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.
I swallowed hard. My mind raced, but I forced myself to focus. Every shadow, every whisper, every echo of footsteps in the dark was a clue. I didn't know where I was, who these people were, or what they wanted but I knew one thing: I couldn't stay passive.
I pressed my back against the cold wall, trying to steady my trembling hands. My pulse pounded so loudly I was sure they could hear it, but I couldn't slow it down. The fear that had wrapped itself around me like chains now mixed with a flicker of determination. If I survived tonight, it wouldn't be because I was lucky it would be because I fought. Every instinct screamed at me to prepare, to anticipate, to act.
The sound of footsteps grew closer, deliberate and confident. Someone was approaching, and I didn't have time to think they were already here. My breath hitched. I pressed myself flatter against the wall, praying the shadows would swallow me, hide me.
And then the voice came. Deep, smooth, commanding. A shiver ran down my spine. "Move forward," it said, almost conversational, almost… teasing.
I froze. My mind scrambled. Was he talking to me? Or to someone else? The voice had a presence that made it impossible to ignore. It carried authority, danger, and something else I couldn't name a magnetic pull that made every nerve in my body tense.
I forced my feet to move, steps cautious and quiet. Every creak of the floor beneath me felt amplified in the silence. My chest tightened, adrenaline flooding my veins. I could almost feel the eyes on me, judging me, measuring me. I didn't know if they wanted to scare me, test me, or simply watch. All I knew was that I had to stay alert.
The air was thick with the smell of dust, sweat, and something metallic I couldn't place. My throat was dry, and my mouth tasted bitter. I wanted to cry, scream, run but instead, I focused on breathing, on moving, on staying alive. Each step became a small victory against the fear that threatened to swallow me whole.
And as I rounded the corner, I caught a glimpse of him. Just a silhouette at first. Tall, imposing, moving with a quiet, terrifying precision. My heart skipped a beat. The auction, the numbers, the whispers they all meant nothing now. It was him. The one who had bought me. The one whose hands had decided my fate.
I didn't know if he was a savior or a predator. All I knew was that my life had just taken a turn I could never undo. And somewhere deep inside, despite the terror, a spark of defiance lit within me.
I would survive this. Somehow.
I had no idea how yet but I would.