“Sold! Thank you very one for bidding on this sweet little lady here!” the host declared happily.
His happiness did not surprise given the amount that Prince Leonard had bid to finally win the auction and procure the girl. As for the reason why he wanted to purchase that girl so badly, I had no idea.
“Let’s go. We’re done here,” he said calmly as he stood up from his seat.
It was clear that he was done and had achieved what he had co here to do. I was still too shocked to say anything or even stand up from my seat. I let the prince’s gaze on for a few seconds before he offered his hand. When I hesitated to place my hand into his, he ended up yanking up to my feet by pulling on my wrist.
“Where are we going?” I asked the mont that I found my voice again.
“Follow this way,” the prince said as he tugged on my arm to make sure that I followed him.
It wasn’t like I had anywhere else to go. I didn’t even know where we were but sothing about the place that we were in felt very familiar. A strange feeling filled my stomach that made feel uneasy in an unexplainable way as I followed the prince out of the darkened auditorium. The host was still excitedly introducing the next item that would co up on auction. Not surprisingly, the the of auctioning live humans continued with the next victim being a young virgin woman. I didn’t even dare turn back to take a glimpse at the stage because I feared what I would see.
Prince Leonard seed intent on leaving as soon as possible. The cheers of the audience that applauded the arrival of their next target for bidding faded away as we exited the auditorium, and the tall security guard closed the door behind us. I was still too stunned and confused to wrap my head around what had just happened. The fact that the prince had just purchased a girl still felt too unreal for to accept as a part of my reality.
“Your Highness, please follow this way,” a man wearing a mask said when he approached us.
Without a word, the prince followed the man as he led the way. I was once again dragged along with the prince to an unknown destination. Our destination was in fact a few levels down from the floor where the auction was taking place. It felt much colder down there, and the atmosphere could only be described as oppressive. The further we walked down the hallway, the more I felt my skin crawl until I was trembling slightly.
“She’s in there,” the man inford the prince politely.
The prince nodded and with a dismissive wave from the prince’s hand, the man bowed and left us alone. At the man’s words, I suddenly realized that we were probably here to see the girl that the prince had just purchased from the auction. I didn’t know how to take it or how I should be feeling. On one hand, I wanted to see the girl to check if she was fine; however, I also felt scared at the sa ti.
“You should co in too,” the prince told calmly.
Without waiting for my response, the prince opened the door and led into the darkened room with him. The room resembled a small storage room of so kind and there was a stuffy sll like the room had never been aired out before. Apparently, the girl had been brought back here after her auction was over. I desperately wanted to ask the prince why he had purchased her but the sight of the girl cowering in the corner of the room with shackles around her wrists and heavy chains bearing down her arms, I was too shocked to say anything. She kept her head down as her body shook visibly from fear.
“You don’t have to be scared...” the prince said in a voice so gentle that the girl finally lifted her face to look at us.
Her tear-streaked face made my heart ache painfully. Her eyes and lips were swollen from crying, and I could imagine just a little how scared she must have been feeling. Before I could stop myself, I slowly approached the girl. Her eyes danced around the room in her nervousness as she hugged herself protectively. It could have been just my own imagination combined with my longing for sothing from my past, but sothing about her face felt familiar. It felt like a switch of so kind went off in my head and my heart started to race as my eyes widened. I just needed to get a clearer and closer view of her face, and for that purpose, I knelt down close to her side to bring my face to her level.
I could feel Prince Leonard watching , but he didn’t say or do anything to stop . Once I could see her face closer, I knew that the hunch that I felt was spot on correct. Her face wasn’t just similar to soone that I knew, she was soone that I knew.
“Sally? Sally, is this really you?” I asked in a breathless whisper.
My hands moved as if they had a will of their own toward her face. Now that I could see her face up close, I felt like there was no way that I could have been mistaken. This girl was definitely Sally, one of the girls that I took care of at the orphanage. It didn’t make any sense at all and the ache that I felt in my temples throbbed even more painfully. She wasn’t at all of age to start working or to be sold. She was still so young, so how did she end up in the city and at an auction like this?
“Sally. You’re Sally, right? What happened to you? How did you end up here? What about the others? Where are they? Where are all the girls from the orphanage?” I fired all the questions that I could think of without being able to hold myself back.
--To be continued...
New book alert! Please check out: Substitute Wife for the Mafia King
Thank you!
Reviews
All reviews (0)