Disgust twisted in Selina's gut the moment his fingers touched her face, and she slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me recklessly if you don't want to regret it," she threatened, her eyes ablaze with defiance, piercing through his lustful stare.
The scarred man's expression darkened at her resistance. "You shouldn't act stubborn. I'm your master now, and all you need to do is obey."
"Master?" Selina repeated in an incredulous yet mocking tone. "You are too low to be my master," she rebuked.
The scarred man was dumbstruck by her taunting reply, which cut his pride to pieces, causing him to fume. Before he could react, she lunged her head backwards and snapped it forward in a swift movement. Her forehead collided with his nose, and his pained scream echoed through the basement.
"Ahh!" he howled, hands flying to his face, blood seeping from his nostrils. "You ruined my nose! Do you have any idea how much that cost me? I'll make you pay for this!"
Selina staggered in her spot, struggling to maintain her balance as the men surrounding her became blurry. A sharp pain pierced through her head from the savage impact as she placed a hand there.
With a twisted and painful expression, he turned to Zane. "Mr. Anonymous! I agreed to this deal because you assured me the girl was young and fragile. I don't like stubborn and feisty women."
Zane narrowed his brows at Selina, who was struggling to regain her vision and stance. He had never expected her to be this fragile when she appeared so fragile, like a bunny.
Zane seized her arm and spun her around, his grip tightening until she flinched from the pressure. "You do not defy your master."
"I don't recognize anyone here as my master," Selina countered, her voice trembling with fear. She attempted to look bold against his intimidating eyes that sent chills down her spine.
He looked terrifying once again.
Zane snorted at her audacity to fight back when she was supposed to cower in fear. "Do not think you deserve to escape this after everything I lost. Push me too far, and I'll end you right here," he warned.
"I'm sorry for the pain my father caused you," Selina whispered. "Please forgive him… and let me go."
"Too late, woman," Zane declared, his words pricking her heart like thorns, cutting deep.
He released her arm, walking away toward the exit with his men.
Selina blankly looked at him, frozen with a desperate plea caught in her throat, reaching for the gentle side of him she had always believed in. But in that moment, the truth hit her that she didn't know him at all. Everything she'd clung to, every kindness she imagined, had been nothing more than a fragile illusion.
Tearing her gaze from the entrance where Zane had just stepped out, Selina clenched her fists, bracing herself to face whatever came next. She refused to let the scarred man take her no matter what it took.
Seeing that his anonymous seller had disappeared from sight, the scarred man grew impatient to possess her. "Bring her to me," he ordered his men.
"Don't come any closer!" Selina warned, retreating from the men pressing forward without hesitation.
She scanned the room for anything to save herself since the entrance had been blocked by this men. Her eyes darted to the left side, catching on an object hidden behind the draped furniture. She lunged for it, her fingers closing tight around the hockey stick.
Survival and defiance burned in Selina's eyes as she yanked stick free against the men, gripping it like a weapon without a second thought. "Don't come any closer, or I'll kill you all!" Her voice quivered with a mix of raw threat and determination.
For a moment, the men faltered, taken aback by her fierce stance.
He scoffed, annoyance twisting his face. "You're not pretty, just defiant. Looks like taming you will take more effort than I thought."
"Bring her to me," he ordered.
As one of them reached to grab her, Selina struck at him, but he dodged it.
"To hell with you all!" Selina growled, and with her fragile strength, she raised the stick and swung for a second strike.
Unfortunately, they overpowered her and snatch the stick from her hand. It was hurled to the ground with a clanking sound, leaving her powerless. They seized her arms.
"Let go of me! I'm not going with you!" Selina struggled against their grip, her eyes fixed on the scarred man as he approached.
When the scarred man drew closer, his frown deepened. He struck Selina across the face, forcing her head to twist sharply to the side. Pain welled in her eyes, downcast as blood seeped into her lips, split by the heavy tiger-head ring on his finger.
With displeasure clouding his face, he said, "Follow me obediently, or I'll have my way with you, along with my men, then eliminate you." He paused and made a bang gesture. "But not too quickly, not until I'm tired of you. After all, you're merely a gift."
Selina could feel her heart thumping louder than it ever had today as her body went numb at his sinister intentions.
Will she end up like this? she wailed in her mind, terror gripping her at the thought of what awaited beyond this place with the scarred man.
"Let her go!" a voice commanded. His voice broke through the intense air, sharp as a spear.
The room stilled at the sudden command from the enter.
The scarred man turned, annoyance flashing in his eyes as he glanced at the person bold enough to stop him. "Who are you?"
Selina lifted her gaze toward the entrance and it met a young man in a black vintage shirt tucked into white pants, approaching with five men behind him. As she took in his striking features, recognition flickered when he looked familiar from the party.
He was the young man with Mr. Zane at the party.
The young man, Noah, came to a stop just a few paces from the scarred man, whose fury was palpable. Noah's eyes briefly met Selina's before he spoke.
"How dare you touch my lover and think you can take her from me?" he growled softly, yet a hint of anger betrayed his voice. His words sliced through the air, leaving confusion to ripple through the room.
Selina's wide eyes, clouded with shock, stayed locked on him. All her life, no man had ever wanted her—not with her face, not with her name. And yet here was this stranger, claiming her as his lover. She didn't know him. Not truly. Not even in dreams.
"I don't care what relationship exists between you and this girl because she's mine now," the scarred man declared, stepping in front of Selina to shield her from Noah's view. "Get lost now!"
Noah brushed a hand across his clean-shaven jaw, aware of how volatile Zane's client was. If he let the poor girl go with them, she wouldn't survive a day.
"She was never yours to begin with," Noah retorted. "Thus, I'm not leaving without the girl."
The scarred man remained persistent. "Take them down," he barked to his men, realizing this adamant stranger was about to ruin the merriment he had planned for the night.
At his command, the man's squad surged forward, retrieving hidden weapons from their clothes and preparing to strike.
The tension in the room heightened with the chilling click of cocking guns echoing through the air. Fear seeped into Selina's bones, and she instinctively scanned the room for a place to take cover.
Noah knew how deadly things could become if a fight broke out, even with his armed but outnumbered men. But he didn't want the girl caught in the crossfire of a savage confrontation. He stood still, unfazed, even with several weapons aimed at him and his men, who hadn't drawn theirs. Instead, he acted fast.
"What if I compensate you with some of your favorite stuff?" Noah bargained, sifting through the intel he'd gathered on the scarred man.
The scarred man paused, eyeing him. "How can I trust you?" he asked, confused by how this young man knew about his addiction.
"I have plenty of it with me," Noah replied. "But once you have it, you leave with your men."
"Let's see," the scarred man said, a flicker of contemplation crossing his face.
"Give it to him," Noah instructed his men. They stepped forward, each carrying a silver briefcase, and approached the opposing side.
The scarred man signaled his crew to receive them. They did, laying the ten briefcases on the ground and opening them. Neatly packed white substances filled each briefcase, carefully proportioned.
"It's real," one of the scarred man's men confirmed after inspection.
At that, excitement coursed through the scarred man's body. A smile crept across his lips and reached his eyes. He gasped in amazement, stepping forward and squatting beside the suitcases, his hand sweeping tenderly across the contents.
He picked one up with trembling delight, bringing it to his nose and inhaling deeply. The scent hit—familiar and intoxicating. "I've missed you, baby. Thought I'd never feel you again," he murmured before kissing the packet.
Selina watched him in disgust.
"Now that you have your baby, give mine to me," Noah said, his voice pulling the man back from his daze.
The scarred man threw a dismissive glance at Selina. "I don't want her anymore. I'll go with this," he said, rising to his feet.
Noah gave him a collaborative smile. "Have a nice day."
The scarred man said nothing more and left, his men trailing behind with their precious cargo in hand.