Chapter 5 EPISODE 5

The Price of Silence

Lois's POV

I look over to Alex and wonder if I should say something, anything. But the words are stuck in my throat. What would I even say? I don't understand a lot of things and a lot of things seem out of my control.

I finally speak up, but my voice seems too loud in the quiet car. "Why me?" I inquire, my hands in my lap. "Why are you taking me to that event tonight?" What was that about?

He doesn't look at me, but I can see that his attention is shifting and his focus is strengthening. He says, "You're here because I need you here." "That's all you need to know for now."

His calm, quiet voice sends an unexpected chill down my spine. It's not comforting at all. Just... take charge. His words stay in the air, and I wonder if I've become part of something bigger than myself. Something I am not ready for.

I look out the window and see the city lights blur by. My mind is a mess of confused thoughts. The gala, him being there, everything-it's all like a game, and I'm the one who's being played.

"Are you not going to tell me anything else?" I ask, and the words come out before I can stop them.

Alex's lips rise up into a smile for a second, but then they go back down. His voice is silky, like honey wrapped in silk. "You'll understand soon enough," he adds.

The car stops in front of my apartment building, but I don't want to get out. I don't want the night to finish, or maybe I just don't want to be alone with all the thoughts in my head.

Alex doesn't get out of the car either. He just sits there, quietly drumming his fingers on the armrest. His quiet is like a weight on me.

I turn to look at him, my heart racing. "I don't get it, Alex. Why do I feel like I'm a piece in a game I don't even know how to play?

He stares at me suddenly, and his eyes are dark and unfathomable. He doesn't say anything for a long time. He just stares at me, his eyes fixed on mine. He seems to be examining me to see if I'm worth the answer.

Finally, he replies in a calm but forceful voice, "You don't need to understand." "You'll learn in time." Lois, there are rules here. Rules that aren't spoken. "You'll do what they say, whether you like it or not."

His remarks hurt, yet I don't want to do anything. Instead, I sit back in my chair and feel my muscles getting tighter. I'm not sure if I'm terrified or interested, or both. The more time I spend with him, the more I feel like I'm in over my head.

Alex finally speaks again, but his voice is low as the stillness goes on. "You'll never leave this place without me."

His comments hit me hard, like a blow to the gut. I want to fight with him and tell him that he doesn't control me, but I can't find the words. I'm too scared of what he might say next. Or do.

The next few days at work are going to be a haze. I have to be careful since I know Alex is always there and has influence over me without even trying. His stillness is always there, a weight I can't get away from.

I do my job, but everything feels different now. It seems like everything he does, from looking at me to not saying anything, is meant to keep me off-balance.

I feel his gaze on me one day when I'm going through some papers at my desk. I look up and see him standing in the door of his office. He doesn't say anything. He doesn't have to. His intense gaze is enough to make me stop breathing.

"Lois," he says after a lengthy interval, his voice calm and cool. "Come here."

I rise up, my knees shaky, and approach toward him, my heart racing in my chest. He stands aside so I can enter his office as I get closer. The walls are dark wood and there are shelves of books, which makes it much calmer in here than outside, where the corporate environment is sterile.

I stop just inside the door because I'm not sure what he wants. He looks at me as if he's checking me out and figuring out how much I'm worth.

He remarks in a low voice, as if it were a casual comment, "You've been doing well." "But you need to learn how to work faster. Do you get it?

I nod, but a part of me wants to say no. I've done everything he wanted me to do and more. But I don't say anything; I just stand there and wait for him to decide what to do next.

I can't breathe because of his quiet, and it hits me hard that I'm not just working for him anymore. I'm becoming caught up in whatever game he's playing.

I can't afford to think about what it means to be in his world. But every day it feels like I'm falling deeper, and the weight of it is becoming too much to bear. He doesn't say anything; he just watches and waits. It feels like someone is watching every choice I make and every action I make.

I can hear him walking before I see him. He doesn't say anything; he just stands in the doorway of my office, towering and commanding, with his suit crisp against the brilliant light. The loudest thing in the room is his silence.

I look up, surprised. "Alex?"

He looks me in the eye, and for a second, it feels like I'm being pulled into a hurricane. "Lois," he begins in a low voice, the way he always does when he's about to say something that I should get without him having to explain it to me.

He moves ahead slowly and on purpose. My heart is racing. I don't know if it's because I'm scared or excited. He never stops looking at me.

He responds in a quiet but firm voice, "You're doing well." "But you're not really here yet, are you?"

I don't know what to say to it. I don't even know what "fully here" means, but the way his words hang in the air makes me feel like I'm being smothered by them. He gets closer to me, and for the first time, I see how he holds himself in a way that shows he knows how powerful he is.

Then, all of a sudden, he reaches across the desk. His hand touches mine, and the skin-on-skin contact is so short but so electrifying that I can't breathe. The touch sends a thrill through me and makes my spine feel warm. He never takes his eyes off of mine.

When I try to talk, nothing comes out. Is this love? Or is it anything else?

"You'll get used to it, Lois," he adds, as his voice gets deeper. "The quiet. The power.

I swallow hard because my throat is dry. "What do you mean by that?" I ask, and the words come out before I can stop myself.

He moves even closer, and the gap between us gets smaller and smaller until it feels like the tension is keeping us in place. He tilts his head a little and narrows his gaze as he looks me over. He responds in a low voice, almost like a whisper, "You're learning." "But you're not completely mine yet. Not yet.

I want to go away, but something in his eyes keeps me there. I want to tell him to leave me alone and that I don't belong here, but the words get stuck in my throat.

He whispers, "You'll never leave this place without me," and I can feel the warmth of his breath on my ear. His words make my body shiver, and I stop.

His words are like a chain that I'm too scared to break.

I try to leave, but he stops me by putting a hand on the doorframe. "You belong to me now, Lois," he adds in a low voice that makes a commitment. "And there's no turning back."

I want to fight with him and tell him that I'm not with anyone. But the words are caught in my chest, and all I can do is stare at him, my heart racing, and wonder how far this game goes.