Chapter 210 - 13 Tentacles Of Betrayal

The tone of that whisper sent Dominik a shiver of fear. Marek Marczak was a dangerous man. It was impossible to forget about it. He wasn't someone you could play with with impunity.

"Ha! I am joking!" Marek Marczak said cheerfully, but Dominik knew that was not the case. At that moment, the young actor felt terribly stupid, like a naive child who plays with a poisonous spider, forgetting how dangerous he is.

The young actor believed the threats of his ex-lover, but knew that he could not show it. He must mask his fear. Predators chose the weakest specimens in the herd and attacked them. That is why Śliwiński will not show any fear. On the contrary, he will show bravado.

"Well, who would have thought that the great Marek Marczak would be afraid to admit to his former employee that he had done something illegal. Or maybe you're afraid I'm recording you, huh? But please, we are also talking about fear here."

"Well, Nowicki trained you well. He sharpened your claws well, little tiger. But in real life, a tough guy can only be played by someone who has nothing to lose and… no one he would be afraid to lose."

At that moment, the black curtain of terror obscured Śliwiński's consciousness.

"You dare not... You said you love him!"

"I love you too, and I've done various things with you."

"Don't you dare approach Andrzej!"

"Don't lose control of yourself, little tiger, or you'll lose control of the situation. You come to my office uninvited, even without an announcement, and make demands. Don't you think you're acting extremely recklessly? I think you are forgetting who I am."

"I guess I never really knew that..."

Marek Marczak, whom Dominik now had in front of him, was not the man the young actor knew. It was not that affectionate, although determined guy who, with sweet words and gestures, was able to convince an inexperienced young man to love a man. Was Marczak so skillfully lied to him for seven years, or was Dominik just totally stupid?

"I guess so," his ex-manager agreed.

"In that case, the only thing I can do is be grateful to you for not selling me to anyone for our seven years together," Dominik said bitterly. "Or maybe there were no takers?"

"They were. There were plenty of them," Marczak assured and Śliwiński knew that he was not exaggerating. "And they paid a fortune for you. But I just wanted you, Dominik, to myself. You were always mine alone."

"Like the mascot? Like the trophy?"

"No, Dominik, I loved you. I still love you. Only you… are made for a different kind of love than mine. And I couldn't understand it in time."

"So you really believe what you felt about me was love?"

"The best I've had. And yet she wasn't very good for you. I still dream of getting you to bed again, if only for a while. I have tried to fill the void you left in my life by abandoning me, but no one can replace you. If you sleep with me, I'll tell you anything you want to know," he promised.

The proposal sounded desperate and pathetic. Dominik, however, did not feel pity towards his former lover. Someone who knows that he has done wrong and repeats the same mistakes does not deserve sympathy.

Śliwiński did not receive a confession from his former lover, but he was completely sure that Marczak had sold his actors and actresses in the past. He was probably doing it now as well.

"Marek, because of our past and the fact that I once loved you, I'll give you some good advice - stop selling your people. Stop selling sex. You look after many talented people, but acting is a craft that requires a certain purity of heart. When you sold me, I was devastated to death. I'm afraid to think what those young, sensitive people you treat like this are feeling. After all, you are damaging your goods."

It was a terrible term, but Śliwiński doubted that Marczak would understand moral appeals. However, if he speaks in the language of money...

Marczak laughed bitterly. He looked at his watch.

"Sorry, I have a meeting in a few minutes and I need to prepare for it. So if you don't mind..."

Dominik actually had nothing to do here. He knew that he would not get anything more from Marczak, but he did not need anything more. Although not directly, Marek did plead guilty.

"Forgive me for interrupting you" Śliwiński looked at his former manager sadly. "Goodbye, Marek. Really goodbye."

Dominik turned towards the door, hoping that today he saw Marek Marczak for the last time.

***

I shouldn't have let him go to meet Marczak, Nowicki thought to himself as he walked around his office. I should have stopped him or I should have gone with him. Who knows what Marczak will say to Dominik. Or he will do him...

No, Andrzej couldn't think so negatively. Marek was an asshole, almost a mafioso, but he certainly wouldn't do anything to Dominik, either because of their past or because the manager still had some deeper feelings towards him. Dominik really was someone special to him.

Yes, he was, but when Marczak attacked him in the living room, when he knocked him to the ground and tried to do these terrible things to him, they were even closer together...

Shit, shit, shit!

Marek Marczak was unpredictable. He might sound like a classy guy, but is a classy guy trying to r*pe and sell off his lover with whom he has been with for seven years?

It is true that Marczak has recently disappeared from the lives of Dominik and Andrzej and it seemed that he was devoting all his interest to Bruno Kwieciński, who from the beginning of January was his new toy and, of course, the star of his agency, but who knows what will come to his mind when Dominik will stand before his eyes.

At least Marczak shouldn't attack Dominik physically. Dominik was no longer his property, so he could object and cause a fuss. He could fight, knock over furniture, and everyone would find out that Marczak was aggressive. No, the boss of such a large agency will not risk it. It is true that everyone was used to his controversy, but if he wanted to use violence against Dominik Śliwiński, who was loved by millions, he would not have come out alive.

But violence is not only about physical contact, bruises and abrasions. Violence could also be psychological, and it often hurt more than physical blows. Dominik suffered so much from his former agent that Marczak could be called a champion in this field. The true executioner of Śliwiński's heart.

Damn!

Andrzej could not stand it anymore. Such terrible scenarios were created in his head and in his heart that, paying absolutely no attention to anything, he simply ran out of his office.

He had to listen to his heart and run to Marek Marczak's office to be nearby, in case of the slightest need, to save Dominik from this unstable man for whom everyone other than himself was just a toy.

"Nowicki, has something happened? Where are you running to? Nowicki...!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Janka!" he called as he passed her on the run. "Not now!"

Now he had to be with Dominik.

***

Dominik wanted to go through the office of Marek's office like a storm - mute, blind, absent. So he was surprised when the man sitting on the couch got up and said:

"Mr. Śliwiński?"

"Mr. Baczyński?" the young actor was surprised to recognize the producer of the program in which he performed. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to discuss some business matters..."

"About Dominik's Kitchen?" the actor asked.

"In some sense…"

What's that supposed to mean? Did it mean that the program in which Dominik participated in the recording had some connections with Marek Marczak?

Something very unpleasant appeared in Śliwiński's throat, making him feel as if he was choking.

What does Marczak have to do with his program? Is he an investor, or maybe... the actual producer? Maybe the whole idea was his, because who else knew that Dominik liked to cook so much?

"In some sense?" Śliwiński repeated without taking his eyes off Baczyński.

"Well," admitted the producer most innocently in the world. "Mr. Marczak is the owner of my studio. Didn't you know?"

Dominik was too shocked to answer.

The tentacles of Marczak's ark reached deeper into his life than he could have suspected.