No words could come out of Aylin's mouth. The presence of the young man led her to conclude that the old man who had picked her up earlier was only an intermediary, and that it was actually this young, handsome man who wanted her.
"Why are you silent?" the man shouted, startling Aylin.
"I'm sorry."
"You've apologized so many times, and I'm tired of hearing it!"
"I apologize once again."
"Oh my God! You stupid girl!"
Alvian's patience was wearing thin, and he just glanced at the girl in front of him.
Aylin wanted to scream for help. Her eyes darted left and right. But it was useless because the room they were in was soundproof. Even if she screamed, no one would hear her.
"I want to get out of here!"
"Get out?"
Without saying much, the handsome man roughly pulled her arm, throwing her onto the bed. Aylin panicked, her eyes darting around the room, looking for a way to escape. However, the room was tightly closed and there was no way out.
"Please let me go! I'm here because of my stepmother. Please let me go!" Aylin dared to look at the man with her hands clasped in front of her chest as a sign of supplication.
"Before we begin, I want to warn you of one thing. After tonight, forget everything that happened between us and don't let anyone know. If you dare to open your mouth, see how I will destroy your life."
"Let go? I paid you a lot, so do your job!" Alvian grabbed the woman's chin. However, what caught his eye was the fresh blue bruise on the corner of her lips. Moreover, her eyes betrayed her pain. "Why is your face bruised? Did someone beat you up?"
Holding back tears, Aylin simply nodded.
"Who did it? Was it the person who sold you earlier?"
"I... I..." For a moment, Aylin hesitated to answer.
"Ah, you're taking too long to speak!" Before Aylin could finish, Alvian silenced her.
With what little strength she had left, Aylin tried to resist. She pushed against the man's chest and hit him hard. However, of course, Aylin's blows had no effect at all.
"Please let me go! Don't touch me!" she screamed with all her might.
But no one heard her, and no one came to help. The spacious, luxurious room became a silent witness to the loss of Aylin's most precious possession.
All night long, the girl cried, lamenting her life filled with suffering. Until exhaustion and sleep carried her into the realm of dreams. Hoping that when she woke up tomorrow, it would all be a bad dream and she would be back in her small, stuffy room.
Night was drawing to a close.
Alvian was still awake, leaning against the bed with a blank stare.
He glanced occasionally at the poor girl sleeping next to him.
His strong hand reached for the cell phone on the table, searched for a number stored in his contacts, and made a call.
"Give her one billion as per the agreement you made!" he ordered.
"Yes, Boss!" replied a man on the other end of the line.
"Remember, tonight is a secret. No one can know, and don't let the media find out. You understand, right?"
"I understand, Boss!"
"Good!"
As soon as the call ended, he sighed deeply. He massaged his throbbing head.
As he was about to get out of bed, the blanket slipped down. The young girl's back caught his attention. His thick eyebrows knitted together when he saw the many bruises on her back.
"Why are there so many bruises on her body? Who actually sold her?"
Alvian stared at the tired face for a moment. The innocent face that made him freeze. But then he snapped out of it and quickly got up to go to the bathroom.
He soaked in the warm water and leaned his head against the bathtub.
***
That morning, Aylin woke up before Alvian. Her face was pale and her hair was messy. Her eyes were puffy from crying almost all night.
Her swollen, weary eyes betrayed her pain as she looked at the stranger who had forced himself on her the night before. Aylin desperately wanted to stab him with a knife. But it was pointless, for everything had already happened. Killing him would not restore the honor that had been forcibly taken from her.
The only thing she wanted was to leave this place and hope she would never meet that man again, not even in her dreams.
After tidying her clothes, she searched for the access card, which turned out to be on the table. Without waiting, she immediately left the room and walked home.
Along the way, she kept crying, ignoring the people staring at her in wonder. When she arrived at the front door of her house, her steps stopped suddenly when she heard Mrs. Nana's voice from inside the house.
"One billion, Riana! He really gave us one billion, not 200 million."
Aylin pressed her ear against the door to hear the conversation inside more clearly.
Usually at this hour, the house was quiet. Her mother and sister had already left for work. Mrs. Nana was a domestic helper in a wealthy family's home, while Riana had only been working at a company for a month as a secretary.
"So that man last night was really rich, Mom? He had a lot of money. How do you know them?"
"Last night, I got a call from Mami Liona. You know, my friend who works at the nightclub. She said there was a man looking for a virgin. He was willing to pay any amount. So I immediately offered Aylin. When else would I get a billion rupiah for one night?"
"But if Aylin comes home, she'll be really mad at you," added Riana.
"Let her be mad if she wants to. What can Aylin do? The important thing is that I got a billion rupiah. With this money, we can buy a new, better house, and we can sell this ugly one. You can use the rest to bribe the agency to get you into a soap opera."
"There's no need to bribe the agency anymore, Mom. I'm not interested in being an actress anymore. It's better to use the money for body care and beautification. Now I'm more interested in the boss at my workplace," replied Riana, smiling with sparkling eyes of happiness.
"The boss at your workplace? Isn't your boss already old? CEOs or company owners are usually very old. Don't go for an older man. It's a pity for your beautiful daughters to end up with an older husband."
"This one is different, Mom. My boss is still very young, handsome, and rich. He's also not married yet. Only... he's fierce and difficult to approach. But, I'm sure I can win him over. That's why I diligently go to the salon for treatments."
"Wow, that's a great idea, honey. You really need to improve your appearance. If you can find a rich man, we can live comfortably. We won't have to live in a shabby house like this one anymore."
Riana nodded in agreement. "Mom always says I have to find a rich man so I can escape poverty. Once I succeed in getting my boss, I'll make Mom's life comfortable. We can shop to our hearts' content."
"Good, dear. But you have to play it smart. Your boss must be the target of many women out there. Don't let someone else take him!"
"Of course, Mom. What woman wouldn't want him? I see the directors often introduce him to their daughters, but luckily they all reject him. This afternoon I'm going out of town with him alone. There's a chance to get closer."
"You're so smart, Riana."
Both of them laughed joyfully. Planning what they could buy with that one billion rupiah.
Meanwhile, at the door, Aylin could still hear her mother and stepsister talking. The pain forced tears to well up in her eyes. It turned out that her mother and Riana had lied to her, saying that the money was to pay off their debts.
"Oh God, what did I do wrong for them to do this to me?"
Unable to bear it anymore, Aylin pushed the door open forcefully, bursting in and startling Mrs. Nana and Riana.
Riana stared at her stepsister's disheveled body. Her body shuddered as she imagined her stepsister spending the whole night with the old, fat, ugly men who had come to pick her up the night before.
"Aylin, are you home?" asked Mrs. Nana with a fake smile.
"How could you do this to me? Don't you care about my future?" Aylin shouted, trying to hold back the anger that was boiling in her chest.
"Calm down, Aylin. Don't shout like that. Aren't you embarrassed to be heard by the neighbors?" said Riana.
"You are the ones who should be embarrassed!" Losing her patience, Aylin moved forward, grabbed Riana's long hair, and pulled it with all her might. "You two are really evil! Where is your conscience!" Aylin attacked blindly.
Her swift movements left Riana no chance to dodge or retaliate. Even Aylin's strength now felt immense, and she struggled to keep up.
"Ah, Mom, help! Aylin is pulling my hair!" Riana screamed as she tried to pry Aylin's hands off.
Panicked, Mrs. Nana approached and tried to push her stepdaughter away. However, Aylin was truly unstoppable this time. "Hey, you crazy woman! Let go of Riana!"
"Let go! No! Let her feel the pain I feel!" Aylin screamed.
"Let go of Riana, Aylin! Have you gone crazy?" Feeling furious, Mrs. Nana pushed Aylin to the floor. Then she hugged Riana, who was grimacing in pain. Aylin's hair was partially torn from her scalp. Even the makeup on her face looked messy.
"It hurts so much, Mrs. Nana!" Riana whimpered, causing Mrs. Nana to glare at Aylin angrily.
"How dare you attack Riana! Are you tired of living, huh?"
"If necessary, I'll kill her!" Aylin glared angrily. This was the first time in her life that she had dared to fight back against the two of them. Usually, she remained silent when she was insulted or even beaten.
"You ungrateful child! Get out of this house right now and never come back! Watch out if you dare to return!"
Mrs. Nana rushed into the room and came out two minutes later carrying a pile of clothes. She threw them at Aylin.
"Take all your clothes and leave this house right now!"
No more words were spoken. Aylin could only pick up her clothes one by one while sobbing. Her life was ruined. She felt like ending her life.
She then looked at her mother and step-sister with tears streaming down her face. Two wicked women who showed no sign of remorse.
"May God punish you for your evil deeds someday!"
**
**
Meanwhile, at the apartment....
It was already eleven o'clock when Alvian opened his eyes. He raised one hand to massage his throbbing head. Then he got up and sat leaning against the bed.
His eyes scanned the room, shrouded in silence. There was no sign of the woman who had satisfied his desires the night before. On the floor lay his clothes, scattered alongside his shoes.
"Argh! Damn it! What did I do last night?"
Alvian Setyo Darmawan was a 28-year-old man. He was the sole heir to the Darmawan Group, a giant company engaged in several business fields. At an age considered mature enough to marry, he was still comfortable being single. He had flatly rejected all the beautiful girls who had approached him.
"Aylin...." For some reason, that name popped into his mind.
Alvian's reverie was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He immediately grabbed the flat device and saw his secretary's name on the screen. His eyes immediately glanced at the clock in the upper corner of his cell phone and he remembered that he had an out-of-town appointment this afternoon.
"Yes, Riana?" Alvian said as soon as the call connected.
"Where are you, sir?"
"I still have business outside, why?"
"I wanted to remind you that we have to leave town this afternoon. Have you prepared everything?"
Alvian massaged his throbbing head. At the moment, he felt completely weak. Perhaps it was the effect of the drink he had downed the night before. "It looks like I won't be able to go out of town. You can contact Galih and ask him to replace me."
"But, sir—" The woman on the other end tried to interrupt.
"No buts, this is an order!" Alvian snapped, ending the call abruptly and placing his phone back on the table. He then leaned his back against the headboard. For some reason, the image of Aylin kept dancing in his mind.
On the other end, Riana slammed down the expensive phone she had just bought.
Her two attempts to get Alvian had failed completely. Last night, while attending a party at a hotel, she had deliberately slipped a drug into her boss's drink. But instead of successfully trapping him, Alvian had suddenly disappeared.
Riana had searched for hours until she was exhausted and finally decided to go home.
Now her trip out of town was canceled too. Her intention to go out of town with Alvian was so she could be alone with her boss. She had even deliberately bought a thin red lingerie set at an exorbitant price.
"Damn it! Damn it! Why is he so indifferent to me even though I've tried my hardest! It's pointless to go to the salon and pay for treatments if this is how it turns out!"
"What's wrong, Riana? Why are you so angry?" asked Mrs. Nana, who found her daughter grumbling.
Riana looked at her mother with pouting lips.
"My boss decided not to go out of town, Mom. I spent a lot of money at the salon to look beautiful! He canceled the trip and told me to go with someone else!"