"Great," I mutter in response. "Will make it comfier to sit down."
She shakes her head and continues picking at her grapefruit slices, while Tianna exchanges a smile with me. I wish the girl would be more open to building a friendship. I'm eager to get to know her better, but so far, she's been a closed book.
A moment later, Brazen enters the room. His face is stormy and he doesn't say anything as he sits down next to us at the table, glaring at each one of us for a few seconds. He fills up his plate and we eat in silence, but it's anything but companionable. I feel beads of sweat erupt on my forehead. I'm nervous as fuck. Father won't be in a good mood today, and I'd bet anything he'll pick me as his victim yet again. I'm the easiest target, after all.
The tension in the room is palpable until we all finally hear footsteps in the hallway. We exchange glances. Bryony pushes her plate away and we all stand up, anticipating Father's entrance. I keep my eyes trained on my plate, not wanting to look at him, but when the footsteps draw nearer, I hear Tianna's shocked gasp next to me. I grab her hand and squeeze, hard, and she squeezes back. It's a small sign of camaraderie in this fucked up house.
"Sit down." Father's words come out muffled, as if he's got something in his mouth. I keep my eyes trained on my half-empty plate and plop down back on the chair. My heart is racing a million miles a minute, and I can barely breathe. I know whatever is coming won't be good for me. "Pandora."
I wince at the sound of my name. Here we go. He's going to hurt me now and make some lame excuse about me needing discipline.
"Yes, Father?"
"Look at me when I'm speaking to you, girl."
I swallow thickly, closing my eyes for a second to gather my composure. Then, I slowly lift my head, my gaze meeting Father's.
What I see renders me speechless. Father's face is a mess. He's got stitches in his eyebrow and another few on his lip. His mouth is horrible swollen, his cheekbone seems broken, and his right eye has swollen shut. He’s a mess, and looking at him makes me feel physically ill. I look away, unable to handle the weight of his stare.
"I said, fucking look at me."
He seems adamant, and I know I'm in trouble whether I obey or not, so I force myself to stare right into his eyes, what's visible of them, anyway.
"I'm sorry, Father."
"You see what your brother did to me?" He laughs, but it turns into a wheeze halfway through. He coughs and sputters, but I force myself to keep my eyes trained on him like he wanted. "Takes a strong man to take down someone like me."
I'm desperate to tell him that can't be true. Without his army of help, Emilian Oakes is fucking nothing. But I'm wise enough to keep my mouth shut and wait for the punishment I know will be coming, regardless of what I do.
"How are you feeling, Daddy?" Tianna pipes up next to me, her voice small and fragile. Father ignores her completely, his attention still on me.
"Since you've fucked away your prospect in this town," Father drawls. "I've decided I might as well treat you as the whore you so desperately want to be."
I furrow my brows, muttering, "What's that supposed to mean?"
He smirks. It looks painful, and I hope every move he makes hurts, and reminds him of what a piece of shit he is deep down. My skin prickles, anticipating Father's answer. I know he's going to hurt me now. I know he's going to take his anger on Brazen out on me. And even though I'd never admit it out loud, I'm fucking terrified.
"It means," Father goes on with a beatific smile. "I'm going to offer your hand in marriage to the highest bidder."
"What?" I jump up from my seat, overwhelmed by emotion. "You can't do that without my consent."
"Oh, I can do plenty of things without your consent." He grimaces, his face managing to look triumphant despite the state he's in. "This being only one of them. Of course, I don't assume you'll be listening to me for much longer. Your husband will take care of that all by himself, won't he?"
"What about school?" I spit out. "I still have a year and a half to go, and I wanted to go to college after."
"Nonsense." He waves his hand dismissively. "Oakes girls don't need an education. All you need to do is give me and your husband heir after heir after heir."
"You're sick," I hiss. "You're using me for your own gain yet again. When does this all stop? When are you going to realize what a tyrant you are, you sick bastard?"
"Brazen," Father speaks up through gritted teeth. "Hit her."
A tense silence lays upon the table. I stare at my brother, waiting for him to get up and do Father's dirty work yet again. But he doesn't. He stays glued to the chair, fighting a silent battle with Father as they stare one another down.
"No," Brazen says.
"Excuse me?" Father looks furious, and Brazen smirks, getting up and throwing his napkin engraved with the Oakes' family crest on the dining table. "You do as you're told, Brazen. Or else."
"Or else what?" My brother laughs freely. "You don't tell me what to do anymore. Hit her yourself, you old fuck. Maybe she'll have the mercy not to hit you the fuck back."
With those words, he strides out of the room. I feel proud of him for standing up to Father, but I'm still terrified. Father's words are ringing in my head. The auction. A new husband. A new life. A chance to get away from this hell - or a chance to be stuck in a fate even worse than this one.
"Who gets to win, then?" I ask Father icily.
"The highest bidder, of course." He smiles. It looks painful, and I hope it fucking is. "You know, there are men in Eden Falls who'll pay good money for an obedient fuckslut like you."
My stomach falls and I cringe. "You're sick."
"Maybe so," he says, toasting me with a flute of orange juice. "But I'm the only one in charge of your fate, daughter dearest... And I fully intend to make it as miserable as possible."
11
Pandora
I get ready for the auction with Belle's help. Father must really hate me, because he arranged for it to happen only days after our conversation. He must be eager to get me out of the house, but I'm just as eager to get away - hopefully with someone who can protect me, not hurt me.
I've told Dex about the auction through texts. He still hasn't been at school, and I've skipped the last few days as well in preparation. Nobody even gives a shit. Prep if just another excuse for our rich parents to keep an eye on us and control us like unwilling puppets.
Belle brushes my curls away, smoothing my hair into a long, flowing curtain of silk. I'm supposed to wear some ridiculous, revealing outfit, and I've tried to convince the maid to let me choose something myself, but I think she's too afraid of Father to let me. So I'm stuck in the horrible, cherry red dress that leaves nothing to the imagination, and a pair of sky-high, barely there black leather heels. I look like a million bucks, but I feel like a fraud. That feeling hasn't left me once since I set foot in Eden Falls.
"Are you almost ready?" Belle asks, and I swallow, nodding. She brushes some glittery powder over my chest, accentuating my collarbone, and takes a step back, admiring her handiwork. "You look beautiful, Miss Pandora."
"Great," I get out through gritted teeth. "At least I'll be pretty for my fucking funeral."
She ignores me and opens the door, motioning for me to follow her. I can hear the commotion as I exit the room, and my stomach ties in uncomfortable, unbearable knots. I don't want to do this. I don't want to be sold. Yet I have no choice. The only hope I have left is that Dexter will be the one to bid for me. That he wants me enough to keep me as his property. I scoff. High chance of that fucking happening. He's done nothing but push me away since I got to town.
I follow Belle down the stairs, passing groups of people who go quiet when I walk past them. I keep my head held high and ignore the comments and snickers coming from the guests. I don't care what they think of me. I'm going to run soon enough, and then the opinion of the inhabitants of Eden Falls won't matter at all.
"Right through here, Miss." Belle guides me behind a red velvet curtain an
d offers me a glass of water with an apologetic smile. "Drink, Miss. It will calm your nerves."
The water doesn't taste like water and I make a face at the glass. "This is disgusting. What is it?"
"Vodka. To calm your nerves," she repeats. I hand the glass back, scrutinizing her with my gaze.
"How can you stand this, Belle?" I finally ask. "How can you allow your daughter to stay here? How can you stay here? When will it be enough?"
She doesn't reply, instead beginning to tidy the room we're in, but I'm not giving up that easily.
My fingers wrap around her wrist, and I jerk her forward. When her eyes meet mine, there's no emotion in them whatsoever. She's numb. Completely numb. And with that, I don't even need her to answer. Her lack of emotion has said it all.
I let go of her, feeling disgusted as I shake my head. Belle flushes, refusing to meet my eyes as she says, "They'll call you onto the stage in a few minutes."
I ignore her, leaning against the wall. The dress I'm wearing is making every breath a struggle, and the heels are killing me, but I vow to keep my head held high. They won't get to me. They can't.
A moment later, the curtains part and Bryony reaches out for me. I furrow my brows, hating her for being a part of this, for being complicit. But I tear myself away from the wall anyway, ignoring my stepmother's hand as I step onto the stage that's been set up in the Oakes Estate ballroom.
"Please welcome my beautiful stepdaughter," Bryony purrs, and I stare her down with pure contempt as she clinks her glass with a fork. "We'll start the bidding, but the floor is yours for now, Pandora. Why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?"
She leaves the stage, leaving me standing there in the limelight and hating every second of this farce.
"Does the little girl have nothing to say?" a man's voice booms through the silence, and I look at the front row of tables where a tall, broad-shouldered guy in his forties is smirking at me. He's handsome, and I want to spit in his face. "Thought you had a little more fight in you, based on what I've heard, Pandora..."
"Fuck you," I snarl on instinct, making the room erupt in laughter.
"You should be so lucky." He smirks, toasting me with his brandy glass. "So why don't you tell us why you think you're worthy of being bought, little girl? Because all I see is a feisty, plain looking little bitch with a mouth on her. And I ain't paying money for that when I can get it for free."
I'm tempted to flip him off, but I hold back. I can't let him think he's getting to me.
My eyes scan the crowd, looking for a familiar face. Everyone's here - all the boys from school with their families, all the Oakes, and even Dexter, standing alone by the back of the room, his eyes burning mine.
"I'm not here to convince you to buy me," I finally hiss. "I'm here because they made me."
"Hear hear," my father roars from the front row where he's sitting with a delirious-looking Bryony and my flushed siblings who look mortified to be there. At least there's that. "She takes a while to follow directions, but it's oh-so-sweet when she finally bends to your will."
I have no intention of bending to anyone's will, but Father's murderous glare convinces me not to argue with him.
"Now, why don't you strip for the audience?"
My eyes snap back to my father. God, I hate him. He doesn't give a shit about me. All that matters to him is that I'm humiliated in front of his friends and business partners.
"I don't think so," I hiss, making him shrug and chuckle.
"We'll just have to help you out then." He clicks his fingers and a pale-faced Belle reappears, her eyes not meeting mine as she heads up the stage. She begins clinically removing my clothes, and in moments, two male employees grab my arms and hold them behind my back so I'm unable to resist. I scream my head off but nobody pays it any mind. My eyes find Dex's in the crowd, seeing the pain in his gaze, both of us knowing we're helpless to Father's whims.
Father's not done yet though, and he watches with steely-eyed determination as Belle strips me naked. "Don't leave anything on. I want her naked as the day she was born and stolen from us."
Belle obeys, stripping me until the two men finally back away, leaving me naked and shivering on the raised stage. I do my best to cover up, meeting Father's triumphant gaze across the room. He thinks he's humiliated me now, thinks he's got my will stripped away along with my clothes. But I'm not letting him win. He can torture me now, but I'm going to get back at him soon enough.
"Isn't she a sight to behold?" Father bellows. "She may have a plain face, but that body is perfect, isn't it?"
"Indeed," the man who spoke to me in the front row mutters, his hungry eyes never leaving me. It is then that I notice Audra sitting next to him, along with her wimpy brother. Fuck. He must be Audra's father, and judging by his expression, he's as eager to hurt and take advantage of me as one of his kids.
"Let's get this party started," Father mutters. "Guards, move her hands off her."
The two men from before approach me again. They force my arms away, exposing me to the audience and making me whimper in fright. I'm forced to sit on a chair with my legs spread obscenely, and they tie my hands behind my back, and my ankles to the chair legs. I'm steaming with anger as they retreat once again, leaving me vulnerable and exposed. Audra snickers in the front row, and I throw her a murderous look.
"It must hurt that your own father wants me," I tell her sweetly. "Maybe I'll be your new stepmommy!"
Her face falls and her dad chuckles darkly, as if my predicament is amusing. "The girl's got a sharp mouth on her, and I like it. Bitches like her are the most fun to tear down. I can't wait to ruin you, little Lily Anna wannabe. You may not look as pretty as your predecessor, but I bet you're fun to abuse."
"Fuck you," I snarl.
"You will," he grins. "If you're lucky."
"The bidding will begin in four hours," Father drawls lazily. "Until then, feel free to examine her. Do anything you want with her. Test her. She's all yours."
With those words, he tips a wine glass back and retreats from the room, leaving me alone with the hungry wolves. I only have Dex now, and I'm not sure he can do much to protect me.
My heartbeat picks up as the men begin rising from their seats, approaching me like predators closing in for the kill.
The thugs from before carry in a table with various objects on it. There's a bouquet of roses, scissors, candles with a lighter, and then, the most horrible of all - a gun. I have no way of knowing whether there are any bullets in it, and my stomach tightens when I see it.
The men of the founding families pause before the table. I see Lai between them, and he picks up a single rose thoughtfully, then exchanges it for a candle. He lights it, guarding the flame with the palm of his hand as he approaches me with a kind smile. The candle is tall and thin, and I watch in horror as beads of wax begin to slip down its base.
"Don't hurt me." The words fall from my lips before I can stop myself, making me hate my weakness. But I can't help it. I'm terrified. I don't want to get burnt. Lai ignores my desperate plea and positions the candle above my tits. I squirm in my restraints, fearfully glancing at the table where more men are picking up various objects, waiting their turn. The gun glints in the light, untouched - for now. The promise of being shot sends shivers of fear down my spine.
Suddenly, the wax drips on my skin and I yelp as it hardens on my chest. The sensation is painful, but not unwelcome, and I flush when my pussy floods, lubricating its walls as if in preparation.
Lai wordlessly reaches between my legs as if he can read my mind, rubbing his fingers over my sex and mumbling something to himself. He allows the candle to drip on me again and again, until I'm covered in red wax, shivering and on the verge of begging him to stop even though I swore to myself I wouldn't.
And then, he walks away. He blows out the candle and passes it to a maid, his interest lost.
I breathe a sigh of relief, but before I can catch my breath, the next man approaches. It's Easton. He's
offering me a beautiful, plump and velvety red rose.
My eyes meet his but I don't see warmth and kindness in his gaze. No, his dark eyes are almost completely black, and he slaps me with the rose, the thorns scratching me. I curse out loud, but every time I react to the pain, he hits me again and again, covering me in scratches from the rose's thorns. Soon enough, I realize he's testing me, forcing myself to stay quiet the next time the thorns brush against my skin.
"Good girl," he mutters when I only twitch when I get hurt. "You learn so fast."
One by one, the men test my limits. They toy with me. They pinch me. My nipples harden under the constant attention to them, my pussy dripping on the floor and making me so embarrassed I'm convinced death would be a better fate than this. I hate this town. I hate them all.
Finally, Dex stands before me. His eyes are thunderous, and I wonder what it's like for him to see me treated this way. He can't do anything to stop it, not while I'm under Father's roof. My only hope is that he wants me enough to fight... to bid on me, and make me his forever.
He doesn't say a word, his fingertips gliding over my cheek, over my Cupid's bow, down to my scratched and bruised tits. His touch is gentle and kinder than I've ever known it to be. I breathe a sigh of relief. He won't hurt me. Dex won't hurt me when everyone else has.
Instead, he kneels down next to me. He examines my pussy and I whimper, knowing he sees how wet and needy I am and being so embarrassed by it I want to just burst into tears.
"Please," I whisper instead. "Don't hurt me anymore."
He looks up into my eyes, his gaze hardening. Then, he brings his palm down on my pussy, slapping hard.
"Ow!"
"Shut up," Dex mutters. "We both know you love it."
I feel betrayed, broken and abused as he walks away from me after that single slap. I shouldn't have expected anything else. He always just wants to hurt me. I have no one on my side here, not even Dexter Booth. He doesn't care. Fuck knows if he'll even bid on me.
A Hurt So Sweet Volume Three: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Elite of Eden Falls Prep Book 3) Page 9