Secretly Mine

It was too late.

Before I had a chance to run or hide, Karl had already spotted me and was walking towards me. His lust-filled, beady little eyes scanned me up and down, causing the hair on my arms to stand up from fear.

I should have known this was something to do with him! My parents tricked me!

Angrily, I stood up and was ready to blatantly walk away. My father wasn't here, so I didn't feel like I had to suffer with Karl. But just as I took a step forward, my leg caved in and I nearly collapsed, catching myself against the table at the very last moment.

"Ah, my beautiful bride. Excited as ever," said Karl, walking over to my side.

He reached over to help me stand straight, but I jerked my hand away, refusing to let him touch me.

"Oh, wow, boss! Is this your future wife? She's a total beauty!" an equally gross man beside Karl said as he undressed me with his eyes.

"Yep. And tonight, she's going to keep me a little company. I've been putting in a lot of overtime at the company recently and need to blow off some steam," said Karl with a hungry smile.

I remained silent as I listened to his disgusting words. The entire time, I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

My eyes flickered over to the empty glass on the table.

Was the alcohol too strong? Or was I drugged?

It felt like all of the energy was slowly being drained from my body. Even just standing was becoming increasingly more difficult.

Karl watched me, noticing my trembling arms and legs. He flashed me a smile, "Now, now, kitten. Did you drink too much? Come, let me bring you someplace where you can rest."

This time, he placed his arm around my waist, allowing himself to freely feel me up in the process.

"This way, kitten."

"No! I'm not going anywhere with you!" I shouted, doing my best to stand firmly.

A few nearby people glanced our way, like I had hoped. A waitress I had never seen before walked over and looked at me with concern.

"Is everything alright here?"

Karl let out a small sigh, "Yes, I apologize for the disturbance. My fiancée here had a little too much to drink and is now being willful. I'm just trying to get her to call it a night and help her up to her room."

"Oh, I see," she said, nodding her head.

"No! I don't want to go with him!" I yelled again, but this time my words were slurred.

Why?! What is happening to me?

Karl looked at the waitress apologetically. "She's upset with me that I left her here for so long. Unfortunately, my business meeting went overtime, so I arrived late..."

The waitress nodded and flashed him a smile. "I understand, please let me know if there's anything I can help with."

Just as the waitress turned around, Karl pulled me into his arms. "Come now, kitten. I'll make it all up to you once we're back in our room. How does that sound?"

The man beside Karl let out a snickering laugh. "Boss, you're so good at pacifying women. You'll be such a good husband in the future."

"Of course. I'll be a great father too. I look forward to having many children with you," he said, squeezing me tighter.

I wanted to vomit. The stench from his body was nauseating, and to make matters worse, everything around me slowly began to spin.

"What...did you....do to...me?" I asked with great difficulty.

Karl laughed, "What do you mean? You clearly had too much to drink."

But the smile in his eyes told me otherwise. He must have been here for a while, waiting for me to arrive. All of this must have been a setup.

He pulled me out of the lounge area with the help of his sketchy 'friend'. As we entered the main lobby area, I tried to yell for help again, but it was too difficult to open my mouth.

No. No, I must stay conscious!

I could feel my eyelids becoming heavier and heavier. I knew that if I gave in to the sleepiness, there was no telling as to what was about to happen to me.

Does Father know where he sent me? Does he know what this man wants to do to me?

Even if we weren't close, I was still his own flesh and blood. I looked like him more than any of my siblings; shouldn't he have a single shred of concern for his youngest daughter?

I bit the side of my cheek, using the pain to try and keep me awake. But just as I was dragged into the luxurious elevator, I felt like I couldn't hold out much longer.

---

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on a humongous bed. The first thing I did was look down at my body.

Thank goodness!

I was still wearing my clothes, and Karl was nowhere in sight. But as I could hear voices coming from the other room.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Karl's shout startled me, but my non-responsive body didn't move a millimeter.

"They called, saying that the people are missing. The entire auction went fine until the very end. Just as they were bringing up one of the last people, they found all of the cells opened and a group of guards unconscious on the ground."

Auction? Was there an event today? Why didn't I know about it?

I tried to crane my neck to hear more, but I realized that I really couldn't move.

"HOW IS IT THAT THE MOMENT I LEAVE TO ENJOY MY NIGHT, EVERYTHING GOES TO SHIT?"

Karl's booming voice made it easy to hear, even without moving my head.

So there really was an event.

My thoughts returned to Christian's accusation.

It couldn't be. Right?

"Tell them to search every inch of that underground dungeon. I refuse to believe that an entire group of half-sedated people could have gone far!"

My eyes widened. Karl's words basically confirmed everything that Christian has been trying to tell me for a while now.

No. No, it can't be.

I wasn't sure if it was due to shock or something else, but I continued to deny the possibility of human trafficking happening in the auction house I've been so proud of as a child.

But contrary to my thoughts, tears began flowing down my face. I hated how stupid I was. I wished that I trusted Christian more.

However, before I could continue with all of my regretful thoughts, a bigger issue was right in front of me.

"Oh, at least you're awake. Just in time because daddy is very angry and needs to let off some steam." Karl looked at my tear-streaked face and licked his lips.