Chapter 3: The Auction House

Ava's POV

 

A light twinkled in the room. My eyes flickered open and close.

Sweat gathered on my forehead. Brows quivered aggressively...

I swerved my head from left to right as the gruesome memory came back to me.

"Avaline Richards, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

My heart swelled with joy, and the words sat on the tip of my tongue, ready to be deployed, "I—"

The gunshot exploded across the room. Multiple shots followed the first, echoing through the wedding hall.

Fernando's body was the first to drop to the ground, and my feet stood rooted to in place as the shock began to sink in. The loud wailings resonated from the gathering, and I swirled my head to them, watching the people run around to save themselves as shots were continuously fired.

"Ava!" Aunt Mary yelled from amidst the crowd, running toward me.

I couldn't get my muscles to move as I watched her helplessly close the distance between us. She was so close, and then—

Another deafening shot echoed through the room.

"Aunt Mary!" I jerked out of my sleep mid-scream, breaking down as tears streamed freely down my face. My breathing heavy as I fought to catch my breath.

My heart twisted tightly as I continued to sob, losing myself to my thoughts. I was oblivious to everything else aside from the trembling of my body.

I shook my head in disbelief, wiping the tears as they streamed down my face in torrents.

It couldn't have been real. It was just a nightmare, I thought, assuring myself even though deep down I knew it wasn't.

It felt too real. It was too real, and the pain in my chest still lingered. The tears wouldn't stop as well.

Fernando. Aunt Mary.

"They are not dead. They can't be."

I was in the middle of my mental struggle when the cold water hit my skin without any forewarning, causing a great shiver to sweep over my body.

"Argh!" I screamed as the cold seeped into my bones.

I instantly wrapped my arms around myself to shield myself from the cold, and for the first time since I had woken up, I was finally aware of not just my surroundings but also my physical state.

My wedding dress was gone, and I was half-naked in a room that looked much like a cell.

My eyes swept around the room, and I saw other girls huddled in corners of the room—hiding while also watching me.

What the hell? Where the hell was I?

"Alzati, maiale!" A man cursed loudly from above me in Italian, dragging my attention to him.

Italian wasn't a language I was fluent in speaking, but I knew it well enough to understand because of my Italian heritage on my father's side.

Who was he calling a pig?

My gaze shot up to him. The man was a short, Italian, sturdy figure draped in shabby clothes. He had dark eyes that seemed to swallow the weak light around the room.

As our gaze met, he froze for a bit, lowering the bucket in his hand as he mumbled without taking his eyes off me, "Wow! Bella. Molto Bella," he half grinned, leaning forward as if to take a close look at my face.

Where the hell was I?

He was getting awfully close, and I could now smell the horrible odor that followed him.

I could taste it.

He touched my cheek, and I felt a puke crawl up my throat but I held it down.

"Bella," he repeated with a smile.

"What do you think you're doing, Leonard," a feminine, powerful voice echoed through the room suddenly. I swirled my head in the direction of the voice and caught sight of her as she walked into the cell, glancing around the room before fixing her gaze on me.

She smiled smugly, and my eyes raked her entire appearance. She was dressed in a slutty red dress that showed all her goods.

Her brown hair was tied in a bun, and her black heels clicked on the cold ground. Her face was dolled elegantly, elevating her model-like structure.

Her presence was a blend of elegance and superiority. The man trembled at her presence, and I felt a lump grow in my throat as well.

"Who told you that you could touch her?" she questioned, drawing nearer to me.

"Mi dispiace, Sophia," he stuttered as she turned to him.

She glared, darting her eyes to the gate and back at him, and the man hurried ran out of the cell like a scared cat.

The second he was gone, Sophia crouched before me, tilting my chin and grinning delightfully as she turned my head left and right.

She trailed a finger down my cheek, "Pretty and flawless. You'll cost a fortune. You're probably the most expensive one yet," she laughed softly.

I felt sick to my stomach, staring at her cluelessly, without any idea as to what she was talking about.

"Where am I?" I asked her in a scared little voice.

"Where do you think?"

"Italy?"

She grinned.

"That's impossible," I blurted. "I was in Chicago only—"

"Not anymore."

The panic set in.

Fernando. Aunt Mary. What happened to them?

I swallowed hard. My eyes drifted to the frightened girls huddled in the corner of the room.

"What is this place?" I faced her.

"Hmm…Your new chapter," she responded, getting to her feet. "Get up. We need to get ready."

"Ready for what?" I asked without moving a muscle.

Sophia frowned down at me, and it sent chills through me.

"Get up," she repeated more sternly, and I obeyed. She smiled when I did, "Today is very important," she paused. "What is your name?"

"Ava," I muttered.

"Today is my lucky day, Ava. You're about to bring me a fortune, so come on," she gestured for me to follow her, and I did, glancing at the other girls in the room one last time before hurrying behind her.

We passed a few more cells filled with more girls before we finally arrived at a small room at the end of the hall. We walked in, and Sophia picked out a dress from the closet.

"Wear this," she said, holding out the dress to me, "And take all those off," she pointed to the undies I had on. "Make it fast," she hastened.

I took the dress from her, took off everything I had on, and put it on. The dress was black and transparent, revealing every inch of me and leaving almost nothing covered.

"I can't wear this," I said the minute I wore it.

Sophia grinned, ignoring my words. "It's perfect," she commented, coming up to me and dropping a pair of heels before my feet. "Wear that."

I slipped my feet in the heels.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, beaming. "Let's go," she motioned to the door, holding it open for me.

"Wait," I said, and she turned to me with a scowl on her face. "Do you know what happened to my husband and my Aunt? Are they okay?" I whispered in a broken voice, and Sophia looked at me passively.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Now come on, we are running late," she led the way, and I had no choice but to follow.

We walked for a few minutes, and then Sophia stopped when we reached a door, then she turned to me.

"We are here," she squeezed the doorknob, and it opened, revealing a crowd of hungry, horny old men seated around the room.

They all turned to me the minute we walked in like predators anticipating their prey.

At the end of the room, a man stood on the stage, waiting beside an empty cell.

"What is this place?" I turned to her.

Sophia smirked, walking toward the stage. I looked back at the door where we just came in and noticed two men standing by it with their eyes fixed on me.

"Aren't you coming?" Sophia spun around with a cunning smile.

I clenched my fist in defeat, dragging my feet on the ground. I followed her to the stage, and she locked me in the cell with a wide grin on her face before standing on the sidelines.

"Let the Auction begin!" the man at the stage shouted. "Looks like today we have an outstanding beauty —one like no other. This will be quite the bid. I am getting excited already."

"Five hundred and fifty thousand dollars!" A man shouted among the crowd.

"Five hundred and fifty thousand," the man on the stage echoed. "The price is up, people."

"One million dollars," another shouted, jumping to his feet and glaring at me like some dessert he couldn't wait to devour.

My eyes darted to Sophia. Her smile was wild as she watched the men with pleasure without a shred of consideration on her face. When our gaze met, she smiled proudly. I was going to be her jackpot today, and that was a grief of its own.

How did I end up here, of all places? Tears ran down my cheeks.

"Two million dollars!" the third man bid, rising to his feet. He looked older than the last two and even more revolting to my eyes.

I could not imagine what would become of me if any of these older men were to purchase me. I dreaded the thought and prayed deep inside me for a miracle.

"Three million dollars," the fourth man shouted, winking at me.

Three million dollars? What kind of sick joke was this? I thought.

Sophia looked even more excited now as her eyes darted around for anyone else to raise the price a little higher.

The silence was long. A deep contemplation, it would seem. The man who had just suggested three million dollars seemed impressed by the fact that no one had uttered anything yet. He glared at me disgustingly, taking me apart with his gaze, and I felt even more sick.

Oh! No.

"Three million dollars!" the man on the stage echoed to the crowd, and I found myself begging for a miracle.

Anything was better than ending up with these old men.

Nobody spoke. It seemed like that was it. I lowered my gaze, closing my eyes and praying for a miracle.

Sophia looked a little disappointed at where the price had ended. It looked like she had expected more. I wanted out.

The man on the stage spoke up again, "Three million dollars, going once, twice, and—"

I shut my eyes tightly, waiting to know my fate yet praying for something to happen. Anything at all.

"And we have—"

The door burst open, and my head instantly shot up to the entrance in expectation.

He swaggered into the room with an elegance like one I had never seen before. He had an air of authority about him, and everyone in the room seemed drawn in by him —yet more than that, they seemed fearful and unable to look at him.

Even Sophia, who looked like she had no fear, mumbled, "Fuck!"

"Fifty million dollars," he said suddenly, holding my gaze, and everyone went dead silent.