. We came here in a taxi, so..." I replied to her.

"Then take your stuff out of it, we are going in my car," Damien said, heading to his silver Hummer which was parked farthest from the other cars. He didn't wait for our answer, I moved to Sania who seemed to be checking him out, curiously.

"I don't think we should go in his car," I whispered in her ears, she faked a friendly smile at Bonnie and turned to face me, having an agitated expression on her.

"Why do you have a problem with everything? We can save a few bucks if we accept his ride." She reasoned which I found extremely idiotic. Why doesn't she use her brain too sometimes?

"How much do we know about them? They could be kidnappers, human traffickers, in short criminals! We shouldn't risk our lives if we found their behavior odd, we can escape through the taxi but not from his car," I tried my best to explain these points to her, yet they all bounced above her head, She opened her lips to scold me again but Damien returned with his hammer, honking at us to be quick with our stuff.

She brushed my shoulder hard while going past me to the taxi. Bonnie gave her a hand in putting back our things in the back of his car. Damien opened the door of the seat next to his for me, signaling me to hop in, nonetheless, I remained frozen in my state and Sania used this as a chance to sit near him. Feeling a knot forming in my stomach, I sat in the back seats with Bonnie. I heard him cursing under his breath, I had no idea why, was it because I didn't obey his order or Sania was trying to get closer to him? Or both?

I caught him rotating the rear-view mirror glass in my direction, keeping his eyes fixed on my movements from earlier. He was wearing black goggles even at night so the girls couldn't find out that he was gazing at me.

As the car began to drive into the woods, I pretended to be fine, only to be shaken up to my core, consumed by the fear that my doubt could be right and they are top-notch criminals, bringing us to their place to first sexually torture us and later to remove our organs to sell them in the black market. This thought was enough to make me sweat even in the air-conditioned car. Niya suddenly began to cry as if she heard what I was thinking, I softly patted her back to calm her down, and her cries slowly turned into soft snores.

I closed my eyes, relaxing back in my seat but I couldn't, knowing he was checking me out very carefully, he might be thinking I am stupid if I didn't notice the wrinkles forming over his forehead while he looks up to see me through the mirror, he forgot even his face is visible enough. A smile perked in the corner of his lips as if he knew I am doing the same thing but with other intentions, that's why he put away his goggles, his eagle eyes were drinking me openly. I failed to see but the color of his eyes were matching the golden shade of Champagne.

"Can I play a song?" Sania asked Damien.

For a moment, his gaze went off me to the music system, where she was pointing, he gave her a cult nod before returning his gaze to where they were, in short on me, she played some stupid remix songs, vibing on them. Bonnie didn't understand a single lyric but she was trying to enjoy the music whereas Damien was annoyed when she began to sing along. He instantly shut off the radio.

"Why? You know I was enjoying," Sania deadpanned, having a scowl on her face.

"It gave me a headache," Was all his simple reply to her. I looked out of the window to avoid him, and the next hour of our journey went in silence, I almost slept off until I felt the car coming to halt. It stopped in front of a four-story mansion which was located in a remote area, engulfed within the woods, with no sign of any animal, let alone humans, it seemed to be a great location to shoot a horror movie. And it would be a horrible experience if it turned out I am the main character who needs to fight all the ghosts in order to save her niece.

The entire atmosphere of this place was screaming only one thing; DANGER.

I was the last one to leave the car, somewhere in my heart, I was still fearing the possibilities we need to face here. Damien disappeared from our sight as we heard the sound of owls and other creepy night animals. A chill ran down my spine when I felt his presence right behind me, followed by the light of the tall lamps, brightening up the whole place. It helped my fear to remain at bay.

"Sorry, ladies, I keep the electricity off to save energy," He clarified, walking past me to his home. We copied his steps and found ourselves entering the living room. His home was basically a typical old-school massive American house during the world war era with modern equipment.

"I think I will leave it on you from here," Bonnie told Damien as she turned to me and put her palm on my left shoulder, "Girl, feel free to make yourself at home if you need anything, here's my number," She handed me a small paper card. I nodded and gave her a side hug, smiling.

"And don't worry about me, I will be comfortable here," Sania said beforehand in the thought that Bonnie will use assuring words for her as well, but she never did and the smile on her lips got replaced by a hard stare.

"Yeah, I saw how comfortable you already are," She taunted, giving Damien a quick hug, she headed back to the car after he threw the keys in her direction. I wanted to ask her to stay for a night but it wasn't my home and I didn't know how to voice my thoughts aloud.

"Bitch," Sania cursed her.

"Come on, I'll show you your rooms," He said to us, ascending the stairs, I had a feeling that he swore under his breath as he heard Sania curse his sister.

We ceased our walk to the second floor of the mansion when he used a key to open a door out of the other five locked doors, he switched on the lights, it was a well-furnished master bedroom. "This one is yours," He told Sania, dropping the key in her palm. She got so indulged in exploring her new room, she jumped on the mattress like a little girl, "Follow me," He added and walked away.

"Di, can you..." She understood me and took Niya from my hand. I bid her good night and quietly followed him, taking my own time with each step because It was better to maintain a nice distance than be right behind him. I wrapped my hands around myself to heat my cold dry ice skin.

"I won't mind if you admit you want to spend some time alone with me," I heard him say, sarcastically, I know he meant it. My brows furrowed together in confusion. I didn't understand where he got this idea that I would like to be alone with him, especially at this hour. Not in my worst nightmares.

"W-Where do you get that thought from?" I asked him.

He paused a bit to take a glimpse of me, "No? Then walk faster unless you want us to spend the whole night on stairs," When I got his meaning, I sprinted past him to the above floor. He had a neutral face yet, I could sense the smugness he had contained behind it. I waited in a corner so he could open the door as he did, and he gestured to me to join him.

Still keeping a distance, I stepped into the room, it was identical to Sania's room; just a little bit more spacious, even the wardrobe, bed, and dressing table were larger than hers. It had a cozy pleasant environment, exactly what I needed right now to rest.

"Did you like it?" He asks. I swear I forgot his presence already, only to be hit by the fact that we would be meeting more than often whether I like it or not.

"Yeah, it's n-nice," I reply with a small smile so he doesn't feel like I am not grateful for his help and all the trouble he took for Sania and me.

He nodded his head, satisfied by my answer, his lips curved up in an unknown smile, "I don't know what you are wearing, whatever it is called, it suits you," His sudden compliment astonished me, I didn't expect him to say something such as compliments to me.

"T-T-T-T-Thank you," Only God knows why I stuttered, perhaps it was because of the distance he was closing between us, the beat of my heart was fastening inside my chest and It got more challenging for me to breathe properly when my back almost touched the wall, "It's too late, we should get some rest," I managed to speak and he stood a few steps away from me. If he wanted he would have pressed his body against mine, his palm closing my mouth so I don't scream for help, his other hand made sure to keep me in place and do unholy things but to my relief, he stepped out of the room, I try to smile at him yet was failing and instantly closed the door at his face.

For the next few minutes, I kept my forehead attached to the door, pulling myself together. I knew he was still out there, I was sensing his presence, I didn't know why and what he wanted from me, or was I imagining things? He might not be there and a way to find out was to open the door which I did and caught him standing there as if in a statue, his hands folded over his chest and a smirk formed his expression.

"Missed me?" He questioned in a mocking manner.

I held myself together and replied, "N-Noo," Closing the door again at his face, I heard him chuckle as he walked away, finally leaving me alone.