3

Arianna’s POV:

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

“Vince, if you do not tell me who hit you, then I am not leaving here,” Talia said, touching Vincent’s chin and caressing his cheek. “Whoever touched you deserves to apologize. Tell me, so I can deal with them. Hmm?” She drew 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 side.”

That woman?

The way Vincent referred to me pierced my heart.

“Mr. Adam, do you want to lose your job?” Talia growled. “How dare you hit my boyfriend? Apologize to him now!” she ordered. She was twenty-two and didn’t have any respect for Mr. Adam.

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

Talia narrowed her eyes at me.

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

“Got it, ma’am,” he responded, like Talia was his madam.

“Do you hear my daughter?” Rose chimed in. “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,” her voice laced with venom.

“I won’t dare to make such a mistake next time, Madam,” Mr. Adam replied, and I recalled when he was working 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 to meet you at the restaurant. I want to know what this beggar came to do in my father’s house,” she pointed at me, as she turned to face me.

“All right. I will leave,” Vincent responded. “Don’t forget the high-end restaurant that we picked,” he reminded her, and she smiled.

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

Once in his car, Vincent shut the door and zoomed off. 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 my father’s legal wife now.

“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 didn’t 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?” she asked, and I looked up at her face, wondering where she was driving at.

“Yes, Ma,” I responded, trembling.

“Then you will have to work for it,” Rose said. “I have a job offer for you, and it involves a high paycheck. That’s if you are willing to sell this beautiful body of yours,” she smirked, an evil grin curled up her lips.

I frowned. “I cannot do that, Ma.”

“Then leave,” Rose spat. “You are not ready to save your mother's life. Don’t think we owe you anything. We don’t owe you and 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 eight million. I can find the remaining balance,” I begged.

“Eight million is a lot of money,” Rose said, her expression thoughtful. “But if you’re a virgin, I believe Don Milos will accept you and pay,” her lips curling into a evil smile once more.

“Don Milos?” I echoed the name, 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. Her arms wrapped across her chest in disagreement.

“No way, Talia. It’s not Don Gabriel Milos,” Rose explained. “It’s his dad, the old Don Adrian Milos. He has a kink for virgins, and Aria will be a good catch for him. He will pay ten million if she is a virgin.”

Rose smirked, and a wave of relief crossed Talia’s features.

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

I looked over at the two of them.

*Should I sell my body to save my mother's life? Will I 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 didn’t believe me. Instead, he cheated on me with my stepsister.

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

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

“Ma, are you sure that Don Adrian Milos will pay me that amount? I really need the money to save my mother's life,” I asked her, and she smiled.

“Of course,” Rose replied sweetly. “Don Adrian will pay you. You just have to please him. And do not forget, he likes it rough, hot and wild. He's into dark BDSM romance. Can you handle it?” she smirked, and I trembled at the thought of getting tied up and being abused.

Lowering my head, I stood before my stepmother.

“I don’t know, Ma,” I replied, my lips trembled. “When can I meet him? I have to think this through.”

Rose laughed. “If you agree, I can arrange for you to meet with Don Milos today. You only have to say the word yes.”

I sighed. “All right, Ma. I accept,” I replied, knowing that 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 wasn’t around at the moment. He was twenty-years-old, so he studied abroad.

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