Chapter Eleven
Pandora
I get ready for the auction with Belle's help. Father must really hate me, because he arranged for it to happen only days after our conversation. He must be eager to get me out of the house, but I'm just as eager to get away - hopefully with someone who can protect me, not hurt me.
I've told Dex about the auction through texts. He still hasn't been at school, and I've skipped the last few days as well in preparation. Nobody even gives a shit. Prep if just another excuse for our rich parents to keep an eye on us and control us like unwilling puppets.
Belle brushes my curls away, smoothing my hair into a long, flowing curtain of silk. I'm supposed to wear some ridiculous, revealing outfit, and I've tried to convince the maid to let me choose something myself, but I think she's too afraid of Father to let me. So I'm stuck in the horrible, cherry red dress that leaves nothing to the imagination, and a pair of sky-high, barely there black leather heels. I look like a million bucks, but I feel like a fraud. That feeling hasn't left me once since I set foot in Eden Falls.
"Are you almost ready?" Belle asks, and I swallow, nodding. She brushes some glittery powder over my chest, accentuating my collarbone, and takes a step back, admiring her handiwork. "You look beautiful, Miss Pandora."
"Great," I get out through gritted teeth. "At least I'll be pretty for my fucking funeral."
She ignores me and opens the door, motioning for me to follow her. I can hear the commotion as I exit the room, and my stomach ties in uncomfortable, unbearable knots. I don't want to do this. I don't want to be sold. Yet I have no choice. The only hope I have left is that Dexter will be the one to bid for me. That he wants me enough to keep me as his property. I scoff. High chance of that fucking happening. He's done nothing but push me away since I got to town.
I follow Belle down the stairs, passing groups of people who go quiet when I walk past them. I keep my head held high and ignore the comments and snickers coming from the guests. I don't care what they think of me. I'm going to run soon enough, and then the opinion of the inhabitants of Eden Falls won't matter at all.
"Right through here, Miss." Belle guides me behind a red velvet curtain and offers me a glass of water with an apologetic smile. "Drink, Miss. It will calm your nerves."
The water doesn't taste like water and I make a face at the glass. "This is disgusting. What is it?"
"Vodka. To calm your nerves," she repeats. I hand the glass back, scrutinizing her with my gaze.
"How can you stand this, Belle?" I finally ask. "How can you allow your daughter to stay here? How can you stay here? When will it be enough?"
She doesn't reply, instead beginning to tidy the room we're in, but I'm not giving up that easily.
My fingers wrap around her wrist, and I jerk her forward. When her eyes meet mine, there's no emotion in them whatsoever. She's numb. Completely numb. And with that, I don't even need her to answer. Her lack of emotion has said it all.
I let go of her, feeling disgusted as I shake my head. Belle flushes, refusing to meet my eyes as she says, "They'll call you onto the stage in a few minutes."
I ignore her, leaning against the wall. The dress I'm wearing is making every breath a struggle, and the heels are killing me, but I vow to keep my head held high. They won't get to me. They can't.
A moment later, the curtains part and Bryony reaches out for me. I furrow my brows, hating her for being a part of this, for being complicit. But I tear myself away from the wall anyway, ignoring my stepmother's hand as I step onto the stage that's been set up in the Oakes Estate ballroom.
"Please welcome my beautiful stepdaughter," Bryony purrs, and I stare her down with pure contempt as she clinks her glass with a fork. "We'll start the bidding, but the floor is yours for now, Pandora. Why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?"
She leaves the stage, leaving me standing there in the limelight and hating every second of this farce.
"Does the little girl have nothing to say?" a man's voice booms through the silence, and I look at the front row of tables where a tall, broad-shouldered guy in his forties is smirking at me. He's handsome, and I want to spit in his face. "Thought you had a little more fight in you, based on what I've heard, Pandora..."
"Fuck you," I snarl on instinct, making the room erupt in laughter.
"You should be so lucky." He smirks, toasting me with his brandy glass. "So why don't you tell us why you think you're worthy of being bought, little girl? Because all I see is a feisty, plain looking little bitch with a mouth on her. And I ain't paying money for that when I can get it for free."
I'm tempted to flip him off, but I hold back. I can't let him think he's getting to me.
My eyes scan the crowd, looking for a familiar face. Everyone's here - all the boys from school with their families, all the Oakes, and even Dexter, standing alone by the back of the room, his eyes burning mine.
"I'm not here to convince you to buy me," I finally hiss. "I'm here because they made me."
"Hear hear," my father roars from the front row where he's sitting with a delirious-looking Bryony and my flushed siblings who look mortified to be there. At least there's that. "She takes a while to follow directions, but it's oh-so-sweet when she finally bends to your will."
I have no intention of bending to anyone's will, but Father's murderous glare convinces me not to argue with him.
"Now, why don't you strip for the audience?"
My eyes snap back to my father. God, I hate him. He doesn't give a shit about me. All that matters to him is that I'm humiliated in front of his friends and business partners.
"I don't think so," I hiss, making him shrug and chuckle.
"We'll just have to help you out then." He clicks his fingers and a pale-faced Belle reappears, her eyes not meeting mine as she heads up the stage. She begins clinically removing my clothes, and in moments, two male employees grab my arms and hold them behind my back so I'm unable to resist. I scream my head off but nobody pays it any mind. My eyes find Dex's in the crowd, seeing the pain in his gaze, both of us knowing we're helpless to Father's whims.
Father's not done yet though, and he watches with steely-eyed determination as Belle strips me naked. "Don't leave anything on. I want her naked as the day she was born and stolen from us."
Belle obeys, stripping me until the two men finally back away, leaving me naked and shivering on the raised stage. I do my best to cover up, meeting Father's triumphant gaze across the room. He thinks he's humiliated me now, thinks he's got my will stripped away along with my clothes. But I'm not letting him win. He can torture me now, but I'm going to get back at him soon enough.
"Isn't she a sight to behold?" Father bellows. "She may have a plain face, but that body is perfect, isn't it?"
"Indeed," the man who spoke to me in the front row mutters, his hungry eyes never leaving me. It is then that I notice Audra sitting next to him, along with her wimpy brother. Fuck. He must be Audra's father, and judging by his expression, he's as eager to hurt and take advantage of me as one of his kids.
"Let's get this party started," Father mutters. "Guards, move her hands off her."
The two men from before approach me again. They force my arms away, exposing me to the audience and making me whimper in fright. I'm forced to sit on a chair with my legs spread obscenely, and they tie my hands behind my back, and my ankles to the chair legs. I'm steaming with anger as they retreat once again, leaving me vulnerable and exposed. Audra snickers in the front row, and I throw her a murderous look.
"It must hurt that your own father wants me," I tell her sweetly. "Maybe I'll be your new stepmommy!"
Her face falls and her dad chuckles darkly, as if my predicament is amusing. "The girl's got a sharp mouth on her, and I like it. Bitches like her are the most fun to tear down. I can't wait to ruin you, little Lily Anna wannabe. You may not look as pretty as your predecessor, but I bet you're fun to abuse."
"Fuck you," I snarl.
"You will," he gri
ns. "If you're lucky."
"The bidding will begin in four hours," Father drawls lazily. "Until then, feel free to examine her. Do anything you want with her. Test her. She's all yours."
With those words, he tips a wine glass back and retreats from the room, leaving me alone with the hungry wolves. I only have Dex now, and I'm not sure he can do much to protect me.
My heartbeat picks up as the men begin rising from their seats, approaching me like predators closing in for the kill.
The thugs from before carry in a table with various objects on it. There's a bouquet of roses, scissors, candles with a lighter, and then, the most horrible of all - a gun. I have no way of knowing whether there are any bullets in it, and my stomach tightens when I see it.
The men of the founding families pause before the table. I see Lai between them, and he picks up a single rose thoughtfully, then exchanges it for a candle. He lights it, guarding the flame with the palm of his hand as he approaches me with a kind smile. The candle is tall and thin, and I watch in horror as beads of wax begin to slip down its base.
"Don't hurt me." The words fall from my lips before I can stop myself, making me hate my weakness. But I can't help it. I'm terrified. I don't want to get burnt. Lai ignores my desperate plea and positions the candle above my tits. I squirm in my restraints, fearfully glancing at the table where more men are picking up various objects, waiting their turn. The gun glints in the light, untouched - for now. The promise of being shot sends shivers of fear down my spine.
Suddenly, the wax drips on my skin and I yelp as it hardens on my chest. The sensation is painful, but not unwelcome, and I flush when my pussy floods, lubricating its walls as if in preparation.
Lai wordlessly reaches between my legs as if he can read my mind, rubbing his fingers over my sex and mumbling something to himself. He allows the candle to drip on me again and again, until I'm covered in red wax, shivering and on the verge of begging him to stop even though I swore to myself I wouldn't.
And then, he walks away. He blows out the candle and passes it to a maid, his interest lost.
I breathe a sigh of relief, but before I can catch my breath, the next man approaches. It's Easton. He's offering me a beautiful, plump and velvety red rose.
My eyes meet his but I don't see warmth and kindness in his gaze. No, his dark eyes are almost completely black, and he slaps me with the rose, the thorns scratching me. I curse out loud, but every time I react to the pain, he hits me again and again, covering me in scratches from the rose's thorns. Soon enough, I realize he's testing me, forcing myself to stay quiet the next time the thorns brush against my skin.
"Good girl," he mutters when I only twitch when I get hurt. "You learn so fast."
One by one, the men test my limits. They toy with me. They pinch me. My nipples harden under the constant attention to them, my pussy dripping on the floor and making me so embarrassed I'm convinced death would be a better fate than this. I hate this town. I hate them all.
Finally, Dex stands before me. His eyes are thunderous, and I wonder what it's like for him to see me treated this way. He can't do anything to stop it, not while I'm under Father's roof. My only hope is that he wants me enough to fight... to bid on me, and make me his forever.
He doesn't say a word, his fingertips gliding over my cheek, over my Cupid's bow, down to my scratched and bruised tits. His touch is gentle and kinder than I've ever known it to be. I breathe a sigh of relief. He won't hurt me. Dex won't hurt me when everyone else has.
Instead, he kneels down next to me. He examines my pussy and I whimper, knowing he sees how wet and needy I am and being so embarrassed by it I want to just burst into tears.
"Please," I whisper instead. "Don't hurt me anymore."
He looks up into my eyes, his gaze hardening. Then, he brings his palm down on my pussy, slapping hard.
"Ow!"
"Shut up," Dex mutters. "We both know you love it."
I feel betrayed, broken and abused as he walks away from me after that single slap. I shouldn't have expected anything else. He always just wants to hurt me. I have no one on my side here, not even Dexter Booth. He doesn't care. Fuck knows if he'll even bid on me.
For the next few hours, I'm subjected to pleasure, torture and everything in between by the attendants of the auction. They pinch my nipples, slap me, scratch me, hurt me, give me brief bursts of pleasure that drive me insane. I want to scream, but I keep my mouth stubbornly shut, refusing to give them the satisfaction of a response.
Finally, time is almost up, but there's one last person in line - Audra's father.
He watches my expression change from fear to pure horror as his fingers glide over the gun on the table. No one else has picked that up before, and my stomach tightens into fearful knots as he picks it up, lazily walking closer and regarding me with morbid curiosity.
"Such a nice piece," he mutters, admiring the gun. "A revolver. I've shot with one plenty of times. Want to know what these kinds of guns are perfect for?"
I shut my eyes tightly, pretending he's not there, but he's determined to get a reaction from me. He kneels in front of me, opening the cylinder of the gun. There's a single bullet in there,. with five empty slots. Audra's father smirks at me, closing the cylinder and spinning it. My blood runs cold.
"Russian roulette, my darling. You want to play?"
It feels as if all the air has been sucked out of the room. I don't respond, but he grins, aiming the gun at my temple. My body tenses. I have a one-in-six chance of dying right here, right now, if he fires that gun.
"N-No," I manage to get out.
"You're scared? Poor little pet." He laughs and pulls the trigger.
My life doesn't flash in front of my eyes, but I feel myself go deathly still, anticipating the end. But it doesn't come. There was no bullet.
"Fuck," I breathe.
"Fuck indeed," Audra's father bellows, spinning again. "Let's give it another try."
"How about no." Dex appears next to me, his eyes stormy and his expression filled with rage. "You leave her alone."
"And who are you to tell me that, boy?" The man points his gun back at my temple and I shiver in anticipation. One-in-five chance now... The more he does this, the bigger the chance I'll die.
"P-Please," I mutter. "Stop h-him."
Dexter tackles the guy and suddenly there's the sound of a gunshot. Someone shrieks. The bullet hits the pyramid of champagne flutes on a table behind us, and they topple down, bubbly liquid fizzing and dripping everywhere.
If Dexter hadn't stopped that man, I'd be dead now.
"Alright, party's over." Father appears in the room and the two men from before pull Dex off Audra's father. "The auction begins right now."
I start crying then because the terror of what almost happened has finally gotten to me. I'm a mess, tears sliding down my face and my bottom lip quivering as the men go their separate ways. Now the real fear sets in. If Audra's father is capable of this, what the fuck is he going to do to me if he wins the auction?
Dexter has to win.
As my eyes meet his across the room, I see he's come to the same realization. His mouth tightens in a firm line and he nods at me as if to say he's got my back.
Father joins me on the stage, bellowing, "We'll start the bidding at one million."
Several paddles fly up. Audra's father. Dex. Some men I don't know. None of the boys bid, and I stare them down, hoping they feel fucking guilty for what they've done to me.
"One million and a half."
A few less paddles this time.
"Two and a half." This, from Audra's father.
"Three," Dex retaliates.
"Five." The prick smirks at my ex-fiance. "You won't win this one, boy. We both know I have more money."
"We'll see," Dex smiles coolly. "Seven."
"Ten," Audra's father hisses to the sound of outraged whispers in the crowd. I can't believe this is happening. I'm being sold like cattle, and I'm ashamed of the frisson of exci
tement that shoots up through my body as they fight over me.
The numbers go up and the tension in the room follows. Somehow, they're at fifteen now, and Audra's father and Dex are the only two left bidding. I can barely breathe. There's no sign that the older man will give up - he seems determined to get his hands on me, and I have no doubt he'll keep going with higher and higher bids. I know Dex has a lot of money, but he's single-handedly running his family business now.
"Twenty," Dex speaks up. "And I'll give you the reins of Booth Enterprises."
The room erupts in whispers, and Father ponders Dexter's words. "You'll step down as the CEO?"
"I'll leave," Dex gets out through gritted teeth. "I won't be a part of it anymore."
"Sold." Father slams the hammer down before Audra's dad can object. His expression is one of pure, unadulterated hatred for Dex, and the joy of winning over him.
I breathe a sigh of relief, all the while knowing I've cost Dexter everything.
And when I meet his dark, furious eyes, I know I'll spend the rest of my life paying for what he just did for me.
Chapter Twelve
Pandora
It's a day after the auction and I'm still trying to recover from the madness that took place in the banquet hall. Father has told me to pack my things. I had Belle's help, and I managed to gather a few things in a few hours. Leaving the Oakes Estate has left me in shambles. If I leave, it means I won't be able to help Minnie anymore. I won't be able to make the connections I'd hoped for with Brazen and Tianna. My father has pretty much declared me another man's property now.
As we sit in the limo driven by Kelley, I wonder whether Dex will be kinder or crueller to me now that I'm his property.
"I know what you're thinking," Father tells me coolly, and my eyes guiltily shoot to his. "You're hoping that Booth boy will be different. You're thinking you can make him fall in love with you, aren't you?"
"No," I mutter in response.
A Hurt So Sweet: Complete Dark Bully Romance Series Box Set: Elite of Eden Falls Prep Page 41
