Page 64 of Risking it All

My heart, on the other hand, was in shambles. I wanted to scream until my voice gave out. Missing Sawyer and having to go through with this so-called marriage were going to kill me one way or another.

The sound of my nude heels clacked against the tile as I paced the dressing room. At this point, I was sure that I had walked a hole in the floor, but I didn’t care. I was going crazy.

My nerves were just as wrecked as my heart. I looked up at the clock one more time as it ticked closer to my hour of doom. The rushed deadline gave me little time to figure out a way out of the deal. At this point, my future didn’t matter to me as much as what would happen to my sisters.

My head snapped up when I heard the door open. My father swaggered in without knocking. He kept his eyes on me until we were toe to toe. As pissed as I was, I didn’t drop my gaze from him. A pleased smile spread his lips as he nodded in approval.

“Not that it means anything coming from me, but you look beautiful.”

“I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard you say that.”

“Everything is in order,” he said, ignoring my comment.

“Meaning?”

“All parties have been informed of your circumstances. As long as I recover the money this family lost because of the arrangements that fell through and my position is restored, I really don’t give a damn at this point. I want this matter settled. Between you and your fucking sister, I am ready to pull my hair out.”

“Allow me,” I offered.

He glared. “You continue to take this as a joke.”

“How the hell am I taking this as a joke when I’m literally about to be put on the auction block like a slave?”

“Being a rich man’s wife is far from slavery!”

“The St. Thomases are into sex trafficking, but I’m sure you knew that. That’s why it was so important for us to be virgins, right?”

“Little girl, you will never understand this business.”

“What’s there to understand? You all sell young, submissive women’s virginity for millions of dollars. My value went down when Reed didn’t want me, because they felt like something was wrong with me. Not being able to seal the deal messed up your standing in The Force, but it seems like I was the only one being punished. Now you have the chance to get back in good standing instead of having to deal with low lives like St. Thomas.”

“Enough! This matter is finally about to be resolved. I refuse to let you mess this up for me again. If you try to pull another stunt, I promise I’m going to let them do what they have to do, and I won’t lose any sleep behind it.”

“If you haven’t lost any sleep before now, I’m sure you never will.”

“Your choices created this issue in the first place, Zenia.”

“I didn’t choose any of this.”

“Don’t try to blame everyone else for the consequences of your actions. You chose to be insufferable. You chose to run. Now once again, I have to clean up your mess.”

“This is not my mess. It’s all yours. You’re the one who is so greedy that you would sell your own daughters.”

My head snapped back as the back of my father’s hand made contact with my face.

“Enough! I don’t want to hear another word of this bullshit. One of my men will be here to collect you shortly,” he bellowed before storming out of the room.

Minutes later, I followed the guards into the ballroom with my head held high. I didn’t give a fuck what was going on around me. The last thing I wanted to do was let my father and his maniacal friends think they could break me.

I might have left broken, but after Sawyer helped to restore my spirit, I would never be the same again. Jazz music played at a low volume as I entered the room. The conversation continued to hum, but a few eyes drifted in my direction.

Until then, I hadn’t had the displeasure of attending one of the auctions. It felt weird that the room was about 85 percent men, maybe more.

Everything was elegant and poised, but nothing about the event felt right. My legs felt like bricks as I climbed the steps to the stage up front. Heat climbed up my neck as a few more eyes landed on me.

A fair-skinned woman with long wavy hair sauntered onto the stage, entering from the opposite direction from where I came. She flashed a phony smile in my direction as she approached the podium. Fake bitch. She knew I was there by force just as much as anyone else in the room, so there was no need for me to return the niceties. Then again, she might not exactly be there by choice either. I only had a second to consider that before she picked up the microphone from its stand.

“Gentlemen, do we have a treat for you this evening.”