Chapter 3

I wondered what type of person Valentino was. Judging from his workers’ behavior, they all feared him, and no one dared go close to him except his assistant, Eddie. Eddie is quite courageous, being the personal assistant of a monster, as I've heard.

"Mam, you need to be careful around the boss." A woman dressed in white entered the room with a cup of wine on a tray. She is in a moderate dress; she is the leader of the maids, I suspect. She dropped the tray on the side table before sitting down. on the bed with me. Not like I cared about that sort of thing.

"So when do you plan on doing this?" I looked at the woman with anxiety written all over her face. What am I planning on doing? She turned back to continue giving me the cold shoulder.

"The boss is a very strict and delicate man; not even I could get half as close as that to him. Please teach me your ways; I will do anything." Now I am confused. The boss is strict and has a cute and scary face, but what am I to say to this woman who knows nothing?

The woman finally fessed up, telling me Valentino's origin. From her explanation, Valentino was betrayed by his family members after the passing of his parents. His siblings were taken in by his relatives, while he was left to suffer on the street to rot. Surviving became his main motive; stealing and other menial crimes were part of his everyday life. It was all for survival; he always reminded himself whenever he was caught and beaten up by the shop owners. Technically, he built himself up after an encounter with a rich man. He worked his way to the very top, becoming the CEO of Dragon Corporation.

I lay on the bed, thinking about this man who saved me. Even though it is safe here, this isn't how my life is going to continue. I needed to pay the debt that kept pushing me down from achieving greatness—the debt that weighed more than I could ever carry. What if I told him about my situation? He could help me. "Nothing comes free." I kept on reciting to rid my head of those thoughts.

My stay in the penthouse had a time limit, which was going to end sooner than I expected. Maybe I could take some cash and run away; that would make my job a whole lot easier. I needed to find a better way out of the mess my old geezer caused, even if it took me a while.

"What the hell are you doing in the kitchen?" Valentino ranted in rage as he rushed into the kitchen. Startled, I dropped the plate in my hand into the sink, moving back to avoid any attack. I was in his territory; my safety depends on him. "Just washing the dishes, nothing much," I say, moving to the wall as he comes closer. His brown eyes were covered by his wet hair, which made him look far scarier than earlier. "You could have left the dishes for the maids; that's what I pay them for." His voice, cold and deep as usual, gave me the creeps this time as he smashed a glass plate with a single hit.

Blood dropped from his hand, but no one dared come close to him, not even me. I didn't want to become broken like the plate, with either of my limbs lost. He pointed at me, touching my head with his index finger, letting his blood run down my face from his finger. "I have other plans for you," he says, snapping his fingers at once, making me tremble. Three hefty men in the red top came rushing, grabbing me and lifting me off my feet.

My eyes blindfolded with a piece of clothing got me over the edges. What was he going to do to me? Am I still going to lose my pride as a woman? What were his plans for me? I had so many questions with zero answers. Escaping wasn't an option; my arms and legs were all tied together while in a sitting position. I was basically useless at this point.

"Leave the both of us alone." I heard his voice call out to the men who ran out of the building without looking back.

His hands ran over my face, taking off the blindfold and giving me my vision back. "What do you want from me?" I say confidently. I was frightened on the inside, but I couldn't show it; that would make me vulnerable.

"I want a lot of things from you. Your body alone is a ten out of ten. Your beauty is marvelous. Your confidence is the A game. So you have everything I need for this operationn," he explained, sitting on an iron chair right before me. This man really has the guts to tell a young lady like myself about an operation; this is just too much to take in."I don't have anything to give to the likes of you. You rich men are all the same; all you want is derailing women off their part of graciousness for your own satisfaction." I blurted out, looking into his ferocious eyes. He cracked up, moving back a little before returning.

"Think of it as a way of getting money to pay your father's debt and take care of your aged grandmother."" I looked into his eyes, shocked by the words that just came out of his mouth. He didn't have that hungry look in his eyes like the men at the club; it was hiding intel on what was to come.

"Tell me what you really want from me," I spat in his face, trying to make him annoyed. Surprisingly, he just washed his face off with water.

"If you think we'll start off this engaging session like this, then so be it," he says, ruthlessly ripping my T-shirt open to reveal my blouse.

"Don't do this to me," I squealed, trying to fight back.

"I've already started."