With Love, Pandora-On hold

Chapter 2

"I bought you this. Wear it to dinner tonight. You will be having dinner with us this evening. We have an important guest" Grace said as she held up the dress in front of Pandora. "Okay, mother" Pandora replied timidly. "Stop calling me that. I'm not your mother" Grace said with a snort. Pandora sighed as she went to the kitchen to prepare food for the evening. She decided on making a butternut soup for a first course, Eishbein with mash and peas for a main course and for something sweet she made crème brele. Pandora enjoyed cooking and she's quite good at it. When she cooks, she forgets about her circumstances. Of course, this suits everyone else. Now they can have restaurant quality meals, without having to pay for it. She rolled her eyes as she thought of her family. She can't recall a time when they were ever nice towards her. They've always been mean, but Pandora still had the belief that they will change for the better.

After finishing the food, she went to her room to get ready for the evening. Something important must be happening tonight, because she rarely gets invited to have her meals with the others, let alone getting new clothes. The more she thought about the evening ahead, the more suspicious she got. Up to the point where she could practically hear the alarms going off in her mind. Something feels off. She can't pinpoint what exactly it is, but she does know that it has got something to do with her. After a relaxing shower, she got dressed quickly. She looked at the long, blue dress that clung to her body like a second skin. The color also brought out the electrifying blue color of her eyes more. Her fair skin had a glow to it and her light make up made her look like a princess from a storybook. She made her long, raven hair into a soft bun with loose curls framing her face. She had to admit that she looked stunning, when she tried. With one last look in the mirror she left for the kitchen.

Her mouth fell open when she saw that there were people busy in the kitchen. "Who are you?" she asked the petite girl who walked pass her. "We will be serving you tonight madam. Please get out of the kitchen. The lady said that she didn't want to see any of her kids around here" she answered softly. Pandora nodded her head and left the room. She went to the dining room and saw that the table was already set. Two seats were placed at each side of the table and one at the head of the table. It looked gorgeous, small fairy lights everywhere, the shiny chandelier above them, white roses that were places in the middle of the table. Vases with tropical plants placed in strategic places on the ground. Pandora frowned. Never have Grace ever made so much effort. Which raises the question again; What the hell is she planning?

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't hear the approaching footsteps. "Girls, please take a seat. Our guest will be here shortly. Pandora, I don't want a word from you okay?" she said looking at Pandora with a frown. "And you girls I know I can count on you to be on your best behavior. If all goes well, which it will, we will be so much richer" she said again, a huge smile plastered on her face. "Who is this guest mom? And what do you mean? And why must she be present?" May asked with an ugly look on her face. "You will find out shortly girls, just be patient" Grace replied with a smile on her usually cold face. "Here he is now" she said again as the sound of the doorbell echoed through the house. The butler came in, followed by a tall, middle-aged man. His obvious expensive suit fitted him perfectly. His hair was the perfect blend of dark and grey. Very handsome for his age, but what stood out the most was his impaling silver-grey eyes. Pandora looked at her dumbstruck stepsisters, who looked at their visitor with excitement. "Good evening Mr. Balfour. We hope that you will have a splendid evening here with us. These are my daughters Marley and May and this precious gem here is my stepdaughter Pandora" Grace said with a gentle smile on her otherwise cold face. The girls nodded a greeting, and everyone got seated. "Let's get down to business, shall we?" Mr. Balfour said without wasting time. "Sure, go ahead" Grace said. "I received word on a precious jewel residing in your household. As you well know, my son is out of control and needs a wife. Well, my advisors thought that this girl in your household would be the perfect fit for my wild son. I need to retire, but I however can't do so if my son doesn't have a wife yet. So, tonight I'm here to ask for the hand of your stepdaughter, Pandora on behalf of my son" Mr. Balfour said in a cold tone. Pandora inhaled sharply. "No, no, no! This can't be happening" she thought as she visibly paled. "That won't be a problem Sir, but as discussed with your advisor, Pandora is quite precious to us too and losing her will add extra costs to the household" Grace said again with a sly smile. "It's fine Mrs. Whitaker, Mr. Cain is busy with the final details of the contract. You will see him soon. As soon as the contract is done you will get the opportunity to look through it and sign. We will come and get Pandora two months before her eighteenth birthday. No word about this gets out and you will never see her again or try to make contact with her. I hope that we are clear on that" Mr. Balfour said. "That is in order with us Sir. Right girls? So how much are we talking about?" Grace said again. 'I'm willing to pay you 5 Billion dollars on the day that we come and collect what is ours. But we do have some rules with regards to the buy. From now on no damage will be done to the package. The girl will lead a normal life. Second, the girl won't miss anymore days at school. We expect of our leaders to be well educated. Thirdly, the physical and emotional abuse stops, and you will get yourself a maid and chef to do your dirty work yourself. And before you even ask how I know everything; we never buy anything without doing proper research. If I hear anything about the rules being broken our deal is off. Do I make myself clear?" Mr. Balfour said with a strict look on his face. Grace nodded her head. "Well, I'm starving. Since business is done, how about we have dinner" he said again this time with a soft smile towards Pandora.

The meal went by in a flash, or for Pandora it felt like it. She couldn't get over the idea that her stepmother sold her to a complete stranger. After dinner, Grace asked for everyone to see Mr. Balfour off. "Well, thank you for a pleasant evening Mrs. Whitaker" He told Grace and he nodded his head politely towards the twins. "Penny, we will see you soon. Stay out of the woods" he said as he gave her a brief hug. "Wait, how did he know that I go to the woods?" Pandora thought with a frown. Everyone moved to their rooms afterwards. Pandora took out her notepad and started writing:

Dear Emily,

Today I found out that I'm being sold for 5 Billion dollars to a Mr. Balfour. Actually, his son, but that doesn't matter now. Please do something Ems. Please help me escape. I'm not a slave. How could they do this to me? I knew they liked money, but to sell me to someone they don't even know. To say I'm hurt is an understatement. I can't even start to describe what I feel. I need to get away from here. You know my eighteenth birthday is in four months' time. That means that they will come and get me in two months. I don't want to live with strangers. I don't want to live with people I know nothing about. I don't want to marry someone I've never seen. Mr. Balfour is handsome though, which means his son is probably handsome too. His father however said that he is wild. What if he abuses me? Or worse, what if he kills me? Of all the things this family has done to me, this really is the cherry on the cake. I can't even begin to think of what went through Grace's mind when she made the decision to sell me. I guess you were right. You always said that they have dark hearts and that they will never change, I finally believe you as I should've done right from the start. Things will probably be quiet now. Mr. Balfour said that the deal will be off if they didn't follow the rules. In short, they are not allowed to abuse me anymore. But what if I provoke them and they hit me or anything like that? The deal would be off, and I won't be sold anymore. But what then? Things will then probably take a turn for the worst and they would make my life even more miserable. So, whether I stay or go, life would suck. Please help me. I beg of you.

With Love,

Pandora.