Surrender to The Healing(#1)

Chapter 2

All color drained from Malikas skin. She should have known that he wouldn't help her for free. Why would he help her and not expect something for his efforts?
"I don't have anything valuable but I-I..," her words trailed off.

Elijah walked around his desk and stood in front of her. When she looked up at him he froze. The look in her eyes...Her whole body was fidgety.
He narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong. "What's wrong with you?"
She looked away, suddenly playing with her fingers. "N-nothing. I'm fine."
He reached for her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. As soon as he touched her, her whole body began to shake. Her brown skin paled completely and her eyes were so wide he was afraid they would pop out of their sockets. She jumped back, the chair hitting the carpeted floor. She crawled from the chair and hugged the nearest wall.

He stood staring at her, completely bewildered. Her reaction to his touch was unnatural and quite frankly it pissed him off. He walked toward her, caging her into his arms. His suspension quickly turned into anger. "What kind of drugs are you taking?" He had grown up around addicts, he knew the signs.
She stayed silent. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. He could see the sweat building on her forehead.

"Crack? Meth? Something stronger? Malika, I swear to god if you don't answer me!" She pushed herself closer to the wall, tears spilling from her eyes. "I'm not taking any drugs! I have claustrophobia...please give me some space!"

He released her and stepped back, making his way to his desk. He pressed the intercom button,"Gladys, come in here and also contact my lawyer, tell him I need a contract drawn up."
Malika slid to the floor, she stayed curled up against the wall. She looked like a lost child. Her small body was curled up so tight and tear stains adorned her cheeks.

Elijah was on edge now. He didn't like seeing her this way. But even though he felt sorry for her, revenge still sat in the forefront of his mind.
"Malika, I'll help you. But you understand that I need something in return don't you?" Malika nodded.
"But, I already told you, I don't have anything-," he cut her off, "I want you, Malika. I want what you denied me four years ago. I'll pay off your father's debt but only if you marry me."

Malika sat up. Shock was evident on her face. "I can't marry you! I won't marry you!" Elijah smirked, he even chuckled though it was bittersweet. Unlike four yours ago, he had the upper hand now. "You can and you will. When my lawyer gets here we'll draw up a contract."

She suddenly leapt up and walked toward him. "You can't FORCE me to marry you! This is blackmail! I refuse to-," he cut her off once again, "I hold all the power in this situation. You'll do what I want you to do."
She stood dumbfounded. "I'll just find another way to pay it off...," she whispered. He shook his head, a sly smile playing on his lips. "If you had another way to pay it off you wouldn't be here."

"I don't remember you being so cruel. Why do you even want me? I'm sure there are tons of women after you...besides I...I don't love you." He frowned at her words.
"You think I'm cruel? Oh, trust me, you haven't even begun to see cruelty. We're both adults Malika, fuck love, this marriage will be based on years of anger, hurt and unadulterated lust." His voice became husky on the word lust. The look in his eyes scared her and she tried to step back but it was too late.

He grabbed her shoulders and dragged her up against him. "No, Elijah...please-," he smashed his lips against hers. She struggled in his arms, her screams muffled by his lips. This scene was much too familiar for her. She began to punch him in his chest. He didn't even flinch. He forced her mouth open and his tongue explored her with abandon. She sagged against him, defeated.

Her eyes were squeezed shut and he was so lost in her that neither of them heard the door open and close.
"Mr. Jones you're crushing the poor girl." The sound of Gladys voice pulled Elijah out of his haze. He looked down at Malika and almost felt guilty, almost. She was shaking like a Chihuahua in his arms. She stared up at him wide eyed, her lips swollen from his kiss. His door opened again and his lawyer walked in. He looked at Gladys, "Keep an eye on her."
Gladys nodded, smiling gently at Malika.
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"Sign here, here and here." Malika wrote her name on dotted line after dotted line. She felt as if she were signing her life away.
Though she felt panic slowly simmering to the forefront of her nerves she felt a small ounce of relief to have the debt off her shoulders.
"How much am I making this check?" He wouldnt be surprised if it was over twenty-five thousand. Malikas father had gambled everyday, twenty-four seven. Malika began to wring her hands, "Fifty thousand..." Elijah shook his head before writing the amout on the check.
"And I'm assuming he got this money from a loan shark, right? What's his name?" Again she whispered, "Big Q." He looked up at her, incredulous.
"It doesn't take rocket science to figure out that someone named Big Q would be untrustworthy." He snapped at her. She stayed silent. She had tried to convince her dad that Big Q was no good but she had been wasting her breathe. He hadn't listened. He had continued to borrow money and gambled every cent away only to go and  borrow more.

Elijah handed the check to Gladys, "Have someone deliver this." Gladys nodded, before she left the room she patted Malika on the shoulder, "Don't worry honey, Mr. Jones is a wondeful man, he'll take care of you."
Malika smiled at the older woman but she didn't feel at all reassured.
She was marrying a man hell bent on making her pay for breaking his heart. A man who despite her experiences, still held a chunk of her heart in his hands.
Which is why she didn't want to hurt him. Four years ago she had tried to save him from the hardship that she was slowing turning into.
She knew she would never be able to give him what he needed.
Intimacy.
Sex.
Her inability to give herself to him is what drove her to break up with him in the first place. She shivered as she thought back on the day she had told him it was over. The look of betrayal and confusion in his brown eyes.

Now, here she was, forced to marry the one man she had tried to save from herself. She blinked focusing back on the situation at hand. Elijah looked down at his rolex, "It's two o'clock. We still have time to make it to the Justice of the-," Malika jumped up, panic surfacing. "The boys!"

She grabbed her purse and ran from the room before Elijah could even react.
Her time was up.