CHAPTER FOUR: The outside world

Esmeralda's POV

"Let me go!" I screamed in the dark night, banging the bodyguard's back with my fist,but it was pointless. The indifferent man carried me out of the mansion, straight outside the iron clad gate.

"Here you go" He threw me to the ground, causing me to land on my butt. "I'm sorry,madame,but I have to obey the boss's order." He apologized with a slight bow.

I glared hard at him and snarled. "I'm your boss. You should listen to me."

"I'm sorry,but that isn't the case right now. Please, pardon me" He said,his tone laced with sincerity as he turned to walk back into the mansion.

I desperately wanted to call out to me for help,but the words were stuck in my throat. I could only watch as his silhouette disappeared. My eyes were too exhausted to release even a drop of tears. 

I felt an excruciating pain on my feet as I tried to get up on my feet. There was nothing I could do to get what I had lost back. I didn't even have the strength to fight again. I raised my gaze to the sky and realized how late it was. 

It must have been the aftereffect of the drugs my drinks was spiked qith. I had woken up late,only for me to be greeting with heart wrenching news and revelations. I still felt the drowsiness as I walked on the roadside.

I had started to realize the severity of my predicament. As the daughter of a Lawson,my feet was barely allowed to touch the ground,but now I had to walk barefooted on the cold floor. They didn't even let me leave with my dignity. Not even a dime was left on me.

I had nowhere to go and no one to run to. It was then I grasped the meaning behind my late mother's words.

"Invest in people who invest in you; true friends are not found,they are cultivated" She would always say at every given opportunity,but I hadn't heard her voice since she and dad got involved in a fatal car accident that claimed their lives. I was just sixteen,and was left to live and grow under the care of nannies and maids.

I was told I had an uncle,but no one knew of his whereabouts. I lived a lonely life until I got into college. That was where I met Elena for the first time. We were both studying the same course.

It was in my second year in college that I met Antonio. Elena mentioned about having a crush on him; every female student had a crush on him back then. I guessed living in my own world for a long time contributed to my inability to see his true colors when he approached me.

I was blinded by love,by their facade of perfection that I didn't realize I had fallen into their trap. My mind went blank as I tried to recall those moment,but it kept appearing blank like it was never there.

Abruptly,I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder.

"Hey,bitch! Watch were you're going" the scar-faced man cursed at me, massaging his shoulders. He held a burning cigarette in his other hand.

"I'm sorry" I apologized with a hoarse voice, trying to avoid the man's lewd gaze.

I heard him snort and snap his fingers. "Come out,boys. Come look what I found."

I heard heavy footsteps resonating in the dark eerie night. I felt of a mix of fear and curiousity as I took a peak to see three other men approaching.

"Wow! This one is quite gorgeous" one of them said,his perverted gaze lingering on me.

"Nah.. a damsel in distress; that's the perfect title for her terrible look" the second man chipped in.

"She indeed looks terrible" The third man added. He approached me and grabbed my chin with his thick hand.

I was so irritated that I didn't think twice before blurting out the wrong words. "Get your filthy hands off me!" I yelled.

"Woah, she's a fiery one" The scar-faced man said,his voice filled with disdain as he eyed me scornfully.

"What do we do with her?" One of them asked.

Another man snorted in reply. "What do you think? We're going to have a good time with her. We won't have to waste money on some brothel."

"Hahahaha... You're right" one of them laughed uncontrollably. "Let's take her to our den. That way,we don't get to share her with the other guys."

The scar-faced man nodded in response to his partner's words and reached out to me. I was still frozen in shock and didn't notice his movement immediately. Before I could react,he grabbed my arms and pulled me towards the other men.

"Wow! Cobra,you were right,she is gorgeous" one of them said and placed his hands on my cheek, rubbing it in a manner that made me cringe.

"Please,let me go. I'll give you anything you want" I pleaded with a pang of desperation in my voice. I had already faced enough pain in a day. I wasn't about to get raped by some bunch of thugs who had no sense of responsibility.

The man eyed me suspiciously and said,"are you sure you can satisfy us in exchange for your freedom? You don't look like the rich type to me."

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured on me. He was right; there was nothing on me,not to mention that I had no place to spend the night. I swallowed the lump in my throat and pursed my lips to avoid spouting another round of rubbish.

Suddenly,my stomach growled.

The men stared at me with a weird expression before bursting into laughter.

"I can see our little Missy here is famished. Why don't you come with us, we'll take care of you" one of them said,his words dripping with mockery. The scar-faced man tightened his grip on me and dragged me towards a corner.

"No, please" I cried out in terror, trying not to imagine the worst that could happen.

"Shut up" the man yelled at me,but suddenly,he stopped moving. I shifted my gaze to his face,only for me to see blood dripping from the man's head. His grip on my hand loosened up as he fell to the ground with a thud.