He Sold My Virginity, I Fought to Survive

Chapter 2

That night at the auction was a nightmare that still haunts me to this day. Bianca had staged the whole thing. A few racy photos pushed her straight to the top of the trending topics, and she dumped every bit of the blame right on me.

No matter how many times I explained, Silas refused to believe me.

On the engagement night I had dreamed of for so long, he threw me onto that auction block himself.

Through the thin black veil covering me, I watched Bianca curl into his chest, clinging to his arm as if she belonged there.

In that split second, my heart felt like it was being ripped clean in two.

Every man in the crowd below let their greedy, hungry gaze roam across every inch of my body.

"Miss Cross's first night goes to the highest bidder tonight!"

I clung to the last shred of hope I had left and lifted my eyes to Silas, begging him silently. "I really didn't do it..."

Swirls of thick cigarette smoke drifted between us, and all I could see were his cold, unforgiving eyes staring back at me.

"You made a mistake. Mistakes get punished."

Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them, and my whole body ached as I trembled uncontrollably.

So this was how much he hated me. I never imagined it could run this deep.

By the time everything wrapped up, it was already deep into the night. Those salacious headlines about me had already spread across the entire city.

After I overheard the conversation between him and the venue manager with my own two ears, I struck a match and set the whole place ablaze. The roaring, orange inferno swallowed every last memory Silas and I had shared together.

The cops were on me in minutes and dragged me straight into custody. When Silas saw me, he lashed out and kicked me so hard I went flying across the concrete. "Bianca inhaled smoke, and she's still in the hospital fighting for her life! How can you be this evil? You tried to burn her alive! Just you wait. I won't go easy on you this time, not by a long shot."

The day my prison sentence was handed down, Silas made a flashy, public announcement, officially endorsing Bianca as the rightful heir to the Cross family.

From that moment on, I had absolutely nothing left.

Three years in prison. I slept on the floor right next to the cell toilet. They held my head down and forced me to drink toilet water. The older inmates stripped me naked and abused me however they wanted.

To survive, I fought tooth and nail, clawing my way to safety with my own two fists. The only thing that kept me going was getting out alive, so I could buy back my parents' family ancestral home.

The day I got out, I scurried into the underground fight club like a rat hiding from the light in a gutter, and just lived my life numb from that point on.

If I could get that one million dollars, I would be one step closer to getting that family ancestral home back.

The thought jolted me awake abruptly. All I could see was a blur of bright white around me.

"Did the money come through?"

The manager never expected that this would be the first thing out of my mouth. She fell dead silent.

My chest felt like it had been hit by a sledgehammer, and hot tears came pouring out before I could stop them. Of course. I was just being a fool to hope for anything else. Why would Silas ever let me get what I wanted?

"Fine. I'll just take a few more fights..."

"Evelyn." The manager cut me off immediately, her eyes brimming with pity. "You... don't come back. Mr. Thorne gave an order. If anyone lets you fight here, he'll ruin the whole business." With that, she dropped the bank card and practically ran out of the room like her shoes were on fire.

Every word I could have said got stuck in my throat all at once, and the pressure was so intense I could barely breathe.

I stumbled out of the hospital on shaking legs. Torrential rain poured down, mixing with my tears and blurring everything in my vision.

I squeezed the bank card so tight my knuckles ached. I knew it, my dream of buying back my parents' family ancestral home had just slipped even further out of reach.

Before I knew it, I had wandered right to the edge of the old family ancestral home. Through the sheets of pouring rain, I watched Silas take Bianca's hand in front of a crowd of reporters.

"Starting today, this family ancestral home is officially a gift for Bianca! From now on, she will be the rightful, legal owner of the Cross family ancestral home!"

The entire world spun off its axis in that instant.

I fumbled out my phone and finally dialed that person's number. "Take me away."