The heavy velvet curtain dropped with finality, snuffing out the lights and the hungry eyes on the other side. Applause still echoed faintly through the thick walls—like the dying tremors of a storm that had passed, leaving behind a trail of chaos and conquest.
Straightening my cuffs as I walked through the narrow corridor behind the stage, the scent of sweat, perfume, and fear hanging in the air like incense. Men—important men, not as important as I am though—lined the space now, murmuring to aides, nodding to guards, flashing claim tokens like gods casting lots.
My steps were unhurried, I don't need to rush. The room is already mine.
The girls were being processed in the holding room to the right, behind a steel door that clicked open only for the branded. I passed it and felt the flicker of eyes on me—wide, darting, broken things, trying to guess which of them is mine . I didn't look back, I never do. The worth of a thing was decided long before it ever stepped into the light.
The overseer spotted me and straightened, clipboard tucked tight under one arm. "Mr. Damien," he said, half-bowing, half-bracing for impact. "Your bid is cleared. She's ready."
"Of course she is."
They parted the crowd like the sea for me. Told you they're not as important as I am. No one touched me, or rather, no one dared to.
Inside the private retrieval suite, the girl was seated on the cushioned bench looking just as I remember—beautiful. She had been unbound and properly dressed, her eyes full of fear and...anger?. She flinched when the door opened. Good, she's scared of me afterall, it's not everyday you find someone who isn't scared of the person who bought them. That only makes her more valuable and fun to break.
I stepped in. The door hissed closed behind me shutting both of us off from the world.
Sniff.
Sniff.
As expected, her eyes were full of unshed tears. Pretty.
This was the moment I was waiting for. Not the auction, not the show, not even the transaction.
This...The claiming.
Hands clasped behind my back, I circled her, the corners of my mouth tugging upward—not in kindness, but pride. She looks beautiful. Flawed, yes, but that only means there is work to do. A project, an investment.
Crouching so that we were eye-level, I asked her the question I'd been itching to ask.
"Do you know what you are now?" I asked, leaning towards her just in time to see her shiver in...fright?
She shook her head, just a tiny movement.
My smiled widened.
"Mine."
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Sorry this chapter is so short, it's because I want to write the next one in her pov.
Thanks for coming this far!🤭❤️ much love.
~Shiprah🫶