Chapter 1

It was midnight when a slender girl in a sheer dress knocked on my door. I squinted my eyes as I recognized the familiar face standing in front of me.

It was Eleanor Holt, and she froze when she saw me. She quickly knelt and pleaded, "Shawn, please don't tell my mom about this. I'll do anything you ask."

I stared at Eleanor in shock and pushed her hand away. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine she would do something like this.

Eleanor and I were technically siblings, though not by blood. I was adopted by Aunt Macy, while Eleanor was her biological daughter. When Aunt Macy took me in, I was already in my early teens, and Eleanor was only about eight years old.

From the day I arrived, Eleanor made it clear she did not like me. Over the years, we barely spoke to each other. After I started working, I moved out of Aunt Macy's house and only saw Eleanor during weekend dinners with Aunt Macy.

Other than that, Eleanor and I lived separate lives. So, running into her under these circumstances was… unexpected.

"Get up," I said sternly.

Eleanor remained on her knees, looking at me with tearful eyes. She pleaded, "Shawn, my mom will kill me! Please, I'm begging you. I-I'll do anything if you don't tell her."

As she tried to move closer, I pulled her up firmly and shouted, "Enough!"

Eleanor flinched at my tone and stared at me wide-eyed. Then, I glared at her and said, "Come inside. We need to talk."

Eleanor followed me into the room quietly. I sat on the couch, studying the girl who had always treated me with disdain but was now looking at me with fear. The situation felt surreal.

"What are you doing here at this hour… dressed like this?" I demanded.

Eleanor hesitated before looking at me uncertainly. "Shawn, weren't you the one who… requested me?"

I frowned. "What? When did it—"

Just as I was about to ask, the realization hit me. "Y-You're the coin I paid 3,000 dollars for?"

Eleanor nodded timidly. My mind raced back to that morning's events. A good friend of mine, Robert Thorne, introduced me to a website supposedly selling collectible coins.

The prices ranged from 500 to 5,000 dollars, and I was confused about why these regular coins were so expensive. It was not until Robert laughed at my ignorance that I realized I had it wrong.

The website was actually a front for something else entirely. The coins represented different women, with manufacturing dates indicating birth years and sizes corresponding to measurements. As expected, the higher the price, the better the "quality".

I was stunned when I found out. In a moment of weakness and at Robert's urging, I purchased a 3,000-dollar "coin". Yet, I never imagined that Eleanor would actually be the girl I "bought".

I let out a long sigh, trying to calm myself from the overwhelming absurdity and shock I felt.

"How could you do something like this? What would Aunt Macy think?" I asked, disappointed at Eleanor.

Eleanor appeared sad when Aunt Macy was mentioned. She said, "Shawn, I know I haven't been nice to you, but please keep this between us."

Her sudden change of tone was amusing. After all, she had never been this polite with me. I replied in a serious tone, "I won't tell anyone, but you have to promise me you'll never do this again."

Even though I was not particularly fond of her, she was still Aunt Macy's daughter, and I did not want to watch her spiral any further.

Eleanor's face lit up with relief as she promised repeatedly. "Thank you, Shawn. I won't ever do this again!"

"Good. Now go home, and please dress more appropriately," I reminded her.

Eleanor thanked me again before turning to leave. However, she suddenly looked back at me as she reached the door. She bit her lip and asked, "Shawn, are you lonely? We could pretend we don't know each other."

I felt my blood pressure rise and shouted, "Leave now!"

Eleanor gave me one last coy look before finally leaving.