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1. The First Eye Contact

I had just gone inside the ladies' restroom to clean up the place when a woman came out of one of the toilet stalls, approached me, and looked at her with a look of surprise and wonder.

"Please, save me; I don't want to be on tonight's show. Will you replace me there?"

Looking at her, I widened in surprise; I didn't understand the topic she was discussing. I was just about to say something, but she interrupted me first.

"I'll pay you five thousand dollars just for tonight; you have to replace me at the auction tonight at this hotel."

Hearing the amount she mentioned, my mouth gaped slightly, and my hand reflexively touched my mouth.

"Please... I'll pay you now, just for tonight."

The woman, whose name I didn't know, begged with a pleading look. I couldn't bear to look at her face, and I needed money for my mother's medical expenses and tuition fees.

"You'll pay me five thousand dollars to cover for you tonight at the auction?" I asked, clarifying what she wanted, and she nodded vigorously. Her eyes were puffy, and her face was smudged with mascara.

"Alright, but only for tonight, right?!" I asked again, and she nodded again. Then she smiled in sadness.

"Come, come with me; you must get ready; the show is about to start."

She pulled my hand, which made me immediately drop the mop I was holding. She led me to one of the rooms in the hotel and told me to sit at the dressing table. She immediately went to the large wardrobe in the room. She took out a silver-coloured evening gown with a very revealing top and back. I stared at the dress with wide eyes.

"Should I wear that dress?" I asked, feeling a little panicked. It was too revealing, and I wasn't used to wearing too revealing clothes.

"Just for tonight," said the woman. I stared at the dress as I swallowed dryly.

"You'll look amazing in this dress." The woman said again as she helped me dress and put on the dress. Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw another woman there, more beautiful, classy, charming and voluptuous. My forehead frowned faintly for a few seconds at my current appearance, like something was happening. My mind conjured up a memory I wasn't sure I belonged to, but I saw a woman's face smiling, then a man whose face was not so clear with her, and then they kissed.

"Come on, the show is about to start; give me your account, and I'll transfer the money right now."

The woman's voice snapped me out of my reverie, making me wonder momentarily. But I quickly ignored it because soon I would solve the financial problem I was facing. A few seconds later, my eyes widened again to see the amount of my account I had never imagined would be filled with that much.

"Th-thank you," I stammered, my eyes rising to look at the woman, and she gave me a small smile.

"I thank you too; the event is in the ballroom of this hotel. Go ahead, here's my invitation. Tell the receptionist you're filling in for Miss Solaine and say your name."

I stared at the invitation she gave me and took it. After handing over the invitation, she left me alone in this room. I turned back to the dressing table mirror behind me, looked at my face again, and headed to the venue.

When I arrived at the ballroom door guarded by two men in all-black suits with apple-red bow ties, a man greeted me kindly and asked for my invitation. I handed him the invitation the woman had given me.

"I'm filling in for Miss Solaine; my name is Amelia Watson."

The man looked at me with a friendly smile, but I felt he was doing his job.

"Please come with me, Miss Watson," he said as he moved away from the ballroom entrance. I frowned at not going inside, but I followed the man anyway. He led me to another door that had a black curtain covering it. When I was inside the room, I saw several women gathered there. I stared momentarily at the assembled women, all of whom were wearing black party masks and seemed to be talking to each other. The man from earlier came over and surprised me momentarily by handing me a party mask, just like the ones the women in this place were wearing.

"Put this on, Miss," the man said, and I took the black party mask and put it on.

"Come with me, Miss; you must complete some paperwork before joining the auction."

Again, I could only follow the man who led me deeper into this room. Several women were whispering as I passed them. I gulped and looked down in nervousness. They were all more or less the same as my current appearance, wearing provocative dresses. I felt something was wrong but didn't want to assume too much.

I filled out some paperwork, which was personal and asked for my entire identity. After filling that, the man asked me to wait with the others in the room. Since I knew no one in this room, I just stood alone in one corner. A waiter offered me a drink, and I took a glass of champagne and sipped it. A few minutes later, a woman came in with a piece of paper and announced the women's names, and I heard my name mentioned by her. I left my place to gather with the women whose names were mentioned.

"What is this event exactly?" I muttered, still not knowing. All I knew was that it was an auction, but what kind of auction, I didn't know.

"You don't know?"

A woman standing beside me answered my muttered question with a question. I turned to her with a questioning and curious look.

"This event will bring us together with our new owner."

"Owner?"

"If you're lucky, you'll be a mistress; otherwise, you'll just be something they use once and throw away."

I was surprised to hear the woman's explanation. The woman's instructions that mentioned the names of the women here caught my attention; she told us to line up neatly and go out to another door that was connected to nowhere. As the curtain opened, I heard voices and could see the atmosphere inside the ballroom. I stood in the front row and was dazzled by the stage spotlights.

"Now you understand. What's the event?"

"Amelia Watson... 100 thousand dollars."

I gasped at the amount the man mentioned.

Oh my God, what have I done?

I spent the next second in a state of nervousness and fear. My body began to shake and falter as I heard the people down there offering me crazy prices. Someone interrupted everyone in the room and said, "One million dollars."

Suddenly, I felt nauseous, and the dizziness I felt increased.

"Sold! Amelia Watson, one million dollars. That's the highest bid for tonight."

As I re-entered the previous room, my legs faltered. I staggered into one of the walls of the room, thinking I was going to fall to the floor, but someone wrapped his arm around my waist and held my body. I instantly turned to look at that person. The moment our eyes met, I felt a strange feeling as if I recognized the owner of the amber-coloured blind.

"Wh-who are you?" I asked stammeringly. Then, the man embraced my body to get closer to him, and as our skin touched, something inside me called arousal quickly rose to the surface.

"I am your new owner."

What? Owner? So he is...

Then the next second, he kissed me with all the passion he had, making me affected by the kiss, and damn it, I welcomed it and wanted more than just a kiss. His caresses on the exposed skin of my back ignited my passion until I pressed my body shamelessly against him, signalling for him to ravage my body with his pleasure immediately.

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