Raya's POV
Max lets go of my hand. My breath gets stuck in my throat. I can't scream even if I want to. It is a prank. This surely is a practical joke being played on Maxwell by his friends. But no one is laughing and Max is tense. The woman is sitting beside a bald man whose face is hard like it has been carved out of marble.
"Darling, what are you doing?" he says to the woman who objected.
"I object Xander. This wedding cannot take place. Our Max cannot get married to this woman who is a cheater. She has brainwashed Max. She will spell nothing but doom to Max and to our family if she is allowed to marry Max" she goes on. By now it is clear that the bald man is Xander Benson. The Mafia Kingpin and the loving way that Xander Benson is holding her hand and her gaze is proof that she is his wife.
"Amelia my love. What has gotten into you? It is Max, it is our Max that you are talking about. He is no one's puppy. He is my most trusted man along with Ch
Max's POV Shit! We are in deep trouble. I look at Raya and her face is a worried mess. She knows it too. What have I gotten us into? Why the hell did Xander Benson have to get married to Rossi's daughter and why did he have to be a lecherous old man like this? Amelia looks like she wants to kill Raya and me. Xander Benson was her husband and she was his new bride which meant that we were in deep shit. A new married man is like a puppet in the hands of his wife. I knew that he would not hesitate to decapitate me right here if she would ask him to. I had no answer to his question that would satisfy him. "No Xander. Dylan is not dead" I tell him. "Does he look worse than Rossi then?" he thunders on. "No. I was busy trying to rescue Raya and he got away. I don't know where he is" I mumble. This would not have been a big deal if Rossi was not Amelia's father. This would probably be just a story about me rescuing my helpless d
Raya's POV It was my worst nightmare. I had been in terrible situations before and being forced to do something against my will was nothing new to me. My father making me swear that I would be a virgin was against my wish, Dylan trying to sell my virginity was against my wish, and Dylan trying to sell me to sleep with a man was against my wish too. So when Xander Benson's men are forcing me to go to Rossi and beg him to forgive me was against my wish too, it was worse than anything I had to endure before because now they were hurting the only man I had ever come to love. They were punishing Maxwell Barlow, the only ray of sunshine in my life. Max tried to fight them off, he tried to save me but he was outnumbered. Charles could do nothing either. A seven-foot-tall man hit Max on his head when he started protesting Xander Benson's decision and Max had fallen to the floor. My sweet Max! It crushed my heart to see him in such a terrible situation. I cried and cried but the strong hands
Raya POV “Wait here and don’t move until I call your name” he hissed in my ears. I nodded silently. The room was icy cold and I was shivering. I wished he would at least throw a shawl or a blanket over me. The thin silky gown that he had wrapped around me did nothing to cover me. Neither did it shield me from the cold nor cover my modesty. This flimsy gown only managed to cover my arms and draped around my back. The front of my body was not covered by the gown. A thin semicircular cup in the bra managed to cover the underside of my boobs and my nipples. The top of my black bra was lacy and see-through and did nothing to hide my milky curves. A lace panty was the only other piece of clothing on my body. Thankfully it had a nude lining and covered my lady parts well. I was cold and hungry and had no idea when I would get to eat anything. I remember hurriedly gobbling down a peanut butter Jelly sandwich before my stepfather shouted at me
Maxwell Barlow's POV “The bidding starts at 1000$” the pudgy bald man in the black suit who was hosting the auction announced. It made my skin crawl. 1000$? Was a woman’s virginity worth only so much? I hated this whole charade. Scantily clad women who were barely legal were paraded in front of a room full of men like cattle which were about to be butchered, as the leering eyes invaded every inch of the woman’s body on the podium which was lit brightly from every angle. The entire room was bathed in darkness except for the podium where the girls were being shown. “1500$” A voice called out from the dark. “2000$” called another voice. On and on it went until the final bid of 20000$ was fixed. “Charles, why have you dragged me here? You know that I hate this place” I groan. “Common Max. You need a break. You work so hard. Yet you never seem to have any fun. When was the last time you went on a date?” “If
Raya's POV Did someone just buy my virginity for a million dollars! I could not believe it. I was not sure if I wanted to laugh or cry. I was happy that at least my mother, stepbrother, and stepfather were free of debt now and did not have to worry about being evicted from the house. But at the same time, my heart broke at the thought of my father. I had made a vow to him that I will remain pure for my husband. I even wore the chastity ring. I looked down at the ring finger with a thin silver ring having a delicate bow engraved with the words “True love waits” “I am sorry Papa. I could not keep my promise to you” Oh, how his heart would break if he could see me now like
Maxwell Barlow's POV Eighteen! She is only fucking eighteen! Jesus what a mess Charles has gotten me into. I knew it was a bad idea to go to the club with Charles tonight. He is always on my case to sleep with some girl and have fun. He is always making fun of me for taking relationships too seriously. After my last girlfriend cheated on me I decided to steer clear of relationships and focus on work and Charles has been behind me ever since. It has been a year since I have been with any girl. And Charles decided to buy me a girl for one night, a virgin who has just turned eighteen. What the fuck am I gonna do now? Do I ask her address and drop her off at her house? Yes, that’s the prudent thing to do. Probably the best thing to do for her. She looks so beautiful, so innocent, untouched by the waywardness of this world. I cannot mark her and ruin her innocence or bring her to my world. My w
Raya's POV The wine is making me feel relaxed. I do not remember a time when I had a birthday celebration like this. There was no cake for my birthday after my father had died and Mr.Barlow had just ordered me the prettiest and tastiest cake I had ever eaten in my life. He even sang the happy birthday song for me. The appetizers and the main course had been delicious too. I had never eaten such scrumptious food before in my life or been to a restaurant as fancy as this one. I hope I am not looking like a complete idiot by gorging on everything that is put in front of me like someone who hasn’t eaten in a week. And oh my God the wine was so good. I used to always wonder what was the big deal about alcohol and why people drank so much. I had even taken a sip of the beer that my stepdad keeps drinking so often and I hated how it tasted. But this was delicious. I couldn’t compare it to anything else. It was not just about how it tasted. I was a bu
Raya's POV The ride after the dinner was quiet. I opened the window and let the cool night air hit my face. It helped soothe my irate stomach. Once the car stopped I was awestruck by the sights. This was not a house. It looked like a palace. A huge ivory-colored mansion with gold-colored detailing stood out majestically against the night sky. A matching white and gold marble fountain at the entrance welcomed us. Wow, he is indeed filthy rich like I had assumed. As soon as we entered the door a butler and house staff were standing in a line welcoming us. I looked at the huge clock at the entrance. It was 10 PM and still, the staff was dressed immaculately in their uniforms showing no signs of tiredness or sleepiness. “Richard, please ask Mrs. Florentine to show Miss Raya here to the guest room and give her everything to make her comfortable. Please follow me to my study. I have a few things to discuss with you.
Raya's POV It was my worst nightmare. I had been in terrible situations before and being forced to do something against my will was nothing new to me. My father making me swear that I would be a virgin was against my wish, Dylan trying to sell my virginity was against my wish, and Dylan trying to sell me to sleep with a man was against my wish too. So when Xander Benson's men are forcing me to go to Rossi and beg him to forgive me was against my wish too, it was worse than anything I had to endure before because now they were hurting the only man I had ever come to love. They were punishing Maxwell Barlow, the only ray of sunshine in my life. Max tried to fight them off, he tried to save me but he was outnumbered. Charles could do nothing either. A seven-foot-tall man hit Max on his head when he started protesting Xander Benson's decision and Max had fallen to the floor. My sweet Max! It crushed my heart to see him in such a terrible situation. I cried and cried but the strong hands
Max's POV Shit! We are in deep trouble. I look at Raya and her face is a worried mess. She knows it too. What have I gotten us into? Why the hell did Xander Benson have to get married to Rossi's daughter and why did he have to be a lecherous old man like this? Amelia looks like she wants to kill Raya and me. Xander Benson was her husband and she was his new bride which meant that we were in deep shit. A new married man is like a puppet in the hands of his wife. I knew that he would not hesitate to decapitate me right here if she would ask him to. I had no answer to his question that would satisfy him. "No Xander. Dylan is not dead" I tell him. "Does he look worse than Rossi then?" he thunders on. "No. I was busy trying to rescue Raya and he got away. I don't know where he is" I mumble. This would not have been a big deal if Rossi was not Amelia's father. This would probably be just a story about me rescuing my helpless d
Raya's POVMax lets go of my hand. My breath gets stuck in my throat. I can't scream even if I want to. It is a prank. This surely is a practical joke being played on Maxwell by his friends. But no one is laughing and Max is tense. The woman is sitting beside a bald man whose face is hard like it has been carved out of marble."Darling, what are you doing?" he says to the woman who objected."I object Xander. This wedding cannot take place. Our Max cannot get married to this woman who is a cheater. She has brainwashed Max. She will spell nothing but doom to Max and to our family if she is allowed to marry Max" she goes on. By now it is clear that the bald man is Xander Benson. The Mafia Kingpin and the loving way that Xander Benson is holding her hand and her gaze is proof that she is his wife."Amelia my love. What has gotten into you? It is Max, it is our Max that you are talking about. He is no one's puppy. He is my most trusted man along with Ch
Raya’s POV The day is finally here. The day every girl dreams of, my wedding day. I had dreamed about this day from the time I was young like all girls do. While playing with my girlfriends when I was ten and to slumber parties but I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that this day will be coming so soon. Here I was in the most beautiful wedding gown I had ever seen, getting ready to be Maxwell Barlow’s bride. Another sleek silky wedding gown hung in the side of the room ready to be worn for the reception. He has managed to pull it all off in one day. The venue was Maxwell Barlow’s house itself. I glanced outside my third-floor window to see the pergola beautifully decked up with a floral arch. Pink peonies and lilacs formed the floral arch and a lilac-colored carpet had been laid out on the runway for me to walk on. Still, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach, amidst the nerves an
Maxwell’s POV We are back from shopping and I am hungry. Hungry for her my sweet little girl. She rushes to the bedroom with me close behind her heels. When I try to enter her room she stops me with her hand on my chest. “Wait for a while I get ready for you,” she says with a naughty twinkle in her eyes. “Okay” I groan reluctantly. The beast inside me is awake and there is no way it is going to be able to wait. I can feel my hardness pressing against the zipper of my pants and I sigh wondering how long it’ll be. After what seems like eons she taps on the do
Raya’s POV Maxwell has gone crazy, like completely crazy. He wants us to get married tomorrow. He has barely known me for three days and is swearing that he cannot live without me. Well, I did swear too that I would not be able to live without him but getting married sounds crazy. He is like an excited puppy and from the time I agreed to his proposal he is thinking about nothing but our marriage. After carrying me inside and making love to me. He slept like a baby. I felt comforted too being by his side and sleeping next to him. He was my safe haven, his arms felt like my home. At breakfast today morning he started telling me his plans of how we had a lot of things to do and so little time. Literally, we have just one day as his plan was to get married tomorrow. 
Raya’s POV I am curled up in Max’s lap and I am so glad that he listened to me and agreed to let that man go. I know what Rossi did was heinous and I hated him for it. But I would hate myself more if I acted like an animal and punished him in a barbaric way for it. There is law and order in place for a reason and I did not agree with Max taking it upon himself to punish Rossi for what he did. He is used to being a mafia and does not believe in law and order but I just could not do it. I don’t know if he sensed it but somehow he had a change of heart and agreed to it and I was so grateful that he did. Would my life ever be the same again? I knew that I could never go back home. I didn’t have a home no
Maxwell Barlow's POV I drop Dylan’s collar and rush inside the house. I can hear Raya scream again and I am sure that someone is hurting her and I focus on the door from where her sound is emanating. I try to open the door and it is easy as the door is locked from outside. I unlatch the door and barge inside to notice that Raya is sitting on the floor naked and there are two welts on her back. An old man who is wearing only his underwear is standing in front of her and holding a belt in his hand. Raya turns to look at me when the door opens and as soon as she sees me she breaks down and runs towards me. I take her in my arms and hug her tightly while whispering in her ears. “I am sorry baby, I am so sorry” I try to calm her down between her sobs.  
Maxwell’s POV I hated leaving her without even saying goodbye. But when Xander Benson calls I have to put everything on hold and attend to him. Plus she is out cold. Did I open my mouth too early about who I was? Did I scare her away for good? The tension was too much to take. Benson was back from the honeymoon and wanted to have brunch with his close ones so that his new wife too gets to know everyone better. I wanted to take my dear Raya with me to the brunch too but she was still sleeping and looked like she needed the rest. I tried waking her up but she was too groggy and kept muttering in her sleep. She was running a fever too. There was no way she was going to be fit to travel in a helicopter now and get ready for Brunch in time. We were to meet for lunch in Paris. I signed why couldn’t Xander wait until he was back here in New York to have brunch where all of us were.