Chapter 001

Christina’s POV

The unbearable ache of a developing headache was the first thing my brain registered as soon as my eyes slid open, before being assaulted by the bright lights of the fancy chandeliers hanging above me. I squinted my eyes but this only intensified my headache, making me wince from the pain as I tried to adjust to the glaring lights. A few minutes passed before I opened them again. This time, the assault was less and I began to notice my environment.

I was lying on a flat surface with my legs dangling down the sides. I must have been in this position for quite some time because I could feel the ache in my thighs and my lower back from how flat they were pressing against the surface. But it was when I attempted to adjust my posture that I noticed my legs were bound and so were my hands, stretched taut above my head.

A frown marred my face and my brows furrowed in confusion. I turned my head to the side and noticed I was lying on the lid of a piano and it seemed my limbs were bound to the legs of the instrument. I glanced around the big room, but all I saw was a spiral staircase a fair distance away from me and a door close to the stairs.

I stared down at myself but my eyes immediately widened in horror and my heart slammed hard against my chest, my stomach curling in anxiety. I was naked! But not just that, I could see love bites on my skin, around my ribs and lower stomach from the awkward angle I’d looked down at my body.

“Oh God,”

What happened? Why was I strapped to a piano in an empty room? I wracked my brain for a reasonable answer but I vaguely recalled the familiar face of a man undressing me in a dark room while I was lying on a flat surface but I couldn’t tell if it was the piano, nor could I properly recall who the man was. But I know he touched me and the memories of the pain I felt the moment he penetrated me filled my head. I craned my neck just to look at my lower body again and truly, the stains of dried blood were there, between my legs. Fear coursed through me, my heart racing with angst at the reality that a stranger had taken my virginity, without my consent but my thoughts were disrupted by the creaking of a door. Instantly, my eyes darted in its direction to see two women standing by the door close to the stairs, both dressed in maid uniforms. One appeared to be in her late forties with her hair pulled back in a tight sleek bun, while the younger one who seemed to be more around my age had hers in a ponytail.

My heart that had been calm for the few minutes I was distracted, resumed palpitating wildly at the sight of these strangers and once again, I began wondering where I was, and who the stranger I’d remembered from last night was.

“Good morning, Ms. Bell,” the older woman greeted with a cheerful smile on her face as she approached me with the younger one beside her.

I blinked, at a loss for words. There was so much revolving in my head.

The women didn’t seem surprised to see me there, naked and that only heightened my anxiety. Wordlessly, they proceeded to untie me.

“H-Hi, please where am I and who are you?” I managed to ask, with my heart practically in my stomach from fright but I got no response. Their silence only scared me more.

“Where am I and what am I doing here?” I tried again but I was met with silence as they untied me.

As soon as I was free, I jumped down from the piano, ignoring the dull ache from my core and my quivering legs, and tried to run but the older woman grabbed me by the arm, holding me firmly.

“Let me go,” I screeched, struggling against her hold but it was to no avail.

The girl grabbed my other arm and they pulled me towards the door they’d emerged from.

*****

An hour later, I was standing before an oak door, dressed in a simple sundress and sandals with my auburn hair flowing down my shoulders. The two maids from earlier were standing beside me on each side. After forcefully taking me from the large empty room earlier on, they’d led me to a big extravagantly furnished room, and dolled me up after giving me a thorough bath. Thereafter, they led me to this door, where I was hoping to see whoever was in charge.

My heart was racing erratically with anxiety and my nerves were threatening to swallow me. The older maid tapped lightly on the door twice before turning the knob and it opened to a large modern office, lit with bright white light like the rest of the house. I didn’t have the time to ask who we were going to meet or to even gather my thoughts before I was pushed into the room and the door was closed behind me. The sound of it slamming shut had me jumping forward, and my heart dropped. I barely gathered myself before my eyes landed on the man seated behind the huge oak desk in the middle of the room, his piercing gray eyes staring intently at me.

Those cold eyes. I recognized them. From a month ago, and then last night. Suddenly, as though I was falling down memory lane, everything began to make sense.

Scott Reid. He’d been at my house last night, and he was the man from my first memory. I remember it all now.

The first time I’d laid eyes on the renowned CEO of the Ashton Reid Group of Companies was about a month ago when I’d stopped by my home to see my dad. He’d been on his knees profusely begging Scott that he’d repay the debt he owed but Scott had ruthlessly given him an ultimatum to pay up before his next visit. My dad had agreed and although I’d been shocked to hear my penniless father make such a promise, I had hidden beside our neighbor’s house so I wouldn’t be seen. I was already in so much debt all thanks to my father’s gambling and I didn’t need to be thrown to another of the loan sharks he was owing. But last night, I received a call from my dad to return home urgently. He’d sounded like he was on a death bed. Scared to lose my only family member, I closed early from the coffee shop where I worked in the evenings and headed home in a rush. But surprisingly, the man was in good shape. He asked me to have a glass of wine with him and he had something important to tell me. Again, I was surprised but I agreed, knowing it’d be months before we’d have another father-daughter bonding time due to my busy schedule and his irredeemable gambling curse.

We were having our second glass when Scott barged in on us. The last thing I recalled was his men pulling me out of the building while my father tried to pacify him.

“You!” I pointed an accusing finger at him, my face contorting with anger.

The realization that I’d fallen into the predatory arms of my kidnapper and had surrendered my body to him made my skin crawl with disgust.

“Step forward and take a seat,” he ordered in that clipped cold voice that somehow sent a fearful shiver down my spine while at the same time, fuelling my rage.

The slender woman dressed in a black business suit standing beside his desk suddenly caught my eyes and I glanced at her but her stoic expression met my furious one. I scoffed but made my way to the leather chair opposite his and took my seat, needing an explanation for his actions.

As soon as I was seated, the woman pushed an open document to me.

“The terms of our contract. Go through it,” Scott spoke, throwing me into a state of further confusion.

“W-what?”

“I believe you’re well educated, Christina,” he said my name in a smooth drawl that could have sent shivers down my spine, if not that I hated his guts.

Ignoring his snide remark, my eyes browsed the first page but the information on it had my eyes widening in shock.

“What?” It was stated that my father has given me up to be Scott Reid’s surrogate for a year, to cover his debt.

“As the contract states…”

“Oh spare me all that,” I yelled at him, my anger getting the best of me. “You're a lying piece of shit. Is this your plan to blackmail my father into paying his debt? You think he’d sell off his only child to you as your plaything?”

Ignoring me, he signaled to the woman I’d concluded must be his assistant, and she pushed a phone towards me but I wasn’t ready for what I saw.

It was a video of my dad signing the contract for me to be Scott Reid’s surrogate with a smile of joy and satisfaction on his face. My chest constricted with pain and betrayal, as bile rose in my throat and tears threatened to drop from my eyes.

“You see, Christina, you’re nothing more than another property for him to gamble with.”

I blinked back my tears as my eyes met with his cold ones. I was still trying to process what I’d just seen when his next words had the reality of the situation crashing into me.

“From today, I am your master.”