My Father Sold Me to a Billionaire

Chapter 2 The Smile He Never Gave Me

I knew I was supposed to fall for him by now. But some feelings are doomed from the very first look.

My nose prickled with sudden tears, yet I forced out my most seductive fake smile anyway. "Whether it's enough or not is completely up to you, isn't it, Mr. Haywood?"

Eldon gave a cold chuckle and turned his back on me, done with the conversation.

He actually treated me pretty decently most of the time. Sure, he got wild when we were in bed. But outside of that, he was good to me.

When I got home, Rosina Benton was sitting on the sofa, counting a thick stack of cash. The second she saw me, her whole face lit up. "Alisson, you're back! Girl, I made a killing today. You won't believe it. Some guy actually paid in straight cash, a whole fat envelope full of bills. I barely gave him a couple of kisses, and he slipped me two thousand in tips."

"Yeah," I answered in a flat voice, no feeling behind the word.

Rosina noticed something was wrong right away. She dropped the money and came over to sit on the edge of my bed. "What's going on with you? Did you fight with that twisted sugar daddy of yours again?"

I did not feel like explaining anything. I just pulled my shirt collar aside and showed her the fresh bite mark on my shoulder. "Rosina, can you help me put some ointment on this?"

She took one look and her eyes filled with anger. She jumped up to grab the first-aid kit. "Seriously, what kind of man are you mixed up with? A vampire? Look at you. There is hardly a single spot on your body that is not bruised!"

I stayed quiet. After she finished rubbing the medicine in, I went straight to my room and crawled into bed.

The next day, I spent a good chunk of money getting my hands on a fake invitation and slipped into Eldon's engagement party.

Up on the stage, I saw a side of him I had never seen before. He looked gentle in a way that made my chest tighten. And for the first time in the three years I had known him, I watched him smile at someone. The smile was for the woman standing beside him, and the sight felt like a slap across my face.

His fiancée was breathtaking. She looked like an angel. Every little movement she made, every soft smile, could make even another woman's heart flutter. No wonder every man in the room was staring.

Something twisted deep inside me, but I could not put a name to the feeling.

Then his sharp gaze cut across the crowd and locked straight onto me. My heart skipped a full beat.

My phone vibrated. The message from him was only two words.

Eldon: Come here.

I followed him all the way to a storage room tucked at the far end of the hall. The moment I closed the door, his hand shot out and clamped around my throat. My head slammed back against the wall so hard that pain stole every word from my mouth.

His eyes burned with pure rage. He kept his voice low and deadly, biting out each word. "Who the hell gave you permission to show up here? Got a death wish?"

It was the first time I had ever seen him this furious. Fear flooded through me, but underneath it sat a deeper hurt. Three years together, and I had let myself believe there might be something more between us.

"If Hattie sees you, I will send you straight back to your father," he snarled. Then he shoved my face away hard. His nails scraped across my chin, leaving a burning sting.

The threat sent a cold shiver through my whole body.

I basically fled from that engagement party like the place was on fire. I was terrified of what he would do when he got angry. I had seen it with my own eyes before. He could turn into a bloodthirsty monster. Once, he had a man who flirted with me castrated and then thrown out of Veridian City for good.

I had always been careful and obedient. After three years with him, even though his moods changed without warning, I had learned how to read him pretty well. Maybe that was why he had not grown tired of me yet.

After the engagement party, Eldon did not contact me for two full weeks. Every message I sent him disappeared without a single reply.

It really looked like he loved his fiancée, Hattie Fletcher, with everything he had. Just remembering his warning that day still sent a dull ache through my chest.

Suddenly, I heard Rosina's painful cries for mercy drifting up from downstairs, mixed with a man's angry shouting. I frowned, grabbed a robe, threw it over my shoulders, and hurried down the stairs.

A fat, greasy man had Rosina trapped in his arms. He was kissing her and groping her without letting go.

"You took my money, and now you're saying you're not for sale? How about I call the cops and tell them you scammed me?" he yelled. He shoved Rosina to the floor, then lifted his foot and stomped hard on her stomach.

Without thinking, I rushed forward and shoved the guy back with everything I had. "What the hell do you think you're doing!"