SHE SOLD ME TO THE DEVIL

"You're so useless." My stepmother said it before throwing the plate at me. I jumped back immediately as it smashed against the wall beside my head. Broken pieces lay scattered all over the floor. My heart was beating fast because I knew I was in big trouble. "I-I'm sorry…" "Sorry?" she snapped. "Can your sorry bring money into this house?" I quickly knelt down to clean the broken plate before she got angrier. That woman hated me. Honestly, I stopped asking why a long time ago. Maybe because I wasn't her real daughter, or maybe because my father loved me too much before he died. Or maybe… she just enjoyed making my life miserable. "Hurry up!" she shouted. I picked the pieces faster while trying not to cry. But tears still gathered in my eyes when one sharp piece cut my finger. Blood began to gush out from my middle finger. "See?" she hissed. "Useless girl. You can't even clean properly." I stayed quiet because I couldn't talk back to her. That was how I survived in that house. Because once I answered back, things became worse. "You eat my food, wear clothes inside my house, use my electricity, yet you contribute nothing." She folded her arms angrily. "At least your beauty should finally become useful today." My hand stopped moving. I looked up at her slowly. "What does that mean?" I asked her. A strange smile appeared on her face. "You ask too many questions." She snapped back. I didn't even understand what was happening because she had never mentioned my beauty before. She always said I looked so ugly, like my father. Sometimes I questioned myself — why did she marry my father if she knew he wasn't handsome? But the truth was she married my father because of his money. I suddenly noticed something in the house — it was unusually clean, because I hadn't swept it that morning. She had woken me up to go hawk, so I was unable to sweep. The expensive plates were unusually clean, and even the old couch cover had been changed. She only did this when she was expecting important visitors. Before I could think more about it, headlights suddenly flashed through the window. A big black car appeared in front of our house. My stepmother quickly fixed her hair. Excitement was all over her face. This was the second time I saw her smiling like this — the first time was when she found out she was pregnant by my dad, but unfortunately she had a miscarriage and never had any child for my father. She was really sad when she lost it, because my dad had promised her so many things if she gave birth to a boy. But when she lost it, she accused me of causing it, and my dad got angry at her when she accused me of being a witch who killed her baby. "They're here." She said it smiling. I stood up slowly. Who could she be referring to, that it made her smile like this? "Who?" I asked. Instead of answering me, she grabbed my arm tightly. "Go and wear the red dress." "The short one?" "Yes." That dress barely covered my thighs. Normally, she called me shameless for wearing things like that. So why was she forcing me now? "Mama, what's going on?" Before I could finish, she grabbed my arm hard. Her nails dug into my skin. "Mama, you're hurting me," I said, crying in pain. "Good," she said. She loved seeing me in pain. My pain actually pleased her. Tears filled my eyes, then she shoved me toward the hallway. I lost my balance and hit my shoulder against the wall. Pain shot through my body. "Go!" she screamed. "Or I'll give you a reason to cry." For a second, I just stood there. I was staring at her. Wondering how the woman my father trusted had become someone I didn't recognize anymore. Then her eyes dropped to the small necklace around my neck. The one my father gave me before he died. Anger appeared on her face. Without warning, she yanked it. SNAP. The chain broke. I gasped. "Daddy's necklace!" I dropped to my knees trying to find it. But she kicked it beneath the sofa. "You won't need that where you're going." I really wished my father hadn't died. "What does that mean?" She smiled wickedly. "You'll find out soon enough." "Mama—" She didn't even let me continue talking. She just gave me another slap. SLAP! My head turned sharply from the force. Pain burned across my cheek immediately. "I said wear it!" Tears rushed into my eyes. I didn't even argue again. I just ran to my room and changed quickly. Something was terribly wrong. When I came back into the sitting room, my stepmother was smiling at a man sitting comfortably on our old sofa. A very dangerous-looking man. He was in a black suit and wearing an expensive watch. My steps slowed immediately, then he looked at me. And God… I wished he hadn't. Because the way he stared at me made me feel trapped instantly. I didn't like the way he looked at me. Not at all. My stepmother smiled proudly. "This is Elena." The man kept staring at me for a few seconds before speaking. "She's beautiful." I looked at my stepmother nervously. "What's happening?" She ignored me completely. Instead, she turned to him and smiled. "So… do we have a deal?" Deal? I thought as my heart beat fast. The man slowly stood up. He was tall. The kind of tall that made everyone else look smaller. And handsome? But there was something about him that didn't feel right. He looked dangerous to me. Then he reached into his pocket and dropped a thick envelope on the table. Looking at the envelope, it contained a lot of money. My stepmother's eyes shone immediately, and that was the moment fear truly entered my body. I looked between both of them. I was confused and scared. "What deal?" I asked again, but nobody answered me. The man walked closer instead. He walked slowly and calmly. He acted as if he had all the time in the world. Then he stopped right in front of me. "Lucien Valentino," he said. The name hit me instantly. Everybody knew Lucien Valentino. Even if I didn't know him, my father always referred to him, but from all he said, he was a wicked man — but he said his name was Lucien Robert, not Valentino. I guessed this was his son my dad had referred to. I began to shake because he was a billionaire people feared. The man connected to dangerous rumors. "The devil in a designer suit." I took one step back immediately. My stepmother grabbed my wrist before I could move. Then she smiled. Cruelly. "He's the man buying you."