Chapter 1

KATE halted from pacing back and forth and looked at the dress her Aunt Bernice brought before leaving her again. It really looked expensive, which bothered her. How come her aunt, who treated her like a servant for years, bought her such an expensive dress? There was something wrong with it; Kate could feel the ominous vibe since they left home for the banquet.

“Kate!” Her aunt’s voice roared at the back of the closed door of her suite, followed by three loud consecutive bangs. “Katherine, open the damn door!”

Sighing, she strode towards the door and opened it.

Aunt Bernice gave her a once-over before poking her hard on the forehead.

“Didn’t I tell you to get dressed? Why are you still dressed in a robe?”

“A-auntie… I-I…” She shut her eyes tightly and cussed to herself. She could not even say what she wanted to say. Kate was afraid that if the wrong words escaped from her mouth, her aunt would hit her.

Aunt Bernice grasped both of her arms and shook her hard.

“Get dressed and join me at the banquet. Mr. Abel badly wants to see you,” her aunt said through gritted teeth. “This is our only chance for him to sign the cooperation with the company. And as promised, once the cooperation is successful, I will set you free.”

Kate whimpered like a puppy when her aunt’s palm landed on her cheek. She did not hit her, though. It was just a light tap on her cheek, something Kate did not expect from Aunt Bernice. She opened her mouth to say something, but then, she was interrupted by a phone call.

Her aunt grabbed the phone from the bedside table and went inside the bathroom. Kate sauntered towards the bathroom door and leaned on it, trying to listen to whatever Aunt Bernice was saying to the caller. But all she could hear was the splashing sound of water. It seemed that her aunt was hiding something.

She was about to move away from the door when she heard her aunt’s loud voice.

“Don’t let him leave the banquet, Vivian! Do everything that you can to make Mr. Abel stay. I’m just waiting for your stupid cousin to get dressed.” Aunt Bernice paused. She must be listening to whatever her daughter was saying. “You don’t have to worry, dear. Everything will be fine. Mr. Abel will sign the cooperation once he gets Kate. That old fart really likes your cousin.”

Kate’s eyeballs bulged after hearing her aunt’s words. Her hunch was right all along. Aunt Bernice was up to something, and that was to sell her to some old businessman for cooperation. Her tears started to well up when she realized how miserable her life was.

Her hands clenched tightly against the hem of that silk robe that she wore. No one will save her at that point but herself. She must run away and hide. Kate sneaked out of the hotel suite. Seeing the long hallway already made her feel hopeless. It seemed as if she was inside a labyrinth.

Kate ran past through a lot of closed suite doors until she saw an open one. She looked inside to check. No one was inside the hotel suite. Perhaps she could hide there in the meantime. She must hide until her aunt left the floor.

Not long after she went inside, she heard footsteps approaching, followed by the loud voice of her Aunt Bernice, calling her name. She immediately went inside the bathroom and locked the door. Then, she got inside the huge empty bathtub and sat there hugging her legs. Kate started sobbing as her mind recalled everything that had happened.

If Cinderella did exist in the real world, it must be her. Her parents and brother died in a plane crash, leaving her alone with their company and properties that she had no idea how to manage. That was when her Aunt Bernice came into the picture. She was her father’s sister, the only close family member that she has in the country. Her maternal relatives were all in Spain, too far from her to reach in an instant. Since Aunt Bernice treated Kate warmly back then, she trusted her. She gave her full trust to the person who later betrayed her.

Kate was only eighteen when her parents died. She was raised and pampered without the knowledge of running the company and her family’s assets because they were meant to be handled by her older brother Emanuel. But unfortunately, he died with their parents. Aunt Bernice lent her a helping hand by making her sign documents, which her aunt referred to as a special power of attorney. The naïve eighteen-year-old Kate signed the papers without hesitation, only to wake up being thrown out of her family’s mansion by a broker one day. She learned that her aunt had sold the estate and other family assets and used the money to save their company from bankruptcy. Aunt Bernice then took her to their home, and that was when her nightmare started to happen.

Aunt Bernice and her cousin Vivian maltreated her. They told her to live in their house as a maid in return for food and home. And because Kate had nowhere to go, she stayed and lived in their house like a rat. Her aunt not only took away everything from her, but she also treated her badly. Aunt Bernice and Vivian abused her physically and mentally. Kate could only cry in silence every night and prayed that one day she would find an escape from the misery that she believed she brought to herself. If only she was smart enough to understand everything that was happening around her back then, she would not be stuck in a life full of agony. And now, Aunt Bernice did not seem to be contented. She wanted to use her, sell her off to an old businessman for the sake of signing cooperation. That was just so evil!

She was suddenly pulled out of her reverie when she heard the bathroom door unlocked. She immediately got out of the bathtub out of fear that her aunt had already found her when a tall, slender man entered the bathroom. Her mouth dropped open when her eyes reverted on the man’s unbuttoned long-sleeved polo, exposing his broad chest.

“Who are you?” The man’s baritone voice echoed in the corners of the bathroom. “What are you doing here?”

“I…” His eyes went down on her chest. Kate suddenly realized she was only wearing a robe, and she wore nothing beneath that. She had forgotten to wear decent clothes out of haste. And when she looked down to check, she panicked upon seeing that half of her breasts were exposed. She immediately fixed her robe and hugged herself. “I… I didn’t mean to—”

“I see.” The man sneered. “Someone sent you here.”

Kate’s brows furrowed.

“W-what? N-no!” Was he expecting someone? “You must have mistaken me for someone else. I just… I just got lost. I am really sorry, S-sir.”

She lowered her head. Kate knew it was rude to trespass, but the room seemed unoccupied by any guests a while ago.

“You will get paid doing this. Might as well let me enjoy what he paid for.” He arrogantly cocked his head to the side. “Take off your robe.”

Kate did not know how to react, but her eyes were wide open. Soon, fear started to creep into her system. She escaped from her tragic fate in the claws of that old businessman only to end up in a lion’s den.

“I told you, I was lost. I… I didn’t—” Kate shrieked when he pulled her close to him.

His strong arm wrapped around her waist. “I don’t believe you.”

Now that they were that close, Kate could smell whisky on his hot breath that fanned her face. She could not explain why her body managed to feel something ticklish crawling up and down her spine despite her fear. Kate’s body must be malfunctioning if it was even possible. He was a stranger, for heaven’s sake!

She propped her hands on his chest when he tried to kiss her.

“B-believe it or not, no one sent me here. I must… I must leave, so please… let me go.”

His eyes laid on her, and she was immediately caught in his dark pupils of unknown depth. Kate started to feel an uncontrollable tremor in her body at that moment. At the back of her mind, she heard a siren, indicating that there was danger ahead. But her body seemed to be frozen; she could not move an inch. The next thing she knew, he was carrying her out of the bathroom.

“H-hey, what are you doing?” she exclaimed as soon as he lay her down on the bed.

Kate fought like a wild cat, trying to scratch and kick him. But her strength was no match to his. She found herself pinned on the bed beneath his body. Kate’s hands were stretched above her head, and her legs were held down by his.

She started sobbing. So, that was her fate, to be devoured helplessly…