Chapter 3

Angela's POV:

After I was sold off for 50 million dollars, I fainted. When I awoke, I shuddered to see my head resting on someone's thigh.

My blue eyes snapped open as memories flooded back—Isabella had declared I would be sold as a sex slave to a mafia boss. Terror gripped me; thinking I had been taken against my will.

However, my blue eyes locked on him—my elder sister's boyfriend.

How?

Richard stared at me calmly, his gaze unwavering from mine as his thin lips pressed into a firm line, refusing to explain anything.

I glanced at my chest and sighed with relief that I still wore my blue dress.

But how had I ended up in a car with him?

How had I ended up in the same car as Richard Henshaw? Was he the man who had purchased me?

"Please, stop the car. Let me go home, please," I begged Richard, but the car driver ignored me. My words fell on deaf ears.

"Am I a ghost? Was I killed?"

I touched my legs and pinched myself, wincing at the pain. Richard seized my hands, yanking them away from my legs.

"What are you doing, trying to hurt yourself, huh?" His voice emerged hot, rough, and alluring.

"No," I whispered, trembling as I struggled to comprehend how I had ended up in a car with him.

"Please, let me go home. Why are you the one taking me? Where are we going?" I demanded, barely recognizing the road his driver navigated.

"You belong to me now, princess. And you shouldn't think you can leave my sight or return to your parents," Ruched declared, and my jaw dropped.

"How? Were you the one who purchased me?" I finally demanded, trembling as I stared at his handsome dark face.

"What does it look like to you? You were auctioned at the dark realm auction, and I purchased you. So you should be the one answering my questions, not the other way around. How did you end up there? The auction house doesn't sell illegal stuff. It only means you willingly went there to be sold." Richard clasped my hands, which were still tied together and untied them.

"No. I didn't want to be sold. I refuse to agree to be sold to anyone, and you do not own me," I shot back, glaring at him defiantly.

"I see," Richard muttered and looked away just as the car veered into another turn.

"Do you know who I am?" Richard demanded, ignoring my face as he fished out a cigarette, lit the end, and started smoking.

"You're Richard Henshaw. My elder sister's boyfriend," I replied, and he smirked.

"Apart from that. Do you know what I do for a living?" Richard pressed, his cold voice making my heart quiver.

"Um, no, I don't know. But Isabella said you are a mafia lord's son, and your father is Wesley Henshaw," I replied, and he nodded.

"Good. Since you know who my father is, then you already know me too. I bought you tonight, and I do not care how you ended up putting yourself up for sale, but I must warn you. Even your parents can't take you away from me. They know the rules of the mafia in this Top Hills City, and my family is the number one mafia boss in this city. So heed my warning, little princess. You are not to leave my house or try to escape. I will have you branded on your chest so that you bear my name wherever you go," Richard warned as he smoked his cigarette.

"No. I don't want to be sold. I never wanted anything to do with you. Isabella misunderstood everything. She thought I was trying to steal you from her. Please, let me go home. My sister loves you. Don't brand me. I cannot become your sex slave," I cried, pleading with Richard.

I felt a little relief that Richard was the one who had bought me, so maybe I could return home, right?

"Don't touch me!" Richard smacked my hands away from his hands as I reached out pleadingly. He glared at me.

"Do you want me to have you here in this car? Do you want to experience your first time in this car, huh?" Richard glared, and I shrank away from him, gulping hard.

"No. I don't want it. I don't want you," I mumbled, and he smiled.

"You will. Definitely not now." Richard reached to touch my hair, but I raised my hands and smacked his away.

The car lurched to a halt, and I peered out the tinted window.

"We have arrived home. Welcome home, my princess," Richard said as he extinguished his cigarette.

"Don't call me that. My name is Angela Moraga, not princess," I snapped through clenched teeth, and Richard smiled.

"I know. And you don't have to correct me. Come out now." Richard exited the car first, and dread coursed down my spine.

I recalled that my phone was in my handbag, left in Isabella's car. How could I reach my parents?

I knew my father's phone number and planned to call him. Though my parents had traveled for a business trip to Los Angeles, and I didn't know how they would react to my absence from home.

Would they search for me? Would they rescue me from Richard's grip?

How dare Richard Henshaw call me his property? I couldn't imagine sleeping with the same man my sister had been intimate with.

I wanted nothing to do with Richard Henshaw.

So many young women craved him, but I yearned to attend Top Hills University, to study medicine, and become a surgeon.

Tears welled in my eyes as the driver exited the car and yanked the door open.

Richard had already strode away, and I saw men in black bow and welcome him as he approached the front of his mansion.

Did Richard own this magnificent house? I wondered as the driver ordered, "Come out. And do not think you can run away. Master Richard has been nice to bring you here instead of taking you straight to the harem."

"Mm.…" My brows furrowed, puzzled by the man's words.

I recalled I wasn't the only one sold. Other young women had been auctioned, and Richard claimed the auction was legal, meaning they had agreed to sell themselves.

Was that the truth?

What if they had been kidnapped and sold like me?

I silently trailed the man who led me into the luxurious white mansion.