Lauren POV
I can't breathe. I'm dying, both inside and out.
I close my eyes, running my fingers through my hair and holding back the tears that brew up.
The shock in me is quickly replaced by anger, detest, and grief.
"Take your fucking words back, Andrew!"
He draws in a long breath, his hands in his pockets, as his cold gaze didn't change.
I throw the paper at his face and shake my head, still trying to connect this whole scenario from the beginning.
"How could you!"
Silence.
There's no remorse, and even when I pushed him back, he didn't move.
Everywhere feels hot now or it's just me on fire. My panic reaches its peak as my heart hammers.
"You're selling me off? Is this the comfort you offer? I'm barely recovering from a heartbreak!"
"Hey, who do you think would pay off the debts your deceased father left behind?"
Her cold voice interrupts and it's her, my nightmare and stepmom.
A brief memory lurk in. After being ditched by my fiance on our wedding day, got painted as the abandoned bride.
The only place I intended to find solace and hide from the humiliation in is home.
I guess I got into the worst case scenario as my arrival only welcomes me to the death of my father.
My stepmom and her sons are trying to sell me off.
I turned around to face her, trapping the memory in my head as I memorize every features on her face.
She wears that red dress that paints her as a witch with a glass of wine in her right hand, swirling it around.
Her butt sits on my father's executive chair behind his desk as we were in his spacious study room which is now littered with his files.
The once serene and serious place is now a joke.
Greg stays a corner, bottling his anger as he can't keep up to the tantrums I'm making here.
Lena just stays on the desk, painting her nails and feigning ignorance. The only one who still stands in front of me is Andrew.
"You'd be in the market and the highest bider takes you, that's the deal" she casually speaks sipping her wine while I stand pale, lost and just silent tears stream down.
It hurts so much that I forget I have lungs.
My eyes trails on them as I nod, tired of crying as my body barely makes a dent where I stand.
"I'm not getting sold, everything here belongs to my father, I will preserve his legacy"
Lena tilts her head to stare at me properly, and then burst into laughter, stepmom smirks but Andrew's stays neutral as he keeps avoiding my gaze.
My declaration proves Greg as he smashes the glasses in his hand, rush at me.
Before I can blink, he grabs my hair and slams my head on the wall behind me.
I screech, falling clumsily to the marble floor and suffocating.
"You little bitch! Don't you fucking ruin this plan!" He roars. His kicks and punches follow.
Greg pants as he'd kill me on spot while I use my hand to shield my body, wincing and writhing on the floor.
"Greg! Any injury on her would make her appear cheap!" Andrew barks as he hauls Greg away from me.
Greg looks like he'd start a fight with Andrew but only kicks one of the legs belonging to the desk.
I coil myself on the floor, my muscles stiffen, I wish to scream as I can feel a liquid drool from my nose.
Blood.
Weakly, I hug my knees as right this moment, I'm powerless.
My long wet hair covers my face and every little movement makes my bone cracks.
Everything becomes blurry, they speak in hush whispers and I didn't want to look until I hear the door bell.
"Boys, boys, they're here" stepmom calls in an exciting tone as she rises up from the seat, stretching herself and chuckling.
Greg runs his fingers through his hair before they trace the lines of his jaw while he widens his eyes at me.
He intends to say something but won't not when Andrew stands in front of me.
"Let it be Greg, we are selling her off" he states while patting his shoulder. Greg walks away.
Stepmom just shrugs her shoulders and then pace out from behind the desk, catwalk gently to me.
"Don't mess this up child, I can be deadly when messed me" she reminds. Cold, emotionless as she offers the faintest smile.
"Lena, dress Cinderella up, you needs to look attractive" stepmom adds as walk pass me.
Only Lena and Andrew were here.
"I hate you" I spat as he just stares, doing nothing but his eyes lingers on my face.
He crouch low to my position, he use his thumb to brush my cheek and I push his hand away while glaring at him.
"If you do, then I'm waiting for you to come back for your revenge"
"I will and you'd be the first I deal with"
A side smile escape his lips as he takes out a bandage and plaster on my bruise nose.
"I'd be waiting Lauren"
He stands up, hands back in his pockets and stride out even before I can give a reply.
Lena jumps up from the desk with a frown and a mockery gaze at him.
"The only style I have in mind is presenting you naked before them"
My eyes widens in circles as she seems serious.
"You won't Lena" I protest covering my body and trying to rise on my feet.
She appears in front of me like a flash, holding a scissor and grinning.
"They need to see what they buying raw"
***
The gawking eyes of old men gathered in this hall sent quite the fright in me. The atmosphere didn't spare me the tension.
I'm wearing only a bra and panties, place on father's favorite spot on the podium as a display.
It's cold, cruel and depressing.
I feel embarrassed, wanting to cover myself and wish the earth opens to welcome me in it.
Stepmom stays the bidder, Greg, the host, describing my body and how good I'd be on bed.
Lena, the moderator, certainly using her hands to draw wavy lines on me just to indicate how sexy I look.
Andrew is the collector and he's at the end of the hall, taking records.
Irritation swallows me as these men scramble for me like a commodity that their lives depends on.
This is the worst humiliation ever, and having to witness elites speak nastily of my body.
The more I try to listen to the figures, the more the words blur out.
"30 million?"
It's like they'd do anything just to get me. I feel like a celebrity and a slut at the same time.
The figure keeps increasing until it gets stuck at 150 million dollars. My swollen eyes lifts up to see who makes that statement.
Even containing the noise and murmurs stays difficult until someone says;
"500 million"
That proclamation made everyone fall silence as heads roll to see who said that.
My heart stop beating, my breath stays low and deliberate and sweat pebbles on my forehead.
Even my anxious eyes struggles to find that strange voice in the midst of the crowd.
There he is, wearing a hat that covers his face, revealing only his lips and thin jawline.
Dressed in a black coat and gloves with legs crossed. A cigarette stays stuck between his teeth as the smoke from it creates fog.
Please he shouldn't be the one. Not him.
I throw my gaze at stepmom who's jaw drops. Everyone's curious at this mysterious man.
Those eyes meets with Andrew who lips curved upward, Greg furrows his brows and Lena stands at a foot.
"Sold!"
If there's any worse nightmare than the hell I've been through, it's falling into hands of father's sworn enemy.
The very man he made me promise never to cross path with.