The Beachfront Hotel.
Scarlett, a slender young girl, entered the hotel with a gloomy face. This sudden dinner arrangement made her unhappy — only because that woman begged many times did she finally agree.
No one was there when she entered the East Restaurant, the VIP room.
'That woman has asked me to come here, but she hasn't come yet!?'
Scarlett secretly cursed the woman. She could guess the woman was trying to trick her again like usual.
She put her anger aside and entered the room. After sitting on the chair, her eyes fell on the busy street outside.
Scarlett was deep in thought. She had been on this Island for a month without doing anything. She knew what she was doing was worrying her father, but she couldn't be honest with him just yet.
After a few minutes passed, Scarlett heard a knock on the door.
"Please come in..." Her soft voice echoed throughout the room as she turned to look at the door. She saw a waitress come in with a drink in hand.
Scarlett decided to give the woman another five minutes. If she didn't show up, then she would leave.
After she saw the waitress close the door, she slowly finished her glass of cold soda, and her mood slightly improved.
But…
Moments later, Scarlett could feel her body temperature rise. She feels so hot, as if the air conditioner in the room broke down or someone had just turned on the heater in the middle of summer.
Her head was spinning, and at the same time, her body felt heavy to move. All of her muscles felt like they were betraying her.
'W-what happened to me!?'
Scarlett tried to escape the sudden burning sensation as she unbuttoned a few buttons of her white shirt.
However, instead of feeling better, she feels worse. Her vision was slowly becoming blurry, and her breathing was getting heavier.
'Why, why am I like this?'
Scarlett screamed inside, trying to regain her senses, and slapped her cheek hard — the pain made her cheeks burn even more.
She felt a nameless fire burning fiercely in her body. A thin layer of sweat covered her body from the heat, making her hair and some of her clothes wet.
The heat in her chest grew unbearable, followed by irregular hissing from her mouth as her heart began to beat erratically.
'Do I have food poisoning?' She thought amidst the heat she felt.
Scarlett dismissed the thought because she had not eaten anything ever since arriving in this room. She had just drunk the cold soft drink served by the waitress who had come a few minutes ago.
Realizing something strange had happened to her, she couldn't help but curse.
'Damn it!'
Instantly, Scarlett's body trembled with emotional turmoil.
'That waitress put drugs in my drink? W-Why is she doing this?' She muttered while squeezing the clothes on her chest, trying to draw as much air as possible because now even breathing felt like a tremendous task.
With the last of her strength, Scarlett took a water bottle and a white medicine bottle from her black backpack. She immediately took some antidote pills, which she usually carries.
After emptying the water bottle in one gulp, she felt her temperature slightly down. But her body still felt hot, and her head still hurt.
At this time, Scarlett could only pray for the antidote she took to work quickly. She couldn't lose her strength and consciousness in this place, or she would be in trouble.
'Scarlett, you have to be strong. You have to hold on...' She tried to spell her mind so as not to lose consciousness. 'That greedy woman. It must be her who did it…' she was sure that damn woman must have some evil plans for her.
Just before she wanted to leave the room with the last of her strength, she faintly heard footsteps approaching her VIP room. It wasn't just one person coming; two pairs of legs stepped closer.
'I'm doomed! I can't fight them now. I have to do something!'
Although Scarlett's mind could still clearly think, her body was weak. She wouldn't be able to fight anyone at this point.
She forced herself to stay calm. She would stay still and find out why that woman did this to her — when she regained control of her body, she would find a way to escape.
Scarlett put her head on the table, pretending to be unconscious. She felt even tenser when the door behind her opened. She could feel the strong scent of men's perfume, making her head hurt even more.
...
The bald older man stared at the young sleeping girl with lustful eyes. He could see the girl's pale face looked innocent. And even though she was wearing an oversized white shirt with ripped jeans, he could see her curves and delicate hands.
A lascivious smile framed his greasy face as he gazed at the middle-aged woman beside him.
"Ms. Piers, she is beautiful. Okay! I agree to our deal. I will erase your company's debt... as long as this beauty can sleep with me tonight. And, as agreed, she will be my new friend…er… I mean new wife." The vile, bald older man's southern accent echoed throughout the room, making Scarlett's body shudder at his words.
'This woman wants to sell me to this old man?'
Scarlett wanted to escape the room but couldn't control her body—the medicine she took had not fully worked. On top of that, she also wanted to know more about their disgusting deal.
She could only hold back her anger hearing the cunning plans of these two evil people sitting not far from her. Under the table, her hands clenched tightly to hold back the anger from her chest.
"Ms. Piers, is your old man aware of this?" asked the bald old man.
Scarlett prayed that the man would not be involved in this plan. But, if he got involved, she would never forgive him.
"Mr. Frans, you don't have to worry. I did this at his request. We agreed to marry Scarlett with you..." Lauren Piers chuckled, seeing Mr. Frans's face beaming.
She tried to hide her excitement as she continued to say, "This lovely girl will be happy to marry you. Marrying a successful businessman, a tourism industry mogul of this Island, what's not too happy about it!?"
"Hahaha… you are praising me too much, Ms. Piers." Frans was so happy with the compliment. "Will this girl accept this decision? Why did you drug hers?"
"Sorry if you must see our Scarlett like this, Mr. Frans. I had to do this so she wouldn't be shocked, but she would have agreed. Scarlett is a good girl. You won't regret taking her, Mr. Frans. She will become a good wife for you."
"That's great! How old is she now?" Frans felt very happy to get the young beauty to warm his bed.
"23 years old, she graduated from a world-renowned university in Massachusetts, USA, and just returned last month. Now that she has no job, she stays at home doing nothing. Hence, the old man and I tried to arrange for her to marry you…."
Frans almost jumped in surprise. She is such an intelligent girl. Why did they marry her off just for money!?
"Scarlett is still young, the same age as my son. I'm afraid she won't agree to marry the old folk like me." Frans stroked his chin while glancing at the girl who was still sleeping. His mind was filled with sultry thoughts.
A thin smile framed the corners of Lauren Piers' lips. "Mr. Frans, tonight you can seal the deal. You can sleep with her. And we will register your marriage in a few days. Thus, before that…" Lauren put the Marriage Register form on the table. "You must sign this form, sir… we have prepared everything. Don't worry."
'The sooner, the better,' Lauren thought. This stubborn girl definitely couldn't avoid this arrangement.
Scarlett almost vomited blood after hearing the woman's sinister plan.
In her mind, she was screaming...
'Mother, why are you doing this to me?'
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Countless questions now filled and insulted her mind,
How could her parents exchange her for company debt?
How much debt do they owe for this heinous act?
It was hard for Scarlett to believe her father could do this to her. She felt her heart shatter, and it felt painful. The man Scarlett had respected and loved all her life betrayed her. She didn't know if, in the future, she would still be able to call him 'Father.'
"Bwahaha… Ms. Piers, but I still doubt this girl will accept me. I am a widower with five children." Frans' laughter returned to insult Scarlett's ear.
Scarlett was lost for words.
How could her parents decide her future to marry her to a widower with five children?
It had never crossed Scarlett's mind that something like this had happened to her. This kind of thing usually only happens in dramas or movies. But now, she experienced it herself.
"Mr. Frans, you are still young. You are sixty, but you still look like you're in your late thirties." she smiled. "Well, don't worry, our lovely Scarlett will agree…."
Scarlett couldn't stand hearing the disgusting plots of these two shameless people anymore. She tried to captivate her mind with all her might so that the antidote's effect could bring her body back to normal. She must escape from this.
While trying to control her leg muscles, which were still difficult to move, she heard another person entering the room.
...
Two big men in black clothes grabbed Scarlett and dragged her out of the VIP room.
Still pretending to be unconscious, Scarlette tightly closed her eyes, but her ears were alert. Try to hear their conversation.
"Poor little girl..." Said one of the men on her right.
"This girl's parents are greedy, selling their daughter to that old pervert!?" Said another man.
"Which floor are we going to?" the man asked as they entered the elevator.
For some reason, that night, the hotel was so quiet. There were no other visitors who crossed paths with them in the elevator.
Scarlett couldn't ask for help. She couldn't say a word, even with these two men carrying her. Her jaw muscles were still weak.
"20th floor, quick… the pervert said we must put her in room #2011. He'll follow after he's done talking to Ms. Piers…."
"Little girl, please forgive us. We have no choice. We're just carrying out orders." They put the girl on a soft bed and quickly left the room.
After the two men left the room, Scarlet opened her eyes. She was shocked at how luxurious the room was.
That pervert is indeed a rich man. He's willing to spend tons of money on this presidential suite.
Scarlett got out of bed and dragged her weak feet to the minibar — she needed another antidote pill.
She must get out of this room before that shameless pervert comes.
Scarlett found a water bottle. She took five pills from her backpack and drank them all at once. After a few seconds, she felt a little better. She could move her legs but wasn't back to normal strength. At least that will be enough to get her out of this room.
She limped toward the door, trying to hear any movement from outside. She was afraid the two bodyguards were still standing guard at the door.
But fortunately, after standing there for a while, she didn't hear any sound. Wasting no time, she walked out of the room.
The hotel's empty corridors allowed Scarlett to walk unhindered to the elevators. However, when she arrived before the elevator, her heart felt like it would stop. She saw the elevator go up and seem to stop at its floor.
'Damn you, old pervert! Why did you come so fast!'
She cursed the man while limping towards the emergency exit. The moment the emergency exit closed behind her, she could hear a 'ding' sound.
"Thank you, God!! That was too close." She muttered under her breath while erasing the traces of sweat off her forehead.
Scarlett slowly walked downstairs. However, only a few steps passed, and she stopped. There were several pairs of footsteps walking toward her. Instantly, she felt wary as she realized those people might be the man who brought her into the room.
'Gosh! Who are they? Are they also guarding the emergency exit?'
She changed her plans and decided to go up to the rooftop. Luckily, in the last minutes, her body could be controlled. With light steps, she quickly climbed the stairs.
After a few seconds of climbing the stairs, Scarlett finally reached the top floor—she was relieved that the door was unlocked. Immediately, she got out of there and closed the door behind her tightly.
As soon as she came out, her legs were shaking. And for some reason, the muscles in her body felt weak again, but she didn't stop there. With great difficulty, she dragged her feet towards a hidden place in the corner.
Finding a place to hide was a must for her. She knew right now she had not wholly escaped from those people.
She stood where she was, staring at the utterly invisible sea — that night, the sky was so dark, there was no moon, as if the sky was as dark as her feelings.
Scarlett didn't care about the strong wind from the sea slapping her face. She tried to inhale as much fresh air as possible to fill her tight chest.
What happened to her completely drained her mind and energy.
She didn't know what would happen to her now if she didn't have the antidote. Perhaps her life was destroyed by her parents and the perverted older man.
"Father, how could you sell me to an old man just because you need money to pay off your debt?"
Scarlett quietly spoke to herself to express what was going on in her mind right now, or else her mind might explode — too much anger.
"What you did to me this time was very hurtful and disrespectful. How could a father do that to his daughter?"
For the first time, Scarlett cried in years. Her heart ached so much that she couldn't take it anymore. Only her tears could make her heart feel slightly better.
"Father, I... would rather kill someone than be forced to marry that old man!" Before Scarlett could finish her sentence, a giant palm suddenly covered her mouth and promptly pulled her backward.
In a panic, she struggled to escape the man's embrace, but the man's hands were so strong. He hugged her from behind like her body was locked between his arms. This man was so strong, she couldn't even scream.
'Damn it!! They found me!?'
Scarlett felt like crying, realizing that her escape was futile. It didn't take long for them to find her here.
"If I were you, I would stop resisting and making any noise…" a voice sounded in her ear. His voice was very charming, like hearing the voice of an actor who used to play the king in royal dramas. It didn't sound urgent, but it made her immediately obey his words.
Scarlett's body froze when she realized the man who dragged her was not the bodyguard who chased her but someone else.
Who is he?
She could recognize the man wearing an expensive Eau de Parfum from the fresh masculine scent. She knows this scent. Her friend, a major US company's CEO, usually wears this EDP. She also saw the watch he was wearing, one of the latest collections from the expensive watch brand Patek Philippe.
She wanted to look back, but the man seemed to hold her head, purposely keeping her from turning.
"Silence! They are approaching."
Hearing his warning, Scarlett immediately realized she wasn't safe from her parents and that perverted older man.
Suddenly, her chest felt tight, and her legs felt weak as she imagined what would happen to her. Slowly, she lost her senses as the darkness swallowed her.
"Miss, they all left. You can leave now..." The man in the gray suit said. But the girl in his arms didn't respond. "Are you sleeping?"
He turned her body towards him.
"How could you lose your consciousness just like that, girl!?"
The man in the gray suit was speechless.
He pulled her, placed her head on his shoulder, and made a call.
"Prepare the car at the back door. We're going to the hospital—" after he ended the call. He carried her gently and left the roof.