Chapter 33 Trophy
\[Lilia\]
My lungs hurt as I inhale deeply. My heart caught in my throat as I dragged my feet closer to the table. My knees were trembling, and they could barely hold my weight as I walked. Kael just steeled his stare on my face, waiting for what I would do next, as if I had the luxury of escaping.
I felt like bursting into tears, but my eyes had run dry like a desert. The loud drum rolls erupted in the background, its bass thundering on my chest, and I felt my ears were going to bleed.
The spotlights on the stage danced, projecting flashes of beams in random places, and I had to shield my face from the beams with my arms as I forced my knees to bend down and sit directly next to Kael’s feet.
His enormous hand immediately went to my head, fondling my hair just as the red heavy curtain slides open and a man wearing a maroon tuxedo and a mask appeared. He got a square-ish jaw, a prominent chin, and no mouth. The mask covers the entire face and is heavily gilded with gold.
I could not concentrate much on what was going on on the stage as my attention went to the large hand going back and forth, and I had to fight back a shudder and not flinch under his touch.
I could still not pull my head out from what happened and how he had degraded me to a low-life creature.
Hence, I just have to endure and hope that I will see better days in my life if I do not die.
“Good day, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you all to Red Auction.” the tuxedo man began talking. His cheery voice echoed, transcending to the cheering crowd. I somehow recognize the voice too. It’s the same emcee that hosted the night I was sold to Kael.
He raised his hand for a brief while to command the attention of the audience, and then proceeded to finish his introduction.
“Today is exceptional as we have been graced by the presence of someone very important person,” he said, sweeping his arms in our direction as the spotlight focused on Kael.
A chorus of applause erupted once more, and Kael did nothing but shake his head in acknowledgment.
I kind of have some sort of hunch that he was influential and holds a tremendous amount of power and wealth. Witnessing with my own eyes how people regard him with such a high respect makes me feel sick to my stomach.
Of course, everyone will respect him, but after what he did to me, I am not sure if I can treat him with the same reverence as them.
I am not a bad person, or at least that is how I perceived myself. When I was little, my mother instilled in me the importance of not wishing anyone harm, even if that person had done something terrible.
However, right now, I could not think of anything else but wish that Kael would be dead. My mother is probably rolling in her grave right now, but may her soul forgive me for my ill intent to this man. That this is what I wanted right at this moment.
The cheering continued and then quieted as he spoke once again, “Today, the items we will be showcasing are unlike the others you usually see.”
Now that we are here, it came to my mind what Kael will be purchasing for today. Does he need another person he can call a doll? Does he want it to be a male this time?
Just the thought of another person being treated the way he treated me, or worse, twisted my gut with abhorrence.
Those leashed people as well. We do not deserve to be treated this way and in this place. A place like this should never have existed in the first place.
As much as I wanted to throw up, I kept myself still on the cushion I perched in and forced my attention towards the stage, seeing satin-covered boxes were being dragged across the platform.
My throat constricted just by its sight, feeling sorry for whoever was hidden behind the satin covers.
“Let’s not wait any longer and begin the bidding.” The emcee announced, followed by the crowd cheering.
I internally grimace. My ears hurt, and I immediately covered them with my hands. I felt Kael shift in his seat, but I didn’t pay heed to him as I kept my focus on the stage. My heart raced with anticipation as the crowd grew louder when the first huge box moved to the center.
The emcee moved closer to the box and gripped the hem of the satin, “May I present to you!”
The cover fell off with a forceful tug, and my breath caught in my lungs, but then I exhaled loudly with relief after seeing that it wasn’t a person inside the box.
Instead, it was a stunning piece of brilliant red stone that was carved in the shape of an eye and contained within a glass box.
“For our first item on the list, ‘The eye of Ling,’ an antique artifact from the Chinese Dynasty of Chang that belonged to the emperor himself as far back as 265 B.C.,” says the emcee.
It was connected by a gold chain, coiled around the white pillow where it had been laid. It was beautiful, and the stone was even bigger than my fist.
I darted a quick glance to Kael, trying to see if he was interested in it, but all I saw in his expression was purely blank.
I wonder what he will be bidding for today.
“For anyone enthralled by this piece, the bidding price starts at five million dollars. Any bidders?” My mouth drops at that price, causing me nausea, thinking about how many people could have been fed by that kind of amount. The emcee went on, opening the bid, and the crowd started murmuring, scrutinizing the piece of jewelry.
Who the hell will buy that thing?
Just then, like an answer to my unvoiced question, someone from behind us raises a card.
“Yes, Mr. Kyriv bid for six million dollars.”
My jaw instantly slackened at the higher price. What?! How?! What do they need this for? Couldn’t they just put this one in a museum or something?
“Six million dollars, going once, twice...” the emcee started to count, looking for anyone to challenge the last recent price at stake, just as another one raises a card, “Mr. Nyski, seven million dollars. Going, once...twice...thrice...Sold! The Eye of Ling sold to the highest bidder Mr. Nyski.”
Okay, this is totally insane! That thing—I mean, it sure is beautiful, but that is just too much.
The crowd began clapping again like it is customary to clap their hands every now and then.
My mouth went dry as the items kept coming, selling at outrageous prices my mind couldn’t comprehend.
Though, none of it has even come close to how much I was sold. This painting of a nude lady claimed that Leonardo da Vinci had personally painted it, dealt with a price of thirty million dollars.
I was too stunned to blink just as the rubber mallet hit the podium.
“And for our last piece. The most awaited item for today’s auction.”
The drum rolls went at it again, and for some reason, after hearing that this one item on their list is the last one, it kind of relieved me, knowing precisely that no humans will be sold for this day.
The drumming halted soon as the small black satin-covered box carried right to the center of the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, cover your eyes just as you are about to see the brightest star that can fit your finger.”
I could see how the emcee’s hand trembled slightly just as he clutched the cover, slowly dragging the fabric until the item was revealed.
The entire auction house was filled with gasps, but I didn’t quite see what it was about since I was essentially sitting on the floor. But then, a massive LCD flashed right above the stage, highlighting a ring bearing a huge pink stone.
“Behold, the magnificent 59.60-carat pink diamond ring. First-ever documented by the French merchant and adventurer Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in the 1640s…the Pink Star.”
Everyone inside the room is awed as they take a gander over the prized thing. I am no expert in any jewelry, but something about this one makes me giddy with anticipation. It was so beautiful and looked so surreal.
I am, too, awestruck as the rest of the people here. I stole a glimpse of Kael, wanting to see any reaction on his face. Unfortunately for me, his mossy green pair of eyes were already fixated on me as soon as I lifted my gaze to his. I instantaneously averted my eyes away from him and looked down, not wanting to have any kind of eye contact with him.
I am still mad about what he did to me.
Unconsciously, my hand reached up to my collar, feeling the smooth and cold surface of the diamond dangles on my neck, just as I heard the emcee reveal the price of the item on display, making me freeze.
“The bidding amount starts at fifty million dollars….”
Fifty million… That is the same price as me…
My head snapped towards the stage, looking at the vividly colored diamond.
We both have the same price.
The crowd went wild like some hungry beasts waiting to devour the piece of meat laid right in front of them. The numbers went higher than I expected. So much higher that it makes me a slight bit uneasy.
I don’t know why, but the thought of a single piece of jewelry costing more than my entire being makes my heart feel sinking. Despite the fact that I am a fully functional living being, that thing is even more valuable than my life.
Is that how really my worth is in this world?
“Oh, we have someone bidding for one hundred million dollars… starting once, going twice, thrice… Sold! Our brightest Pink Star sold to Mr. Kael Aslanov.”
It was as if the entire world had slowed down to a crawl, at the same moment that the sound of the mallet colliding against the podium receded into the distance.
He bought it.
A stone that is worth twice as much as my life.