Price For Freedom Novels & Stories

"Okay. So what are you going to do now?" "Leave the country." "Again?" "Yeah. There's nothing left for me here." I looked at the suitcase I had packed and bought a one-way ticket to Damaria. I took everything that belonged to me, except for the birthday gift I had originally planned to give Chandler. The last time I had dinner with the Armstrongs, I'd been afraid he would think I still had feelings for him, so I didn't give it to him. Now, it was useless, so I handed it over to Duncan.

"I agree with Erica's assessment. We have more than enough. The showing will be free to the public." "No. You need to charge to bring in the right clientele. We'll do free later when Matt's more established." Erica pulled her napkin down into her lap and pressed her forearms to the table. "How much do you think we should charge? We usually do fifty to five thousand. For our new talent we start with a free showing." "Charge ten thousand." She glanced over at me. "He's incredibly talented. Value his work at what it's worth from the beginning and we won't have to work up to anything."

Lawson's anger from today burst out almost completely at that moment. Judy's shoulders trembled. She lowered her head, tears filling her eyes. Her voice shook as she said, "But she doesn't even care about being a Luna! Why can't you give Samson and me a place where we can belong? She won't come back!" Lawson raised his hand, ready to slap her, and he stopped only when Samson hugged him. Lawson finally said, "She'll come back. She'll never give up. I gave you so much money, not so you could replace her. Live your own life."

But more people simply said he was stupid. Zach came over and took my phone away. “Stop looking. What do you want for dinner tonight?” “What does Lyla want to eat?” “Egg custard is fine for her. You matter more.” “What about lemon shrimp?” “Sure. Whatever you want.” The balcony was covered in green vines under the evening sun. They climbed upward, full of life and quiet strength. My story was still going on.

If anything, her tears seemed to make him colder. "So here's the deal," he continued, his voice dropping to that dangerous whisper that made her skin crawl. "You want out? Pay me back. Every. Single. Cent. Ten million dollars, Beverly. That's your price of freedom." Beverly stared at him like he'd just told her to fly to the moon. Ten million dollars might as well have been ten billion. She was a mute woman with no job skills, no education that mattered in the real world, no way to earn that kind of money in ten lifetimes.

Without modesty and without inflation. I knew how to organize complex systems. I knew how to read a room. I knew how to anticipate what a situation needed before it needed it. I knew how to manage people who didn’t know they were being managed. I knew how to make difficult things look effortless. I had done all of it for five years for free. For one man who had handed me five million dollars in front of a room full of strangers and called it compensation. I looked at the list for a long time.

Diane finally lifted her eyes to look at me, her gaze sharp with scrutiny and laced with mockery. "Kian, I heard you studied finance. You sit in a temperature-controlled office all day. Do you even know how much a delivery rider makes per order out there in the heat? "Do you know the price difference between a pound of vegetables and a pound of meat? You’ve never experienced the most basic realities of life. What gives you the right to talk about building anything?" Her questions left me speechless. Olivia shot me an anxious look, trying to smooth things over. "Mom, Kian, he—"

It was like being in a museum of luxury. One piece caught my eye - a stunning emerald bracelet. My phone buzzed. "Want it?" Brad texted! Good lord, who knew coming to a party could be so profitable? "Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, darling~" I could see Brad's back from where I stood. He looked relaxed and happy. Anne stood nearby, her eyes glued to the bracelet on stage, not blinking once. The bidding started at $100,000 and quickly rose to $500,000.

She knew which stall had discounts that day and which stall would give her a little something extra if she were to purchase above a certain amount. Fresh fish cost five dollars a pound, so she would wait there until one of the fish died. Then, she would immediately buy it at one dollar a pound, which was the price for dead fish. Maisie had worn the outfit she had on for three years. She'd washed it when it got dirty, and the jeans had faded from the number of washes. Even the T-shirt's material was thinner now. Ethan seemed to also remember the difficult times they'd had when he'd been trying to start his business. He patted Seth's shoulder, saying, "I'll always remember the help you gave us

Kenneth pouted his lips. "Shut it. I can do what I want. Don't you dare question me again." I gritted my teeth in slight annoyance. "Alright, alright Alpha." Kenneth raised his arms in mock surrender and the room fell quiet once again. After I placed my bid of $200,000, nobody else had raised the bid. I suspected maybe It was because it came from the VIPs section or the necklace wasn't worth the price. For all I care, I had all the money in the world, I mean literally.