Sold on Earth, Chosen by Beasts

Chapter -5

"Give that back," Nyx whispered, panic flashing across her face for the first time that night.

Resting in Karen's palm was a strange necklace woven from impossibly thin vines braided together with delicate precision. Even after all these years, the vines looked alive — dark emerald strands curling softly around one another like sleeping roots beneath moonlit soil. Tiny veins of gold shimmered through them whenever light brushed against their surface, pulsing faintly as if sap still flowed within.

At the center hung a single hardened drop of Golden Sap.

It looked neither like crystal nor amber, though it resembled both. The pendant carried the color of liquid sunlight trapped in eternal stillness — warm, luminous, impossibly pure. Deep within the golden drop, faint currents swirled lazily like sunlight drifting beneath honey. Whenever Nyx touched it, the sap felt strangely warm against her skin, carrying the subtle scent of rain-soaked earth and ancient forests after spring bloom.

To anyone else, it was nothing more than a necklace.

But to Nyx, it was everything.

It was the only thing her real family had left behind.

When she had been found abandoned near the dumpsters as a baby, the necklace had been wrapped around her tiny body alongside a letter. A letter that only she could read.

The message would appear like glowing words across a translucent screen whenever her fingers brushed against the Golden Sap.

You were never abandoned.

We were separated by circumstances beyond our control.

Wait for us.

This necklace will protect you until we return for you.

As a child, Nyx had desperately tried to show the glowing message to her siblings whenever they mocked her for being unwanted. But no matter how hard she tried, the screen remained visible to her alone. To everyone else, she looked like a liar — or worse, insane.

And they had hated her even more for it.

*I hid it so carefully… How did she find it?*

Panic surged through her chest.

Nyx lunged toward Karen with all the strength she had left, but Karen sidestepped easily. Nyx crashed onto the floor with a painful gasp, her bruised body screaming in protest.

"Didn't we throw that thing away after the incident?" her grandmother asked coldly, narrowing her eyes at the pendant. "Where did you find it again?"

"It was hidden in the deepest corner of her wardrobe," Karen replied with a smirk. "She treasures it more than her own life. I figured it might finally make her obedient."

A satisfied smile spread across the old woman's wrinkled face.

"Good girl. Give it to me."

Karen walked over immediately and placed the necklace into her grandmother's waiting palm.

"I'll keep it safe until the wedding," the old woman said smugly as she rose from the bed. "After that, she can take it with her to her husband's house."

Nyx remained sprawled on the floor, too exhausted to move as she watched her grandmother walk toward the wardrobe. The old woman carefully placed the pendant inside the small safe hidden behind folded blankets, locking it away as though it were priceless treasure.

And to her, it was.

Not because of its beauty.

But because it gave her complete control over Nyx.

Nyx's fingers dug weakly into the floorboards. She wanted to fight. Wanted to scream. Wanted to snatch the necklace back and run.

But she couldn't. Her body felt like it had been hit by a truck. Even breathing felt painful and exhausting.

For the first time in years, regret settled heavily inside her chest.

She should have accepted the Parker family's offer to adopt her when she still had the chance.

But it was too late now.

"You'll sleep on the floor tonight," her grandmother said sharply. "And don't even think about running away. The second you try, I'll burn that pendant with my own hands."

With that threat hanging in the air, both Karen and the old woman climbed onto the bed, turned off the lights, and fell asleep peacefully.

Nyx remained on the cold floor, staring into the darkness.

No matter how exhausted she was, sleep refused to come.

Her mind raced endlessly, searching for a way out.

She couldn't marry that man.

She couldn't destroy her life like this.

All she could do now was wait for the right moment… steal the pendant back… and run.

Yes.

That was what she would do. she thought her resolve hardening before unconsciousness takes her

Nyx woke to the sound of chaos echoing throughout the house.

Voices. Footsteps. Furniture scraping against the floor.

The entire family was bustling with excitement.

Her mother, Rosa, was busy in the kitchen preparing expensive snacks while Karen hovered beside her helping arrange dishes. Her father and Mike were cleaning the living room and decorating the house as though royalty were about to visit. Meanwhile, her grandmother sat proudly in her rocking chair, barking instructions at everyone.

For a brief moment, Nyx frowned in confusion.

Then last night's memories slammed into her mind.

The marriage.

Her refusal.

The beating.

The pendant.

Her heart dropped into her stomach.

*Right… Mr. Romano is coming today.*

A bitter laugh almost escaped her lips.

*They're really going this far just to sell me off to him?*

Pain shot through her body as she slowly pushed herself upright from the floor. Every muscle protested. Her eyes burned from lack of sleep after spending the entire night thinking about escape.

"You're awake."

Rosa's cold voice cut through her thoughts as she entered the room.

"Good. I prepared a bath for you. Scrub yourself properly and wash all that filth off."

She walked toward the wardrobe, pulled out a dress, and tossed it directly at Nyx's face.

"And wear this afterward."

Her hands moved mechanically. Her eyes drifted toward a meaningless c***k in the wallpaper while Rosa's voice continued somewhere in the background. Nyx caught the dress weakly before staring down at it in silence.

It was new.

Karen's dress.

The one she had bought for herself only days ago.

"Karen," Rosa called while heading toward the door, "do her makeup once she's done bathing."

"No!" Karen protested instantly from outside the room. "Why should I waste my makeup on *her*? Besides, she already has a pretty face. Isn't the dress enough?"

Nyx could practically hear Karen stomping her feet somewhere outside the room, but the sound felt distant and muffled, as though she were hearing it from underwater. The dress hung limply from her fingers as she dragged herself toward the washroom.

Behind her, the tantrum stopped the second Rosa glared at Karen.

Karen's eyes instantly filled with tears.

Rosa sighed in frustration, her expression softening immediately.

"I know, sweetheart," she said gently. "But this marriage is important for our family. If Mr. Romano agrees to the wedding, I promise your father, and I will buy you the makeup set and the dresses you've been wanting."

A cruel smile slowly spread across her lips.

"After all, we plan to squeeze every bit of worth out of Nyx while we still can."

Karen's entire face lit up at those words.

"Really?"

Rosa nodded.

The girl instantly hugged her mother before rushing off excitedly to prepare.

After bathing, Nyx stepped out of the washroom only for Karen to immediately drag her toward the vanity mirror.

"Sit."

Karen began brushing through Nyx's long, dark hair before tying it into a high ponytail. Then she reluctantly started applying makeup.

A touch of blush.

Lip balm over her cracked lips.

Soft lipstick.

Lightly shaped brows.

Simple.

Natural.

Yet the moment Karen finished, her expression darkened with jealousy.

The makeup only made Nyx even more beautiful.

Her pale skin looked softer beneath the light. Her silver eyes seemed brighter. Even the bruises couldn't fully hide her delicate features.

Karen's fingers tightened around the makeup brush.

For a moment, she wanted nothing more than to ruin that face completely.

But she forced herself to calm down.

*What's the point of beauty,* she thought bitterly, *when she's just going to be sold to an old man anyway?*

That thought soothed her jealousy enough to continue fixing Nyx's appearance.

Then suddenly—

The doorbell rang.

Everyone froze for a split second.

Nyx's heart stopped.

Her fingers instinctively clenched the fabric of her dress as panic flooded through her chest.

They were here.