Bought By The Don

SANCHEZ MANSION: DINING ROOM

In the dining room, Annabelle and her parents just finished having their lunch. Annabelle pushed her plate away and reached for her phone. She unlocked it and began scrolling, her thumb moving swiftly over the screen.

She was used to her phone than any other thing.

Staring at her phone, Annabelle's jaw clenched as she scrolled through a barrage of notifications and news about celebrities. Nothing caught her attention at first, just the usual gossip and updates. She sighed, feeling a mix of boredom and frustration. But then, one headline made her pause. Her eyes widened, and she leaned closer to the screen.

Rubbing her eyes to make sure she was seeing clearly, she read the headline again. Her heart began to race as the words sunk in, and she quickly clicked on the link to read more.

"What? How can this be possible?" Forcing herself to believe what the news stated, she almost screamed but put those words.

"Annabelle, we need to talk!" Her mother semi loud voice brought Annabelle back to reality.

"Mom. Dad. What is happening? Why is the news headline reporting that our  company is going bankrupt. The news is  spreading like wide fire? They are pulling my legs, right?" She asked as she stood up from the chair she sat on, Confusion laced on her face as she questioned in despair.

“My angel, it is true,” her dad began, his voice trembling. “Our company is going through a tough time, and I’m afraid there’s no way to turn it around. We’re on the brink of bankruptcy, and that’s the only option left for us.”

He looked down, his face etched with a mixture of sadness and resignation. His gaze met Annabelle's briefly before he looked away, unable to bear the worry and disappointment he saw in her eyes.

Staring amusingly at her father, anger burning through her at the same time, she inquired. "How did this get this bad? How can this be happening without me knowing?"

"We had to hide it from you because we didn't want you to join the struggle, Anna. We don't like seeing you feel burdened or worried about our problems". Her mother who had been silent for a while, finally let those words come out freely with tears clustered in her eyes as she stared at her only daughter.

"Stop this worrying thing! I am your daughter, and a family! Shouldn't this be about us? Annabelle asked, half yelling.

"Why don't you trust me enough to share this with me?" The feeling of being hurt lingered in her as she expressed how she felt.

"It wasn't about trust, sweetheart. It's about you not getting involved and bearing the weight of our mistake, dear. We thought so." Even in a moment like this, her mother's voice was as sweet as ever.

Annabelle blinked her eyes at the response of her mother before hesitating to speak. "What are you trying to explain?"

Guilt was written all over her mom's face as she let out some horrible words, "we sold you."

"What do you mean? Annabelle mumbled.

"You're kidding right?" Her voice was mixed with laughter, as she demanded. Her body trembling as her legs tried to stay balanced.

Her Mom looked away, unable to meet her piercing gaze.

"It's the truth Anabelle, we didn't have a choice. I had to provide for our employees, the company going bankrupt will leave many innocent persons working for me jobless" her father's voice was filled with sadness as he tried explaining for Anabelle, but she wasn't having any of it.

"I can't seriously believe that you'll do this to me! I thought you both loved me" her sad voice quivered.

"We do Annabelle" her Mom said, taking a step closer towards her.

But she took two steps back.

"This is so unbelievable. I trusted you guys and you just sell me off like some commodity for more wealth" with each word she said, tears slipped out of her eyes.

"Annabelle, Please understand. It was the only option left" her Mom lamented, with pleading eyes.

Annabelle scoffed with her tears filled eyes, and she ran out of the dinning, going to her room.

"Please get ready, he'll be here soon" She heard her mother say behind her.

She could barely believe her ears.

As soon as she entered her room, she brought out her box from her closet and began packing her clothes, still crying.

She suddenly paused and stood up straight, then she looked towards her window. Maybe she doesn't have to go through all of this. She can just run away and put an end to everything.

She walked towards her window, then opened it.

"Running away will surely end all of this. I won't  just stand by and watch my freedom get taken away from me because they want to acquire more wealth. Who knows if they sold me to an old Man?" Annabelle thought inwardly.

"I don't want to be treated like a commodity, this is surely for the best" She added, trying to reassure herself.

She took a step closer to the edge of the window, but she suddenly had another thought.

"My parents have been taking care of me since I was a little girl, they've never asked for anything so outrageous from me. Why can't I help them with this little favour?" She asked herself.

"Surely running away will make my parents depressed. They will be driven into a very tight corner. I'll just help them with this one Favour" she concluded, with that being said, she turned around, away from the open window but unfortunately for her, she slipped on a loose Mat and she found herself falling out of the window.

Though it was only the second the second floor, it would still hurt a lot to fall down.

Annabelle closed her eyes in fear, but she felt herself being caught before she could hit the ground.

Slowly she opened her eyes and she beheld the most handsome face of a man that she had ever seen. She gasped lowly. He looked like a demigod.

Annabelle locked eyes with him in his piercing gaze.