Chapter3
744 Words
Gabriella's pov
The air inside the house felt heavier than before.A thick, suffocating tension had settled in the house presently. I looked through the doorway, my hands trembling, as I watched the scene unfolding before me.
They were here, the men mum and dad had whispered about late at night, when they thought I wasn't listening. The one who made them drink more, cursed their miserable luck. At the center of them stood a tall and terrifying composed man, unlike any I had seen.
“Alejandro Delgado”
He wasn't what I had expected, no wild gestures or angry shouts, he didn't need them. His power radiated from him in silence. His dark suit hugged his broad shoulders, his hair was slicked back neatly. His jaw looked like they were carved from stone with his eyes cold and calculating, enough to tear anyone apart. When his gaze swept into the room, I went to the shadows so he wouldn't see me.
“Where's my money?”Alejandro's voice dripped with coldness. Dad stumbled forward, his voice wobbling, “Mr Delgado, I swear we're working on it, business.. business has not been going well lately .” Alejandro cut him off, “ You had three months to pay me my goddamn money”. The way his men tensed at his word, the way Mum and Dad were trembling, said enough. “I'm not interested in excuses, No more time”, his words were final now. “ Payments Now”.
My heart started beating suddenly fast, and as if they had both come to a silent conclusion, they turned to me. No.No, pls no.
“She's …She's of age”,Dad said, “strong and healthy, she would be of value to you. It looked as if my world just ended, my mouth went dry. Mum added quickly,“ She's our adoptive daughter, we saved her from a fire years ago, raised her as our own…but she's not really”. The betrayal went through me immediately, “saved me?”,they had used me as a servant, a punching bag for their frustrations, now they were throwing me away like unwanted furniture.
I stumbled back , shaking my head, “No pls…, I.. I'll work on the debt. I can. Alejandro raised a hand, silencing me without a word. His eyes locked into mine first , accessing through my soul. His gaze dragged over me not with lust but like a commodity. “ What's your name ?”,he asked,
“G-Gabriella”, I whispered, barely able to breathe. His lip twitched, he repeated it like he was tasting the sound. Without looking away from me, he addressed mum and dad, “ she'll do”.
I backed away, but Alejandro reached out his hand catching my wrist in a grip that was firm, not cruel, yet something told me he wasn't giving me a chance. “ You belong to me, now”, he said like a promise. “ Go pack your things”. Tears blurred my vision, “,I had nothing to pack”, I said, the word tasting bitter in my tongue.
He studied me for a while, his face unreadable, then he dropped my wrist and turned to his men, “ we're leaving in five minutes”. Panic rose within me, five minutes to say goodbye to the miserable life I had ever known, five minutes to become a property.
Lucia and Ricardo did not look at me , they were all celebrating their freedom while I was being sold off like a piece of something. A drop tear rolled down my cheeks, as one of Alejandro's men motioned for me to move, my body obeyed before my mind could, I stumbled into the store I called my room to pick my tattered backpack I kept under the bed, inside were a few clothes, a picture of a girl I barely remembered and a cheap locket. That was all I owned in this world.
I clutched my backpack to my chest and returned to the living room where Alenjandro waited. He didn't glance at me. His attention was on his phone . I followed them in the cold night, swallowing my pride, fear and heartbreak . The door of Morales slamming shut behind me, I turned back and made a vow, If I survive this, I would be back for the Mo
rales family.
- Writer
