Bruised

Aurelia's POV"Me?" I ask as I stare at the man who raised me, dead in the eye. "You put me up as payment for your debt?" I ask, my voice soft and filled with hurt.He opens his mouth to speak and I look at Stephano. "There has to be another way. If your boss could just give me a few more days, I can--" I say but I am cut off by my father's voice. "It is done, Aurelia." He says softly and I completely lose my mind."YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE THAT!" I yell and he jumps a little. "You don't get to decide anything." I say before turning back to Stephano. My heart is racing as all the thoughts of what these people would do with me runs through my head."Please, please let me talk to your boss. I can fix this." I say as the first tear streams down my face. Stephano turns around and walks back to the chair he sat in, before picking up his coat."He is not going to change his mind, Aurelia. I owe him too much money. He was going to have them kill us. " My father speaks again and I look at him,

Aurelia's POVA soft knock pulls me out of my slumber and I feel an almost immediate pounding in my head. A groan leaves my mouth and I rub my temples.The door is pushed open and I lay still, not wanting to face my new reality. "Miss Aurelia. Are you awake?" A feminine voice asks and I slowly cover myself with the blanket. "I have been sent to inform you that the doctor would be arriving soon. You need to get ready, ma'am." She speaks again and I open my eyes slowly.A soft sigh leaves me and I slowly sit up. "Thank you." I say still not looking at her because I know my eyes are swollen from all the crying. "You're welcome, ma'am. Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes. I will be back to get you." She says before leaving and shutting the door behind her.I throw the covers off my body and get up, not wanting to get into trouble for taking too long. With what I saw last night, the lack of humanity in that man's eyes, I'm pretty sure he would just kill me on the spot if I didn't do wha

Aurelia's POVMy hands are trembling as we head up to the nightmare that awaits me. The elevator music that is softly playing makes me even more nervous. It acts as a taunting ringtone to a call that I am desperately trying to avoid and the beat blocker that I took earlier does nothing to surpress the nervous couring through my body.The ding of the elevator brings me back and we step out into an modernly styled penthouse. Everything is sleek and it all looks expensive. I try to distract myself by scanning the art on the walls but it does nothing to calm me down.A tall man walks around the corner and he smiles at us. "Stephano." He says and Stephano simply nods, his face neutral. The man's eyes shift to me and I look down. "And who is this lovely lady?" He asks reaching out and lifting my head up with a soft hand under my chin. His smile is unsettling and his touch makes me want to throw up.Forcing myself not to pull away, I look at him and he smiles. The man is handsome and he has