In a flash, the man is on me, his hands patting and trailing my frame. I understand that he's checking me for weapons, but his sudden and non-consensual touch still causes me to hold my breath and beg for it to be over.
"She's clear, boss," he says before walking back in the direction he pulled me and stepping into the light of the main street.
"What is it you'd like to speak to me about, pet?"
I cringe and wish I could claw his eyeballs out of his head and make him eat them.
"Can we discuss terms?" My voice remains steady even though I'm trembling inside.
"Ah, yeah, terms, how silly of me." Ricardo comes closer and tilts my chin up toward him. "We were in a bit of a rush the other day, weren't we?"
I clench my jaw and stand firmly in place. "It was rather unfair, if you ask me. To force me into a deal I don't even have all the information about."
When the fuck did I get so bold?
"Fairness is not something a man like me considers." Ricardo sighs. "But I'm not totally unreasonable, so if a negotiation is what you had in mind, I’ll hear you out."
My heart skips a fucking beat.
"I do love a challenge," he adds, the stench of his breath turning my stomach even more than he already has just by being here.
"First of all," I start. "When you say you're taking me in exchange for my parents, what does that even mean?"
Ricardo skims my cheek with his finger. "I need a bride." He trains his eyes downward, onto my body. "You give me an heir, and I’ll call our deal even." He raises his finger in front of my face to stop me from speaking. "But. I need a son. Someone to carry on the legacy. I already have a good-for-nothing daughter, I don't need another one."
Bile rises in the back of my throat, and I swallow it down. I should have known I wasn't going to like whatever it was he had to say; why did I expect it to go any differently? But the finality of it, to hear him say it out loud, what he plans on doing to me, it's enough to make me want to die right here and now. Only, if I did, he'd kill both of my parents—and that's the whole reason I'm doing this anyway.
"So, one son and we're even?" I ask him.
I never considered whether I would have children. I thought I had time to make that decision. I wanted to find myself first. To explore the possibilities of life and find love, and figure that out with the person I chose to spend the rest of my life with. Now, having a child is no longer an option, but a necessity. One that I don't get to experience with the person I love, yet the person I hate most in this world. I'm supposed to bear an offspring for this repulsive man and then what, just hand him over? As a woman, as a mother, how am I going to be capable of not hating the one person I'm supposed to love more than anyone else—my own child?
Will I even be able to see it as my child if it's forced on me by this monster standing in front of me?
"Unless you'd like to give me more." He grins and shows off his yellowed teeth, a slight overlapping on the bottom.
"Can I have some time to get my affairs in order?" I ask him and hold my breath in anticipation for him to shoot me down.
He seems to consider my request. "One week."
I think about what can be done in a week. I can definitely make it to the game with June this weekend, but is that really the last of what my life will entail before I give myself to him.
"Six months," I counteroffer.
Ricardo laughs abruptly and I flinch. "Oneweek."
Boldly, I place my palm on his chest gently. "Please."
He glances down at my hand on him and meets my gaze, his expression unreadable.
"I'm getting ready to start my period, anyway," I lie for what feels like the millionth time tonight. I still have another couple of weeks until my period starts, but I won't tell this creep that.
"A month, that's it," he seethes through his teeth. "Final offer. Ask again and I'll bend you over and put a fucking baby in you right now."
Don't get me wrong, I love a dominant man, but consent is consent, and I want nothing to fucking do with this repulsive old man other than to make him pay for everything he has and will do to me.
"Deal," I say knowing damn well this is better than what I had in store for me when I was dragged into this alley.
A month. Thirty-ish days to get my life in order. To say my goodbyes. To live life to the fullest before it's snuffed out.
