The Highest Bidder

❊ Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Nɪɴᴇ ❊

I remained in my room until it was time to serve lunch. Sophia came and got me with concern etched on every feature on her beautiful face. But the one thing that relieved me was the fact that she didn't press for answers. She didn't even ask me if I was okay. She only said that if I wanted someone to talk to, she would be there for me. And that was all I could ask for, or even need.

I would have taken her up on that. I really would have. But I didn't speak of the baby to anyone. Ever.

I silently grabbed ten glasses of water and made my way out to the dining room. All of the people from before were sitting there, silent as ever. I made my way around the table, setting down the waters and keeping my eyes off of everyone.

When I got to Enzo, I looked up and met his dark gaze. He opened his mouth to speak, but I set his water down a little too hard, splashing some onto the tablecloth, and walked back into the kitchen. I really wished that his cup broke or I could have splashed him. It was only water and it would dry, but I had always been petty.

A chef lined ten bowls of salad around my tray and nodded once at me to tell me that I was good to go. Sophia was close behind, going to her side of the table and setting the salads down in front of each person quickly. I, on the other hand, took my time until I got back to the jackass. I basically dropped his salad and gave him a wry smile before walking back into the kitchen to wait for their main meal. It smelled like a duck of some sort and I almost had to laugh.

Of course the rich bastards would eat duck for lunch. What's next? Go out to the back and hit some golf balls and talk about how horrid the weather was?

Ten minutes passed and the plates were placed on the tray. I followed Sophia out and replaced their salad bowls with their duck, corn, and green beans.

Enzo grabbed my arm before I could set his food down. I narrowed my eyes at his hand before looking at him. He looked worried, his eyebrows furrowed slightly and his eyes so sincere that I almost punched him in the nose. He was thinking about it.

I leaned forward, moving the tray so that it was away from him. I got right next to his ear. "You better not be thinking about what I think you're thinking about, Enzo."

He stiffened and I straightened before grabbing his bowl of salad and replacing it with his main dish. He took my threats seriously, which was good. I would hurt him if he spoke of my child again or if he even pitied me for it. He had no right to know anything about me.

I turned.

"Eva." He stood.

I stopped walking, but didn't turn to face him. I kept my eyes ahead, trained on Sophia, who was standing wide-eyed at the kitchen doors. Something on Enzo's face made her skin turn ashen before she came over and grabbed the tray from me and scurried out of the room.

My back was still to him, but I could feel his eyes on me. I silently dared him to say something about it, to bring it up and tell the nineteen other people in the room. But he didn't say anything. He remained silent, as if waiting for me to turn and face him before he began speaking. The rest of the room was just as quiet, waiting for one of us to say something to the other.

I finally turned to face him.

"I am sorry for bringing it up." His voice was soft. "I wasn't aware that it hurt you that much. If I had known, I wouldn't have even said anything about it. I won't speak of it again, but you can't act like this."

"What are you going to do about it?" I let out a humorless laugh. "Send me back to the auction?"

All I wanted was to be let go. He could pretend that I escaped in the night and he couldn't find me. I'd move and figure something else out. I wasn't some damsel in distress that needed saving.

"I won't send you back to that place." He was still standing by his place at the table. His hands were resting on it as he leaned forward slightly, as if trying to get closer to me without actually walking to my side. It was irritating and comforting all at once. The way his chocolate brown eyes searched me, barely masking the pity evident on his face.

I linked my fingers together behind my back. "What if I want you to?"

He stiffened, as did the rest of his company. He didn't like the fact that I'd rather be with a sex trafficker or a slave owner than be with him, which was understandable. If I took the time to go out every six months to save women, only to be told that they didn't want to be saved, it would be like a punch to the gut. And the way he stared at me, that's exactly how it felt to him.

I took a step back, then another. "Keep that in mind the next time you think about bringing it up, won't you? I know how every single person in this room ticks, especially you. You screw with me, I'll screw right back. And I'll tell you this right now, it will not be pleasant. I can be a dream or one of your worst nightmares, Enzo Bianchi. And you are currently on my shit list."

"Just because I brought up that you had a miscarriage?" He hissed. "How the hell was I supposed to know that it would hurt you?"

The fact that he lost his cool didn't get me. But the fact that he just announced my biggest secret to nineteen other people that I didn't even know was the thing that got to me. And he realized it too. His eyes widened and he stood rigid, waiting for my reaction to his slipup.

Every single eye turned to look at me.

I could feel the familiar burn in the backs of my eyes as I stared at him, masking my emotions as well as I possibly could under the circumstances. It had been almost five years since the day I found out that the blood between my legs was a result of a miscarriage. Almost five years since I sat crying in my room to my boyfriend, who left me soon after with a single word. Almost five years since my parents had to take the bottle of pills out of my hands to keep me from attempting suicide.

Even though my baby was four months along and as healthy as could be until that one night, it still killed me. I was so excited. At that point, I forced myself into two jobs to move out of my parent's home to start saving for my own apartment. It didn't matter if it was run down or needed a little fixing up, I wanted to be an adult and be a good mother for my child. I wanted to earn money, even going to college full time. But in the end, all of it was for nothing.

On a December night, I woke up with blood between my legs and pain pulsing through my abdomen great enough to make me scream. After being rushed to the hospital, I was told that I lost my baby. My baby girl, they told me.

I narrowed my eyes at Enzo, the memories of that night causing tears to overflow. I made a show of curtsying, my eyes never once leaving his, and then I turned and left the room. I ignored the horrified look Sophia gave me and the way she reached out to grasp my arm. I only maneuvered around her. She had heard too, if the look on her face was any indication.

I pushed past the guards at the front doors and I walked straight to the gates. I was well aware of the threats the guards were shouting my way, telling me to get back in the house or they would force me. But I ignored them. When I heard one of them running after me, I broke out into a sprint and disappeared in the trees surrounding the road leading to the gate.