Chapter 3

(Arianna's POV)

“Babe, it’s no one. I am fine. I promise you,” Vincent replied, kissing Talia’s cheek, and she narrowed her eyes at me.

“Vince, if you do not tell me who hit you, then I am not leaving here. Whoever touched you deserves to apologize. Tell me so I can deal with them. Mm,” Talia said, touching Vincent’s chin and caressing his cheek. She moved closer to him and placed a warm kiss on his lips.

Vincent smiled and pointed at Mr. Adam. “He hit me. He took that woman’s place.”

That woman? The way Vincent referred to me pierced my heart.

“Mr. Adam, do you want to lose your job? How dare you hit my boyfriend? Apologize to him now!” Talia ordered. She was 22 and showed no respect for Mr. Adam.

“Miss, I was only trying to protect Arianna. I didn’t know he was your boyfriend. I am deeply sorry,” Mr. Adam apologized, bowing his head, and Talia narrowed her eyes at me.

“Let me make this clear to you. The next time you dare to lay your filthy hands on my boyfriend, consider yourself fired!” Talia declared, and Mr. Adam nodded.

“Got it, ma’am,” he replied, as if Talia were his boss.

“Do you hear my daughter? She is the only heiress of the Maddox Corporation. If you go against my daughter, you are also going against her father and me, so I will let this slide,” Rose chimed in, her voice laced with venom.

“I won’t dare to make such a mistake next time, Madam,” Mr. Adam apologized, and I recalled when he worked for my mother. She treated him nicely.

“Good.” Rose smiled as she chewed the bubble gum in her mouth before her gaze turned to me. “So, why are you here?”

Vincent looked at me with a different gaze, before he turned to leave the house with Talia.

“Babe, let’s go,” Vincent said, his tone soft, but Talia refused to leave.

“No, Vince. You go. I will come meet you at the restaurant. I want to know what this beggar came to do in my father’s house,” Talia said, turning to face me.

“Alright. I will leave. Don’t forget the high-end restaurant that we picked,” Vincent reminded her, and Talia smiled at him.

“Of course. I won’t forget. Bye, sweetie,” she waved at him, while Vincent hopped into his black car. He didn’t spare me a single glance.

Once in his car, Vincent shut the door and zoomed off, and I breathed out heavily.

“Arianna, you were banished from this family four years ago. Why did you return?” Rose asked, her expression chilling.

“Ma, I need to see my dad. It’s urgent,” I pleaded, knowing she was now my father’s legal wife.

“Why?” Rose asked, laughing. “Do you think that if you crawl back here, your father will welcome you with open arms? You were banished. That means he doesn’t want to see you.”

“That’s right,” Talia chimed in. “Dad already disowned you. So leave here now.”

“No,” I pleaded as I fell to my knees. “This involves my mother's life. Let me see my dad, please...” I begged, clasping my hands together as I gazed at them. I wouldn’t have knelt down, but my pride did not matter to me.

“Get up and leave here, bìtch!” Talia cursed at me.

“Let her be,” Rose chimed in, her expression thoughtful.

“Do you need money?” Rose asked, and I looked up at her, wondering where she was going with this.

“Yes, ma,” I responded, trembling.

“Then you will have to work for it. I have a job offer for you, and it involves a high paycheck. That is, if you are willing to sell this beautiful body of yours,” Rose said, and I frowned.

“I cannot do that.”

“Then leave. You are not ready to save your mother. Don’t think we owe you anything. We don’t owe you or your wretched mom. Your dad paid her all the salary he owed her. He even sponsored you through nursing school. What more do you both want?”

“I need only 8 million. I can find the remaining balance,” I begged.

“Eight million is a lot of money. But if you are a virgin, I believe Don Milos will accept you and pay,” Rose said, her lips curling in a smile.

“Don Milos?” I asked, my eyes widening in shock. Even Talia looked shocked.

“Mom, do not tell me that you are planning to give Arianna to Don Gabriel Milos to marry her,” Talia murmured, frowning.

“No way. It’s not Don Gabriel Milos. It’s his dad, the old Don Gabriel Milos. He has a kink for virgins, and Aria will be a good catch for him. He will pay 10 million if she is a virgin,” Rose said, smiling, and a wave of relief crashed over Talia’s features.

“That sounds better. So what do you say, sis?” she smirked.

I looked over at the two of them. Should I sell my body to save my mother's life? Would I really get the money as promised?

The thought of sleeping with an old man to get the money made my tummy churn. But then I recalled Vincent’s betrayal. I had already told him that my dad was Felix Maddox, but Vincent had not believed me. Instead, he cheated on me with my stepsister.

Thinking about Rose’s offer and how she said that my dad refused to see me, my brows furrowed.

“Arianna, we do not have all day to stand with you. As you can see, we are heading somewhere. So make your decision,” Rose’s voice cut through my thoughts, and I looked up at her face.

“Ma, are you sure that Don Milos will pay me that amount? I really need the money,” I asked her, and she smiled.

“Of course. Don will pay you. You just have to please him. And do not forget, he likes it rough, and he is also into dark BDSM romance. Can you handle it?” Rose smirked, and I trembled at the thought of getting tied up and used.

Lowering my head, I stood before my stepmother.

“I don’t know, Ma. When can I meet him? I have to think this through,” I asked Rose, and she smiled.

“If you agree, I can arrange for you to meet Don Milos today. You only have to say the word: yes,” Rose said, her tone sharp, and I sighed.

“Alright, Ma. I accept,” I replied, knowing I had no other option.

Mr. Adam gazed at me with pity. He had witnessed how my father had brutally kicked my mother and me out of the house.

My father was already cheating with Rose, and so he already had Talia as his second daughter and a son named Brandy. But Brandy was not around at the moment. He was 20-year-old, so he studied abroad.

“Just a moment,” Rose said, then she pulled out her phone and dialed a contact.