Chapter 2: Hurts So Good

Lily POV

"My price is the same as all the companies you own and also your life."

He slipped one hand around my waist and the other holding my hair. "Your eyes remind me of someone. She had the same hateful gaze to me.”

Yeah, remember who that person was, Jaxon. You also need to remember the pain she went through to become the person she is today. If you can't remember, then I'll help you remember slowly.

"Someone very precious or someone you hate so much?"

"Both." He let go of another strap of my dress which made me need to hold my dress up to keep it from sagging. "You think I won't recognize what was mine, Lily Valenti?"

I couldn't help but laugh when he called me his. "Since when have I ever given myself to you so that I am yours?" I pushed him away. "You took me by force from my family."

"Besides taking territory and power, I always take something from my enemies as a badge of honor. You, the heiress, were the only one I could take back then because the others were useless."

How dare he said my brother and father were useless! They are the family I have, my world! He should be taught a lesson so that not only his brain is useful but also his mouth and heart.

"So, I'm a symbol to you? That means I'm valuable to you. Isn't that so?"

"A symbol that I can't hate even if the effort to get it is painful."

I'm not an item. I am not something that can be passed around and claimed at will. I am a living individual standing on my own feet. After the destruction of my family, I am not the old Lily anymore, who could only cry and be frightened when mistreated.

"Why did you change your face?"

"Because I hated the old me. Seeing my old face always reminds me of you."

He moved quickly to lock my hands behind my body. Not stopping there, he also tied my hands with his tie. "You still remember everything?"

Of course stupid! Who doesn't remember being dragged to his house late at night after getting the news from the call that my brother and father died from being attacked by him! Even after being taken to his house, he locked me up in the basement. He didn't let me interact with anyone but himself. I didn't even see any bodyguards or maids, just him. He was the one who fed me.

"I only changed faces, not memories. My answer is pretty clear, right?"

He suddenly cupped my face with his right hand and made me look up to look at him. The smell of cigarettes and alcohol mixed together made me cough. "You still haven't changed. You're still the Lily I know."

"You're dead wrong. The Lily you know is dead. The one in front of you now is Lily Basil not Lily Valenti."

"Let's prove it."

I never thought that his 'proof' would be to touch my breast and squeeze it. Because I thought he would do something crazier than that.

I smiled wryly. "How is it? Different, huh?"

"This is just the beginning. When I do it properly, I'll find Lily Valenti again."

He squeezed my breast again, this time tighter and greedier. I had to catch my breath so he wouldn't get even more excited if I moaned. After all, he knew that my breast was a sensitive spot of my body that he often played with when he locked me up in the past.

"I told you that I'm not Lily Valenti!" This time I put all my strength into kicking his dick. It was a fitting reply for being disrespectful to me tonight.

He tried to manage his expression while standing up straight. He never wanted to look weak in front of me at all. He always wanted to show that he was the one in control.

"Do you have a boyfriend? Husband? Kids?"

"Does it benefit you to know that?"

"I guess not. Just marry me."

"What? You want to marry the woman who just kicked your dick?"

"I need you to marry me. The wedding should be made public so everyone knows about it."

"For what?"

"Business. I need an heiress to a pure-blood mafia family to expand my empire. You are the only candidate who meets that criteria. So I'm asking you to marry me on contract."

"You can't rule over me anymore."

"I can." He pulled my dress so I fell into his arms. Then he turned my body so I faced the wall. He lifted the lower part of my dress. "Look, you haven't removed the label I gave you. That means you still belong to me. I branded you and you must obey your owner."

Damn! I forgot to remove the tattoo he made. Not because I couldn't move on, but because I made it a motivation for revenge. Because that tattoo will keep reminding me of my goal when I want to give up.

"You're so confident about what you're saying. Do you think you're valuable to me?"

"I don't know and will never know."

Let's make it clear that I'm the one in charge here, not you, Jaxon. "Why are you so obsessed with me? Because of my face? Because of my body? Can't you find a face and body like mine in other women?"

"You're different. Even if there are similar ones, they are not as challenging as you. And I like challenges."

What exactly was his purpose in asking me to marry him? I'm sure the reasons he gave weren't the real ones. He's a man full of tricks, so believing him in the first sentence would be foolish.

"Are you willing to accept my offer?"

"Only if I get something in return," I replied firmly.

He smirked. "Whatever you want. But before you decide, I want to tell you that I have your father's life in my hands. So think carefully about my offer. Marry me or let your father leave you forever.”