Chapter 2

~ RICHARD

At the Dark Realm Auction House, I sat in the front VIP section with my father when my gaze landed on the six women set on the stage.

However, I felt stunned when I met her eyes—the same blue eyes of the pretty young woman Isabella brought to my twenty-fourth birthday party at my clubhouse. How was this possible?

I had only arrived at the auction with my father as he wanted me to accompany him to witness tonight's auction and bidding.

Seeing those enchanting blue eyes, I couldn't look away.

I could smell 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 twenty-fourth birthday present," my father, Mr. Wesley Henshaw, said.

"Dad…" I grumbled, looking at the women set up on the stage to be sold. None of them caught my eyes except for Angela.

I waited for her to be sold.

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

"Richard," my father called to get my attention and snap 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 auctioning room.

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

It wasn't that I was unaware of the things my father did for money and fun, but none of them caught my eyes.

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

Once the auctioneer 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 twenty-fourth birthday party, and it raised questions in my mind about how she got 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. Someone had sold her off against her will, but who brought her to this place?

Many mafia lords, both young and old, desired 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 it reached twenty million dollars.

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

The hall fell silent. My father, Mr. Wesley Henshaw, was the most powerful mafia boss in Top Hills City.

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

"Sold!" the auctioneer announced, and my father looked at me proudly.

"Congratulations, son. You won the deal. Welcome to the dark realm. You will have to brand her as yours so that others will keep away from touching her," my father said, sitting next to me as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Got it, Dad," I replied.

After I left the auctioning room to complete Angela's payment, I was certain she didn't know who had purchased her.

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

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

"Richard, are you sure about this? She would 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 Angela's payment.

"Father, I will personally train her. You don't have to worry about that," I replied, my voice cold as I didn't bother to look back at his 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 whenever you want. Once you're done with her, you should discard her if you don't want her again," my father reminded me of the cold reality. He and my mother were divorced because she couldn't withstand his lifestyle.

Dad used women and viewed 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 I'll see you tomorrow at the meeting," my father said. He walked away to his black car, 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 had endured, 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?" my assistant, Derek Tyler, asked me, standing next to my black car as my driver.

"I'm going home. You start the car and let me stay in the rear with her in case she wakes up at the security checkpoint," I said, tossing my car keys into Derek's hands. He was twenty-five and a year older than me.

"Alright, boss," Derek answered. He got into the driver's seat, and I took a seat at the back next to the pretty blonde woman, who was fast asleep.

I allowed her feminine scent of citrus to envelop me.

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

I raised her sleeping head gently and placed it on my thighs, as she remained 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 as I caught him looking at the back of the car through the rearview mirror.

Derek averted his gaze and apologized, "Forgive me, boss, but isn't she Isabella's sister? How did she get sold tonight?"

"I don't know, but she's mine now, and keep your eyes away from her," I warned coldly, and Derek nodded.

"Understood, boss." Derek started my car and drove off to my new house.

Coming of age and becoming the boss at twenty-four felt good. As the only son of my father, he gave me money, power, and influence throughout Top Hills. I commanded respect like a prince, and I knew Isabella's parents were part of the mafia but held lower ranks.

Two years ago, I met Isabella at a charity event, and we got along because she was beautiful. We dated, but surprisingly, I never had sex with her even though we had kissed. I limited my actions and made the women beg and yearn for my touch.

However, during my twenty-fourth birthday, Isabella brought her younger sister. I knew she had a sister because Isabella talked a lot, even when I didn't ask her anything. That's why I didn't want to keep her or marry her.

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

I wanted Angela. I wanted to taste her, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from hers.

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

Just then, her blue eyes snapped open and locked with my intense black orbs.

She swiftly raised her head away from my thighs, shivering.

"You, Richard… What are you doing inside this car with me? How come? Was it a dream?" she asked me, trembling like a leaf in the gale.