FALLING FOR THE DON

CHAPTER 2 : NUMBER THERE

~Camila's POV

Derek led me into a room where four other people around my age were waiting—two girls and two boys. The expressions on their faces made my stomach tighten. None of them looked hopeful.

“Hi guys,” I greeted them. They didn't respond to me. Derek took his leave and weirdly: he locked the door behind him.

I looked around the room. It was nothing like the luxurious hall outside. The space was small, the lights were dim, and the air felt heavy.

I slowly sat beside a guy who looked a little friendlier than the others. I couldn't deny he was handsome, but the sadness in his eyes made him look older than he probably was.

“Hi,” I said softly.

“You don't seem to get what's happening here right?” he said instead.

“We are here for an auction,” I muttered, hoping to be right.

“Yeah, but we are the ones being auctioned.”

Wait… what? We are being auctioned? No, that isn't possible. Humans can't be auctioned, only valuable items can.

“No, my aunt brought me here, we are here…” I couldn't even explain myself.

“Exactly… She brought you here to sell you.”

Sell me? This was becoming creepy, aunt Diana wouldn't sell me. I am her niece. Her only niece.

“No… It can be,” I muttered to myself.

“It is darling,” a girl said. “We were all lured here, and some were even kidnapped.”

“You don't get… my aunt… my biological aunt. She brought me here, she wouldn't sell me…” I forced my brain to believe what I just uttered.

“So where is your aunt now? She brought you here, why isn't she here with you now?” the cute boy asked.

“She is…” I couldn't find words to support me anymore.

My heart slowly sank.

They were right. Aunt Diana brought me here to sell me.

A lady walked into the room, everyone became silent. She looked at us with suspicious eyes before she stuck number tags to us. The two girls got number 1 and 2, while I got number 3, then the boys number 4 and 5.

“What are the numbers for?” I asked as soon as the lady left the room.

“I guess it's how we take turns, who gets sold first,” the girl answered.

My breath itched, I found it hard to believe that this was really true. My aunt is selling me off.

We started hearing sounds from the host outside, he was opening the auction with an introduction.

“Number one,” he called. My palms started sweating. It was really happening— I am being sold.

The girl went out, passing through a curtain that led to the stage.

We all heard as the price rose. People were bidding for her. They were actually buying a person!

“Sold,” The auctioneer said as the loud hitting of the hammer echoed through the walls.

The next girl got called, we could also hear people bidding for her. By that time, I already lost hope. All I did was to say silent prayers inside my head.

“Number three.”

I froze, finding it hard to walk to the stage.

“Number three,” he called again. I took slow steps towards the stage.

And there was my aunt, sitting majestically amidst the crowd. She didn't even flinch at the sight of me. Instead, she watched me— she watched her orphaned niece get sold.

“Starting price $100,000,” The auctioneer began.

“$200,000,” an old man in the crowd raised his board.

“$300,000,” a blonde guy also raised his board.

“$500,000,” another man.

“$700,000,” the old man again.

“$800,000,” the blonde guy.

I watched them immensely, surprised that they were putting a price on me without an iota of shame. Really? Is this what the true world is like? No one cares about your emotions.

“1 million dollars,” the old man raised his board once more.

“1.5 million dollars,” the blonde guy dragged.

Can they get this over with quickly? The humiliation was unbearable.

“2 million dollars,” the old man stated, and the crowd went a little silent.

“Going once…” The auctioneer muttered.

Deep down, I didn't want to be sold to the old man, someone better would do. But I don't really have a choice.

“Going twice…”

I guessed it was my fate…

“5 million dollars,” a deep voice in a foreign accent filled with authority rang through the loud speakers. The person was in a private room, he was watching the auction privately. He must be a VIP.

“5 million dollars?” The auctioneer repeated. He was surprised — even I was.

“Going once…” he called.

“Going twice…” he dragged his words.

“And SOLD!” He hit the hammer.

The lady who put a tag number on us earlier, grabbed my hands and dragged me somewhere. Before she did, I saw my aunt’s face, she was visibly elated.

So this was it? The last person I could call my family just sold me without blinking an eye.

I didn't bother to cry, I have realized that crying doesn't change anything, it just makes us weaker. I would agree to anything asides being weak. The world wasn't fair to weak people.

I was taken to a car, or was it an SUV? It's a huge car though. The lady pushed me in and slammed the door shut. A man was already at the back seat of the car, he was dressed all back, looking like a typical bodyguard in Hollywood action movies.

He quickly held my hands to the back and he tied them, he also blindfolded me.

In barely a minute, the car door opened and slammed shut. Someone entered the car and they began to drive.