Chapter 0002

RICHARD:

In the dark realm auction house, I sat in the audience with my father when my gaze fell on the young woman set up on the stage. I met her eyes—the same blue eyes of the pretty young woman Isabella brought to my 24th birthday party at my clubhouse. How was this possible?

I only arrived at the auction because my father wanted me to join in watching tonight’s auction and bidding.

However, when I saw those pretty blue eyes, I couldn’t look away.

I could perceive her innocence and felt the urge to protect her.

“Richard, do you desire to buy any of the women tonight? You can use her as your 24th birthday present,” my father, Mr. Wesley Henshaw, said.

“Dad…” I grumbled, looking at the six women annouced on the stage to be sold. None of them caught my eye except for Angela.

I was waiting for her to be sold.

I knew she was mine the moment I set my eyes on her. She was so beautiful, with long blonde hair and a pretty oval face.

“Richard,” my father called to my attention once more, snapping me out of my trance.

“Dad, I will choose when I see any of the women that catch my attention,” I mumbled, dressed in a black suit and seated beside my father in the auction room.

After I left my birthday party at the club, I arrived here to see how the auction went.

It wasn’t as though I was unaware of the things my father does for money and fun, but none of them had caught my eye before.

I wanted something different to define my style, uniqueness, and taste.

Once the host mentioned Angela, my heartbeat increased as I saw many bidders wanting to purchase her.

She wore the same blue dress that she had worn to my 24th birthday party, and it made me wonder: how did she get here?

Did Isabella put her younger sister up for sale?

Was Angela kidnapped?

There was no way Angela would come here willingly to be sold. She was sold against her will, but who brought her to this place?

There were many mafia lords, both young and old, all desiring to purchase Angela. Her skin glowed more than the rest of the women on the stage.

Her innocence was compelling, and so many of those men wanted to taste her.

I kept my cool as her bidding started at one million dollars.

She was worth more than gold.

“One million dollars!” The bidding started, rising until twenty million dollars.

I looked at Angela and raised my bid: fifty million dollars.

The hall fell into silence. My father, Mr. Wesley Henshaw, was the most feared mafia lord in Top Hills City.

“Fifty million dollars going? Fifty million dollars, anyone else?” the host asked, looking around the dark room, as only the stage was lit.

“Sold!” The host announced, and my father looked at me proudly.

“Congratulations, son. You won the deal. Welcome to the dark realm auction. You will have to brand her as your property so that other men will keep from touching her,” my father said as he sat next to me and exhaled a cloud of cigarette.

“I will,” I replied calmly.

After leaving the auction room to complete Angela’s payment, I was sure that she didn’t know who had purchased her.

She had passed out from the shock, her hands and legs were tied, and her lips were taped.

“Take her to my car. She is going home with me,” I instructed my assistant.

“Richard, are you sure about this? She should have been taken to the harem for the women to train her. She is inexperienced,” my father said, standing next to me in the car park after I had completed the payment for Angela’s bidding.

“I will personally train her, Father. You don’t have to worry about that,” I replied, my voice cold as I didn’t bother to look back at my father’s face.

“Richard, remember the rule. You are not to fall in love with this woman or develop any feelings for her. She is your property—only to be used and discarded at any time. And once you are done with her, you should discard her if you don’t want her again,” my father reminded me coldly. He and my mother were divorced because she couldn’t withstand his lifestyle or obeyed his rule.

Dad used women and saw them as objects to purchase, own, break, and discard at any moment.

I nodded. “Don’t worry yourself, Father. I will have her branded and follow the rules.”

“Good. Enjoy your birthday night, and see you tomorrow at the meeting.” My father walked away to his black car, waiting and flanked by masculine bodyguards.

I got into mine as the pretty blonde woman was still asleep.

She hadn’t woken up yet from the horror she was in, and I knew she would be shocked once she awoke and saw me as her new master.

I anticipated how she would react.

“Boss, where are you going to?” My assistant, Derek Tyler, asked me as he stood next to my car, acting as my driver.

“I am going home. You start the car; let me stay in the rear with her in case she awakes at the security checkpoint,” I replied, tossing my car keys into Derek’s hands. He was 25, a year older than me.

“Alright, boss,” Derek answered. He got into the car, and I took a seat in the back next to the pretty blonde woman who was fast asleep.

I allowed her feminine citrus scent to envelop me.

As I sat next to her, she moaned and shifted, making my muscles tense.

I raised her head gently and placed her sleeping head on my thighs, as she was still in shock from the whole ordeal.

Her wavy blonde hair felt so soft and warm in my hands as I ran my fingers through it.

“Get going,” I ordered Derek, seeing him look at the back of the car through the rearview mirror.

Derek averted his gaze and asked, “Forgive me, boss, but isn’t she Isabella’s sister? How did she get sold tonight?”

“I don’t know, but she is mine now. Keep your eyes away from her,” I warned him coldly, and Derek replied, “Understood, boss.” Once he started my car, he drove off to my new house.

Coming of age and becoming the new boss at 24 felt good. As the only son of my father, he gave me money, power, and influence throughout all of Top Hills. I was respected like a prince, and I knew Isabella’s parents were part of the mafia but of lower ranks.

Two years ago I met Isabella at an event, and we got along because she was beautiful. We dated, but surprisingly, I haven’t had sex with her even though we’ve kissed. I limited doing things and made women beg and yearn for my touch.

However, during my 24th birthday, Isabella brought her younger sister. I knew she had a sister because Isabella talks a lot, even when I don’t ask her anything. That’s why I don’t want to keep her or marry her.

However, when my gaze fell on Angela, I could see her innocence—she looked out of place, like she didn’t belong at my party.

I wanted Angela; I wanted to have a taste of her seductive body, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

She whimpered against my thighs as I continued to run my fingers through her hair.

Then, her blue eyes snapped open and locked with my intense black ones. She quickly raised her head away from my thighs, shivering.

“You—Richard… What are you doing in this car with me? How come? Was it a dream?” she asked me, trembling like a leaf in wind.