Chapter 68 THE AUCTION III
“The next item— La Perla Nera, the black pearl,” the auctioneer announced, slamming the gavel in his hand like he had done at the beginning for the auction of the flawless diamond necklace.
The next item was wheeled into the stage and at once, Santiano shifted in his seat, his gaze all rounded on the container that was wheeled into the stage.
“I present to you— the most exquisite item on the bidding list for today's auction, a different jewel with a fixed price for the first bud known as the black pearl— La Perla Nera.” The auctioneer announced again, his tone rising to capture the very essence of how important that item was.
The black covering sheet that had been spread over the container was pulled away, revealing the woman inside of it. It was a non-Italian woman, beautiful and wonderfully carved into the very fabric of reality- her name was Vanessa Hudgens.
VANESSA'S POV
The black curtain was eventually lifted after the movement outside the container had stopped and I could hear a man say some words of introduction concerning the next item for bid which was apparently me.
I was the black pearl— the very woman with a fixed price for a starting bid. My heart did a rough struggle, almost shredding as I heard him speak those words about me to the men who would be raising their banners and calling enormous prices to buy me— in a feat to probably have me satisfy their beastly pleasure.
The heavy stage light that shone directly towards the stage almost blinded me as the curtain got lifted, forcing me to squint my eyes tightly as I had been in the dark for quite a while and it took about a minute before I regained my sight.
Like a lost mouse trapped in a cage, my eyes darted into the crowd of men seated in the auction room. A few had their woman seated beside them, but the men obviously outnumbered the total number of women present at the auction.
The feeling of being in showcase to all these people, strange looking men who seemed ruthless and unforgiving with ugly desires in their sunken eyes and wild disgust for me boring across the faces of the women made my skin crawl.
Most of the men within the auction room had fat cigars between their lips and the huge puff of smoke they dragged from their stuff fought with each other as they settled into the air, leaving a thick smell wafting about like it was the very oxygen they needed to keep them alive and going.
I was extremely overwhelmed and anxious at the same time at such cruelty I have been subjected to. In the eyes of these men, I was nothing more than a mere item— an intense ready for sale at an auction and they would throw their dirty money into the air to have me in their lair.
I couldn't hold back my tears as this realization set in, the streams of my tears rushing down my face and with my eyes darting about the room observing the gaze of the hyena like hungry men seated in the auction room, my gaze finally fell on him.
Santiano Rafael Devereaux was there, seated among the hungry looking men without stirring. My heart leaked as though some fireworks had been lit up within me.
At that moment, I wanted him to come to me in a rush, break into the container by emptying the bullets in his gun to force a crack into the glass and pull me into his arms, hugging me like his life depended on it and he could die if he did not.
I wanted him to hold me tightly and never let me out of his reach— ever again, but the next moment, the realization that Rafael was also there at the auction to bid upon me— to buy me suddenly began to set in.
I couldn't make much sense of this as I began to ponder if it made sense for him to reclaim me by buying me with his bloody money.
What had suddenly happened to his ruthless side that would bring war to the doorstep of anyone who dared to be turned against him?
What had happened to the ever domineering and unforgiving leader of the Devereaux family who would never take no for an answer?
The same man who had killed a man for hurling a whiskey glass at me without batting an eye was seemingly looking helpless among other men like himself?
Or was the reason for his sudden calmness because of me? To protect me in a way I couldn't understand yet?
My gaze was fixed on Rafael keenly, the look of desperation to be out of the cage sealed within my eyes and Rafael's gaze as well never left mine.
I could sense a feeling of bitterness within his soul, but he did his best to hide this vulnerable feeling away from the world.
I could feel our souls drifting out of our mere bodies, rushing at each other in a quest to be held dearly and fondly by one another.
Despite all the absurd drama I had been left with no choice but to act in around this man– Santiano Rafael Devereaux, I just wanted him to come to me in that moment, have his touch rest against my bare skin with him whispering into my ears that it was over and I have nothing to worry about as he was there with me.
Nothing else mattered to me at that moment. Not the man I had once considered as my darling, not the man I had once branded as the devil.
Not the gruesome end the fate of my wedding to Dylan Smith had been subjected to, not the woman I used to be before I met Santiano Rafael Devereaux and not my plan to get away from him.
I just wanted to be here— free from the auction and the cage I was in, but with Santiano Rafael Devereaux and nothing else in the world would matter to me.