Bought

Isobella's POV

Come home as soon as possible, Isobella. I need you. There's an emergency.

Father's voice rang through my mind as I got off the bus. The sun was bright and the sky clear blue was dotted with fluffy clouds when I arrived at the black gate that led to our house.

The cool afternoon breeze washed over me helping me to calm my tense nerves. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to clear out the stress that had been building up since earlier in the day when I read the message.

I was nervous because my father sounded scared. I hoped he had not done something stupid again. I wondered what had happened to him and I hoped it wasn't what I thought. I couldn't bear losing another parent barely three months after my mother had died.

Different thoughts coursed through my mind as I strolled into our apartment on Leighton arena. My mind was racing with thoughts as I closed the door after me. Darting my eyes around the almost empty hallway walls, I wondered where all the artworks that once beautified the walls were but I knew the answer already.

He had sold them off to feed his incurable habits which went worse when mother died and I in return had crawled back into my shell grieving my mother. 

I chose to pour my attention into school work and finally moved out after an heated argument about his ways that ended with a slap on my face. Mother's death broke our home.

I gulped hard and choked back on the sobs that threatened to ravage my stormy world. Father had broken his last promise to Mother. He had sold her art works. Only if I had been home to stop him but I wasn't. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes for a brief moment to calm myself down before opening them again.

"Father." I called out for him from the hallway.

"Come here, Bella. Come in." His croaky voice invited me in.

A feeling of dread crept into the pit of my stomach and unease settled over me like a thick fog on a cloudy day. Something about this felt like it was going to turn out badly and I didn't know why. With each step I took towards the living area, my heart beat thudded fast within me.

I rubbed my sweaty palms together and strode into the living area, bracing myself up only to realise that my father wasn't the only one in the living area. My brows furrowed as I scanned the room in confusion.

Three tall burly men dressed in dark suits stood at each end of the room staring at me with their stone-cold gazes. A musky tang wafted into my nostrils. 

I inhaled it and directed my attention to the man who stood backing me like he owned the world on those broad shoulders of his. He was a tall imposing muscular man in a blue-tailored tuxedo. I didn't need anyone to tell me that he was their boss. His aura gave him off.

"Bella." My father's voice broke into my introspection.

"Are you okay, father?" I ran towards him, spreading my hands over him in a protective manner. He had done some hurtful things in the past but he was still my father.

"And what are these men doing here?" I asked but he remained silent.

"Welcome, Miss Isobella. Since your father has remained silent for so long, I will do the briefing." The man swung around regarding me with an intense gaze that got goosebumps all over me.

His eyes were blue, almost gray and they seemed to look deep into my soul as he regarded me with scrutiny.

His expression remained impassive and his dark hair slicked back neatly to the side. A faint smattering of freckles across his cheeks made him look as though he had just stepped out from a painting. His face looked familiar but I could not place it. 

My eyes drifted up his bare forearms, then to his chest. A small tattoo there caught my eye and I felt myself blush. I immediately looked away, feeling heat flush through my body. 

"Your father owes me a favour." A mocking smile twitched on his lips as he spoke.

"I'm not sure I understand you. What favour could this be?" I said.

"Oh dear, be calm Bella." My name sounded so divine on his lips. I found myself liking the drawl in his tone. I hoped he would call it once more. He called it like a dear name. 

"What I am trying to say is that your father here was almost involved in a…" He trailed off.

"What I'd call a brawl last night." He completed.

My eyes widened in shock as I fussed over my father "Are you okay, Father?" 

"Yes." He faked a smile as he replied.

"Sure he is but you see that's because I saved his life before the situation got worse." The stranger continued.

"Thank you so much. I will forever be grateful to-"

"You don't have to thank me, yet. Saving your father cost me if I am to be precise." He delivered the bombshell smoothly.

My hands flew to my mouth as I sucked in breaths. And that was when it hit me.There was only one way my father could owe him such a huge amount of money. He had gambled and when he didn't have money to pay, this stranger had stepped in.

"I'm afraid I do not give out free cash. Your father here now owes me." He said.

"How much are we talking about please?" I whimpered

"Over two million dollars in cash."

"Why Father?" I hissed, standing to my feet. This was far more trouble than I expected a week before my exams. I had a lot to cover and had to think of ways to gather money for the next session all on my own since my father gambled all he had.

"But he has chosen to pay that debt in kind." The stranger's blue orbs roved over me and as I realised what he meant,my world came crashing down.

My lips parted in shock and my face wrinkled in confusion. This couldn't be true.

"No." I shook my head choosing to not believe him but the cynical look on the stranger's face and my father's silence told me more.

"Father, tell me it's not true." I shook my father. His eyes were emotionless as he averted my gaze.

I couldn't read minds but I could definitely could read the man whom I had known for over twenty-two years of my life. I could read him like a plain book and I knew that his reply would break me.

"Bella, I am sorry." My father whispered.

Instant tears blurred my vision as I flinched from his outstretched arm. My heart clenched painfully in my chest but I fought back the pain. I couldn’t break down and cry right now. My father had his faults but this far outweighed them all.

"I had no choice." He said.

"You had no choice?" I whispered as I sniffed, wiping my tears away.

"No, you had every choice to give up on gambling especially when it cost us the money we should have used to settle mom's hospital bills." More tears rolled down my cheeks as I remembered my mom's painful death. It could have been avoided only if father wasn't a spendthrift.

"You gambled away every penny and when it wa-was time to pay for the surgery, you had no-nothing left on you. Mother died because of you!" I broke down in tears.

"Bell-"

"Don't you dare call my name. How could you easily forget the promise you made to her? You gave her your word, father. Your word! How!?" I wiped my tears away.

"You promised to take care of me, you promised never to visit any casinos again. You even swore on your life." I reminded him 

I knew that something bad happened even before I got home but I never knew that it was this terrible. It was not enough that my father had gambled away my mother's savings and it cost her death.

"I know and I'm sorry I just wish I could take my actions but I can't and I am truly sorry."

"That's all? That's all you have to say?" I gasped.

"I think-"

"And who the hell are you to waltz into our lives?" I hurled harsh words at the stranger before notwithstanding the men who had moved closer to defend their boss.

"Me?" He let out a scoff as he held out his right hand to stop them.

"You don't know who I am?" He regarded me with surprise.

"I do not know who you are, stranger, last I checked you didn't introduce yourself." I retorted.

"Wow." He exclaimed, covering the distance between us.

Sparks flew between us like fireworks at a summer festival and my breath was caught in my throat as he looked me up and down, with such intensity that I felt my body begin to heat up. What was going on with me? I wondered.

I could feel the sizzling current between us like electricity as if I was connected to him by invisible wires. 

"Well, since you will be my wife, I'd gladly introduce myself to the only woman in the universe who seems to have never heard my name." He spoke with a distinct cockiness.

"I am Artemis Sterling, and you will be my wife in return for your father's debt." 

My eyes widened and my lips fell apart in shock as it all came rushing back. The horrible things I heard him do flooded my senses. Were my ears playing a trick on me or did the richest and cruelest playboy just buy me off?