Chapter 2 My Babe Won't Eat

Nathan woke up and thought he was still in a nightmare.

It was 8:03 am. Morning light was entering through the big black curtains. The bed was too soft, too big, and smelled like cigarettes and expensive perfume. His head was aching. His throat was dry.

He had never slept on a bed this soft. But he had never been this scared.

He jumped down. He ran to the door. Locked. He ran to the window. Locked from outside, with iron bars. He was on the second floor, maybe third. The mansion was in Hollywood Hills, far from downtown.

"Help!" he shouted, banging the door. "Somebody help me! I am not Jayden! My name is Nathan! I am a Communications student! Please!"

Nobody answered. His voice echoed in the big room.

His whole world was crumbling at his feet again.

He sat on the floor, holding his knees. His eyes were swollen from crying last night. He remembered Daniel's cold eyes. His cold smile. "From today you are my substitute babe."

"I want to go home," he whispered. "I have an exam today. My rent."

The door opened.

A woman entered, maybe 48 years old, with a soft face and hair tied in a low bun. She wore a clean black and white housekeeper uniform. She carried a tray of food. Her name tag said Rosa - House Manager.

"Oh sweetheart, why are you on the floor?" she said, putting the tray down fast. She rushed to him. "You will catch a cold."

Nathan looked at her like she was his only hope. "Miss, please, help me, I am not Jayden, they kidnapped the wrong person, I am Nathan, I work at FreshMart, I have school today!"

Rosa's eyes became sad. She touched his face gently.

"I know, sweetheart. I know you are not Jayden. Jayden had a tattoo here," she pointed to his neck. "You don't. You are different. You are prettier, you are braver."

"Then help me go!" Nathan cried.

"I cannot, sweetheart," Rosa whispered, looking at the door. She was professional but kind. "He is my boss. But don't worry, I will make sure you are okay. Just call me Rosa, okay? Not Miss Rosa. Just Rosa."

"Rosa, please," Nathan begged. "I have class."

"I know, sweetheart. Please eat, you have not eaten since last night," Rosa said, pushing the tray to him.

On it was scrambled eggs, two toasts, pancakes with syrup, and warm milk.

"I don't want food, I want my house!" Nathan pushed the tray. But he was hungry.

"Eat, sweetheart, you are too skinny," Rosa said. "If you don't eat, Mr. Kravalo will be angry."

She left, locking the door again.

Nathan stared at the food. He didn't touch it. He sat on the bed, staring at the wall. The clock was ticking. 8:17 am. His class starts at 9 am. Communications Law.

Downstairs in the office, Daniel was watching everything on CCTV.

He wore the same black shirt, black pants, black shiny shoes, his customized Rolex shining. His face was cold and intimidating. He had not slept all night. He had been watching Nathan's room since 6 am.

On the screen, Nathan was sitting on the floor, crying. Not eating.

Leo stood beside him, in all black.

"Boss, he hasn't eaten since last night at the supermarket. Rosa said he refused," Leo said.

Daniel's cold eyes became darker. He stood up.

"My babe thinks he can starve himself to make me let him go?" he said, his voice low. "He thinks he is smart?"

He walked upstairs. Each step loud.

Rosa saw him in the hallway and stopped him. "Mr. Kravalo, be soft with him, please. He is just a boy. He is not Jayden, he is scared."

Daniel didn't answer. He opened the door with a bang.

Nathan jumped. He was still on the bed, food untouched.

Daniel looked at the tray. Cold.

"You didn't eat," he said.

"I am not hungry. I want to go home," Nathan said, his voice small but stubborn.

Daniel walked closer. He sat on the bed. The bed sank because he was so big. Nathan moved away to the other side.

"You are my substitute babe now, Nathan. My babe eats when I say you eat. You sleep when I say you sleep. Do you understand?" Daniel said.

"I am not your babe! My name is Nathan!" Nathan shouted. Courage rushed through him again.

Daniel grabbed the plate. He took a spoon of scrambled eggs and brought it to Nathan's lips.

"Eat."

Nathan turned his face away. "I will not eat your food! I will not be your substitute babe! I have school, I have rent, I have a life!"

"Eat, baby," Daniel said, his voice colder. "Don't make me angry in the morning."

"I said no!" Nathan shouted, and before he could think, his hand moved.

PAK!

He slapped Daniel's hand. The spoon fell. Eggs fell on the expensive black bedsheet.

The whole mansion went silent.

Downstairs, Leo heard the sound and closed his eyes. "That boy will die today," he whispered. "No one has ever slapped Daniel Kravalo. Not even Rafael."

Rosa in the kitchen covered her mouth.

In the room, Daniel froze. He looked at his hand. Red mark. He looked at Nathan's shaking hand.

No one, in 29 years of his life, had ever dared to slap him.

But this boy, this pretty supermarket boy, with swollen eyes and messy hair, slapped him.

Nathan realized what he did. His heart started beating fast. He thought he would die now.

"Y-you... you forced me..." he whispered, tears falling.

Daniel slowly looked up. His eyes were not angry. They were dark. Obsessed.

He smiled. Cold smile.

"Jayden never had courage to slap me," he whispered, grabbing Nathan's wrist that slapped him. He pulled Nathan closer. "You are different. You are better. You just became my favorite."

"Let go of me!" Nathan struggled.

Daniel pushed him down gently on the bed and picked up the toast. He broke a small piece and forced it to Nathan's lips.

"Eat. If you slap me again, I will kiss you, my babe. And you don't want that, right?" he said.

Nathan's face became red. He opened his mouth and bit the toast angrily, tears still falling. He chewed like a child forced to eat.

"Good boy," Daniel whispered. "Good substitute babe."

Nathan ate three pieces, crying and chewing.

At 9:04 am, UCLA, Communications Law class.

Chase sat in the second row, taking notes with two notebooks. One for himself, one for Nathan.

Chase was Nathan's only best friend since first year.

"Where is Nathan?" the professor asked.

"He is sick, sir," Chase said. "I am taking notes for him."

But inside, Chase was calculating. Nathan never misses class. Never. Even when he had fever, he came. And he always texted Chase if he was absent.

He checked his phone. No message from Nathan since 11:30 pm last night: "Closing soon, so tired!!!! Call me!"

After class at 10:30 am, Chase went to Nathan's small room on West Adams. He knocked. No answer. He used the spare key Nathan gave him.

The house was empty. Bed arranged. No bag. The supermarket uniform was not there. His small backpack was not there.

"This is not logical," Chase muttered. "He always goes home after shift."

He went to 24/7 FreshMart. Mr. Davies, the manager, was there, stressed.

"Mr. Davies, where is Nathan?"

"Chase? I was looking for him too!" Mr. Davies said. "He closed last night but his bag is still in the back. He left his phone charger. The CCTV from last night is deleted, someone deleted it. I thought he ran away because of rent."

Chase's heart became cold. He was logical, so he knew this was not normal. Deleting CCTV means kidnapping.

He called Nathan. Voicemail. Called 10 times. 20 times. No answer.

"Please be okay, Nathan," Chase whispered, holding Nathan's bag. "Where are you?"

In the mansion, Nathan finished half the toast.

Daniel stood up, satisfied. He took a big black box from the corner and threw it on the bed.

"Wear this for dinner tonight. 7 pm. You will eat with your husband. Don't make me wait."

Nathan opened the box. Inside were expensive clothes. Shirts, designer pants, all black, all in his size. And a small photo fell - Jayden wearing the same shirt, smiling.

Nathan threw the box away.

"I am not Jayden! I will never wear his clothes! I have my own clothes!"

Daniel looked at the clothes on the floor. Then at Nathan's dirty supermarket polo that he still wore since last night.

He smiled cold.

"Okay. Then you will eat naked, my substitute babe. Your choice. 7 pm. Don't be late."

He locked the door.

Nathan stared at the box. His hands were shaking, his eyes full of tears.

He shouted at the locked door, his voice breaking:

"I will never be your babe! Not even a substitute! I am Nathan! Do you hear me, you bastard!"

Downstairs, Daniel heard it on the CCTV. He smiled, obsessed.

"We will see, my substitute babe."