Chapter 2 Sacrifice

She gasped as his large hands pushed her back onto the bed, gripping the side of her skirt before violently tearing it away. Moans and grunts filled the air as Elliana surrendered her virginity to a man she barely knew. "F*ck!" Falco cursed, jolted awake by the sound. The throb in his head from last night's hangover was unbearable. With bleary eyes, he reached for his phone, only to real he wasn't in his office. He shot up, cursing again as pain surged through his senses, noticing the empty side of the bed next to him. "Where is that woman?" he muttered, noticing only the traces of blood on the sheets. 'Virgin but a fighter in bed, huh?' He smirked to himself. He usually avoided virgins; they were far too clingy. But last night's woman had been a tigress-a tempting challenge. He found it amusing that instead of sobbing over her heartbreak, she had boldly approached him, asking for s*x. The way she had eagerly responded to his invitation for "rough s*x" amused him. Her innocent eyes had been so enticing as he had taken her. And d*mn, he had found that so incredibly hot! "What?" he said, putting his phone on loudspeaker as he walked naked to the shower. "The Vile Hotel construction in Belgium collapsed, Sir," the voice on the line reported. His senses sharpened immediately. "Chairman Mendevil  demands your presence. The plane is ready. We'll leave in an hour." He grabbed a white towel and walked back into the room, completely unbothered by his nudity.. With disinterest, he let his secretary continue speaking on the line as his fingers traced the bloodstains on the sheets. "About the Kings, Sir." Only then did he pick up his phone and press it to his ear. "Chairman canceled the engagement. The lady of the Kings disagreed with the marriage-" "No!" he interrupted firmly. "Sir?" The secretary sounded taken aback, knowing how strongly he had opposed that arranged marriage-until last night. He had tasted what was supposed to be his wife, and he couldn't shake the memory of her intoxicating scent that had driven him wild. "I want that woman to be my wife."   Elliana stumbled as she entered the King mansion. The pain from her loss of virginity still throbbed, but she forced herself to move on from the chaos of the night before. "God! Elliana Maycee, open your social media now!" Her best friend Yvah's panicked voice crackled through the line. "Someone posted photos of you! Nasty photos!" Her eyes widened in horror as she followed Yvah's instructions. Images of her entering the club with a man flooded the internet. And not just that-there were also edited pictures claiming she had married the old man for money. They even had her face superimposed onto a scene with a naked boy doing a lap dance in a crowded place she recognized. "Do you even know what club you went to last night?" Yvah exclaimed. "It's Jolus Club-a den for s*x-starved people. They're notorious for dealing illegal drugs and aphrodisiacs!" "Elliana, you wh*r*!" She didn't have a chance to respond before Loida, Sir Manciano's eldest daughter, thundered into the room. "Auntie-" Loida slapped her hard, nearly causing her to lose her balance. Dazed, she looked up only to receive another fierce strike. "Auntie Loida!" she cried out as the woman yanked her hair. "You ungrateful little brat! You have no shame. You've dragged our name through the mud. D*mn you!" "Auntie, that hurts!" Elliana pleaded, struggling to free herself from the older woman's grip, but Loida was too strong. Her weight was enough to nearly rip Elliana's scalp off. "She even cheated on Andrew," Ashley spat. "You stole him from me!" Elliana shot back at Ashley, only to receive yet another slap from her mother. "Are you answering back? You're the curse of this family! I don't understand what father sees in you to even let you live under our roof!" Elliana felt her head spinning from the blows to her head. "Ma'am Loida!" Only then did Loida stop when the mansion's housekeeper, Louisa, approached. "Don't you dare stop me, Louisa, unless you want to get caught up in my anger!" Louisa quickly shook her head. "Sir Manciano has had an accident!"

The doctors declared her stepfather to be in a coma, suffering from severe head trauma and multiple fractures. "This is all your fault!" She was frozen in place as Loida charged at her again. "If you hadn't been reckless, this wouldn't have happened to Papa!" Loida wouldn't let her go, so even the hospital staff had to intervene to separate them. Crying, Elliana curled into a corner of the hallway, her body aching all over. She hadn't even begun to recover from what had happened last night, and now Loida's relentless torment continued. All she could do was sob in the corner, feeling the weight of self-blame. Once the guards finally managed to escort Loida and Ashley out, Manciano's secretary, Melchor, approached her. "We have a problem. Loida refuses to release any funds for Manciano." Elliana's mouth fell open in disbelief. Melchor let out a heavy sigh. "The company is on the verge of collapse; if they withdraw any more money, Kingzone Telco won't recover." "But Sir Manciano's life is at stake!" "I've told Loida that too. But she's stubborn. She insists she knows Manciano well enough to know he'd rather die than-" "That can't happen." Tears streamed down her face again. She couldn't bear to lose the one person who had always stood by her. "We can appeal, but there's a strong chance the court will side with Loida. She's Manciano's eldest daughter and is now in control of Kingzone Telco's operations." "We'll be kicked out of the hospital if we can't pay, Mr. Melchor. Sir Manciano will die!" "I thought you might consider going through with the marriage to the owner of Mendevil  Empire," he suggested. Elliana gasped at his words, her tears momentarily halting. "That's the only way I see to secure funds for Manciano's treatment," he continued, pressing on despite her shock. Feeling as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders, Elliana realized she would have to sacrifice her future for money. What was the difference between her and Ashley's accusations that she would marry for money? But she couldn't bear the thought of losing Sir Manciano. The old man had loved her ever since her mother passed away. He had provided for her education, given her a home in his mansion, and made her feel as though she had a father in him. Her conscience wouldn't allow her to let him die when she had the power to help. So at the age of twenty, she signed the marriage certificate with her eyes closed, fully aware of the sacrifice it entailed.