I didn't wake up screaming.
I woke up listening.
Voices. Low. Male. Calm.
Like they were discussing business.
The air was cold against my skin. My wrists hurt. I moved slightly and metal scraped against stone. Chains.
That's when my heart started racing.
I tried to sit up. My vision was blurry, but I could see lights above me — dim, golden, expensive. This wasn't some dirty basement. This was polished. Designed.
Planned.
"Twenty thousand."
The voice echoed.
I froze.
Another voice followed.
"Thirty."
A pause.
Silence stretched.
My breathing became louder in my own ears. Too loud. I swallowed hard and forced myself to look around.
Rows of shadows.
Men seated comfortably.
Watching.
Watching me.
I wasn't in a room.
I was on a stage.
"Forty."
The numbers hit me slowly. Not like fear. Like realization.
They weren't bidding for something.
They were bidding for someone.
My fingers trembled against the cold floor.
That someone was me.
I tried to stand, but the chain pulled tight around my ankle. The metal bit into my skin. I didn't cry. I wouldn't give them that.
"Fifty thousand."
The auctioneer's voice was smooth. Polite. Professional.
Like this was normal.
Like girls were sold every night.
My chest tightened. I searched the crowd for a familiar face. Anyone. Anyone who knew me. Anyone who would stop this.
Nothing.
Just suits.
Watches that cost more than my entire life.
And eyes.
Hungry eyes.
"Sixty."
The number rose again.
I pressed my lips together to stop them from shaking. I wouldn't beg. I wouldn't break.
Not here.
Not in front of them.
"Eighty thousand."
The room shifted slightly. A murmur. Interest rising.
And then—
Silence.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't dramatic.
It was quiet.
Controlled.
"One hundred and fifty."
The voice came from the back.
Deep.
Calm.
Final.
The entire room went still.
Even the auctioneer paused.
My heart stopped for half a second.
One hundred and fifty thousand.
For me.
I lifted my head slowly.
I couldn't see him clearly. Just a tall silhouette seated in the darkest corner of the room. No movement. No urgency.
He didn't need to compete.
He had already won.
"Sold."
The word echoed like a gunshot.
And just like that… my life belonged to a stranger.
Two men approached me. I didn't fight. Not yet. I needed to think. To understand.
As they pulled me to my feet, my eyes searched the shadows again.
And then I felt it.
His gaze.
Heavy.
Intentional.
Like he wasn't just looking at me.
He was studying me.
Owning me.
I straightened my back despite the chain dragging behind me. If he thought I would bow, he was mistaken.
I didn't know his name.
I didn't know his face.
But I knew one thing.
The man who just bought me didn't spend that kind of money for entertainment.
He bought me for a reason.
And somehow…
I had a feeling it wasn't random.