Sold on Earth, Chosen by Beasts

Chapter - 13

After Victor finally left the apartment with his men, Nyx quietly closed the door behind him.

The moment the door clicked shut, the warmth and noise inside the apartment seemed to vanish instantly, leaving behind only heavy silence and exhaustion.

Nyx leaned against the door for a brief second before forcing herself to move again.

Her original plan to escape tonight had completely fallen apart after Grandma's accident. Between the chaos, the screaming, and Victor's sudden appearance, both her mind and body felt utterly drained.

Still, she silently cleaned the mess left behind in the kitchen.

The broken bowl.

The spilled sugar.

The overturned chair.

Every trace of what had happened earlier.

As she wiped the floor, only one thought repeated endlessly inside her mind.

*Please… just this once… don't blame me for today.*

But deep down, Nyx already knew better.

Hoping for mercy from her family had always been its own kind of foolishness.

And unfortunately, reality proved her right almost immediately.

Ding dong.

The doorbell rang loudly through the apartment.

Nyx froze for a second before walking toward the front door.

Through the frosted glass beside it, she could already see several blurry figures gathered outside.

Neighbors.

Of course.

The shouting, the crashing noises, Victor Romano suddenly arriving with multiple men— there was no way the entire neighborhood hadn't noticed the commotion.

*They're here for gossip,* Nyx thought bitterly. *Pretending to be concerned while trying to collect the latest scandal.*

Just great.

That was the only thing left to happen today.

Suppressing her irritation, Nyx took a slow breath and forced her exhausted expression into a polite smile before finally opening the door.

The moment the door opened, several neighbors immediately leaned forward with poorly hidden curiosity in their eyes.

"Nyx, dear, are you alright?" one of the women asked quickly. "We heard shouting earlier…"

Another neighbor leaned forward slightly and peeked inside the apartment.

"Did someone break into your house?" she asked worriedly. "Is your grandmother alright?"

Nyx tightened her grip on the door before answering calmly, carefully maintaining the composed expression on her face.

"Yes," she said softly. "A few thieves tried to break in earlier. But before they could steal anything or hurt anyone, Victor arrived at the right time and handled the situation."

A few surprised murmurs spread through the group.

"He even arranged for some of his men to guard the building for tonight," Nyx continued. "As for Grandma, she slipped during all the commotion and hurt her back, but the doctor said it's only muscle pain. Thankfully, it's nothing serious."

At first, several neighbors looked skeptical.

After all, who would bother robbing people living in a poor slum area?

But then realization slowly crossed their faces.

Nyx was about to marry Victor Romano now.

Her family was no longer considered poor.

Perhaps some outsider had gotten greedy after hearing the news.

"Oh, thank goodness everyone is safe," one of the women said with visible relief.

"Yes, yes," another neighbor quickly agreed. "Next time something like this happens, call us immediately. Neighbors should look out for each other after all."

Nyx almost laughed at the hypocrisy.

Where had all this concern been when her own family abused her openly for years?

How many times had she silently begged for help only to be ignored?

If she didn't know better, she might have actually believed their performance.

"But…" another neighbor spoke hesitantly, lowering her voice, "what happened to Mr. Roy?"

The atmosphere instantly shifted.

"I'm pretty sure I saw Mr. Romano's men dragging him out of the building earlier."

For the briefest moment, Nyx's face turned pale.

But she quickly lowered her gaze and forced herself to appear shaken rather than nervous.

"I really didn't want to speak badly about him," she said quietly. "We've all been neighbors for years after all…"

The surrounding women leaned closer immediately.

"But since you're asking," Nyx continued softly, "I think it's better for everyone to know the truth. Especially in case he tries something similar with someone else someday."

The curiosity in their eyes deepened instantly.

Nyx swallowed hard before speaking again.

"Mr. Roy was one of the men who entered the house today," she whispered. "From what Victor's men found out, he apparently lost a large amount of money gambling and was desperate to repay his debts."

A shocked gasp spread through the crowd.

"He brought a few of his friends with him and tried to rob our house while no one else was home."

Not entirely the truth.

But not entirely a lie either.

Mr. Roy really had accumulated a massive gambling debt in one of Victor Romano's casinos and had failed to repay it for months. The entire neighborhood already knew about it. In fact, it was the very reason his wife and children had thrown him out of the house not long ago.

"Oh, you poor thing…" one of the women said sympathetically. "You must have been terrified."

Nyx lowered her gaze slightly and gave a weak smile, silently playing along with the role of a shaken victim.

"I never imagined Mr. Roy was capable of something like this," another neighbor murmured in disbelief.

"Neither did I," someone else added quickly. "He always acted so normal around everyone."

The women immediately began whispering among themselves, clearly shocked by the news.

Then one of the neighbors suddenly stepped forward eagerly.

"Do you want one of us to stay here with you until your parents return?" she offered kindly. "After something like this, you girls shouldn't be left alone."

Nyx immediately understood the hidden intention behind the offer.

This wasn't a concern.

This was curiosity.

An opportunity to get closer to Victor Romano through her family.

Suppressing the bitter smile threatening to appear on her face, Nyx shook her head politely.

"Thank you for worrying about us," she replied softly, "but Mr. Romano already arranged for some of his men to guard the building tonight, so we should be alright."

The moment Victor's name was mentioned, the neighbors instantly grew quieter.

Some even glanced nervously toward the staircase where his men had disappeared earlier.

None of them dared insist further after that.

The neighbors exchanged a few more words of concern with her, repeatedly telling her to take care of herself and her grandmother and to let them know if she ever needed help.

Nyx politely thanked them while silently wondering where all this concern had been all these years.

One by one, the neighbors finally began dispersing.

Just as Nyx was about to close the door, she suddenly caught sight of her family returning from downstairs, their hands overloaded with shopping bags.

The moment Rosa noticed the group of neighbors lingering near their apartment, her brows immediately furrowed.

"Why are so many people gathered outside our house?" she asked suspiciously while shoving several shopping bags into Nyx's arms before walking inside. "Did something happen?"

Karen and Mike quickly followed behind her.

The weight of the bags nearly made Nyx stumble backward.

"Where's Dad?" she asked while struggling to close the door with her elbow.

"He's parking the car downstairs," Rosa replied impatiently before narrowing her eyes at Nyx again. "Now answer my question."

Nyx hesitated briefly.

"Let's wait for Dad to come upstairs first," she said quietly before walking deeper into the apartment.

Without waiting for permission, she carried the shopping bags toward their rooms one by one before heading into the kitchen to pour glasses of water for everyone out of habit.

But behind her calm movements, panic was slowly building inside her chest.

How was she supposed to explain what happened today?

Lying to the neighbors had been easy.

Lying to her family was impossible.

Even if she somehow managed to fool them temporarily, Grandma would reveal everything the moment she woke up.

Which meant honesty was the safer option.

At least this time.

Nyx tightened her grip slightly around the tray of water glasses.

What was the worst they could do to her now?

Hit her?

Victor had already warned them not to lay their hands on her anymore.

Insult her?

She had endured that her entire life already.

Taking a slow breath, Nyx silently prepared herself mentally.