2.

Saturday arrived too quickly. The invitation card arrived at her doorstep once she confirmed that she would attend the event with Mia.

A chauffeur picked her up at exactly seven. She didn’t wear anything fancy, just her usual worn-out jeans and a black t-shirt.

Before leaving, she called Leo in the hospital and promised him that she would save him and that he shouldn’t worry about anything.

The hotel they arrived at looked less like a building and more like a palace. Crystal chandeliers and an endless marble floor made her dizzy. Unusually, it was so silent until she entered the place where the auction was going to take place.

Middle-aged to older men in tailored suits and a few women were seated. Cynthia wanted to run, but she almost did, until she remembered Leo sleeping in his hospital bed.

She stayed. She’s not here wholeheartedly, and she dumped her conscience in a black box.

“Cynthia,” Mia's voice got her attention.

She took her to the other side and asked how her brother is doing.

“He’s doing okay, but the surgery has to be done soon,” Cynthia said.

“Don’t worry, today you will find a solution,” she promised and hugged her.

Cynthia is happy to hear that, but at the same time, she’s scared of doing this.

“Am I doing the right thing?” she asks.

“I don’t say this is the right thing, but you’re doing what you can to save your brother. That’s the right thing you’re doing. Don’t worry, these event organizers will give us full protection,” she said, “I have been with them for the past two years, this is the simplest job that pays you well. Just pray that someone should consider you,”

Cynthia nodded.

“Why don’t you change into something good,”

Before she could protest, Mia took her to the backstage, where dozens of women were preparing. Some laughed nervously. Some adjusted their makeup. Others discussed the men expected to attend.

They say one of them owns half the city.

And then she heard another guest has a private island.

Apparently, everyone here is rich, the other girl said.

Cynthia listened, now she wanted someone to pick her for god’s sake. To earn a quarter of a million in one night, this is the only way.

Her palms were sweating. She hated the dress they'd given her. Hated the makeup. Hated herself for being there.

A woman with a clipboard approached.

"Miss Hart?"

Cynthia looked up.

The woman smiled politely.

"You've been selected."

Cynthia blinked.

"What?"

“The bidding has concluded.”

“But I haven’t met anyone,”

“You don’t have to. The gentleman made his decision before the introductions."

A chill ran down her spine.

“What gentleman?”

“I'm afraid I can't disclose his identity now, you will meet him soon, and we will discuss the things later,” she said.

Cynthia sighed nervously.

“This is insane,”

The woman handed her a folder. Inside was a contract. At the bottom, the amount. Cynthia stared. Read it again and again

Enough for Leo's surgery. Enough to pay every debt. Enough to change their lives forever. Her vision blurred.

“This has to be a mistake.”

“It isn't,” she said, “The actual amount is higher; we took a commission for our organization.”

“Okay,” Cynthia nodded because she didn’t want anything more.

“Who is he?” Cynthia again asks. She’s slightly curious whether he’s old or too old and what kind of man he is.

The woman smiled.

"You will meet him,”

Not helpful. Not funny. Terrifying. Cynthia swallowed.

"Why me?"

The woman hesitated. Then said softly,

"He specifically requested Cynthia Hart after seeing the names of the participants."

The sound of her own surname sent an inexplicable shiver down her spine.

Hart. A name she'd inherited from a father she'd never met. A name that meant nothing.

So why... why did it suddenly feel like this could be the reason?

“Please put your signature here,” she said, and Cynthia did in every place she showed.

The woman closed the folder.

“The car is waiting.”

“What? Should I go now?”

“Yes, once you sign the contract, from that moment on, you should accompany your bidder,” she said.

Cynthia looked toward the grand hall.

“I want to talk to my friend,”

“You mean, Mia?”

Cynthia nodded.

“You don’t have to worry, she’s busy,” she said.

Cynthia couldn’t say anything, she picked up her phone, changed into her jeans and t-shirt, and made her way towards the exit. Toward the life she had known.

Then she thought of Leo and walked without feeling guilty. Once she’s with that man, she will receive the money, and she can send it to the hospital.

Ten minutes later, she was seated in the back of a sleek black car speeding into the night. The same car she came in.

The driver never spoke. The windows were tinted. The city lights gradually disappeared. Without sleep for the past six months, somehow she dozed off on their way, and when she woke up, she was far away from everything. She looked at the time, it’s half past eleven.

Ahead, somewhere in the darkness, a mansion stood waiting.

She got down and walked inside the palace kind of house. It’s huge and better than the hotel she walked into earlier.

And inside it, a man who had chosen her without ever meeting her was standing at the top of the stairs.

A man whose face she hadn't seen before.

He’s not too old or middle-aged. To her surprise, he’s young, and that’s what scares her. Because what would this young guy possibly want from her? Why does he need a companion when he could have countless girlfriends with all the money he had?