Morgan's POV
I was left there alone. I've been standing for ages, waiting for the man who I don't even know, and I'm not sure would come, but I'm too desperate to leave.
The minutes turn to hours of me standing all by myself in this room, jumping from one leg to another. I am tired of standing.
I scanned the room again with my eyes because that was the only thing I could do.
The room is impeccable but empty in a calculated way.
Maybe I should just leave, but what if this was a test? What if this person is just trying to test my patience?
I should stay back and wait for the person who asked me to come here.
After standing for what felt like an eternity, the door behind me finally opened.
I turned around slowly with a pleasant smile on my face, which was later replaced with something I didn't know when I saw the face of the man I was waiting for.
He was William Vale, the owner of this very tower I'm standing in front of the man who rules this city.
"Mr. Vale," I gasped, unable to control myself. But my reaction didn't seem to faze him; it seems like he was used to getting such reactions from people.
He walked in with measured grace. He was dressed in all black.
I felt my throat go dry. I had never imagined myself in the same room with Mr. Vale that was like a far-fetched dream but today, here I am, in the same room as him, breathing the same air.
"Morgan Devon." My name rolled out of his mouth.
The way he said it made my heart skip a beat. How did Mr. Vale knows about me? I've never met him before, so how?
Or maybe he has heard about my mom and wants to use us to boost his reputation by using us as charity? Either way, I don't mind, as long as it helps my mother.
He smiled, I don't know if it was at me or with me, but his smile, although it didn't quite reach his eyes, looked so good it made my heart falter.
"There's no reason to be nervous. Sit down," he said, and then took his seat.
I remained standing because how could I sit? I'm in the same fucking room with Mr. Vale.
I shouldn't be breathing. My legs failed me; I couldn't move.
He raised an eyebrow, and that's all it took for me to finally take a step to the empty seat. I sat down with my hands pressed on my thighs.
I pressed so hard I was certain there'd be a mark by the time I leave this place.
"Let's get down to business. I don't have all day here," he said, still holding a smile on his face.
"Why am I here, Mr. Vale?" I asked after finding my voice.
Mr. Vale pointed at an envelope on the table. It was a red leather folder. Alongside it, a fountain pen.
"What is that, Mr. Vale?" I asked. Do I need to sign some documents before he helps my mom?
Am I even sure the reason I was called here was for my mom to get the help she needs?
"Miss Devon, in that folder contains a contract that'd bind me and you for 365 days."
"You'll render total submission to me not as my servant or my lover, but as my personal whore."
"You'll be my property for the next 365 days. You'll move in with me, be submissive, obey me. You'll belong to me in every way there is."
He didn't look like someone who was joking when he said those words; he looked so serious.
"Are you kidding me, Mr. Vale? What part of my very existence gave you that idea that I am a whore? Is this why you called me here?"
This was a waste of my time, the time I should have used to think of what to do next, I just wasted in this godforsaken room.
"Don't be too hasty to make a decision, Miss Devon. I'm not done yet—"
"There's nothing you can say or do that'd make me accept to be your whore. Never!" I yelled.
"Are you sure? How do you expect to pay for your mom's treatment?" he asked, and that immediately shut me up.
"Do you think $47,000 will just fall from the sky and land in your hands? Think about it. You are going to benefit from this. Not only will I deposit the $47,000, I'll also see through that everything your sick mother needs will be given to her."
"I'll take care of all her medical bills. And you know this treatment has an 80/20% chance. Your mom has an eighty percents chance of surviving. Are you just going to let this slip away from you?"
"But—"
"I already have a signed check in your name for $500,000. All you have to do is sign that contract and everything will be yours. And when the 365 days elapse, you get an additional five million dollars. Everything is stated in that contract."
I gulped. I wanted to say no. I was worth more than that my dignity, my self-respect.
I'd be putting everything on the line all for what? Money? But my mom needs it.
"What if I say no, Mr. Vale?" I asked.
"Then you walk out of here with nothing. The car that brought you in will take you back to your home safe and sound. No one is pressurizing you, Miss Devon. It's your decision to make," he said with a smile on his face that same smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"If I leave before the year ends?" I asked.
"There's no clause for that, Miss Devon."
Breathing became very hard. How am I going to do this? Being someone's property, having no control over my own life Is this how I was to live my life?
I want to say no. But my mother's medical bills, my sick mom, my house rent, my debts...
I fought the tears that clouded my vision. I can't cry. This is not the time to be shedding tears.
"But why me, Mr. Vale? Out of every girl in the world, why me? There are a lot of girls who will be willing to do everything you just asked of me, so why do you want me?" I asked out of a sudden.
"Because you have a lot to lose, and there is something about you that I can't quite put my hand on," he replied truthfully.
I sigh. "If I agree to this, then who will take care of my mother? She is sick and needs me to take care of her. And what about my nursing program? You said you know everything about me, so I'm sure you are aware of my nursing program."
"Everything will be taken care of, Miss Devon. Your mom will have a professional nurse taking care of her one,"
"I'll recommend and your nursing program will not be taken away from you. I'll see to that. After the one year is over, you'll go back to your regular life, but this time, your mom will be healthier, and your life would be better," he said.
Everything is already sorted out. It looks like he had planned this carefully. It shows that everything was planned. He made sure I had no way to escape him.
"Is there anything else you want to inquire, Miss Devon?" he asked.
I shook my head. "What if I get pregnant during my one-year stay with you?"
"In the contract," he pointed at the red file on the table,
"it states that you'll be on contraceptives for those 365 days, so you won't get pregnant, Miss Devon."
"How sure are you that I don't have any sexually transmissible diseases?" I was just stalling time so I could think.
"Because I know you don't. I have your medical records with me. I have everything already sorted out, Miss Devon," he said.
He sounded so patient and looked relaxed like this wasn't the first time he was doing something like this, like this wasn't the first time he was asking a woman to be his whore.
"So what is it going to be? Are you accepting my offer or not?" he asked.
"Let me think about it, Mr. Vale," I said.
I nodded and then stood up. He walked to a different door I didn't know existed in this room and came back seconds later with two glasses of whiskey.
He placed them on the table next to the file and stood with his hands in his pocket while staring at me.
I stood up and went to the table and picked up the pen and the file.
I opened it and read through it, and just like he said, everything was already stated in the contract.
There was this voice in my head saying I shouldn't sign it that there was another way but there was another voice pushing me to sign, asking me.
What other way? So I listened to the latter.
I signed the contract binding me to Mr. William Vale for 365 days.